Go running to love the Fatherland more

TPO - From a person who couldn't breathe after running a few hundred meters, Ms. Trang became a runner with a passion for running around 5 continents and has been involved with Tien Phong Marathon for 5 seasons.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang (born in 1971), worked for 12 years at the British Embassy, ​​is currently the Finance Director of a non -governmental organization. Previously, Ms. Trang felt short of breath after running a few hundred meters. This is a common phenomenon for sedentary people when they first start running. The distance from her house to West Lake is only 2km, but she had to stop and rest nearly ten times.

“I used to go on business trips abroad a lot in the past. These trips were usually limited to work. After my assigned tasks, I just stayed around the hotel to rest and didn’t go out to explore ,” Trang began the story.

“In 2019, I started training harder when I ran about 1,000 km. I participated in the first race in Long Bien.”

Ms. Thu Trang at Tien Phong Marathon 2025. Photo: NVCC.

In the first two years, Trang had to overcome psychological barriers from her family because she ran too much in the eyes of people who did not understand running. Her daily habits changed 180 degrees. “My husband was used to his wife having a neat image, so when he saw me running too much, he was not satisfied. He even threatened, 'If you run too much, you will ruin your knees.' Now, when he sees his friends and colleagues also running, his view has changed,” Trang happily confided.

To date, Trang has participated in 19 international races (18 marathons, 1 half marathon in India) on 5 continents and 5 Tien Phong Marathon races. In 2023 alone, she will run in 10 countries on 4 continents. What is special about overseas races is that Trang always carries the Vietnamese flag with her while running. "I love the moment of holding the flag at the finish line, it's very emotional," Trang confided. "Only when I leave the borders of Vietnam do I feel the pride of my country and homeland."

In Switzerland, Trang ran with the flag for the last 1km. Spectators on both sides of the road shouted “Trang, go go”. The enthusiastic cheers from the spectators gave her goosebumps, making her forget her fatigue and run to the finish line.

“International races are organized systematically, their racekit bags are very neat, only containing the bib. The athletes have to buy everything else. Racekits in Vietnam have a lot of wasted items because many people do not need to use them. If they can be simplified, it would be best. Instead of making things extravagant, Vietnamese races should focus on the core, which is running. The racekit bag of Tien Phong Marathon this year is compact and very pleasing to me. The shirt inspired by the green army shirt and the floppy hat are two interesting items for any runner when running in a land with a strong historical mark like Quang Tri ,” Ms. Trang commented.

After each half marathon, she voluntarily transfers a small amount of VND 500,000 to the Smile Surgery Fund, helping children with cleft lip and palate deformities. Photo: NVCC.

Sharing her running experience in the “land of fire”, Ms. Trang said: “Quang Tri is the 34th province in Vietnam that I have set foot in to run the race. The people of Quang Tri are very friendly, they cheered enthusiastically along both sides of the race track. Running on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country’s reunification and the unification of the country in Quang Tri is a lucky thing for me and more than 7,000 athletes”.

On the “land of fire”, Ms. Trang spent nearly 3 hours to complete her 38th half marathon in her career, but the achievement is not as important to her as the “firsthand” experiences she received when running on the historic route. Running to see the value of peace, independence and freedom, to love life more, to love her country and homeland.

Nguyen Dat

Source: https://tienphong.vn/di-chay-de-them-yeu-to-quoc-post1729986.tpo