Trieu Tien Luyen won the men's 21km for the first time after three times participating in VM Hue, while Pham Thi Hue won the same event for women.
Trieu Tien Luyen said he was excited and could not express his joy when he won a race in the VnExpress Marathon system for the first time, which was also his first first prize in 2024.
"This is the third time I have participated in VnExpress Marathon Hue, the feeling is still the same as the first time, the weather is a bit hot but the running course is beautiful and poetic", the athlete from Binh Thuan revealed. Last year at this playground, he was in the top three.
Luyen finished first in the men's 21km with a time of 1:13:27, one minute ahead of Marlon Pabillaran - a runner from the Philippines. Photo: VM
Right from the start, he and three other athletes chased each other for the first seven kilometers. From the eighth kilometer, he took the initiative to speed up, separating himself from the top quite far. In the final stretch, he persistently maintained his pace, even though he was behind, with Filipino athlete - Marlon Pabillaran - chasing closely.
Finishing in 1:13:27, the former national athlete raised his arms in celebration. This result is not Luyen's best, he has set a PR (personal record) of 1 hour 11 minutes. Previously, the organizing committee listed Trieu Tien Luyen as a strong candidate for the 21km championship. He had set a PR of 42km with a time of 2 hours 36 minutes.
Before the Hue race, he trained for four other races in just 20 days, including reaching the top 3 in the selection system at Tien Phong Marathon 2024. To complete his goal, he trained 12-13 times a week according to the team's training plan, averaging 20-25 kilometers per day. Before the race, he did not try to train too much to recover his physical strength.
Instead of running 42km like the championship and record-breaking race in Hue in 2022, this year, national athlete Pham Thi Hue only chose 21km. She said she reduced the distance because she is suffering from multiple injuries including cartilage damage, anterior cruciate ligament damage, tendinitis, and patellar tendinitis.
"This is my most emotional championship. I have never participated in a tournament without training like this. After the Hung Temple tournament a few weeks ago, I felt the pain and thought I couldn't run. I thought if the pain was too much, I would slowly walk to the finish line and not compete for the prize. However, when I entered the race, I wanted to win against myself and not give up," said the girl born in 1996.
Pham Thi Hue said today's women's 21km championship was full of emotion, showing that she had surpassed her limits and conquered herself. Photo: VM
Hue said she took the lead from the first kilometer, and maintained it until the last leg before anyone caught up. The athlete, who is competing for Quang Ninh, realized that her opponent was Doan Thi Oanh - the VPBank VnExpress Marathon HCM City Midnight champion more than a month ago. "Oanh is very strong and fast, I tried to keep a steady pace to finish first. The most important thing is to win over yourself," Hue said.
VnExpress Marathon Hue 2024 kicked off this morning - April 21, with the participation of 8,000 runners. This is the first year that all four distances will go through ancient, historical roads around the Hue Citadel such as Yet Kieu, Dang Thai Than, Doan Thi Diem from the first kilometers. The two longest distances - 21 and 42km - take runners to a completely new area, Dap Da Bridge - connecting the city center and Vi Da ward.
Thi Quan
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