(Dan Tri) – No fancy shoes, no watch, the miracle was created by a Tay farmer after 20 years of barefoot, tirelessly maintaining his passion on a rocky village road.
The farmer "from corn fields to the capital" won the race: Barefoot miracle (Video: Doan Thuy)
On the morning of October 27, fans and organizers standing at the finish line of the Long Bien Marathon quickly turned from surprise to excitement when they saw the first runner of the Half Marathon (21km) sprinting towards the finish line, a "strange" runner, not anyone in the elite community (elite athletes).
Tearing the tape when the clock struck 1:16:46, the tall, dark-skinned man with a simple face laughed heartily amid the cheers and shouts of dozens of people.
On the Vietnam Marathon achievement rankings, the name Tran Tu Phap appeared in 79th place, Half Marathon category.
People in the runner community who were curious about France's information on social media platforms were in for another surprise when they learned that this champion was a "genuine" poor farmer from the mountainous region of Tuyen Quang.
Just one day after the championship that caused a stir in the foot-crazy world, Tran Tu Phap was recognized by the online community with protective clothing, a dirty face and hands quickly breaking corn in a livestream on his personal page.
Corn fields, lemon gardens, and a few dragon fruit poles are the entire business of Mr. Phap and the people of Minh Phu village 6, Yen Phu commune, Ham Yen district, Tuyen Quang province.
According to Mr. Vu Van Sy, Chairman of Yen Phu Commune, this is one of the six particularly difficult villages of the commune. The villagers mainly live on agriculture and forestry.
From Km47, National Highway 2 goes deeper inside along a small road for about 2km, we reach the house of farmer Tran Tu Phap.
To support the family, his French wife works as a factory worker in Binh Xuyen, Vinh Phuc, and can only come home 2 days a month. The man is a single father raising 2 sons (the older one is Tran Duy Long, 13 years old, the younger one is Tran Duy Hung, 9 years old).
5:30, when the sun just rose in the East, a new day for the father and his three sons began.
On his old motorbike, Mr. Phap took his two children to the communal school, then went back to work until noon.
"In the village, I do whatever people ask me to do. One day I cut grass, another day I spray pesticides," said Mr. Phap.
The morning shift usually ends at 11:30, he rushes home to prepare dinner before picking up his children. After finishing lunch, the man only has time to wash the dishes, then rushes to take his two children to class and go to work.
About every two weeks, Mr. Phap skips the afternoon shift to go to his orange and lemon garden to tend to it.
The garden is about 3 sao wide, located on the top of a hill about 4km from the house.
100 lemon trees and a few orange trees (which he planted to provide fruit for his grandchildren) were considered by the French as his most valuable assets, exchanged for years of wandering on the Yen Bai - Ha Giang route.
“Before, every 3 hours I would go to Yen Bai to catch pigs and then bring them to Hoang Su Phi, Ha Giang to sell. After many years of hard work, in 2019 I saved enough to buy this piece of land,” the farmer said proudly when talking about the land he built from scratch.
Following the steep hillside, Phap nimbly picked the lemons that were just ripe for harvest. The bucket he carried was gradually filled with large, round, shiny lemons, signaling a good harvest year.
“I have about 50 lemon trees that yield 500-600 kg per crop. This year, the harvest and prices are both good,” Phap said, wiping his sweaty forehead after nearly an hour of sunbathing.
After harvesting half of the garden, Tu Phap chose a rare flat piece of land under a lemon tree, placed his phone neatly, and started livestreaming. A new habit from the past few months.
- It's the farmer selling lemons again, guys!
– This season's lemons are very green and juicy. If anyone wants to buy them, please message me.
…
Livestreams are a new joy as he can connect with friends from all over the world and help France find outlets for its agricultural products. Thanks to the previous livestream, he was able to connect with a trader less than 10km from his home who bought a ton of lemons.
Reading the greetings of a runner he had just met from the Long Bien race, Phap excitedly made an appointment for a rematch: “Passion never forgets duty, my dear. After passion, I will return to my job, to be a farmer picking lemons to sell. See you again in November.”
Amidst the hills of poor Tuyen Quang countryside, the laughter of farmers mixed with the sound of cicadas and crickets echoed in a corner.
A cement wall in the Tay farmer's living room is covered with running medals and awards.
Strange to the running world in the capital, but in his hometown Tuyen Quang, Tran Tu Phap is a name that specializes in "standing on the podium" in running races. There was even a long period when Phap was always the winner.
Phap's running talent was discovered by his physical education teacher in middle school. At the end of 9th grade (2001), Phap was taken by his teacher to compete in a 7km race in the district and finished in 7th place.
A year later, Phap continued to compete in the district after winning first prize at school. This time, the 10th grader won the highest rank. Continuing his winning streak, Phap also won first prize in the Tuyen Quang province competition.
With stable performance, in 3 years of high school, Phap was always the first in the 7km race organized by the province.
The honest farmer admitted that his talent for running was probably due to being born into a poor family.
“Since middle school, I went to school in the morning and carried bricks for hire in the afternoon. On Saturdays and Sundays, I went into the forest to collect bamboo shoots, or chopped wood for the paper industry. Perhaps that’s why my physical strength improved,” Phap recalls.
After finishing high school, Tran Tu Phap did not go to university but stayed home to help his family. His passion was still burning. Whenever he was called to run, the farmer arranged his work to go.
“When it comes to running, Phap is a very enthusiastic, responsible and passionate person. On average, every year the commune has a running race, the district has a running race, Phap is always the “seed” of the team. He does not hesitate, even when he is busy, he tries to arrange to participate and contribute to the local movement”, said Chairman of Yen Phu commune Vu Van Sy.
Just a few years ago, villagers were curious when they saw farmer Tran Tu Phap running past their door every afternoon.
"This guy works all day and then comes home and still runs around tirelessly?", is a question Phap often hears.
The small road in front of the house goes deep inside, winding along the hillsides, crossing rice fields and corn fields, which is also the place where the champion Tran Tu Phap was trained.
The "non-specialized" road is a mixture of concrete, red soil, and white stone.
In the first training sessions, this runner groped his way into every nook and cranny in the remote village, drawing for himself training routes of 5km, 10km, and then 21km.
“From my house to the ecological lake is 2.5km, a full 5km loop. Further into the palm forest, up the hill and back is more than 10km. To run 21km, I have more routes.
From my place to my wife's parents' house is 12.22km or we can extend the route 10km to Highway 2 or down to town," Phap described, joking that thanks to drawing a running map, he now knows every corner of the village.
Shorts, shirt, barefoot, France just kept running. He said he got used to running barefoot early because sneakers were stuffy after only a few kilometers, his feet were blistered, and specialized sports shoes cost “dozens of days’ work” to buy.
The French sports watch is his own perception of breathing and heart rate. The running lesson plan is the lessons he learned from the previous run: Which part to accelerate, which part to slow down, how to go downhill, how to climb uphill to avoid getting tired...
So when he had the opportunity to participate in professional running competitions, the farmer felt like he was lost in another world.
The first 21km race that France participated in was in Ha Giang in 2017. Seeing runners carrying drinking tubes, he wondered: "It's strange that they have to breathe oxygen while running."
Another time, when running at Hung Temple, Phap was struggling to know how many kilometers he had reached so he could distribute his energy. It was not until he saw the familiar relief that he knew he was almost at the finish line.
“Ah Loi! Why is running so complicated?” Phap exclaimed when the runners from the lowlands talked about gels, salts, electrolytes, and a myriad of English terms (“Ah Loi” is a typical Tay exclamation that roughly translates to “Oh my God”).
Tran Tu Phap's journey from the hills to the "big sea" to create a miracle was gathered from shoes, watches, sports clothes, bibs, salt tablets, gel packs to the first lessons about running... from brothers and sisters with the same passion.
At the "Every step, a heart" race organized by the City Youth Union and the Youth Union of Tuyen Quang City on April 21, 2021, Tran Tu Phap met Mr. Tran Manh Cuong - President of Tuyen Quang Runners Club (TQR).
Recognizing the talent and passion of this runner, Mr. Cuong invited Phap to join the club. This was the turning point for Phap to be able to "transform" into a professional athlete.
Mr. Cuong compared Judicial Affairs to a rough diamond with very good qualities, but to enter the "big playground", it needs to go through many polishings.
As the champion of a series of races, but with a new goal, Phap had to relearn every lesson of a beginner.
“What is 1-2, 2-4 rhythm, how to get and drink water on the track, how to press the clock, read the tracklog…, the seniors in the club taught me little by little,” he said.
To prevent the farmer's passion from being overwhelmed by the burden of making a living, members of the TQR Club provide maximum material support to Phap when he participates in the race.
“My brothers and sisters support me with everything, from bib, sports watch, running shoes to food, accommodation, transportation, and procedures when competing. Since joining the club, I have participated in 8 races and only had to ride a motorbike to Tuyen Quang city, the rest was taken care of by everyone,” Tu Phap shared, expressing that he would hardly have achieved his current achievements without the companionship and sharing of the club.
Until now, no matter how busy he is, every two months, Phap drives his motorbike back to Tuyen Quang city to join his teammates. They have a promise to run from the city to the farmer's house like an internal marathon.
3 years of working in TQR and the experience accumulated through professional Marathons have gradually helped this runner gain enough "maturity" to shine in Long Bien.
At dawn on October 27, at the starting line of pen 2 of the Long Bien Marathon, Tran Tu Phap took a deep breath and waited for the whistle from the organizers.
Three days before the race started, he was still working hard weeding and spraying pesticides for someone in the village. In the little time left, Phap spent running a 10km training run.
At 4:25, the starting signal from the organizers made the whole street corner explode, as thousands of people excitedly took their first steps on the journey to challenge their own will and limits.
With a pace of 3.22-3.24 (3.22-3.24 minutes/km), France quickly caught up with the elite runners who were given priority to start at pen one and took the lead after just the first kilometer.
Learning from previous races where he often ran out of steam towards the end due to starting at high speed, he gradually held back and maintained a speed fast enough to keep a safe distance from his opponents.
After the first 3km, Phap brought his speed down to a pace of 3.32-3.34. After about 13 minutes, he started climbing the hill to the dike. This runner shortened his steps and increased his leg rotation. According to him, this technique helps him maintain his speed while going uphill while reducing leg fatigue. Conversely, when going downhill, he increased his stride length, allowing his legs to rest more.
Drinking water was also a new lesson for this farmer. Previously, during his training runs in his hometown, even for a distance of 21km, Phap did not drink water while running. Therefore, during the race, he often had stomach cramps because he was not used to the way of drinking water at the station.
“At the Long Bien tournament, I learned how to pour water on both sides of my body to cool down before drinking, and I felt much more comfortable,” he said.
At km12, the pace was maintained at 3.31 but still felt strong. Phap smiled to himself when he knew that the strategy of controlling the speed in the early stages had worked.
“The previous times I started fast, so I got tired at this stage. Now that I’m still not moving, I’m sure this time will be good,” the runner said excitedly.
The last half of the race is when the runners slow down due to exhaustion. However, Tran Tu Phap's steps were still full of energy like the first kilometers. According to the watch, his average pace in this race was about 3.35.
The finish line and cheers gradually appeared in the distance as the clock showed km 21. The farmer burst into tears thinking, “Wife, I won today.”
Near the last 100m, Phap said he felt like he was walking on clouds.
Surpassing the elite and big names in major running clubs in Hanoi, Tay farmer Tran Tu Phap became the overall champion of the Half Marathon.
These days, Minh Phu village 6 is more bustling. People who read newspapers and watch the news are excited about the story of Mr. Phap, who lives near the village cultural house, winning the race and being on TV.
"This time Phap became famous", they whispered to each other.
Returning from the city, the 24 hours a day in France are still the same, as he introduced himself on livestreams to the fields, gaining more "audiences" hundreds of kilometers away: "It's the farmer who loves running again, everyone."
17:30, after returning from gardening, Tran Tu Phap quickly cooked rice, put on his running clothes. The man who is both father and mother of two children fully enjoyed the rare time for himself.
The elderly and children deep in the Tay and Dao villages are now familiar with the image of the farmer jogging, sometimes leading a few others to run with him.
France boasts that thanks to jogging, health problems caused by heavy labor have been greatly reduced.
“Before, when I went for an X-ray, my first and second vertebrae seemed to be stuck together. There were many days when I went to work and my whole body was numb from my butt to my feet. However, since I started running regularly, my blood circulation has improved and I feel much more comfortable,” he said.
Running also helps the farmer to open up to the world outside the bamboo village.
Phap hopes to conquer the Full Marathon distance in under 3 hours by the end of this year, and further is a goal he has set since the championship in Long Bien: to have his name on the Vietnam Marathon gold list.
To shine in the “big playground” of course requires more than just instinct. However, the “sailing” journey of this foot-crazy farmer has only just begun.
Content: Minh Nhat
Photo: Thanh Dong
Video: Doan Thuy
Design: Thuy Tien
Dantri.com.vn
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