Foreign wind stirs up Tien Phong Marathon 2025

Statistics from the Organizing Committee show that there are 18 international athletes registered to compete in Tien Phong Marathon 2025, including 15 male athletes and 3 female athletes. Most of the foreign athletes (15 people) chose to compete in the most intense running distances of 21 km and 42 km.

Edwin Yebei Kiptoo promises to make a splash at Tien Phong Marathon 2025

According to the registration list, foreign athletes come from 10 countries and territories. Malaysia leads with 4 athletes, followed by China, Taiwan (China), Kenya, Laos, India (each country and territory has 2 athletes), while Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and Singapore each have 1 athlete.

The diversity of nationalities shows that the appeal of Tien Phong Marathon is not only limited to Southeast Asia but also extends to countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.

Outstanding faces

Notably, Kenya - the cradle of world marathon champions - has two representatives participating, Edwin Yebei Kiptoo (42.2 km) and Kimutai Hillary Kipchumba (21.1 km).

Edwin Yebei Kiptoo (1987) is no stranger to the Vietnamese running community. He has dominated many domestic tournaments such as VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon 2024 (2 hours 34 minutes), VnExpress Marathon Hue 2024 (2 hours 30 minutes 43), VnExpress Marathon Da Nang Midnight 2024 (2 hours 37 minutes 04 seconds), Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon (2 hours 27 minutes 30 seconds). At Mekong Delta Marathon Hau Giang 2024, he not only won but also broke the tournament record with a time of 2 hours 29 minutes 23 seconds, surpassing the previous record of champion Hoang Nguyen Thanh.

Born and raised in the sunny land of Kenya, Kiptoo soon became familiar with the endurance steps on the red dirt roads of his homeland. He used to be a teacher, but the hardships of life made it impossible for him to rely solely on teaching to make ends meet. Determined to change his fate, at the end of 2023, Kiptoo decided to come to Vietnam to compete in a marathon in the hope of earning money to support himself and his family.

In the S-shaped country, Kiptoo quickly became a prominent name in the long-distance running community when he conquered many domestic marathons with his speed and flexible tactics. Kiptoo often uses the tactic of sticking close to his opponent in the early stages, then accelerating on difficult roads or when his opponent shows signs of fatigue. At the VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon 2024, he ran behind Nguyen Van Long for the first 10 km before overtaking him on the uphill section and winning. With the advantage of strength, endurance and flexibility, Kiptoo promises to be the number one candidate for the 42 km distance, even though he is 38 years old.

Similar to Kiptoo, his compatriot Kimutai Hillary Kipchumba chose Vietnam as a stopover for his career. He also won many achievements in the 42km distance in Vietnamese races such as the bronze medal at VnExpress Marathon Hue 2024, bronze medal at VnExpress Marathon Da Nang Midnight 2024, bronze medal at Mekong Delta Marathon 2024... At Tien Phong Marathon 2025, Kipchumba registered for the 21km distance and was considered one of the most promising candidates.

Besides the two prominent names above, Tien Phong Marathon 2025 also welcomes new faces, ready to cause surprises such as Li Yongchao and Pham Thi Hong Hiep from China or Angre Sharad Tanmay from India...

The presence of international runners not only increases competition, but also provides an opportunity for Vietnamese runners to compete and improve their skills. This year’s competitions will certainly be extremely intense, where domestic athletes will have to give their all to compete with world runners.

The 2025 Tien Phong Newspaper Marathon and Long Distance Championship (Tien Phong Marathon) will take place from March 28-30 in Dong Ha City (Quang Tri). The tournament will bring together more than 7,000 professional and amateur athletes, with a total prize of nearly 700 million VND in cash.

Athletes will compete in individual races of 21 km and 42 km for men and women, professional and amateur; 10 km for men, youth, amateur and professional; 5 km for women, youth, amateur and professional.

Trong Dat