A total of more than 7,000 runners from 52 countries and territories worldwide will race in the 2018 Da Nang International Marathon (DNIM), one of the most magnificent marathon courses in Southeast Asia.

Runners are interested in DNIM, recognised as one of the 10 best marathons to conquer Southeast Asia by The Eat Play Surf (Photo: Anh Vu)

This year’s race, the 6^th edition, which takes ‘Because I love Da Nang’ as its theme, will take place at the East Sea Park on Son Tra District’s Vo Nguyen Giap from 4.00am to 1.00pm on 12 August. It comprises 4 races: a 42 km full marathon, a 21 km half marathon, a 10km run, and a 5km run.

The route of the full and half marathon races will be the East Sea Park - Vo Nguyen Giap - Nguyen Van Thoai - Tran Thi Ly Bridge - 2 September - Bach Dang -  Nhu Nguyet - Thuan Phuoc Bridge - Le Duc Tho - Hoang Sa - Le Van Luong - Hoang Sa- Vo Nguyen Giap - the East Sea Park, with marathon entrants doing 2 laps.

As for the 10km run, the route will be the East Sea Park - Vo Nguyen Giap - the intersection of Nguyen Van Thoai, Vo Nguyen Giap and Hoang Sa streets - Hoang Sa - Vo Nguyen Giap - the East Sea Park.

With regard to the 5km run, the route will be the East Sea Park - Vo Nguyen Giap - the intersection of Phan Ba Phien and Hoang Sa streets - Vo Nguyen Giap - the East Sea Park.

In addition to running on clean and beautiful roads in the city, participants in the full and half marathon races will have the opportunity to run across two of the city’s most beautiful bridges, namely Tran Thi Ly, Rong (Dragon) and Thuan Phuoc. Moreover, they can also admire beautiful beaches with their soft white sand and clear blue water during the race.

According to the race’s organisers, many prizes worth 300 millionVND (13,200US$) will be awarded for the winners at the race.

Prizes will be awarded to the first 3 finishers of the full, half marathon and 10km challenges.

All finishers in the full, half marathon and 10km races in a maximum request time of 8, 4 and 3 hours respectively will receive a Finisher’s Medal and a souvenir T-shirt each.

Everyone who finishes the 5km run will receive a Finisher's Certificate, and will be entered in a lucky draw to win numerous attractive items.

The race’s organisers, the World Marathon Company and the Ho Chi Minh City-based company Pulse Active, said that since 2013, each marathon has had a record number of participants.

This year, over 900 runners have registered in the full-marathon 42km, over 1,700 have signed up for the 21km event, and more than 1,000 will take part in the 10km race. The 5km FunRun has seen as the largest number of participants in the history of the race with 3,400 runners.

Within the framework of the DNIM 2018, 200 children, aged between 3-6 years, will compete in the pre-marathon 1km Ronny Dash Gong Cha on 11 August. The kid’s race aims to create a fun for children who accompany with their parents to the event, and all participants will receive medals at the finish.

In particular, the race will see the participation of athletes from the Shonan International Marathon in Japan.

The two best Vietnamese marathoners (men’s and women’s categories) will advance to the Shonan International Marathon in Japan on 12 December.

Since 2013, DNIM has been ranked 3rd amongst the top 6 must-do marathons in Asia by readers of Rad Season magazine. The Eat Play Surf selected DNIM as one of the 10 best marathons to conquer Southeast Asia and has the most beautiful setting. Also, it has been named amongst the world’s top 8 best marathons by world-renowned blogger Sassy Hong Kong.

DNIM, the first professional marathon in Viet Nam, has been certified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) to take place over the next 5 years. Race finishers can use their results to register for other international marathons.

Donors have contributed more than 11,600 US$ to help the poor, the disabled persons and Agent Orange victims in the city before the race starts this weekend.