Race Preview – Vietnam Ultra Marathon 2025
Vietnam Ultra Marathon will be held in Mai Chau on March 8 – International Women’s Day. The women’s 75km field will see Vietnam’s Ha Hau face Veronika Leng of Slovakia, who recently beat Hau at the Hong Kong 100. The men’s race also sees top regional talent, including the Asia Pacific Champion John “Stingray” Onifa.
Vietnam Ultra Marathon is the fourth race in the Vietnam Trail Series by Topas. It takes place in Mai Chau, offering distances of up to 75km, attracting thousands of runners from all over the world, with 34% of international runners from 44 nations.
Ultra-competitive Women’s Day race
Race organizer, Topas, has attracted a strong international women’s field to mark International Women’s Day. Vietnam’s best runner and one of the best in the world, Ha Hau, will be racing the 75km alongside Slovakia’s Veronika Leng, China’s Yuanyuan Wu and others.
Race Director, David Lloyd, said: “With Hau running, we were keen to make it an exciting race with other strong women. Veronika’s recent Hong Kong 100 performance, where she came second to Sunmaya Budha and one place ahead of Hau, means she is the ideal runner to spice up the competition. What’s more, Veronika lives in Hong Kong, while Hau is from Sapa, so the race in Mai Chau sets up a great re-match between the pair, this time on Hau’s home soil.
Veronika shared: “I am extremely excited to come and race in Vietnam again! My first experience at the VJM in 2019 was great so I’m really happy to come back after six years.
I am looking forward to the nice sceneries, views of the picturesque rice paddies and the incredible atmosphere at the finish line.
Training has not been smooth since HK100, it took a while to recover and then I got sick but hopefully I will be mentally and physically ready to toe the line again and compete with some of the best female runners in Asia.”
Hau said: “VUM is a new Topas race for me, with very different and challenging terrain. This is a great opportunity to explore more beautiful landscapes of my country.
VUM has attracted top trail runners from all around the world, making it a fiercely competitive race. I will be able to gain more racing experience by competing with elite runners. This will be a tough challenge through which I can also improve my running ability.
I always love meeting and talking with other runners who have the same passion as me. At VUM especially, I will be racing against Veronika once again, which I love.”
Other female athletes to watch in the 75km include Christine Mitchell and Tran Thu Trang.
The men’s 75km race welcomes the Asia Pacific Champion
The 75km includes last year’s winner and Asia Pacific Trail champion, John “Stingray” Onifa.
He said: “I am happy and excited to come back and defend my title, especially as this is a very beautiful and well-organized event.”
Two other top names, Lodewijk Vriens and Alexandre Neyrinck, were teammates on the winning team at the Oxfam Trailwalker event, but at VUM they will go head-to-head.
Lodewijk said: “My T8 teammates are always raving about Vietnam Trail Series events! Stingray, Vanja, etc. and they love it. The trails, the competition, the community!“
Two US athletes to watch are Humberto Baeza, who took a win at Lam Dong, and Austin Horn, who will be racing in Vietnam for the first time.
Well-known in the region, Kristian Joergensen of Denmark, is another top seed. He has previously stood on the podium at Vietnam Mountain Marathon and many other regional races.
Vietnam’s top hopes include Vietnam Trail Marathon 2025 champion Nguyen Si Hieu, 2024 Vietnam Jungle Marathon champion Nguyen Tien Vo, and past podium runners Nguyen Duc Tuan Anh (Tu Do), Le Tan Hi, Vang A Tung and Nguyen Dang Trung.
Nguyen Duc Tuan Anh said: “At the first edition of VUM, I took part as a running cameraman – a unique and exciting experience. This year, I’ve decided to return and take on the 75km distance to fully explore VUM’s breathtaking trails and immerse myself in the rich culture and cuisine of Mai Chau. VUM is known as the most competitive race in Vietnam, bringing together top athletes from around the world. This will be a great opportunity for me to challenge myself and push my limits further!“
FKT World Record holder
Also, on the 75km start line will be Kristian Morgan, who previously held the overall world record Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the famous 3522km Appalachian Trail (Southbound) in the USA. He still holds the male record (45 days), but the overall was famously taken by Tara Dower last year – an event that made international news and led to her securing a lucrative pro trail running contract with Altra. Kristian’s other achievements include multiple podiums at the North Face 100 Thailand.
Kristian said: “I decided this year when training for the Appalachian Trail that I would use some races as preparation, instead of just doing long training runs. This race in Vietnam fits in nicely. This year I will use 75km to 100km races as a way of normalising the distance I will have to do consecutively every day for 40 days.”
The 55km Race
On the women’s side, Elena Anisimova, last year’s second place VUM 50km will be back. She will be racing against VMM 100km and VTM 70km champ, Giang Thi Linh, along with Nguyen Ngoc Anh who has many first victories to her name.
For the men, Ryan Whelan will be racing hot off the back of a win at the historical Gurkha Trailblazer last weekend and his 3rd place at the ultra-competitive Tarawera by UTMB miler just a few weeks ago.
He will face Marcel Hoeche, former Skyrunning champion of Germany, plus last year’s 50km VUM winner Iurii Shtankov.
The local talent in the men’s 55km includes Le Quang Hoi, Vu Tien Viet Dung and Lo A Dao, who scored a podium at VMM and has been training hard in Sapa with Ha Hau.
Charity kids to run 5km
As at all Topas races, there is a charitable element. Alongside the cash donations from the race, a team of 37 kids and staff from the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation is being fully supported to travel from Hanoi and stay in Mai Chau for the weekend to take part in the race.