Nearly 2,000 foreign and domestic runners will take part in the 61st National Marathon Tournament organised by Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper in the city of Vũng Tàu, Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu Province, on March 24.

The city of Vũng Tàu is set to welcome the 61st National Marathon Tournament on March 24. — Photo laodong.vn

Among them, 200 are competing in the professional category while the rest are participating in amateur disciplines.

Participants will compete in 5km, 10km, 21km and 42km races.

The event will see the country’s leading marathon runner such as SEA Games 5,000m gold medalist Nguyễn Văn Lai, Hà Văn Nhật, Lê Văn Thao and Lê Trung Đức, competing in the men’s 21km event.

“I am very eager to take part in this event,” said Lai. “I will try to finish my race in 70 minutes. It is the sixth time I have taken part in the Tiền Phong event.”

The women’s 21km race will see SEA Games 10,000m silver medalist Phạm Thị Huệ as well as other favourites Lò Thị Thanh and Pi Năng Rê Chêm.

This year, runners will once again wear timing microchips to ensure accurate results. They will also be provided nutrition gel, fruit juice and ionised water.

The event has prizes totalling VNĐ500 million (US$21,700).

The marathon is Việt Nam’s oldest, first held in 1958 in Hà Nội.

The event will be broadcast live on VTV6 from 6:00pm. — VNS