More than 4,000 runners from 46 countries will participate in the 2019 Vietnam Mountain Marathon (VMM) in Lao Cai province’s Sapa district from September 21-22, an increase of 18% as compared to the 2018 event.
Prominent among the participants are 2018 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) champion, Francesca Canepa; and winner of the men’s 100km event at the 2018 Vietnam Mountain Marathon, Nguyen Tien Hung.
In its seventh edition, the VMM is promised to become one of the biggest ultra-running events in Asia and the landmark event on the South East Asia calendar.
According to a report on NDO, the two-day event offers runners four distance choices: 21km (half marathon), 42km (marathon), 70km (ultramarathon) and 100km.
Each route will encompass challenging climbs, magnificent rice-terraced fields and ethnic minority villages, which make the event extremely attractive to adventure lovers who want to discover the north of Vietnam.
The race finish line is the Topas Ecolodge, which was voted No.1 on the National Geographic list of places to stay for environmentally friendly people in 2017.
The VMM is among Vietnam Trail Series launched by the Topas Travel Company. Since its first launch in 2013, the series has donated more than US$250,000 to charity activities of Operation Smile and Newborns Vietnam.
This year’s event will fund over VND1 billion for the two organizations and social projects in Sapa, Lao Cai province.