Quang, the only Vietnamese among the 376 participants in the Spartathlon, covered 246.8 kilometers to reach the city-state of Sparta in 31 hours, 10 minutes and 37 seconds after starting from Athens. He was one of 196 athletes to finish the race.

Tran Duy Quang (in blue shirt) holds up the Vietnamese flag after finishing the Spartathlon ultramarathon race in Sparta, Greece, September 28, 2019.

"When I crossed the finish line, I felt like I was coming back to life. I am proud that Vietnam will be known by the international community through this Spartathlon race," Quang told.

Quang started running in 2014, starting with a few rounds around the local park every day as a way to relieve stress from work. The 30-year-old athlete gradually fell in love with running and became one of Vietnam’s best runners, finishing first in the Vietnam Mountain Marathon 2017.

Spartathlon is one of the toughest ultramarathon races in the world, requiring runners to run non-stop for two days throughout Greece, starting from Athens to Sparta.

The race’s champion this year was Hungarian athlete Tamas Bodis, finishing the race at 26 hours, 29 minutes and 24 seconds.

Over 9,000 runners to join Da Nang International Marathon 2019

More than 9,000 runners have registered to take part in the 2019 Da Nang International Marathon (DNIM), scheduled to take place from August 9 to 11 in the Vietnamese central coastal city of Da Nang.

1,000 foreign athletes register for VPBank Hanoi Marathon

Up to 1,000 international athletes have registered to compete in the VPBank Hanoi Marathon (VHM) to be held in the capital city on October 20, organisers said.

10,000 runners to take part in Techcombank HCM City Int’l marathon

More than 10,000 runners will compete in the Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon on December 7 and 8 in HCM City, the event’s organising board has announced.

VnExpress Marathon ends in big wins and grins

5,000 runners braved the heat in the central beach town of Quy Nhon on Sunday to join the VnExpress Marathon.

Almost 1,000 runners join Vietnam Jungle Marathon 2019

Nearly 1,000 foreign and domestic runners took part in the Vietnam Jungle Marathon 2019 which was held in Pu Luong Nature Reserve in the central province of Thanh Hoa on May 25.

Source: VnExpress