When the first international mountain marathon in Vietnam took place in Sa Pa in the weekend, Denmark and Sweden dominated the top 3 time list.
On 6 October Vietnam’s first international marathon took place in Sa Pa in the northern province of Lao Cai in Vietnam. It was the local ethnic runner Ly A Song who was the first to reach the finish line in the 21km half-marathon distance in the time 1h 54m, followed by Sweden’s Joakim Esaiasson and Philip Martien Eggold of the US. Denmark’s Camilla Nielsen finished as number three in the women’s category.
In the 42km full marathon race Denmark’s Jacob Green finished as number two after the Singaporean Yong Wai Cheng.
Annemette Skov, also from Denmark, was the first woman to reach the finish line in the full marathon race in the time 5h 25m 40s.
In the 70km ultra-marathon it was also a Dane named Simon Grimstrup who scored the best time in 7h 48m 40s. In the women’s category the winner of the ultra-marathon was an American, but she was followed by Denmark’s Camilla Gry and Nora Barbara from Sweden.
The marathon was hosted by the Danish Embassy in collaboration with Topas Ecolodge and Danish Novo Nordisk – the world leading company in diabetes prevention.
Danish Ambassador and Head of the marathon’s organizing board, John Nielsen, said to VietnamNet:
“Runners from 28 countries participated and many have travelled far to come to the event. Most of the people have been preparing themselves for many months for the tough routes. Next year, I would like to see more Vietnamese runners, but I am happy to see that a Vietnamese runner won one of the categories.”
The ambassador, who ran the half marathon, said he expects the race to be an annual event in the coming years.
Source: Vietnamnet.vn (link)
