HCM City-based Vo Thi Thanh Nga is one of 10 Vietnamese athletes who qualified for the world-class Boston Marathon in April. (Photo courtesy of Vo Thi Thanh Nga)Nine of them are from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,the two largest running communities in Vietnam, while the otheris Dao Han, who currently lives in Florida, the US.
Han and Nguyen Tran Minh Duc are the youngest of theVietnamese contingent at 31 years old, while Nguyen Dong Dinh fromthe capital city is the oldest at 46.
Most of them are familiar faces who have dominated domestictournaments' podiums in the past few years.
"My husband encouraged me to run to reach the Bostonstandard. I am really excited because we, husband and wife, bothqualified to marathon in Boston, one of the world's best-known roadracing events," said Thai Thu Trang, who is also known as TrangCarmen.
"We will run as best as possible to make it an unforgettablememory in our life."
Bui Van Da shared that he has his visa, hotel booking andairplane ticket ready.
"Now I am just focused on training so that I will peak onrace day," said 45-year-old Da, whose best time in 2022 was 2:50.37.
Hanoian Hoang Huy also has his visa andcan't wait to run.
"I was worried about financial issues asthe event will cost me about 100 million VND (4,238 USD), but after winning the2022 Long Bien Marathon's age group, I was sponsored a round-trip ticket. Now,I am ready to leave for Boston," said Huy, who ran 2:46.53 at the VnExpressMarathon Imperial Hue last May.
From HCM City, Vo Thi Thanh Nga is waiting forthe results of her visa application, while doctor Dinh Huynh Linh hashis visa but is a doubt for the race due to a leg injury.
"My leg has not recovered well, while Ihave to manage my work in the hospital too," said Linh, who ranthe VnExpress Marathon Marvelous Nha Trang last August with a timeof 2:50.04.
The doctor said he finished the VnExpressMarathon Hanoi Midnight last November in 2:47.53, which he submittedfor the Boston Marathon.
"It is only a three-minute gap between tworesults, but the new one will help me have a better running lane," saidLinh, who ran at the New York City Marathon, another event ofsix World Marathon Majors in 2019.
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted byseveral cities and towns across greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, the US.It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday ofApril. The 127th edition this year will take place on Monday, April 17.
To earn a place in the race, athletes must prove that they havereached the tournament's standards.
This year, runners in the 18-34 age group must complete a marathonwithin 3 hours for men and 3:30 for women. The time increases to 3:05 and 3:35for the 35-39-year-old group; 3:10 and 3:40 for the 40-44 group, and 3:20and 3:50 for 45-49 years old.
The Kenyan world-record holder Eliud Kipchoge confirmed thathe would make his Boston debut as he seeks to complete a grand slam ofvictories in the World Marathon Majors.
Other great runners are defending champion Evans Chebet (Kenya),Benson Kipruto (Kenya), two-time winner Lelisa Desisa (Ethiopia), and SouthAfrica's Daniel Do Nascimento on the men's side.
The women's race will see world champion Goytom Gebreslase (Ethiopia), two-timewinner Edna Kiplagat (Kenya), New York City Marathon 2022 winner SharonLokedi (Kenya), former New York City Marathon and London Marathon championJoyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) and Valencia Marathon 2022 champion Amane Beriso(Ethiopia).
They will be cheered by 500,000 spectators who gather annually inthe city.
The race, with its course from Hopkinton insouthern Middlesex County to Copley Square, has been held since1897, inspired by the success of the first marathon competition inthe 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Since then, it has beenorganised every year except for 2020, when it was cancelled due tothe COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, 10,590 runners qualified for the Boston race.Evans Chebet and Peres Jepchirchir, both of Kenya, won the men's and women'stitles with times of 2:06.51min and 2:21:01, respectively./.
VNA
