The Route: Coastline First, Then Luong Son Pass
The seafront stretch along Tran Phu has been the course's calling card since the very first edition, with runners looping the bay as the city wakes up around them [3]. That signature road eventually feeds the full marathon into Luong Son Pass, north of the city, which has been part of the 42km route since 2022 and has become the event's defining test of the field [3].
The climb isn't a mountain stage, but it's still a genuine test: for the 2025 edition the route shortened the pass section to around 7km, with elevation topping out near 60 metres, and the half marathon no longer goes over the pass at all — leaving it as a full-marathon feature that forces runners to keep resetting their effort rather than settle into a rhythm [5][4]. For 2026, organizers timed the 42km field to reach the pass around 4am, catching Nha Trang Bay still wrapped in pre-dawn light before the route loops back toward the finish [4].
It's tough enough that it has undone strong runners before: race coverage notes a past Kenyan contender lost touch with the leaders because the climbing drained his legs, and a women's champion missed her own target time largely because of the same stretch [5]. That's worth remembering if you're chasing a personal best here — Nha Trang tends to reward runners who treat it as an experience race first.
Heat, Humidity and the Early Start
The full marathon sets off at 3am from Quang Truong 2-4, well before sunrise, to get as much distance done as possible while temperatures are manageable [5].
Even with the early start, official race guidance is blunt about the summer heat: organizers warn that the conditions speed up neuromuscular fatigue, so runners need longer warm-ups and more thorough stretching to avoid cramping [1]. The same guidance cautions that drinking large volumes of plain water during and after the race can dilute blood sodium and trigger stomach cramps and exhaustion — a reminder that electrolyte strategy matters as much as how much you drink [1].
Growth and Race-Day Logistics
The event has grown from an 8,500-runner debut in 2022 into a record 13,000 participants in 2025, briefly making it the largest single race in the entire VnExpress Marathon series [3]. For the fifth edition in 2026, organizers scaled expectations back to roughly 9,000-10,000 runners while keeping the same four-distance format [2][4].
The expo, previously staged in the Libera Nha Trang urban development, returns to April 2 Square for 2026, next to the city's Tram Huong tower landmark, with start and finish for all four distances anchored at the same square [4]. The finisher medal leans into local heritage, pairing the Tram Huong tower with the centuries-old Po Klong Garai Cham tower for the first time in the race's medal designs [4].
Entry pricing for the late-registration window ran from VND 850,000 for the 5km up to VND 1,550,000 for the marathon [2], and runners should know that bibs are not mailed ahead of race day — the official registration terms confirm the bib number is only issued at in-person race-kit pickup [6].
Atmosphere: International Field, Race-cation Energy
Past editions have pulled a genuinely international crowd — one recent year drew around 400 foreign runners even without a strong African elite contingent, spread across a mix of nationalities [5]. The event is explicitly built around a 'race-cation' model, pairing competitive running with tourism, so many entrants stay on afterward to explore the bay, islands and food scene rather than treating it as a fly-in, fly-out race [3].
Should You Run It?
The 2026 edition is scheduled for 9 August 2026 in Nha Trang. If you want a scenic, well-organized Vietnamese marathon with a real hill test and a holiday built around it, this is a strong pick — the growth from 8,500 to a record 13,000 runners in three years says something about repeat demand [3]. If your priority is a fast, flat time, the Luong Son Pass and the heat around km 25-30 make Nha Trang a harder sell for chasing personal bests, so go in with a conservative pacing plan and treat the climb as the main event rather than an obstacle [5][1].