Lunar New Year Ultra: 3,000 Trail Runners to Conquer Moc Chau’s Scenic Trails
This weekend, over 3,000 runners from 42 nations are set to race from 5km to 70km through the stunning mountainous terrain of Moc Chau on January 11 2025. Among the competitors are top runners from Vietnam, including a SEA Games gold medalist, who will face off against international elites. Adding a touch of glamour to the race, actresses Phan Minh Huyen (Huyen Lizzie) and Le Phuong Anh (Phanh Lee) will participate in the 10km race.
Founded in 2019, Vietnam Trail Marathon is renowned for its orchards, stunning tea hills and warmly welcoming community who line the village roads to cheer on the runners. Many of these locals are Hmong people, and with the Hmong New Year coinciding with the race weekend, runners can look forward to seeing them in their finest traditional attire.
The VTM Finish line is also known as one of the most beautifully situated finishes in the world, nestled amidst the stunning Heart-Shaped Tea Hill in Moc Chau.
The Men’s 70km race
In the men’s category, Do Trong Nhon, champion of many races in 2024, including Dalat Ultra Trail, will make his return to Moc Chau, where he was second at Vietnam Trail Marathon 70km in 2020.
Nhon shares: “My goal when returning to Moc Chau is to complete the challenging 70km route that I conquered in 2020, and also aim to improve my time compared to the record of 7 hours and 56 minutes.
I especially chose to come back this year because I will have the opportunity to race with both international and Vietnamese runners who are in great form. The scenery in Moc Chau at the beginning of the new year will be amazing, especially watching the sunrise over the valleys. All these meaningful aspects motivate me to register for this season.”
One of Nhon’s top competitors will be Godwin Mirar. Godwin is one of the most promising young trail runners to emerge from the rich crop of talent coming out of the Philippines. He scored third place at the Vietnam Mountain Marathon 50km back in 2023, just 10 minutes behind the champion, John ‘Stingray’ Onifa – his compatriot and mentor who is famous as one of the very best in the region.
Godwin and Nhon have raced together before, at the Asia Pacific Trail Running Championship, where Godwin finished just over 4 minutes before Nhon.
Godwin shares: “I have trained well for this race, and I can’t wait to race in Vietnam again after my race in Sapa which I loved.”
Another top contender is Gaetan Morizur of France, who has previously been the men’s champion of the VMM 100km.
Other strong contenders include Nguyen Si Hieu, who crossed the finish line together with Nguyen Duc Tuan Anh (Tu Do) at VTM 2024, with the pair taking second and third place.
Another top contender who Nguyen Duc Tuan Anh has recently shared the podium with is Nguyen Tien Vo, who won their battle at Vietnam Jungle Marathon 70km last year to take the win, with Nguyen Duc Tuan Anh placing second.
All these previous closely fought head-to-head contests set up a very interesting race at Vietnam Trail Marathon on the men’s side.
Women’s 70km Contenders
The female 70km race also promises fierce competition among many of the top Vietnamese trail runners.
Hailing from Sapa, home of Vietnam Mountain Marathon, Giang Thi Linh will race following her impressive victory at the 100km distance of her hometown race in November last year. Linh is already familiar with the VTM trails, having been one of the race’s camera runners, filming the women’s champion, Leslie Nowicki of France, on her way to setting the female course record (8:25:16) in 2024.
Joining VTM this year, Linh shares: “At Vietnam Trail Marathon, I aim not only to meet my personal goals, but also spread my spirit of perseverance and determination to everyone. I want to present an image of a strong woman, always pushing the limits. I hope that the results I achieve will inspire young people, especially those who love sports and running, to understand that no dream is too big when we dare to pursue it.”
Another exciting matchup features Tran Thu Trang and Le Phuong Vy, the champion and the second female of VJM 70km 2024. Trang’s victory over Vy at VJM 2024 saw her win by a margin of around one hour, but the terrain of Moc Chau is very different to Pu Luong, so it remains to be seen who will fare better on the VTM course. Furthermore, following that VJM performance in October 2024, Le Phuong Vy went on to become champion of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100 miles just one month later.
Also in contention for the podium is Nguyen Thi Nguyet, who came second behind Linh at the VMM 100km 2024, with a gap of around 2 hours.
Also in contention for the podium is Nguyen Thi Nguyet, who came second behind Linh at the VMM 100km 2024, with a gap of around 2 hours.
The 42km Race
The women’s 42km race features familiar names of Topas Vietnam Trail Series races, including Nguyen Ngoc Anh, the winner of VTM 42km 2024 and Thai Thi Hong, the VTM 42km 2023 champion.
Another top contender of the 42km women race is Tracy Ramberg, from the United States. She has participated in all the Vietnam Trail Series races, with notable results including a win at the VTM 21km 2023.
Additionally, participating in the 42km distance this year is Nguyễn Thu Trang, previous champion of the Danang Ironman 70.3. Given her strong triathlon pedigree, it will be interesting to see how Trang fares against the more seasoned trail runners in Moc Chau.
The men’s 42km includes Nguyen Xuan Tu, who in 2024 won VJM 25km and took second place at VTM 21km and VMM 21km.
SEA Games Gold Medalist Returns
The 21km race features running star, Pham Thi Hong Le, an elite with a glowing list of results including one gold, four silver and two bronze medals at the SEA Games. She took second place at VTM 42km last year, but in her preferred shorter distance, she took the win at the VTM 21km in 2020.
Celebrity runners
Celebrity runners this year include actresses Phan Minh Huyen (Huyen Lizzie) and Le Phuong Anh (Phanh Lee) taking on the 10km race. Previously, in March 2024, they joined the Vietnam Ultra Marathon 10km in Mai Chau, Hoa Binh.
Charity work and funding
Every Vietnam Trail Series race by Topas contributes money to charitable work. The money raised from Vietnam Trail Series as of January 2025 has reached 12.6 billion Vietnam dong.