Director of the provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism department, Nguyen Thanh Hong said the offer has been made by the Vietnam Athletics Federation (VAF), with the ancient town of Hoi An replacing the capital for the Vietnamese leg.

He said the marathon will be running across three legs – Luang Prabang, Laos in October, Hoi An-Vietnam in November and Angkor Wat, Cambodia in December – promoting all three as world heritage destinations.

According to VAF, the marathon is expected to attract between 25,000 to 27,000 runners from Asia, along with those from the marathon powerhouses of the US, France, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Hong Kong (China) and Africa.

It’s also an opportunity for elite Vietnamese marathoners to test their skills and experience levels in a race against world top athletes.

Last year, the three-leg event was hosted in Hanoi, Luang Prabang and Angkor Wat, with the participation of 24,000 runners.

Vietnamese runners Hoang Nguyen Thanh and Nguyen Thi Hoang Oanh won the men’s and women’s full-marathon titles in the Hanoi leg, while Pham Thi Hong Le and Nguyen Van Lai took the first prizes in Cambodia leg.

Amateur marathoner Le Hung Cuong from Vietnam bagged the men’s full-marathon division in Laos leg with Lao Lodkeo Inthakounmman winning the women’s division.

Hoi An – a UNESCO-recognised world heritage site in Quang Nam – had been hosting a series of of international marathon events from 2017.

Quang Nam is the only destination in Vietnam with two world heritage sites -- Hoi An ancient town and the My Son Sanctuary, and the world biosphere reserve of Cham Islands-Hoi An.

Vietnamese athletes triumph at Viettel Marathon Series’ final leg in Cambodia

The final stage of the Viettel Marathon Series 2024, the first Vietnamese-initiated running event crossing the Indochinese region, took place in Cambodia on December 22.