More than 4,000 runners to race Vietnam Trail Marathon, Moc Chau
On January 31, 2026, Vietnam Trail Marathon will welcome runners from 43 nations to the beautiful landscapes of Moc Chau, racing distances of up to 70km. The stage is set for battles between returning champions, top Vietnamese talent and inbound contenders, from both the region and Europe.
Vietnam Trail Marathon (VTM) returns for its eighth edition showcasing the beauty of Moc Chau and bringing trail running to the masses, with distances from 5km right up to 70km. The race blends tea plantations, orchards, remote mountain trails, ethnic villages and the race’s signature finish at the Heart-Shaped Tea Hill, which provides a fitting climax to one of Vietnam’s biggest mountain events.
Men’s 70km – An international field
Sapa’s Lo A Dao arrives at VTM after a solid final quarter of 2025, in which he took fourth place at Vietnam Mountain Marathon (VMM) 100km and eighth place at Chiang Mai Thailand UTMB 100km.
Lo A Dao at VMM 2025
Setting up a Sapa head-to-head battle, is Vang A Tung, who won the VMM 70km last year.
Vang A Tung at VMM 2025
Plenty more homegrown talent will be on the start line, and new names are expected to emerge.
From overseas, Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama will be one to watch, with 2025 victories including the 2025 MANTRA 116.
Yuta Matsuyama
Other international podium contenders are the UK’s Scott Pugh and Germany’s Philipp Secker, both of whom have taken a third place in Vietnam previously. Philipp had an excellent race at Vietnam Ultra Marathon (VUM) 50km in 2024 to take third, just 1 minute behind Michal Lesniak, who has travelled back to Vietnam to line up in the VTM 21km this year.
Women’s 70km – Two 2025 Champions
Last year’s 70km and 42km female champions will be racing the longest race distance in Moc Chau.
From Sapa, defending 70km champion and former VMM 100 winner, Giang Thi Linh returns. Linh has also been a camera runner for VTM, so she has plenty of course knowledge to back up her form.
Giang Thi Linh at VJM 2025
Returning 2025 42km champion, Singapore’s Dening Lo, comes with experience of Moc Chau and an incredible run of 2025 results: she scored 3 other victories, including the 66km at Mantra 116.
Lo Dening at VTM 2025
Ngoc Anh at VTM
From India, Ganapathi Ashwini will be racing in Vietnam for the first time. Her recent results include second at the The Most Beautiful Thing 100km and the win at The Great Mawla Ghaati Ultra Trail Run 75km.
Further spicing up the 70km is multiple champion, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh. In 2025, she took six wins, including the Vietnam Jungle Marathon (VJM) 50km; while at VTM she came in fifth behind Dening Lo in the 42km.
Another contender is Tran Thu Trang, who is returning to Moc Chau following her third place at VTM 70km last year.
The 42km Men’s Race – 2025 title defense
The 42km also sees another Sapa showdown, with teammates Sung A Su and Ly A Song set to face off. This follows their dual at the VMM 21km in September, where Su bettered Song by less than two minutes for the win.
VTM 42km 2025 winner, Ireland’s Stephen Barkey is back. Last year, he edged out Su and Song’s Sapa teammate, Sung A Phu, for his VTM victory. Phu then turned the tables, beating Stephen into second at VJM 50km later in 2025. Will VTM be the turn of the Sapa team, or will Stephen come out on top?
Stephen Barkey, the champion of VTM 2025 42km
Alongside them, a host of other names will be vying for 42km podium positions.
The 42km Women’s Race – An international clash
Belgium’s Vanja Cnops returns to Moc Chau for the fourth time. She has twice won the 42km and she took second at VTM 70km in 2024, behind Leslie Nowicki of France.
Vanja Cnops at VTM 2025
Set to challenge Vanja is friend of Leslie, France’s Claire Jacquin. Winner of Trail du Pays Welche 20km and second at Dolomythsrun Fass Trail 50km, this is Claire’s first time in Vietnam. She is excited to try and take a second consecutive French victory in Moc Chau.
The Vietnamese 42km contenders include Phung Thi Trang, who took second at the VJM 70km in 2025, and Phuong Thi Hong Nhung who placed second at the VMM 70km, also in 2025.
The 21km men’s race – Another title defense
Defending 21km champion Tran Dai Sang returns alongside Nguyen Xuan Tu in what promises to be a tight battle: the two went head-to-head at VMM 21km in 2025, with Tu edging out Sang into fourth.
However, flying in from the UK is Poland’s Michal Lesniak. No stranger to Vietnam’s trails, Michal has previously won VMM 70km and stood on the podium at VUM. With a strong 2025 season behind him, Michal is looking to kick off 2026 with a strong performance at his debut in Moc Chau.
The 21km women’s race – Past VTM Winners
Three past VTM winners are lining up for the 21km in Moc Chau.
Tran Duyen, Thai Thi Hong and Leo Thi Tinh have all won in Moc Chau before. Duyen is the defending 21km champion, while Tinh has won it twice: in 2022 and 2024.
Back in 2023, Hong won the VTM 42km and last year she took third. She then went on to take third at the VMM 50km as the top placing Vietnamese woman. This result gave her entry to the Hong Kong 100 “Half” event as part of World Trail Majors, which takes place just one week before VTM.
Charity work and funding
Every Topas Vietnam Trail Series race contributes money to charitable work. The money raised from Vietnam Trail Series as of January 2026 has reached VND 14.2 billion (around USD544,000).
During VTM week, So sinh Viet Nam (Newborns Vietnam) will launch a program in Moc Chau with some of the funds raised.