The Course: A Loop Over the Cao Lanh Bridge and Along the Tien River
Every race starts on Ngo Thi Nham street beside Van Mieu Square in the centre of Cao Lanh and finishes on Dang Van Binh street in front of the square [1][2]. The marathon is a single loop. It heads south out of town along Vo Nguyen Giap, reaching 10 km there, then takes the expressway approach onto the Cao Lanh Bridge over the Tien River, where runners turn at a set point on the bridge and come back [1].
From the foot of the bridge the route drops onto the riverbank road along the Tien, passing 25 km there, then turns inland along Hoa Dong and Hoa Tay, where 30 km falls, before winding back through the city streets to the finish [1]. The half marathon uses Vo Nguyen Giap, Tan Viet Hoa, the riverbank road and Hoa Dong but does not go onto the bridge [1]. A Tuoi Tre photo shows the course winding between fruit orchards in Cao Lanh [3].
The marathon map carries a World Athletics certified measured course stamp in cooperation with AIMS [1], and the provincial paper reported that AIMS experts surveyed and measured the route before the race [4]. The marathon winner, Huynh Anh Khoi, said the course was very beautiful, especially the run over the Cao Lanh Bridge [2].
Most of the marathon is run before daylight, from a 3.30am start [1]. Before the 2025 race the province said it was drawing up fixes for some stretches of the route that were poorly lit or cramped [4]. A light is worth carrying.
The Weather: Saturated Air Before Dawn
Can Tho airport, about 40 km south-east of Cao Lanh and the nearest station with records, logged 26°C at the 3.30am marathon start, with a dew point of 26°C, 100% humidity and no wind [5]. It stayed at 25°C to 26°C and 100% humidity through the night until 6.30am. It then warmed to 28°C with 94% humidity at 8am, when the half marathon closed, and 31°C with 79% humidity at 10am, the marathon limit [5].
The organiser's post-race report described cool weather [2], and Tuoi Tre wrote of fresh air [3]. The airport readings describe something else: air at its dew point, in which sweat barely evaporates, so the body sheds heat poorly and a steady pace costs more than the temperature suggests.
The median marathon finisher took 4:42:48 [6], which means finishing at about 8.15am, when the airport was recording 28°C to 29°C [5]. Start slower than your flat-road pace and treat every aid station as a chance to drink.
Aid Stations and Cut-offs
The 2025 marathon map marks about 20 aid stations, many with a medical point, plus toilets along the route; the half-marathon map marks about 12 [1]. The province gathered watermelon, bananas, mango, longan and dragon fruit for runners [4]. Khoi said the many water stations and the cheering locals helped them run well [2].
The limits, from the route maps updated on 26 September 2025: six and a half hours for the marathon, closing at 10am, with checkpoints at 21.3 km by 6.47am and 31.4 km by 8.10am; three and a half hours for the half, closing at 8am, with a check at 10.7 km by 6.17am; 2 hours 15 for the 10 km and 1 hour 15 for the 5 km [1]. The rules said the mid-course checkpoints could change with the actual start time, and that anyone starting more than 10 minutes after their gun would not be allowed to start [1][7].
The results suggest the marathon limit was enforced: only one ranked finisher had a gun time over six and a half hours [6]. The half was looser. The results rank 144 half marathoners whose gun time was over 3 hours 30, the slowest at 4:51:33 [6], which points to the half-marathon limit not being applied strictly at the line. The results also list 28 marathon runners as disqualified and eight as did not finish [6].
Finishers got a medal designed around piano keys with a lotus pond that spins [8], and an e-certificate for every distance with split times at points on the course [9]. The province also ordered 10,000 lotus-seed strings from a local silk company as gifts [4].
Roads and Organisation
Dong Thap police put about 500 officers on the event, posted at the junctions on every race route to divert and direct traffic [10]. The province named 8 supervisors and 44 referees to officiate [4].
Start pens are seeded. For pen A in the marathon you needed proof of a sub-3:40 marathon or sub-1:50 half run since 1 January 2023, and pen B needed sub-4:30 or sub-2:10 [7].
How Fast the Field Is
Huynh Anh Khoi won the marathon in 2:32:18, from Cambodia's Vann Pheara in 2:38:42 and Le Van Tuan in 2:42:13 [11][6]. The results show Khoi first at every checkpoint from 10 km, and reached halfway in 1:16:29 [6]. It was the runner's third marathon in 14 days [12]. Le Thi Ha won the women's race in 3:00:42, from Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan in 3:02:08 and Nguyen Thi Thu Ha in 3:09:16 [11].
The organiser put the field at 12,800 runners [13]; the results list 10,840 entries across the four distances, 565 of them in the marathon [6]. Behind the winners the field is shallow. Tenth place was 2:58:18 for men and 3:45:26 for women. Only 11 of the 451 ranked marathon finishers broke three hours and 119 broke four hours; the median was 4:42:48 [6]. In the half marathon Pham Phan won in 1:13:37 and Nguyen Khanh Ly in 1:27:21, and tenth place was 1:23:26 for men and 1:43:09 for women [6]. The 10 km was won by Sung Pao in 34:16, four seconds clear [2][6].
Prizes go five deep overall in the marathon and half and three deep in the 10 km and 5 km. Marathon age-group wins only count under four hours for men and five hours for women, except for runners aged 50 and over [7]. The organisers handed out nearly 120 prizes worth 218 million VND in total [2]. Two days before the race 119 foreign runners from 20 countries had registered, up from 20 in 2024 [4].
Race Weekend Logistics
The event ran over three days, 10 to 12 October, around Van Mieu Square, with an expo, food stalls and music [11][10]. Race kits were handed out on Saturday 11 October only, from 8am to 6pm at the square, and could not be collected afterwards. You needed photo ID and the QR-code email, or a signed authorisation to collect for someone else [7].
The opening ceremony and a music night were held at the square on the Saturday evening [10][3], a few hours before a 3.30am start from the same place [1]. Book somewhere within walking distance of the square and plan your sleep around it.
Fees rose with each sales period. The marathon cost 595,000 VND in the flash sale and 1,555,000 VND in the late period; the half 485,000 to 1,315,000 VND; the 10 km 355,000 to 1,045,000 VND; the 5 km 235,000 to 785,000 VND [14]. Anyone registering from 21 September got a bib without a name [14]. One transfer or distance change was allowed until 21 September for 200,000 VND, and nothing after. Entries were not refundable unless the organiser postponed or cancelled the race [15]. The rules also made insurance compulsory [7].
Should You Enter the 2026 Race?
Yes, if you want a big, lively road race with a festival around it, a marathon limit that lets a five-hour runner finish without worry, and a realistic chance at an age-group place. The 5 km, which drew the largest field in 2025 [3][6], suits families and newcomers.
Think twice if you want cool air for a fast time, or a quiet night before a 3.30am start.
The 2026 race is the fifth edition, with race day on Sunday 11 October [16] and the event running from 9 to 11 October at Van Mieu Square [17]. The route maps on the official site were still the 2025 versions when this was written [1], so check the 2026 course and limits before race week.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's route maps, rules and posts, the full results, airport weather records, and Vietnamese national and provincial reporting.