The Course: From the Hau River Into the City
The 2025 race on Sunday 21 December was the fifth edition, organised by DHA Vietnam with Can Tho's culture and sports department, and every distance started and finished at Song Hau Park in Cai Khe ward [1][2]. The course maps carry the AIMS and World Athletics certified-course mark [3].
The half marathon leaves the park along Tran Phu and Hung Vuong, follows 3/2 Street and Street No. 1 to a U-turn at about 11 km, then comes back by the Vong Cung road, 30/4 Street and Tam Vu, finishing along Song Hau Street by the river [4]. The 10 km uses Tran Phu, Hung Vuong, 3/2 Street and 30/4 Street and returns past the Ninh Kieu bridge; the 5 km loops around Can Tho stadium [5].
The marathon went further out: after 3/2 Street, Street No. 1 and Le Phuoc Tho it ran out along Nguyen Van Cu to about 23 km, then along the Vong Cung road until about 33 km, before joining 30/4 Street and Tam Vu for the run back [3]. Press reports describe the Vong Cung road as a former wartime front line that is now lined with orchards [6]. There is no marathon in 2026 [7].
The organiser warns that its kilometre boards are only a guide, with some tolerance in where they stand, so pace off your own watch rather than the boards [8].
The Weather: Saturated Air Before Dawn
Can Tho airport, about 9 km north-west of Song Hau Park, recorded 24°C with a dew point of 24°C and 100% humidity at 2am, 3am, 4am and 5am, with a wind of 0 to 1 knot [9]. Nothing changed until 7am, when mist was reported; at 7.30am, when the half marathon closed, it was 25°C and still 100% humidity [9]. By 8.30am it was 28°C, and at 9am, when the marathon closed, 28°C with 89% humidity [9].
Báo Cần Thơ described the morning as fairly cool with no rain [1]. But a dew point equal to the air temperature means sweat cannot evaporate at all, and there was no breeze to help. The organiser's 2026 page says temperatures range from 17°C to 22°C at this time of year [7]; none of the 2025 race-night observations was below 24°C [9]. Plan for saturated air, not a cool December morning.
Aid Stations and Cut-offs
The organiser says there is a station every 2.5 to 3 km with medical help, a rest area, water, an electrolyte drink and bananas or another energy food [8]. The half-marathon map shows ten combined water and medical stations, mostly about 2 km apart, with the longest gap, about 4 km, after the U-turn [4]. The marathon map shows 19, but with gaps of about 5 km between the 8 km and 12 km markers and between 19 km and 23 km, so carry a drink for those stretches [3].
The limits were six and a half hours for the marathon, three and a half for the half, two hours for the 10 km and 90 minutes for the 5 km [3][4][5]. The marathon map marks five intermediate cut-off points, the first just after 8 km and the last before 39 km, and the half has two, near 8.5 km and 17.5 km [3][4]. Runners outside the limit get no finisher tee or medal [10].
The results suggest the marathon limits bit: 652 marathoners appear in the results but only 614 have a finish time, with 19 last recorded at the 24.8 km mat and 12 at 13 km [11]. In the half marathon, 51 runners were last recorded at 17.3 km, near the second cut-off point [11][4].
How Fast the Field Is
Lý Nhân Tín won the half marathon in 1:13:32, from Triệu Tiến Luyện in 1:15:23; Nguyễn Khánh Ly won the women's race in 1:23:59 [11][1]. Tenth place was 1:29:03 for men and 1:42:12 for women, and 252 of the 2,015 finishers broke two hours [11]. The median half-marathon time was 2:42:08 [11].
The marathon was won by Huỳnh Anh Khôi in 2:30:38, ahead of Kenya's Edwin Yebei Kiptoo in 2:35:03, and by Lê Thị Hà in 2:59:48, one of only four runners under three hours [11][1]. Tenth place was 3:06:06 for men and 3:54:40 for women, and the median finish was 4:56:10 [11].
The field is mostly Vietnamese: most finishers who list a nationality are from Vietnam [11], although the press reported that international entries more than doubled from 2024, from more than 30 countries [6]. The press put the field at about 10,000, including 2,500 in the half marathon and 1,000 in the marathon [1]; the results list 7,426 finishers across the four races [11].
Race Weekend Logistics
Race kits were collected at Song Hau Park on Saturday 20 December, from 8am to 7pm [12]. Bring your original ID card or passport, or the ID in the VNeID app; someone collecting for you must be authorised online in advance [8].
Bag drop opened at 1.30am for marathoners, 3am for the half, 4am for the 10 km and 5.30am for the 5 km, and took only items packed inside a bag [13]. The organiser asks runners to arrive an hour before their start, and bags not collected by 10.30am are sent to DHA Vietnam's office in Hanoi [8].
The half marathon started at 4am and the marathon at 2.30am, in the dark [3][4], and in 2025 a sponsor provided 70 electric cars to light the dark stretches of the course [2]. Pacers carry balloons showing their target time, timing is by Sportstats Asia, and race photos are free [8].
Half marathoners and marathoners get a finisher tee as well as the race tee and medal; 10 km and 5 km runners get the race tee and medal [3][4][5]. Every runner was also given a health-screening voucher worth 1.2 million VND [2]. Entry fees are not refundable [14]. In the last 2025 tier, from 16 to 30 November, full price was 900,000 VND for the 5 km, 1,500,000 for the 10 km, 2,000,000 for the half and 2,300,000 for the marathon, with 30% off for groups of five and 40% for groups of ten [15]; super early bird prices had started at 350,000 VND [16].
Should You Enter the 2026 Race?
Yes, if you want a half marathon, 10 km or 5 km on a certified course in the Mekong Delta, with frequent aid and a three-and-a-half-hour half-marathon limit that suits slower runners. The group discounts make it good value for a club trip.
Think twice if you are chasing a personal best in cool air, or if you wanted the full marathon: the 2026 race is on Sunday 20 December over 5 km, 10 km and 21 km only [7].
Check the 2026 start times, cut-off points and route map before booking; with the marathon gone, the 2025 details above may change.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's race information, route maps and notices, the official results, airport weather records and Vietnamese press reports.