Marathon

SA PA  — Ngô Văn Chính from the Sapa Ethnic Running Club triumphed at the Việt Nam Mountain Marathon (VMM) 2025, which concluded in Sa Pa, Lào Cai, at the weekend.

This year marks a special milestone for VMM, as it officially enters the prestigious World Trail Majors series, a non-profit group of 12 independent races worldwide. The move has helped the race attract a host of elite runners from around the globe, all vying to climb the World Trail Majors leaderboard.

Chính crossed the finish line in an impressive 13:00.10, marking a new course record. He was closely followed by Nguyễn Sĩ Hiếu (13:36.29) and Nguyễn Trọng Nhơn (13:44.24), completing a strong Vietnamese podium sweep.

In the women’s 100km race, Wenfei Xie from China delivered a commanding performance, dominating from the start before finishing with a time of 17:24.33.

Xie is widely recognised as one of the region’s premier ultra-runners, demonstrating exceptional endurance and tactical prowess. Her victory, along with the presence of other elite Chinese athletes, has strengthened China’s regional dominance in ultra-distance trail running.

The Chinese runner has already made a mark with a third-place finish at the Grand Raid Pyrenees 165km (WTM 2025). With this victory at VMM, her score comes to a total of 2,760 – enough for a provisional overall third place at the World Trail Majors.

Making her debut in the 100km trail distance race, Nguyễn Thị Trà Giang finished second with a time of 18:07.58, followed by Daphne Linderme, who rounded out the podium at 18:33.47.

Meanwhile, in the 50km men’s race  Jianjian Yang (China) from the Kailas FUGA team claimed the top spot, with a finishing time of 04:53.46. Following him were Sa Pa’s own Sùng A Phử at 05:18.42 and Minchul Ko of South Korea in 05:48.38. Another top international athlete, Ricardo Cherta, was beaten into fourth.

On the women’s side, China’s Fuzhao Xiang, one of the world’s top ultra runners, stamped her authority on the race, with a gun-to-tape victory in the 50km with a time of 05:41.10.

In second place was another Chinese athlete, Binbin Xiong of the Kailas FUGA team, who crossed the finish line in 07:12.09. Rounding out the podium was Thái Thị Hồng of Việt Nam at 07:32.19, marking her first World Trail Majors podium.

For her victory, Xiang received 1,500 points from VMM in the World Trail Majors, which puts her in provisional first place on the scoreboard.

 

The 70km battle

The men’s 70km title went to Vàng A Tung of Việt Nam, who completed the course in an impressive 09:10.58. The second-place finisher, Nguyễn Tiến Võ, crossed the line in 09:53.49, while Nguyễn Đức Tuyền claimed third with a time of 10:13.44.

Among the women, Lưu Hồng Vân took first place, finishing in 11:52.42. She was closely pursued by Phương Thị Hồng Nhung (11:55.30) and Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh (12:01.18), both demonstrating remarkable grit and speed.

This year, the race continued its tradition of supporting good causes. Last year, the race was postponed due to Typhoon Yagi and VNĐ1 billion (US$37,900) was allocated to the recovery effort in the area. This year, the race is contributing a further VNĐ700 million ($26,500) to the charity fund, which now stands at a total of VNĐ13.5 billion ($512,000).

Furthermore, three other charities received support through free entry and expo booths at the race: Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, Newborns Việt Nam and Operation Smile. All three saw teams at the event raising more money for their community work. 

The VMM 2025 took place under perfect weather conditions, with an electrifying display of endurance from thousands of trail runners from 47 nations. The breathtaking beauty of Sa Pa’s iconic terrain was matched only by fierce competition witnessed across all races. VNS