Of perseverance & grit: An interview with participants of Vietnam's most grueling trail run

Resilience and the joy of finishing the race.

These were the common sentiments expressed by several self-sponsored colleagues who recently took part in what has been described as Vietnam’s most difficult trail run – the Vietnam Mountain Marathon (VMM) – in Sapa, a spectacular mountain region in North Vietnam. They covered a range of distances, from 21km (13 miles) to 100km (62 miles).

Truclinh Lethuy , Head, Direct & Digital Distribution, signed up for the 21km run to challenge herself to the next level, having taken part in a 10km (6 miles) run last year. “I wanted to build up my resilience as well as enjoy the beauty of Sapa,” she said. “As sales leader in Vietnam, I wanted to demonstrate to the team we can achieve our goals with perseverance.”

“The mountainous terrain race was very challenging – especially for a beginner like me. There were times I got super exhausted and wanted to quit. However, I pushed on. I’m very proud of myself for finishing the race!”

For Trinh Le (Ginny), Assistant Manager, Talent Team, the Sapa run was her second, her first being in March this year with the Dalat Ultra where she covered 59km (37 miles). In Sapa, she covered 50km. “While the elevation gain was easier at 2,600m for Dalat, it was 3,100m for Sapa. I wanted to challenge myself with a more difficult race in a new place.”

Ginny spent three months training at Dinh Mountain covering both distance and elevation gain to prepare for the race. “I also did weekly road running, covering a distance of between 40 and 50km (25 miles; 32 miles).” She finished her race in 18 hours.

Enrolling in the race, she added, has given her the discipline to manage her time effectively between work and training. She’s not only become healthier, but also happier. “I’ve been able to make more friends and develop deeper connections.”

Running the race has taught Ginny the importance of Resilience and Responsibility. “I learnt not to give up. I also felt the Responsibility of showing the Liberty flag at Doi Bo – which was the highest and most difficult part of the race. I had to climb 900m to reach the top.”

Talking to one's legs may sound strange, but that was what Khuong Huynh, Senior Executive, Product-Non-motor, did to coax them into running for another 50km (31 miles). In total, he covered 55km (34 miles) over 13-plus hours. Khuong experienced pain but decided to push on as much as he could, and even taking some painkillers to try to reduce the pain. "Many people may think it's stupid to talk to my feet, but thanks to that, I was able to run more 50km even though the painkillers didn't work."

Undeterred by his experience, Khuong plans to sign up for another 100km in the future. For now, his priority is to let his body heal. "If possible, I will also try the 100km distance again at VMM next year." Khuong already has several races under his belt, including the Laan Ultra Trail 2022 (55km; 32 miles) and Dalat Ultra Trail 2023 (85km; 52 miles).

For Chris Alexander , Interim President of Asia Market, this was his first 100km distance. “I have done many 50k and multi-day stage races, both of which I enjoy. I was eager to take on this new challenge and see if I could finish the race before the cutoff time (Editor’s note: Chris took 25 hours, 42 min which was ahead of the official cut-off time). I like to use trail races as a way to see the nature and culture of new places. I had heard how beautiful Sapa was. When I learned about VMM, it was an easy choice for my next big trail running race.”?

Chris took about a year to train for the race. “One training challenge for me has been that my hometown of Bangkok is relatively flat, so I needed to supplement my road running with a lot of stair and treadmill workouts at max incline to replicate the mountain climbing of a race like VMM.”

About 80k into the race, Chris “hit the wall” (a point in a race where one’s body?runs?out of energy). “I had done about 5000m of ascent already … I laid down on the grass and was confronted with both complete physical exhaustion and the mental demons familiar to any distance runner. I struggled to keep thoughts of quitting out of my mind. After a few minutes of rest and replenishing my energy stores, I managed to get up and start again. And before long I was back into a good rhythm and my energy returned.”

When asked what life lessons could possibly be derived from long distance running, Chris said: “Take one step at a time. You can't run the whole race at once. There is no need to?get preoccupied or overwhelmed with the size of the challenge that lies ahead. Control what you can control, i.e., the next step.”

Like Chris, Khuong is a believer of taking the first step first. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Limits are set by ourselves. If you think you can't run, then you definitely won't be able to run. So, step out of your comfort zone, set new goals and try taking the first step. For example, you can commit to running 5km (3 miles) every day continuously for 30 days, you will receive surprising results if you succeed."

Drawing inspiration from his children’s teacher who always encouraged her students not to get overwhelmed by tasks that seemed difficult and that they could “do hard things”, Chris brought this mindset to the race. “For me, accomplishing the goal of finishing a very demanding event like this is a fulfilling way of reminding myself that I can do hard things. That inspires inner confidence that I'm capable of taking on the various other difficult challenges I may encounter in life.”

Trail and mountain running mirror Life, said Khuong. "In our life journeys, there will be ups (uphill) and downs (downhill) but in the end we will reach the finish line if we define a clear goal."

Congratulations, all!

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