Nguyen Van Lai is not satisfied with the record at VnExpress Marathon

Breaking the VnExpress Marathon system record, Nguyen Van Lai believes he could have run even better if the weather was favorable and he wasn't afraid of hip pain.

Finishing after 2 hours 25 minutes 05 seconds, the "veteran" of Vietnamese athletics was surrounded by runners and spectators who congratulated, chatted with and asked to take selfies with him. This achievement is a new record of the VnExpress Marathon system, and is also the best achievement of an athlete still competing, only after the record that has existed since 2003 until now of Nguyen Chi Dong (2 hours 21 minutes 51 seconds). However, when talking to reporters after the finish line, he still expressed regret, wanting his results to be even better.

The champion's moment of finishing. Photo: VM

Accordingly, with the experience of a SEA Games champion, Nguyen Van Lai quickly separated from the top, leaving the rest of the group far behind shortly after the start. For him, the race track was wide open as for most of the 42km distance, there was only him and the organizer's cyclist.

The body is not yet used to the biological rhythm when running at night, so the athlete from Thanh Hoa proactively reduced his speed. "I was afraid of stomach cramps like in the VM Hue race, so I didn't push the pace too fast. In the last kilometers, when I felt my body was okay, I pushed the pace up to 3:30 (3 minutes 30 seconds per km)," Lai said. He was still worried because at the VM Hue 2023 race in April, he missed the sub-2:30 target due to hip cramps and muscle strain. At that time, he explained that it was because he had just switched to marathon training, and his body was still in the process of adapting.

The weather was quite cool in the early morning of November 26, but it was still not an advantage for the veteran athlete. "Today's temperature is not ideal for running a marathon. If it was below 15 degrees, I would have run 2 hours and 23 minutes," said the SEA Games champion.

The moment Nguyen Van Lai won the championship when the Organizing Committee's clock struck 2 hours 25 minutes 05 seconds. Photo: VM

Talking about the lack of competitors on the race track in the early morning of November 26, Nguyen Van Lai hopes that the next tournaments will have many high-achieving athletes competing to have more motivation, continue to shorten the achievements and raise the level of the tournament.

At the VnExpress Marathon Hanoi Midnight 2023, some top athletes such as Trinh Quoc Luong and Bui The Anh did not compete for the top spot. The runner-up - a junior in the national team, Nguyen Quoc Anh, said that he had not reached the level of a veteran, so it was difficult to compete.

With this achievement, Nguyen Van Lai became the Vietnamese athlete with the best full marathon result while still competing. Previously, Hoang Nguyen Thanh was the one who held this parameter - 2 hours 25 minutes 08 seconds, set at SEA Games 31.

The veteran conquered Vinh Tuy bridge for the first time. Photo: VM — "Old general" conquers Vinh Tuy bridge for the first time. Photo: VM

With more than a decade of competing for the national team, Nguyen Van Lai is considered a monument of Vietnamese athletics in the 5,000m and 10,000m races. In 2023, he competed in the full marathon for the first time at the National Championship in Lai Chau on March 26, finishing second with a time of 2 hours and 37 minutes. In less than a year, the "veteran" has shortened his personal record by more than 10 minutes.

VnExpress Marathon Hanoi Midnight 2023 closed the course at 7:30 a.m. on November 26. In its third edition, the tournament set a record for the number of runners who achieved sub-3 full marathon distance. 53 athletes ran 42km in under 3 hours. Hong Le was the only female athlete in this group. More than 220 athletes finished before the 3 hour 30 minute mark.

In the 21km race, Nguyen Trung Cuong was the male champion, while Bui Thu Ha became the fastest female athlete. In the 10km race, Nguyen Kim Bao Ngoc and Pham Thi Hue were crowned. SEA Games champion Luong Duc Phuoc and female athlete Nguyen Thi Chuyen were the best athletes in the 5km race.

Thanh Lan

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