German Vietnamese sets personal record at VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon

Runner Kim Loan returned from Germany to run the 21km VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon, setting a personal record after 1 hour 42 minutes, second place in the 40-49 age group.

"Before the race, I set a goal to maintain my usual sub-2 form. Luckily, the weather was cool and not sunny, so I ran very excitedly," Nguyen Thi Kim Loan - currently residing in Stuttgart, Germany - excitedly said right after reaching the finish line of VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon on the morning of June 11.

After participating in half marathons 6 times in France, Germany and Vietnam, the runner born in 1980 set a PR (personal record) and also came in second in the under 50 age group. "I was really surprised and happy to win the prize. I got to enjoy the beautiful route, meet new 'comrade runners', and also get a prize. I really like Quy Nhon, it's been more than 10 years since I had the chance to return to this city," she said.

Runner Kim Loan was excited when she successfully crossed the finish line, breaking her personal record after competing in this distance many times. — Kim Loan was excited when she successfully crossed the finish line, breaking her personal record after competing many times in the 21km distance. Photo: VM

Kim Loan revealed that 21km is the most suitable distance, not too long like 42km, nor too short like 10km or 5km. Before the race, the mother of two carefully studied the route, the advantages and disadvantages of each section and calculated the distribution of energy according to the altitude. Instead of running at full speed in the beginning, she maintained a moderate speed, balanced her breathing, and then tried to finish at the end.

Like many other athletes, right after the first half of the race, Kim Loan faced a challenge at the section returning to Thi Nai Bridge (also known as Nhon Hoi) because of the strong wind. For some people, the cool wind helped dispel the heat, but the prize-winning group was greatly affected, reducing their performance. Loan ran with a focus on her goal but still enjoyed the beautiful scenery at dawn on the bridge.

"The beautiful and poetic scenery was exactly as I expected. I was surprised when some friends recognized me and the volunteers cheered enthusiastically," Loan said. According to her, there were not many differences between running in Germany and VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon. The organizers prepared carefully, with enough water stations, fruits and necessary support equipment. In the near future, this runner will arrange time to return home to participate in other races in the VnExpress Marathon system in Ha Long, Hai Phong or Hanoi...

Kim Loan was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, moved to Germany 12 years ago, and married a local. She has two daughters: Lili, 9 years old, and Vivi, 3 years old. In early June, she returned home to visit her family on her mother's birthday, and also participated in a race in Quy Nhon. Three weeks ago, she participated in a marathon in Stuttgart, 21km, with a sub-2 result.

Although she has loved running for a long time, Kim Loan has only participated in official races for about a year now. At this time last year, she returned home to celebrate her mother's birthday and was invited by her grandchildren to practice running with T-coaching coaches - an organization that pursues the principles of True-Trust-Teamwork, spreading the spirit of living life to the fullest, satisfying passion as well as the positive values of sports.

Practicing systematically according to the coach's training plan, she gradually found the secret to maintaining endurance, safe running techniques, how to distribute strength at each stage and reach the finish line appropriately. VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang 2022 is the first race in her life, achieving sub 2 distance of 21km as desired. At Midnight Ho Chi Minh City playground in February, she caught a cold right before the race day so she did not reach her goal.

To date, she has run half marathons six times and once conquered the 42km distance in Paris (France) in early April. The mother of two cannot forget her first full marathon in France, when it was 5 degrees Celsius and there was light rain. Thanks to her determination and reasonable strategy, she performed well, reaching the finish line after 4 hours and 8 minutes.

"With the difficult exercises when training for a full marathon, I was really not interested but told myself that I could do it and complete the requirements set by the coach." She believes that there are 5 factors that help runners complete the race: continuous training, discipline, will, luck and good health.

The mother of two conquered the 42km race in Paris, France in April. Photo: NVCC — The mother of two conquered the 42km race in Paris, France in April. Photo: *NVCC*

The female runner considers herself lucky, with a stable life, and her German husband always encourages her to run and improve her health. "He is willing to take care of our two children so that I can often return to Vietnam to participate in marathons," Kim Loan added.

VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon on June 11 attracted many international runners and Vietnamese people living abroad to participate. Among them, the champion of the 42km distance for women was a Kenyan runner. Another Ethiopian runner finished 3rd overall, distance 21km.

Thi Quan