The World Trail Majors circuit heads to Southeast Asia this weekend as Sapa, Vietnam, plays host to the 13th edition of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon (VMM) presented by Kailas Fuga from 17–20 September 2026.
The event has grown from 200 participants at its inaugural running in 2013 to over 5,300 runners representing 54 countries for the 2026 edition. The event features two official World Trail Majors series distances taking place on Saturday, 19 September:
- VMM100KM: Starts at 05:00 from Sapa Square, covering 100km with 5,500m of elevation gain across bamboo forests, rice terraces and mountain villages.
- VMM50KM: Starts at 05:30 from Sapa Square, featuring 50km with 2,800m of elevation gain, including climbs up Cow Mountain and Mount Silverstone.
The wider event weekend also features 10km, 21km, 70km and 100-mile race distances.
Elite field lineup
The women’s 100km race sees local runner Ha Thi Hau (Kailas FUGA) return to Sapa for the first time since 2022. Her 2026 season includes a victory at the Hong Kong 100 and a ninth-place finish at the Western States 100.
She faces competition from Antonina Iushina, who won both the Ultra Trail Australia 100 Miler and Dalat Ultra Trail 100KM in 2026, alongside defending champion Wenfei Xie (Salomon), Ying Li (Kailas FUGA), Maryline Nakache (France) and Elizabeth Dangadang (Philippines).
In the men’s 100km division, defending champion Ngô Văn Chính (Kailas FUGA) leads home-nation hopes. The field includes Aleksei Beresnev, who won the UTMB Chang Dao 100 Miles and Dalat Ultra Trail 100KM in 2026, Terunobu Kurokawa (Japan), Man Kumar (Nepal), Arnie Macaneras (Philippines), Simon Withers (UK) and Vasilii Korytkin.
The VMM50KM event forms part of the Short Series by World Trail Majors. The men’s division features Skyrunner World Series champion Rui Ueda (Japan), George Knight (Australia), Billy Curtis (UK), Rommick Tongkaling (Philippines), Bo Cai (China), Lok Yin Lo (Hong Kong), Đỗ Trọng Nhơn (Vietnam) and Sung A Su (Vietnam).
The women’s 50km field includes Yuri Yoshizumi (Japan), Rebecca Bunting (UK), Ram Maya Budha (Nepal), Marcela Vašínová (Czechia) and Thái Thị Hồng (Vietnam).
Community impact
Since its inception in 2013, the Vietnam Trail Series organisers have raised over US$570,000 for local social causes. Beneficiaries include local village education infrastructure, the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, Operation Smile and Newborns Vietnam.
www.worldtrailmajors.com
www.vietnamtrailseries.com/mountain-marathon
