The Course: One Way Across the Red River
The marathon and half marathon start at the Đền Bà Kiệu garden on Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street in Hoàn Kiếm and finish at the Marathon Village on Chu Huy Mân Street in Long Biên [1][2]. The race is organised by Sunrise Events Vietnam with Techcombank [3].
The first part is the sightseeing. The 2025 marathon went along Tràng Tiền, down Nhà Chung and Lý Quốc Sư, through Hàng Mành and Hàng Nón in the Old Quarter, then along Điện Biên Phủ, Độc Lập and Hùng Vương, up Thanh Niên and around West Lake on Xuân Diệu, Tô Ngọc Vân and Lạc Long Quân [1]. The organiser lists Hoàn Kiếm Lake, the Old Quarter, the Opera House, the cathedral and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on this stretch [1], and says the route was designed to pass 37 landmarks [3].
The second half is a different race. A timing point at 12.9 km sits at the Nguyễn Hoàng Tôn junction [4], just before the route turns onto Võ Chí Công and crosses Nhật Tân Bridge [1]. From there it runs along the Red River dyke, over Đông Trù Bridge, through Gia Thượng to a U-turn on Nam Đuống at 35.9 km, and on through Long Biên to the finish at Vinhomes Riverside [1][4].
Several stretches ran against the normal flow of traffic, including Lạc Long Quân, Đông Hội, Mai Chí Thọ and Đông Trù Bridge, where runners used the motorbike lane [1]. The organiser changed the marathon and half-marathon routes for 2025, saying it wanted safer racing and less disruption to residents [5]. Every distance is certified by AIMS and the Vietnam Athletics Federation [1].
The half marathon shares the first 6.5 km or so, then turns onto Phan Đình Phùng, crosses Long Biên Bridge against the traffic, with traffic police helping to keep it safe, runs along the Ngọc Thụy dyke to a U-turn on Nam Đuống and finishes at the same place [1][4]. The 10 km and 5 km stay inside Vinhomes Riverside [1].
The Weather: Hot From the Start
Noi Bai airport, about 22 km north of the start, recorded 26°C at 4am on race morning, with a dew point of 25°C, 94% humidity and no wind [6]. It stayed at 26°C and 94% until 6.30am, with mist reported at 6am [6]. Then it warmed quickly: 28°C at 7.30am, 30°C at 8.30am, 31°C at 9am, and 32°C at 10am and 10.30am, around when the marathon closed [6].
A dew point of 25°C is about as oppressive as race air gets: the air is so wet that sweat barely evaporates. A 4:30 marathoner finished at about 8.30am, in 30°C [1][6]. One runner who had hoped for 4:50 finished in 5:56:33 and wrote that running on the dyke under the hot sun was really unpleasant, though they also blamed a missed alarm and cramp [4].
The heat shows in the results. Of 2,078 marathon starters on the results list, 1,810 (87%) finished officially [7][4]. The average official finish was 4:35:49 for men and 4:53:16 for women [7].
Start Times and Cut-offs
In 2025 the marathon started at 4am and the half at 4.30am, both from Đền Bà Kiệu; the 10 km started at 6.30am and the 5 km at 6.50am on Chu Huy Mân Street [1]. The cut-offs were six hours 30 minutes for the marathon, four hours for the half, two hours for the 10 km and one hour for the 5 km [1], counted from the last start wave for the marathon and half [8]. The half marathon therefore closed at about 8.30am [1].
Every runner who finishes inside the limit gets a medal. Only marathon finishers get a finisher tee, handed out in finishing order, and if your size has run out you get the nearest one [8].
Finding Your Way Before Dawn
The organiser warned that the Old Quarter and West Lake section has some quite dark spots that are easy to get wrong, and told runners to watch the signs and the volunteers directing them [1]. With a 4am start that section comes early in the race, so learn the turns through the Old Quarter before race day, especially if you will be running alone near the front or the back.
How Fast the Field Is
Ethiopia's Ebisa Takele Kure won the marathon in 2:29:34, ahead of Kenya's Kennedy Lilan in 2:30:28 and Vietnam's Hoàng Nguyên Thanh in 2:30:58 [7]. Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa won the women's race in 2:54:20, pulling away in the first few hundred metres, from Bùi Thị Thu Hà in 2:57:03 and Doãn Thị Oanh in 2:57:55 [7][9].
Tenth place was 2:44:42 for men and 3:24:47 for women, and 41 runners broke three hours [7]. The apparel sponsor PR Sport also brought together a group of more than 80 runners with sub-three-hour marathon bests [10]. Behind the national-team women the field thins: the tenth woman was 111th overall [7].
The half marathon is the bigger race, with 3,843 official finishers [11]. Nguyễn Trung Cường won it in 1:10:06 and Nguyễn Thị Oanh in 1:20:04; tenth place was 1:25:48 for men and 1:37:53 for women [11].
Race Weekend Logistics
Race week ran from 3 to 5 October, built around the Marathon Village at Vinhomes Riverside in Long Biên [2][3]. Nhân Dân reported nearly 30,000 visits to the village over the three days [10].
Because the course runs one way, plan both ends of your morning. On race day the marathon and half had their own parking and bag-drop points, separate from the 10 km and 5 km; the finish and recovery area was at the Marathon Village; and runners waited for the shuttle at the junction of Hội Xá and Đinh Đức Thiện streets [2].
Entries are not refundable for any reason, and bibs cannot be changed or sold. You can switch distance by emailing the organiser and paying a change fee [8].
Should You Enter the 2026 Race?
Yes, if you have raced in heat before and want Hanoi's landmarks, a deep local field and six and a half hours to finish the marathon. The half marathon, over Long Biên Bridge, closes at about 8.30am, before the worst of the heat [1][6].
Think twice if you want cool air or a fast time: in 2025 it was 30°C by 8.30am [6]. The VPBank Hanoi International Marathon, on 18 October 2026, is a separate race in the same city later in the month [12].
The fifth edition is on Sunday 4 October 2026, with the marathon starting at 4am, a six-and-a-half-hour limit and a course of the same shape: the Old Quarter, West Lake, Nhật Tân Bridge, Đông Trù Bridge and the finish at Vinhomes Riverside [13][14]. Race kits are not posted, and the organiser says 2027 details will be announced on its website [15].
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's 2025 course and rules pages, the results, airport weather records, Vietnamese and English press reports and one runner's own race report.