First international half marathon scheduled on New Year day

Athletes in the VnExpress Marathon Amazing Hạ Long in July. The first international half marathon will be held in Hà Nội on January 1, 2023. Photo courtesy of Thanh Tuyền

HÀ NỘI — Elite Asian athletes will be invited to compete in the 2023 Vietnam International Half Marathon on January 1, 2023 in Hà Nội.

The tournament, held by the Việt Nam Athletics Federation in cooperation with the municipal People's Committee, will be the first international standard event of its kind in Việt Nam. It will be operated by Vietnamese referees and supervised by officials of the Asian Athletics Association.

It will be added to the federation's annual competition system in 2023 and part of the city's New Year celebrations.

Athletes, both elite and amateur, will compete in three categories of 5km, 10km and half marathon (21.0975km).

The Vietnamese federation will send invitations to marathon powerhouses in Asia, including Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei. In addition, Southeast Asian athletes who have participated in and won medals from the regional SEA Games will also be invited to the run.

Local participants, professional and amateur, are all welcome.

The organisers said athletes from Africa and other countries where marathon running has strongly developed would also be invited to ensure international standards and the tournament's quality.

Elite and amateur runners are encouraged to take part in the 2023 Vietnam International Half Marathon on January 1, 2023, in Hà Nội. — Photo courtesy of Ngọc Bích

The invited runners will be announced next month. 

A total purse of VNĐ500 million (US$20,100) will be awarded to the winners.

Participants will also enjoy a dance and music performance on New Year's Eve and take part in a countdown party at the Hoàn Kiếm Lake on December 31, 2022.

Registration is now open at https://actiup.net/event/giai-ban-marathon-quoc-te-viet-nam-2023. 

More information can be found at the official fan page https://www.facebook.com/VietnamInternationalHalfMarathon and the website http://vietnaminternationalhalfmarathon.vn. — VNS