The Course: Flat City Streets, Out to Lim and Back
Every distance started and finished on Ly Thai To street, beside the statue in front of the Kinh Bac Cultural Centre [1][2]. The marathon was built from city loops and out-and-back sections. It first ran a loop through the centre and north along Lac Long Quan and Au Co, turning near the end of Au Co, then came back through the six-way junction and headed south-west along Nguyen Van Cu to a turn by the Lim town secondary school, near the Lim village communal house. It returned through the centre and finished with a second loop north, turning on Vua Ba after passing the Bac Ninh Quan Ho theatre [3]. Reports of the race also name the Lau Sao Khue roundabout on the marathon route [2].
The organiser described the 2026 course as flat with no bridges or slopes, said it had removed the gravel dyke sections of the previous course, and said it had been measured and certified by experts from the Vietnam Athletics Federation [4]. Other landmarks it named on the routes include the Ly Thai To statue, the Den Cung - Gieng Ngoc temple, the clock tower, and the provincial museum and library [4].
The many out-and-back sections mean you will see the runners ahead of and behind you for much of the race, and pass the start area several times.
The Weather: Mild, Saturated and Wet
Noi Bai airport, about 27 km west of central Bac Ninh, recorded 21°C at 3.30am on race morning, with a dew point of 19°C, 88% humidity and a 5-knot wind [5]. Light rain and mist set in at 5.30am. From 6.30am to 8am it was 20°C with 100% humidity and light rain, and at 10am, when the marathon closed, 21°C and 94% humidity, still misty [5].
That is mild air for Vietnam: a dew point of 19-20°C at 20-21°C makes the air feel damp rather than oppressive, and the temperature barely moved all morning, so a slow marathoner ran in almost the same conditions as the winner. Expect wet roads and wet shoes if March 2026 is repeated, though the 2027 race moves to January.
Aid Stations and Cut-offs
The marathon map shows 30 water points between the start and the finish, at 2, 3.5, 4.5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 km, then every 1 to 2 km to 41.5 km, with no gap longer than 2 km; many also had a medical post and toilets [3]. The half marathon had 15 water points [6]. The organiser said water and medical stations would be dense along the course [4].
The limits were six hours 30 minutes for the marathon, with the course closing at 10am, three hours 30 for the half, two hours for the 10 km and one hour 30 for the 5 km [3][6][7][8][9]. The marathon also had four checkpoint cut-offs: 22 km by 6.45am, 25 km by 7.30am, 37.5 km by 9.12am and 40 km by 9.40am [3].
The first checkpoint is the tightest. Reaching 22 km by 6.45am means averaging about 8:52 per km from the gun, while the overall limit needs only about 9:15 per km. The limit was enforced: the slowest marathon finisher in the results crossed the line at 6:30:00 on the gun clock, and the slowest half marathoner at 3:29:37 [10].
The results list 1,033 marathon entrants: 910 finished, 67 did not finish, 23 were disqualified and 31 did not start. In the half marathon, 1,934 runners finished [10]. The results do not say why runners were disqualified.
How Fast the Field Is
Dang Anh Quyet won the marathon in 2:33:42, ahead of Pham Duc Tho in 2:35:10 and Dao Ba Thanh in 2:41:04. Vu Khanh Linh won the women's race in 2:54:52, 13th overall, from Thai Thi Hong in 3:03:24 and Pham Thi My Duyen in 3:05:45 [10][2]. Tenth place was 2:52:54 for men and 3:36:24 for women [10].
The field is quick behind the front. The median marathon finish was 3:58:22 on chip time, 489 of the 910 finishers broke four hours, and 42 broke three hours [10]. Only 135 of the finishers were women [10], so a woman running under about 3:36 would have made the top ten.
The half marathon was won by Hoang Viet Vi Ly in 1:11:49, with the next two men within 22 seconds; Doan Thi Oanh won the women's race in 1:23:52. Tenth place was 1:26:01 for men and 1:40:47 for women [10]. The 10 km was won in 34:36 and 40:48, and the 5 km in 16:50 and 19:43 [10].
Prizes went to the top five men and women in each distance, and in the marathon also to the top three in four age groups: under 30, 31-40, 41-50 and over 50, for 64 awards in all [9].
Race Weekend Logistics
Race packs, with the race shirt and bib, were collected at the expo at the Kinh Bac Cultural Centre on Saturday 7 March, from 8am to 8pm [1][9]. The first finishers were in from 6am, and the closing ceremony was at 9.30am [2].
Entries could not be refunded, even if the race was cancelled or postponed. Transferring an entry to someone else cost 250,000 VND, with a deadline of 31 January 2026 [1], and changing distance was free up to race day, paying any difference in fee [11]. The half and full marathon were open from age 16 [1].
The organiser said the race shirt and finisher shirt were made from eco-friendly materials, and planned a festival finish area with Bac Ninh and Bac Giang food and folk games [4]. Check which schedule is final: in 2026 the iRace page still showed an earlier provisional one with a 4am marathon start [11], while the organiser's site, the route maps and the race-day reports all give 3.30am [1][3][9].
Should You Enter the 2027 Race?
Yes, if you want a flat, well-watered city marathon with a quick field, a real chance of a fast time in mild air, and age-group prizes in the marathon as well as top-five places.
Think twice if you are a six-hour marathoner: the 22 km checkpoint is tighter than the finish limit. And if you want scenery, this is a city-street course with repeated sections, not a country road.
The 2027 race is on Sunday 10 January, from the Kinh Bac Cultural Centre square on Kinh Duong Vuong street, and the organiser again describes a flat course with no bridges or slopes [12]. Start times, the route map and the checkpoint times had not been published on the registration page when this was written.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's race information and route maps, the official results, airport weather records and Vietnamese press reports.