HCMC Marathon is a major running event in Vietnam in terms of participants. The number of participants has increased over 50% since the first edition. From 5,000 participants in 2013, the race has seen more than 7,500 participants in 2017. This year, the record has been broken as over 8,300 runners turned up for the event.

The Ho Chi Minh City Marathon is now officially approved by the Vietnam Athletics Federation and the Culture and Sports Department of Ho Chi Minh City to be officially listed in the Vietnam National Athletics Championships.

Starting a great year by running HCMC Marathon

On 13 January 2018, the event saw race pack collection as well as flag off for Kids Dash. On the next day, runners across 42km, 21km, 10km and 5km categories were flagged off from late afternoon into the evening, with over 700, 1,500, 1,800 and 3,900 runners respectively.

The race welcomes people from over 40 different countries with a majority of the participation from Singaporeans, Americans, French and Taiwanese. In fact, over 40% of runners from the 42km distance and 21km are international runners.

The highlight of HCMC Marathon route was the iconic Phu My Bridge, which was part of the race route for 10km, 21km and 42km categories. The stunning Phu My Bridge is only able to accommodate a certain number of people. Due to the high demand for HCMC Marathon, there has been a waiting list of 1,000 runners annually.

The HCMC Marathon plans to extend the running lane of Phu My Bridge in the upcoming years to host even more athletes from all over the world.

"Dream Big with The City"

"Dream Big with The City" was born and inspired not only by athletes but also by everyone who contributed to the success of the run. By launching the campaign, the organisers want to invite all citizens of Ho Chi Minh City to join hands, Dream Big with The City and make HCMC Marathon the biggest traditional marathon run in Southeast Asia.

In addition to approving HCMC Marathon in the Vietnam National Athletics Championships, the Vietnam Athletics Federation (VAF) is also planning to measure the Full Marathon - 42Km distance together with the International Athletic Association Federation (IAAF/AIMS). This also means that the HCMC Marathon race course will be soon certified by the IAAF/AIMS.

Ho Chi Minh City Marathon is making a positive impact on the society through charity organisations. Under the Orange Initiative – the charity program of Ho Chi Minh Peace and Development Fund (HPDF), the race has been making contributions to the community of disabilities and victims of Agent Orange.

Mr. Bady Pham, Managing Director of Pulse Active, said,

We are proud to be able to call the event The Ho Chi Minh City Marathon and we see it as our mission to contribute to a healthier and more active sporting community, as well as to strengthen the tourism and sport development of our country. Through the event, we hope to showcase the dynamism and energy of this city to the world. We also want to thank the HCMC Department of Culture and sports together with the Association of Athletics Federations in HCMC for their endorsement and also The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism for their support.

The Ho Chi Minh City Marathon is powered by Taiwan Excellence and organised by Pulse Active.