Marathon 

HÀ NỘI — Kenyan runners dominated the first Việt Nam Tôi Đó (My Việt Nam) Marathon 2025 on August 24 in Hà Nội.

Familiar face Edwin Yebei Kiptoo, who has triumphed in many different races in Việt Nam, topped the men's class with a time of 2hr 41.04min.

He met almost no challenge throughout the race, running solo to the finish line.

Rising star Huỳnh Anh Khôi tried hard to catch up with the powerful rival, but he finished nearly 50 seconds after Kiptoo. Phạm Đức Thọ came in third at 2:42.13.

The women's side saw Jerop Abigael win first place with a time of 3:13.18. 

She was followed by Phạm Thị Mỹ Duyên (3:19.57) and Phương Thị Hồng Nhung (3:22.10).

In the 21km class, Glady Kiptoo, also from Kenya, won the men's gold medal, clocking in at 1:13.22. Meanwhile Vietnamese runner Doãn Thị Oanh took the women's title after running 1:24.17.

Lò Bảo Tâm (34.11min) and Nguyễn Thị Hà (38.29) were champions in the men's and women's 9.2km classes, respectively.

Winners of the 2.9km race were Nguyễn Minh Hồng (9.47min) for the men and Trần Thị Phương Thảo (11.32) for the women.

The tournament gathered more than 21,000 runners at the Vietnam National Exhibition Centre, one of the 10 largest exhibition centres in the world, and Vinhomes Global Gate in Hà Nội's Đông Anh area.

 

It was a key event held to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2). With a huge number of 21,539 participants, it also set a national record as the race with the largest number of runners wearing red T-shirts with a yellow star, confirmed by the Việt Nam Record Association.

"With the theme 'Fierce Vietnamese Spirit', each step in the My Việt Nam Marathon shows deep gratitude to the generation of fathers and grandfathers who sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the country and happiness of the people," said Vũ Minh Lý, head of the organising committee.

"This event is also an opportunity for young people to review the 80-year journey of building and developing the country, demonstrating the spirit of solidarity and the aspiration for development of the Vietnamese people in the new era."

In addition to its meaningful value, the tournament was also marked as a zero-emissions, green race that committed to a sustainable lifestyle and environmental protection.

 

"With technical support from the United Nations Development Programme, through the National Plastic Action Partnership, every step not only contributes to healthy training, but also demonstrates responsibility for the green future of the planet and for a green Việt Nam," said Lý, who also expressed appreciation for the strong support from sponsors including Vinfast, GSM, Vinpearl and Vinclub.

During the race, people were encouraged to join hands to act for a clean, safe and sustainable living environment, contributing along with the international community to solve the problem of environmental pollution caused by plastic waste. VNS