Vietnam's race scene has exploded, with big city marathons, midnight races and spectacular trail events. Here's how to get to your first finish line feeling strong.

1. Pick your race wisely

  • Season: choose a race between October and March if you can. Cooler weather makes a big difference
  • Start time: many Vietnamese races start very early (3:30–5:00 am) or at night to beat the heat. Practise getting up early!
  • Course: a flat city course is friendlier for a first marathon than a hilly or trail one
  • Browse upcoming races and the full calendar at runaway.fit

2. Give yourself time

  • Half marathon: 10–14 weeks of training if you can already run about 5–8 km comfortably
  • Marathon: 16–20 weeks if you can already run a half marathon or about 15 km comfortably

3. The basic training week

  • 2–3 easy runs
  • 1 quality session (tempo, intervals or race-pace work)
  • 1 long run, increased gradually, with an easier "cutback" week every 3–4 weeks
  • Longest run: about 16–19 km for a half, 30–32 km for a full marathon, 3 weeks before race day
  • 1–2 short strength sessions per week

Joining a club's long run on weekends makes the miles fly by. Find one in the calendar.

4. Practise fuelling and drinking

In Vietnam's heat this is critical. Use your long runs to practise:

  • Energy gels or chews: typically one every 30–45 minutes after the first 45 minutes
  • Electrolytes: sodium replacement matters when you sweat a lot
  • Find out which drinks and gels the race provides, and train with them

5. Taper

Reduce your training volume by about 30–50% over the final 2 weeks (half: about 1 week). Keep a little intensity. Sleep, eat well and stay off your feet.

6. Race day

  • Lay out everything the night before: bib, shoes, gels, a headlamp if it's a night start
  • Eat a familiar breakfast 2–3 hours before (yes, even at 2 am)
  • Start slower than you think. The first kilometres should feel easy
  • Drink at every water station on hot days and pour water over your head
  • If it's hot, adjust your goal: finishing strong beats a DNF

7. Afterwards

Walk, drink, eat, celebrate, and take an easy week or two. Then tell us about it: submit your story for our Featured section!