VnExpress midnight marathon is a model event for HCMC: official

Nguyen Nam Nhan, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, said at a press conference announcing the marathon on Feb. 28 that HCMC has about 50 marathon events of all scales each year, but not many midnight ones.

The VPBank VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight, taking place on March 3, is the largest night-running event ever in the city, as evidenced by the number of 11,000 runners in the second season, Nhan said.

The large scale represents a strong attraction to the running community, attracting both domestic and foreign residents and tourists, he said.

Among them, 600 runners are foreigners, twice as many as in the first season. This positively impacts the sports movement as well as the local economy, culture, and tourism, he said.

The official believes the attraction lies in the fact that runners are not only coming to the city to compete, but also to explore the streets, rhythm of life, and iconic buildings of Saigon at night.

Nguyen Nam Nhan, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, speaks at a conference on Feb. 28, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

In preparing for the second season, Ho Chi Minh City departments and agencies have coordinated closely with the organizing committee to ensure that every route and every step of the run is safe and goes through the city's most beautiful places.

"With the stature of VnExpress Marathon, runners set increasingly high requirements. With this pressure, the Department of Culture and Sports and Ho Chi Minh City agencies set the highest standards for the tournament to turn this into a standard symbol and model event of the city," Nhan said.

VPBank VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight builds routes with the highest safety standards. The Association of International Marathons (AIMS) measured and certified the route to international standards.

The entire racetrack is secured by hundreds of volunteers, police officers, and militiamen.

Running times are calculated to avoid congestion, and ensure convenience for people's daily travel.

The organizers have arranged up to 19 water stations and 11 medical points throughout the track.

They have also prepared special lighting plans for sections lacking street lights on the Thu Thiem peninsula, such as Bui Thien Ngo and Nguyen Thien Thanh streets.

The Ho Chi Minh City Athletics Federation and the Department of Culture and Sports play the role of professional advisors, providing a team of referees to verify results as accurately and quickly as possible.

"With careful preparation for season two, we believe that 11,000 runners will feel safe and enjoy more experiences," Nhan said.

Representatives of the organizers, the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports, and strategic partner VPBank answer runners' questions. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Nguyen Thuy Duong, representative of the strategic partner VPBank, said that through combining with VnExpress Marathon, the bank wishes to bring physical and mental prosperity, creating a pinnacle for the running movement.

According to Duong, VPBank has organized 11 large-scale tournaments, with a total of more than 70,000 runners participating.

Therefore, this time, when accompanying the VnExpress Marathon, the bank does not just play the role of a sponsor.

"We will bring financial resources, enthusiasm, and experience from previous successful tournaments, together with VnExpress Marathon, to build quality tournaments in which the runners are the center. Not only during this year, we are committed to accompanying VM for 5 years from 2024 to 2028," Duong said.

Ngo Manh Cuong, Deputy of the Board of Organizers, also expects that with the companionship of the government and VPBank, the tournament will become an annual, symbolic event for Ho Chi Minh City.

"We want to create a tournament to honor the dynamic, modern beauty, culture, tourism, and diverse cuisine of the city. Not only the runners but also their families come to Ho Chi Minh City on this occasion to have the best experiences," he said.