VMM runner Nicholas Prince runs 40 hours in Soc Son to raise funds to support The School on the Boat.
The run started at 5am on Friday 15 Jan and finished on Jan 16 – Nicholas’s birthday. The full 40 hours comprised 10 loops in Soc Son, starting at Gisy lake house, covering 149.3km with a total elevation of almost 3000m. It raised $2,545 to support 26 kids of The School on the Boat.
“I’ve always wanted to do a big ultra marathon. Having experienced Vietnam Mountain Marathon, HNUT, Midnight Marathon and a few local races, I wanted to step it up to a huge challenge,” says Nicholas.
“I did some volunteering for ‘School On The Boat Charity’ for their banana island charity event, the experience and teamwork was something I miss whilst I am away from home. So I took the idea to the charity to make this into a great opportunity to generate financial support for those kids and create a community.”
35 people including his friends and supporters who knew of the run via the Facebook page came along over two days to run in support and motivate him.
“They also fed me cake, we shared stories, suffered together. All these amazing people, some who have never done a 5km or 10km came out to Soc Son that day to challenge themselves on our 15km route,” he says.
School on the Boat is a French NGO created in 2011 working in Hanoi in Vietnam. The association aims to give access to education for disadvantaged children living along the Red River and in the Long Bien area of Hanoi.
You can learn more about them here.