Go running to love the Fatherland more

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang (born in 1971), who worked for 12 years at the British Embassy, ​​is currently the Finance Director of a non-governmental organization. Previously, Ms. Trang felt out of breath after running a few hundred meters. This is a common phenomenon for people who are sedentary when they first start running. The distance from her house to West Lake is only 2km, but she had to stop and rest nearly ten times.

“I used to go on business trips abroad a lot in the past. These trips were usually limited to work. After my assigned tasks, I just stayed around the hotel to rest and didn’t go out to explore,” Trang began her story.

“In 2019, I started training harder when I ran about 1,000 km. I participated in the first race in Long Bien.”

Ms. Thu Trang at Tien Phong Marathon 2025. Photo: NVCC.

In the first 2 years, Trang had to overcome psychological barriers from her family because she ran too much in the eyes of those who did not understand running. Her daily habits changed 180 degrees. “My husband was used to his wife being neat and tidy, so when he saw me running a lot, he was not pleased. He even threatened, ‘If you run too much, you will ruin your knees’. Now, when he sees his friends and colleagues also running, my husband’s perspective has changed,” Trang happily shared.

To date, Trang has participated in 19 international races (18 marathons, 1 half marathon in India) in 5 continents and 5 Tien Phong Marathon races. In 2023 alone, she will run in 10 countries on 4 continents. What is special about the races abroad is that Trang always carries the Vietnamese flag with her while running. "I love the moment of holding the flag at the finish line, it's so emotional," Trang confided. "Only when I leave the borders of Vietnam do I feel the pride in my country and homeland."

In Switzerland, Trang ran with a flag for the last 1km. Spectators on both sides of the road shouted “Trang, go go”. The enthusiastic cheers from the spectators gave her goosebumps, making her forget her fatigue and run to the finish line.

“International races are well-organized, their racekits are very neat, only containing a bib. The athletes have to buy everything else. Racekits in Vietnam have a lot of wasted items because many people do not need to use them. If they can be simplified, that would be best. Instead of making things extravagant, Vietnamese races should focus on the core, which is running. The racekit bag of Tien Phong Marathon this year is compact and very satisfying to me. The shirt inspired by the green army shirt and the bucket hat are two interesting items for any runner when running in a land with a strong historical mark like Quang Tri,” Ms. Trang commented.

After each half marathon, she voluntarily transfers a small amount of VND 500,000 to the Smile Surgery Fund to help children with cleft lip and palate. Photo: NVCC.

Sharing her running experience in the “land of fire”, Ms. Trang said: “Quang Tri is the 34th province in Vietnam that I have set foot in to run the race. The people of Quang Tri are very friendly, they cheered enthusiastically along both sides of the race. Running on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country’s reunification, the unification of the country in Quang Tri is a lucky thing for me and more than 7,000 athletes”.

On the “land of fire”, Ms. Trang took nearly 3 hours to complete her 38th half marathon in her career, but the achievement is not as important to her as the “first-hand” experiences she received when running on the historic route. Running to see the value of peace, independence and freedom, to love life more, to love the Fatherland and her homeland.

Nguyen Dat

Source: https://tienphong.vn/di-chay-de-them-yeu-to-quoc-post1729986.tpo