Mai Trung leads Dan Quyet by 10 metres as My Hien surprisingly tops the women's 42km at VM Nghe An 2026

In the early hours of September 27, 2026, at Ho Chi Minh Square in Vinh City, Nghe An Province, the men's 42km race at VnExpress Marathon Grand Tour Nghe An 2026 delivered a tense head-to-head duel between Nguyen Mai Trung and Dan Quyet. About 10 minutes after the start, Nguyen Mai Trung held a lead of roughly 10 metres over Dan Quyet. In the women's race, home runner My Hien surprised the field by moving into the lead. At exactly 3am, the 42km runners left the start line to begin their full marathon journey along the Grand Tour course on Nghe An soil. From the very first strides, Dan Quyet, Dao Ba Thanh and Nguyen Mai Trung quickly broke away from the main pack, forming a lead group made up only of highly experienced runners. Ten minutes in, Nguyen Mai Trung and Dan Quyet ran side by side ahead of the field. The two athletes took turns leading, with the gap between them hovering around 10 metres. Nguyen Mai Trung looked highly focused, holding a steady rhythm and showing little emotion, while Dan Quyet appeared relaxed and waved at media cameras positioned along the course. Nguyen Mai Trung is 35 years old, from Hanoi, works in the e-commerce sector and is a member of Thanh Cong Runners Club. He caught the attention of the capital's running community with a time of 2 hours 41 minutes 55 seconds at VnExpress Marathon Hai Phong 2026, ranking 69th on the list of the fastest full marathon runners in Vietnamese history. That result is the foundation for Nguyen Mai Trung to confidently chase the lead group on a course widely regarded as favourable. With his fitness base and extensive racing experience, he is considered one of the strongest contenders for the top position in the men's 42km this year. Behind the lead group, Dao Ba Thanh and Le Van Huong are two familiar faces in Vietnam's amateur running scene. Both have raced at numerous domestic marathon events and are expected to put pressure on the leaders during the coastal stretch of Cua Lo, where both speed and endurance are tested. In the women's race, My Hien was leading after the opening kilometres. This runner owns a personal record of 3 hours 7 minutes 39 seconds and competes for Nghe An Runners Club. A home-club runner moving into the lead on home soil creates an intriguing twist for this year's event and brings a strong wave of support from spectators lining the course. Before the start, from 2:50am, the 42km runners gathered at the start line at Ho Chi Minh Square to warm up and prepare for the race. The atmosphere at the start area was lively with the presence of familiar names such as Dan Quyet, Dao Ba Thanh and Le Van Huong. Besides the elite runners, the start line also featured home clubs such as Nghe An Runner and Ha Tinh Runner in striking pink shirts. The large presence of local running groups created a friendly, festival-like atmosphere for the first race day of the event in Nghe An. Speaking before the race, Thanh Meo and Vinh Runner remarked that this is one of the events with the fewest 42km runners, creating favourable conditions for athletes to compete for prizes and break personal records. Both runners also rated the Nghe An course as quite favourable, with beautiful, flat roads well suited to chasing fast times. To serve the race, the organisers deployed hundreds of volunteers working alongside the operations team at many positions along the course. Police, traffic police and local medical staff were also mobilised, handling tasks related to security, traffic control and medical support on the course. From the evening of September 26, volunteers were present at the start area to receive assignments and familiarise themselves with operating procedures. After the briefing, they were distributed to points along the course to install infrastructure, complete water stations, cheer zones and other necessary items before runners entered the race. This year's event includes four distances: 5km, 10km, 21km and 42km. All athletes start at the Ho Chi Minh Square area and finish on Truong Thi Street, at the intersection with Le Van Huu Street. The longest distance, 42km, starts at 3am. From Ho Chi Minh Square, runners pass Ho Tung Mau, Truong Thi, Le Nin Boulevard and then join Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard. After about 16km, the course continues onto Binh Minh route, passing the Cua Lo coastal area and turning around at Cua Xa before returning to the city centre. For the 21km distance, runners start at 4am along the Ho Tung Mau - Truong Thi - Le Nin Boulevard route and then run straight on Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard. After turning around at around km 11, athletes head back towards the centre and finish on Truong Thi Street. This distance has two cut-off points, at km 10 at 5:40am and km 16.9 at 6:50am; the course closes at 7:30am. The 10km distance starts at 5am, going from Ho Chi Minh Square through Ho Tung Mau, Truong Thi and Le Nin Boulevard, onto Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard and turning around at about km 5. Runners return along the same route to the finish. This distance has one cut-off point at km 6 at 6:15am, and the course closes at 7am. The 5km distance takes place entirely in the city centre. After starting at 6am, athletes run through Ho Tung Mau, Truong Thi, up Le Nin Boulevard and turn around, returning to Truong Thi and finishing at the Le Van Huu intersection. This distance has no cut-off point, and the course closes at 7:15am. VnExpress Marathon Grand Tour distributed race bibs at the Nghe An Labour Culture House on September 25 and 26. This is the first time the event has been held in the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh with four distances of 5km, 10km, 21km and 42km, marking a new milestone in the Grand Tour series. The men's 42km race still has a long way to go, and the 10-metre gap between Nguyen Mai Trung and Dan Quyet is far too small to draw conclusions about the final result. Meanwhile, My Hien leading the women's race opens up a compelling scenario for the rest of the competition, as the home runner has a strong chance to make her mark at an event held in her own province.