Race Day at NovaWorld Phan Thiet: 5,000 Runners and the Results of the 81-Year Journey Race

The day before: bib pickup and a square doing double duty

On August 1, the race expo was set up at Bikini Beach Square. Runners lined up to collect their bibs — the chip-timed race number without which no one can step onto the start line. Right next to it, the stage was running a full dress rehearsal for the Sports Festival 2026 opening ceremony happening that same evening. Two events running in parallel on the same ground.

From 2:30 AM to the starting gun

The bag-check counter opened at 2:30 AM to serve all four distances. Organizers recommended arriving at least 45–60 minutes before each start time to check bags, warm up, and settle into position.

About 30 minutes before the start, the race area saw light rain that quickly cleared, leaving noticeably cooler air than the preceding days — a rare condition for an August coastal race. At four in the morning, the road surface was still damp when the flag dropped in front of Bikini Beach Square.

Runners were started in waves: elite runners and top performers went first, with the remaining groups following. This staggering kept the early stretch of the course from getting congested.

The two longer distances were flagged off by organizing representatives: Major General Le Xuan Duc, Chief of Office of the People's Public Security Sports Association, started the 42km race; Mr. Tran Duc Phan, Vice Chairman of the Association, flagged off the 21km race.

Results across eight categories

On the 42km start line were familiar faces from the amateur running scene: Truong Van Tam, Pham Ngoc Phan, Dan Quyet, Nguyen Van Thong. The longest distance also produced the day's most memorable chase — Pham Ngoc Phan overtook Truong Van Tam in the final stretch.

Reading race day from a guest's point of view

This part isn't in the sports coverage, but it's what we got asked about most in the week before the race. A 5,000-person race day set inside the resort complex creates three things tourists notice clearly.

Why NovaWorld is often chosen as a race venue

A large-scale race needs three things, and this resort complex already has all of them: wide, enclosed internal roads so closures don't affect local residents; a square big enough for an expo and a stage; and several thousand rooms within walking distance. Very few places in Vietnam combine all three.

That's also why the event calendar here runs denser than average — and it's worth checking before locking in your dates, whether you're coming to relax or to race.