Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2022 Returns With New FM Route

• FM route connects Ha Long city with Cam Pha city

• The FM track includes the 235-m tunnel under mountain

• Male runner Dang Anh Quyet came first in FM race

• Female runner Thai Thi Hong won the FM distance​​​​​​

• Nearly 5,500 runners competed among around 6,000 registrants

(Updates with 42-km race winners)

HA LONG city, Nov 13 (DHA Vietnam) - The colors of the sea on the singlets of  thousands of runners competing in the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2022 dyed blue the coastal route at dawn on Sunday.

The marathon on the shore of Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO-recognized World Natural Heritage and which was voted among the 50 greatest races on earth, has made a strong return after the pandemic, marking the seventh edition of a large annual international cultural and sports event to attract tourists to Ha Long, 170 km (100 miles) east of Hanoi.

Male runner Dang Anh Quyet beat 698 people to cross the Finish line of the Full Marathon after 02:45:48, according to Sportsstats Asia, the world's largest sports timing company.

In the group of female FM runners, Thai Thi Hong became the fastest, having conquered the distance after 03:21:13.

Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2022 runners competed in four distances of 5 km, 10 km, Half Marathon (21 km) and Full Marathon (42,195 km) on the track measured by experts of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) in  September before being certified by the World Athletics (WA) and AIMS.

The Start time for FM and HM runners was set at 5:00 a.m., while the Start time for the 10-km and 5-km distances was e 6:30 a.m and 6:40 a.m., respectively.

Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2022 runners competing in the 42-km and 21-km distances cross the Start line in the morning of November 13 in Ha Long city of Quang Ninh province.

 

Unlike in the previous years when FM runners needed to conquer Bai Chay bridge, the spacious road of Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2022 is completely new, on the coastal line connecting the cities of Ha Long and Cam Pha and cutting through a part of Ha Long Bay.

Runners had a unique experience when passing a 235-meter mountain tunnel on a line separated from traffic to ensure absolute safety.

Launched in 2015 with the longest distance of 21 km, the marathon at that time entitled the Halong Heritage Half Marathon has grown year by year, attracting nearly double the number of runners in the subsequent year, and having made its way to the international marathon map. It has become an year-end destination in the calendars of runners around the world.

Since Vietnam reopening in March 2022, the number of runners registered to compete in the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon totalled around 6,000 people, doubling from 2019, the year the race was regarded as an event that had attracted the largest number of foreign tourists to Quang Ninh province.

Among more than 3,000 runners of the 2019 race, the highest since the race debut, there were nearly 1,600 people from 56 countries such as the United States, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, based on the Oragnizers’ data.

This year, although many runners have yet to be comfortable with travel far for a race, nearly 1,200 people have signed up for the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon from 42 countries and territories, including Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan.

“Halong Bay Heritage Marathon is a name rich in tradition but also full of new and unexpected things so that runners who have come still wish to return,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tri, General Director of DHA Vietnam Company, which owns the marathon.

 

Highlights of the Nov 13 marathon:

 

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The Halong Bay Heritage Marathon running tracks is certified by the World Athletics and the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. The race is part of the official competition system of the Vietnam Sports Administration and the Vietnam Athletics Federation. The marathon has joined the Age Group Ranking System of Abbott World Marathon Majors, starting from 2022.

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Race Date: November 13, 2022

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/HalongBayInternationalHeritageMarathon

Should you have any question about the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon, please email us at: halongrace@dhavietnam.vn.

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The Heritage Race system, organized annually by DHA Vietnam, comprises the VPBank Hanoi Marathon in October, the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon in November and the Can Tho Marathon - A Heritage Race in December.