A runner competes at the Vietnam Jungle Marathon over the weekend. Photo courtesy of organising board.

The winner of the men’s 70km event was Romain Berion of France who finished in a total time of 7:34.32, seeing a new VJM 70km record.

“The weather was cooler and the landscape was amazing. Thank you the organiser for this amazing race. I will be back for Vietnam Mountain Marathon in November,” said Berion, who is a new face in the local trail running community.

The female ultra-marathon also saw a new face as Nguyen Thuy Dung of Vietnam won with a time of 9:36.41.

“I am very happy to win for the first time in a trail race. We were all very lucky today because the weather was so beautiful,” said Dung.

Nguyen Thi Duong and Hien Tran of Czech Republic were the runners-up with times of 10:16.24 and 10:44.29, respectively.

Also in women’s ultra field, Nathalie Cochet of France came first in 55km with a time of 8:12.48. Cochet’s compatriot Constance Louasse and Le Tham Thuy Hang finished second and third.

In the men’s 55km, Singapore-based Vietnamese runner Trung Nguyen took first place. His time was 6:43.56, breaking the course record.

The amazing landscape at the Pu Luong Nature Reserve in the central province of Thanh Hoa. Photo courtesy of organising board.

“The race is always very special to me. The VJM was my very first trail race which has built my love for trail running. I am very happy that I did break the record this year. It is thanks to the second place Paul Rioux who ran together and pushed me to the finish line,” Trung said.

The second and third places of this category belonged to Paul Rioux from France and Vu Tien Viet Dung of Vietnam.

In the men’s 42km, Quang Tran beat elite runner Pham Tien San to be the winner after clocking a time of 3:37:56. Quang also broke the course record of VJM. 

“In the first 25km, I had to try all my best to chase San. He ran uphill very fast, leaving me behind. After that, I got the advantages at some very technical trails to overcome San. He just ran trails but will definitely be the one to watch," said Quang.

Runners are happy with the landscape during the marathon. Photo courtesy of organising board.

More than sport

“The race has provided a welcome tourism boost to an area that has seen tourism numbers fall dramatically this year. Some of the homestay owners we have spoken to have had almost no guests for months, so bringing people back to  Pu Luong Nature Reserve in the central province of Thanh Hoa and helping to re-invigorate the tourism economy was an important aspect of the event,” said David Lloyd, founder of VJM and director of sport at Topas Travel.

“Furthermore, we added US$13,815 to the total we have raised for charity which now stands at close to $300,000. In the past three years, the race has funded life-changing surgery for children through Operation Smile and drowning prevention programmes through Hue Help. This year the funds will be focussed on education projects in the local area,” Lloyd added.

A runner during the Vietnam Jungle Marathon. Photo courtesy of organising board

The race is organised by Topas Travel, part of the Topas Explorer Group, owner of the Vietnam Trail Series which also includes Vietnam Mountain Marathon and Vietnam Trail Marathon.

The next race, Vietnam Mountain Marathon, will take place on the November 20. Registration for the event is still open and runners can choose distances from 10km up to 100km.  VNS

Vietnam Jungle Marathon returns

After being postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic in May, this Saturday more than 1,100 runners will race up to 70km in the Vietnam Jungle Marathon (VJM) in Pu Luong Nature Reserve in the central province of Thanh Hoa.