'HCMC Night Run is a model event of the city'

Ho Chi Minh City The 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Night Run will have a different competition experience, positively impacting the community, economy, and tourism, according to the leader of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The comment was shared by Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, at the press conference announcing VPBank VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight on the afternoon of February 28. According to Mr. Nhan, each year Ho Chi Minh City has about 50 marathon events of all sizes, but there are not many midnight running events. VPBank VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight, taking place on March 3, is the largest night running event, as evidenced by the number of 11,000 athletes in the second season.

The large scale shows a strong attraction to the runner community, attracting both local people and tourists from within and outside the country. Of these, there are up to 600 foreign runners - double the number of the first season. This has a positive impact on the sports movement as well as the local economy, culture and tourism. The Department's leaders believe that the attraction is that athletes not only compete but also feel and explore the streets, rhythm of life, and typical works of Saigon at the time when the city is at its quietest.

Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City shared at the press conference. Photo: Quynh Tran

Since preparing for the second season, Ho Chi Minh City's departments and agencies have closely coordinated with the organizing committee to ensure that every route and every step is safe, multi-experienced and passes through the most beautiful places. "With the stature of VnExpress Marathon, runners have higher and higher requirements. With this pressure, the Department of Culture, Sports and other agencies of Ho Chi Minh City set the highest standards for the tournament to turn this into a typical, model event of the city," said Mr. Nhan.

VPBank VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight built the route with the highest safety standards. The entire race track is secured and traffic-controlled by hundreds of volunteers, police, and militia. The race time is calculated to avoid runner congestion, ensuring smooth and convenient traffic in the city and people's lives. The organizing committee has arranged 19 water stations and 11 medical stations throughout the journey. The sections lacking street lights in Thu Thiem peninsula such as Bui Thien Ngo and Nguyen Thien Thanh streets have been prepared with special lighting plans by the organizing committee.

On the professional side, the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) measures and certifies the route to international standards. The Ho Chi Minh City Athletics Federation and the Department of Culture and Sports act as professional advisors, providing a team of referees to ensure the verification of results is accurate and quick.

"With careful preparation for season two, we believe that 11,000 runners will clearly feel the changes, safety, positivity, and more experiences," Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan affirmed.

Representatives of the Organizing Committee, the Department of Culture, Sports and strategic partner VPBank answered runners' questions. Photo: Quynh Tran

Agreeing with the Department of Culture and Sports, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Duong, representative of the tournament's strategic partner - VPBank - said that through the cooperation with VnExpress Marathon, the bank hopes to bring physical and mental prosperity, creating a peak for the running movement.

According to Ms. Thuy Duong, VPBank has organized 11 large-scale tournaments with a total of more than 70,000 runners participating. Therefore, this time when accompanying VnExpress Marathon, the bank is not only playing the role of a sponsor. "We will bring financial resources, enthusiasm, experience and knowledge from previous successful tournaments, together with VnExpress Marathon to build quality tournaments where runners are the center. Not only this year, we are committed to accompanying for 5 years from 2024 to 2028", Ms. Duong affirmed.

Mr. Ngo Manh Cuong - Deputy organizer also hopes that with the support of the government and VPBank, the tournament will be maintained annually, becoming an iconic event of Ho Chi Minh City. Not only promoting the running community, practicing healthy sports, the event also attracts more than 600 international athletes, is an opportunity to introduce and promote the beauty of the city with the most vibrant nightlife in Vietnam.

"We want to create a tournament to honor the dynamic, modern, cultural, tourism and diverse culinary beauty of the city. Not only athletes but also their families when coming to Ho Chi Minh City on this occasion will have the best experiences," Mr. Ngo Manh Cuong shared.

VPBank VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight started on March 3, with a scale of 11,000 athletes. This is a "spring opening" tournament, taking place only 20 days after Tet. Many runners and running groups in the South aim to achieve good results and seek PR. At the press conference, representatives of running groups and the runner community also gave many suggestions to improve and upgrade the quality of the event. The organizing committee has acknowledged the contributions and will make appropriate adjustments based on the characteristics of the tournament.

The Ho Chi Minh City Night Run will start distributing Bib and race-kits from 1pm on March 1st at Nguyen Du Stadium. All distances will start from Truong Dinh Street, through Tao Dan Park and finish at the Zoo. Compared to the first season, the race has adjusted the starting time. 10km starts earliest, at 0am; 5km at 0:30am. The longest distance is 42km starting at 1am and 21km at 2:30am. Arranging the two long distances to start later will help athletes limit the heat build-up when Saigon enters the hot season. The temperature after 1am is expected to be around 24 degrees Celsius.

Hoai Phuong

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