Records fall at Vietnam Jungle Marathon presented by Kailas FUGA
The ninth edition of Vietnam Jungle Marathon presented by Kailas FUGA, successfully concluded last week admist the stunning landscapes of Pù Luông, Thanh Hóa. Races from 10km to 70km pitted many of Vietnam’s top runners against strong international competition. The day saw dominant performances from French and Vietnamese athletes, alongside hotly contested podium battles, with plenty of tight racing and lead changes on the trails of Pù Luông.
VJM 70km 2026 Race Report: Course Records Tumble in Pù Luông
France’s Pacome Poignant led the men’s 70km from start to finish. Ngô Văn Chính of Kailas FUGA Vietnam was already 1:27 behind him at Làng Cốc (CP1), and Poignant extended the gap for the rest of the day.
The leg from Tiến Mới to Eo Điếu (CP3) was decisive. Poignant gained more than six minutes on it and kept adding to his lead from there, which was beyond 13 minutes by Làng Đốc (CP5).
Chính kept the gap from growing out of control. He was marginally quicker than Poignant from Làng Đốc to Bản Nủa (CP6) and stayed close to him over the long Bản Pốn section to Kho Mường (CP7). The climb to Chòm Ui (CP8) then took Poignant’s lead to its largest point, almost 17 minutes.
Chính finished faster and won back almost two minutes on the run to Làng Leo, but it was not enough. Poignant finished in 7:25:23, a new record on the current (post-2024) course, and Chính was second in 7:40:21.
Nguyễn Tiến Võ moved from an early fourth to third by Eo Điếu (CP3), where he was less than four minutes behind Chính. The leg to Bản Nủa cost him more than ten minutes, though, and second place was out of reach after that. He finished third in 8:16:53, and with a 100-mile win so recently in his legs, it is a result he will be very happy with.
The women’s race began with three runners together. Giàng Thị Linh arrived first at Làng Cốc (CP1), with Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh and Phương Thị Hồng Nhung just seconds behind. Lê Phương Vy was a few minutes further back in fourth.
It did not stay a three-way race for long. By Tiến Mới (CP2), Nhung had taken a narrow lead over Ngọc Anh, with Linh in third and less than a minute down. Linh lost more than 20 minutes on the leg to Eo Điếu (CP3) and withdrew there, which moved Vy up to third.
At the front, Nhung and Ngọc Anh were running almost together. Only seconds separated them at Eo Điếu and again at Bản Hiêu (CP4), about four hours into the race.
The next two legs decided it. Ngọc Anh was close to ten minutes faster than Nhung on the run to Làng Đốc (CP5), and the gap grew even more on the leg to Bản Nủa (CP6). She reached Bản Nủa more than 26 minutes clear.
Vy was the one runner gaining on Nhung during this spell. She was nearly 13 minutes faster than Nhung between Làng Đốc and Bản Nủa, which cut her deficit to second place by more than half. For a while the race for the podium was open again.
It did not stay that way. Nhung recovered from her bad patch, and Vy started to fade after Kho Mường (CP7). Over the closing legs through Chòm Ui (CP8) and back to Làng Leo, Nhung pulled clear again. She also took a few minutes back from Ngọc Anh, but the lead never dropped below 20 minutes.
Ngọc Anh won in 10:02:02, beating her own previous record on the current course. Nhung was second in 10:23:11, after leading through the first half. Vy finished third in 10:51:49.
VJM 50km 2026 Report: Phùng Trang and Sùng A Sử take course record wins
The women’s 50km was led by Hong Kong’s Kwan Wai Law all the way to Bản Nủa (CP6). Christine Mitchell, from the UK, was fourth at Làng Cốc (CP1) but moved up to second by Tiến Mới (CP2), and by Bản Nủa she was only seconds behind Kwan.
At that point, eventual winner Phùng Trang was sitting third, a couple of minutes off the lead.
The leg from Bản Nủa through Bản Pốn to Kho Mường (CP7) changed all of that. Trang ran it almost six minutes faster than Mitchell and close to ten minutes faster than Kwan, going from third to a clear lead. In less than an hour and a half, the order at the front had reversed completely, showing the impact that the climb known as “The Spike” can have at VJM.
Mitchell did not let the lead go easily. She was slightly quicker than Trang to the Kho Mường water station and kept the gap under four minutes. The climb to Chòm Ui (CP8) settled it: Trang put six more minutes into her there. Mitchell was the quickest of the three over the run back to the finish, but she could only take one minute back.
Trang won in 6:05:39, a new course record. Mitchell was second in 6:14:07, and Kwan held on for third in 6:24:21. All three women finished inside the overall top eight.
In the men’s race, Kailas FUGA Vietnam’s Sùng A Sử had company only as far as Làng Cốc. Ireland’s Stephen Barkey reached CP1 just seconds behind him, with Nguyễn Đăng Quang already a couple of minutes back in third.
From there Sử pulled steadily away and was fastest of the three on almost every leg. By Kho Mường (CP7), his lead was past 17 minutes. That settled the win, and second place became the race to watch.
Barkey had been second since the start, but Quang had been staying close. On the Bản Pốn leg, Quang passed him and reached Kho Mường a minute ahead. Quang then extended his lead by the Kho Mường water station and looked to have second place secured.
Barkey came back on the climb to Chòm Ui (CP8), putting almost five minutes into Quang and taking back second. Quang could not respond, and Barkey extended the gap all the way to the line.
Sử won in 5:01:14, a new course record. Barkey was second in 5:22:31, and Quang third in 5:26:51.
The 25km Race
The men’s 25km was decided only in the closing stretch. Nguyễn Xuân Tứ and Trần Đại Sáng were four seconds apart at CP1. Sáng was nine seconds ahead at CP2, and Tứ went back in front at CP Nà Kha with a 40-second lead. Tứ then pulled away on the run to the finish and won in 2:16:50, 4:05 ahead of Sáng (2:20:55).
The race for third was closer still. Nguyễn Lê Thịnh had been third at every checkpoint, but Ireland’s John Mcdonagh reached PreFinish five seconds ahead of him. Thịnh ran the last stretch 23 seconds faster and took the final podium place by 18 seconds, 2:30:53 to 2:31:11.
The women’s race was much less close. Marah Charbel, from the USA, led at every checkpoint and her lead grew at each one. She won in 2:32:56, fifth overall. Nguyễn Thị Mai held second throughout and finished in 2:47:57, 15:01 back. The UK’s Emily Sambrook Smith was third at every checkpoint and finished in 3:07:07.
The 10km Race
Nguyễn Ngọc Tân won the men’s 10km (actually 13km in length) by breaking away after CP1. The top three came through that checkpoint within 25 seconds of each other. Tân ran from CP1 to the finish in 35:57, more than four minutes faster than anyone else, and won in 1:13:14. Lê Đức Mạnh and Hoàng Anh Tuấn were 13 seconds apart at CP1 and stayed close all the way in. Mạnh took second in 1:17:50, 38 seconds ahead of Tuấn (1:18:28), who held off Trịnh Lâm Tới by 33 seconds for third.
Phạm Thị Bạn won the women’s race clearly. She was already 5:50 ahead at CP1 and won in 1:19:39, fifth overall and just over a minute behind the men’s podium. Phạm Hoa was second in 1:31:00, and Lý Hồng Giao of Kailas FUGA Vietnam team, was third in 1:37:18.
