The Course: City Streets, the Seafront and One Pass
Every distance starts and finishes on Tran Phu, the beachfront road, opposite the Tram Huong Tower at 2-4 Square [1][2]. The marathon spends about its first 15 km in the city [3]. It runs along Le Thanh Ton, Nguyen Trai, Cao Ba Quat and To Huu, follows the Quan Truong River to a turn 500 m short of Binh Tan Bridge, and comes back via Tran Hung Dao and Ly Tu Trong to Tran Phu. From there it heads north along Pham Van Dong, crosses Luong Son Pass and returns to the finish [1]. VnExpress, which organises the race, puts more than 60% of the route along the coast [4].
The pass decides the marathon. On the official elevation profile the first 24 km barely rise above 20 m; from about km 24 to km 35 the course climbs again and again to about 60 m, then drops back to sea level for the last 7 km [1]. The marathon reaches the pass at km 24.5 and spends about 9 km on it [5], turning at km 28 [6]. The organiser describes the climbs and descents as winding and continuous [3]. The men's winner called the pass quite challenging, with steep climbs that needed steady water, gels and salt [6].
The half marathon turns up the pass at about km 9.5, climbs for about 1.5 km, turns and comes back down, back on the half-marathon route after being left out in 2025 [5]. The 10 km and 5 km avoid the pass and stay on Tran Phu, running south to turns near the Vo Thi Sau junction by Vinpearl and opposite the Naval Academy [1][7]. The course was certified by World Athletics and AIMS [5].
Compared with 2025, the marathon no longer passes through the Libera urban area, using the Quan Truong riverside instead, and it started half an hour later, at 3am rather than 2.30am, with the same 9.30am close [5].
The Weather: 30°C in the Middle of the Night
Cam Ranh airport, about 30 km south of the start, recorded 30°C at 3am on race morning, with a dew point of 22°C, 62% humidity and an 8-knot wind [8]. It never cooled: 29°C and 70% humidity from 5am to 6am, 31°C by 7.30am, and 32°C with a dew point of 24°C at 9.30am, when the marathon closed [8].
A dew point of 22°C to 24°C is muggy but not saturated, so sweat still evaporates; the problem in 2026 was the heat itself, which stayed close to 30°C for the whole race. Clouds helped. VnExpress described the early morning as cloudy and breezy, with a few drops of rain [3], and a Swedish half marathoner said the sea breeze and light rain made the pass feel pleasant [9].
Dawn came at about 5.30am, while half and full marathoners were crossing the pass [7]. A four-hour marathoner finished at 7am in 30°C; a six-hour runner finished in 31°C air with the sun up.
Aid Stations and Cut-offs
The marathon map shows 23 aid stations, 18 of them with a medical point, serving water, electrolyte, watermelon and bananas, with toilets beside the stations [1]. The half marathon has 12 [1]. Each station has an elite table for runners ahead of the 3:30 marathon and 1:45 half-marathon pacers; ordinary tables serve drinks in cups only [10]. A Russian 10 km runner said the stations were what they remembered most, especially the watermelon [9].
The marathon limit is six and a half hours, but the checkpoints bite earlier: km 10 by 4.30am, km 22.5 by 6.25am and km 39 by 9am, with the course closing at 9.30am [1][10]. That means about 9:00 per km from the gun to reach km 10, and about 9:14 per km to reach km 39, a figure that includes the pass. The half marathon closes checkpoints at km 8 (5.20am) and km 18 (7am), about 10:00 per km, and shuts at 7.30am [1][10]. The 10 km has one checkpoint, at km 6 by 5.30am [1].
Aid stations close on the same schedule as the course, and runners more than 15 minutes late to their start are not allowed to race [10]. Anyone outside the limits is recorded as a DNF and gets no finisher items [10][11]. Pacers ran at 3:30, 4:00 and 4:30 in the marathon and at 1:45, 2:00 and 2:15 in the half [10].
Roads and Organisation
The race used two start gates, north and south of 2-4 Square, with the marathon leaving from the north gate [3]. On the southern out-and-back for the 5 km and 10 km, the organiser took half of Tran Phu's roadway for the race [7]. Nearly 1,000 student volunteers staffed the course, with water and course-security teams at their stations from midnight [3].
The international runners VnExpress spoke to were positive: the Russian 10 km runner said everything was professional and easy to follow, and the Swedish runner said running with a pacer meant always knowing the pace in the half marathon [9].
How Fast the Field Is
Several of the usual Vietnamese marathon winners stayed away, including Dan Quyet, Khoi Huynh and Truong Van Tam [3]. Vong Vanh Long won the men's marathon in 2:39:35, eight minutes ahead of Le Thanh Tai (2:47:57) and Tran Thai Son (2:50:36). Le Thi Ha defended the women's title in 2:52:32, nearly 11 minutes faster than the winning time in 2025 [4]. Vong Vanh Long ran alone from early on, handed a watch to a course cyclist at km 7 and at km 19 even turned back for a few metres to wait for company [6].
Behind the winners the marathon thins out fast. The official leaderboard puts tenth place at 3:01:33 for men and 3:32:32 for women, with nine men and one woman under three hours [12]. A three-hour marathoner was close to the top ten.
The half marathon was faster and closer: Pham Ngoc Phan won in 1:14:19, 17 seconds ahead of Nguyen Le Hoang Vu, and Doan Thu Hang won the women's race in 1:24:32 [4]. Tenth place was 1:21:29 for men and 1:38:12 for women [12]. The 10 km was won in 34:32 and the 5 km in 15:56 [4].
Rankings and prizes go on gun time, not chip time [10][11]. The marathon winners each took 15 million VND in cash, from a package worth nearly 20 million, and prizes ran five deep; the half-marathon winners took 8 million VND. There were also age-group prizes in five bands for the 21 km and 42 km [13].
Race-Weekend Logistics
Bibs and race kits were handed out at the expo at 2-4 Square on Friday 7 August from 1pm to 6pm and Saturday 8 August from 9am to 5pm [10]; in 2025 the expo had been out at Libera [14]. Kits are not posted, but you can authorise someone to collect yours [10]. On race morning the bag drop opened at 2am and closed at 10am, and the awards ran from 10am to 11.30am [10].
The last price phase, which ended on 2 August, cost 850,000 VND for the 5 km, 1,100,000 VND for the 10 km, 1,350,000 VND for the half and 1,550,000 VND for the marathon, with group discounts from 5% for 20 to 50 runners up to 25% for more than 1,000 [14]. Fees are not refunded and bibs cannot be transferred, though you can change distance by paying any difference [10][11].
Every finisher got a medal, showing the Po Klong Garai and Tram Huong towers, and free photos; 21 km and 42 km finishers also got a finisher tee [14][15]. In 2026 the race was part of the Khanh Hoa Sea Festival, and the racing lasted over six hours [2]. The field of 10,000 was down from about 13,000 in 2025 [4][15].
Should You Enter Next Year's Race?
Yes, if you want a large, well-supplied race by the sea with a beach holiday attached, and you can run in heat. The 10 km and 5 km are seafront runs that avoid the pass, suited to first-timers and families; the half now includes a short taste of the pass.
Think twice about the marathon if you need cool air for a good time, or if you are near the 9:00 per km mark early on: the first checkpoint comes before the pass, and the pass comes when you are tiring. A three-hour runner has a real chance of a top-ten place.
The date, fees and route for the next edition had not been published when this was written.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's race guide, route maps, rules and leaderboard, reporting by VnExpress and Bao Khanh Hoa, runners quoted in that reporting, and airport weather records.