Female runner wins trail race nearly a month after accident

HANOI - Nearly a month after the traffic accident, Nguyen Thi Phuong Lien won the women's 32km race at the Breaking PCCC event on the morning of March 10.

Phuong Lien unfortunately had an accident on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year. She hit her face and knee on the road. At that time, the doctor and her friends advised her to stop running for a while. The female runner born in 1988 was worried that she would not recover in time to participate in the national championship at the end of March, when she first registered to run a full marathon.

Phuong Lien on the 32km run at the Breaking PCCC event on the morning of March 10. Photo: VUT

"My left eye was bruised due to the collision with the road surface, and I couldn't see clearly. My knee was also injured, but fortunately it didn't affect the bone. However, because of the pain in my knee, it was difficult to walk, let alone run. At that time, I thought that if I took a month off from training, my plan to run a marathon for the first time in Phu Yen would fall through. After two weeks, I started running lightly again because I missed this feeling so much and was also impatient, even though the doctor advised me to rest longer so as not to tear the wound that was healing," Phuong Lien recounted.

Around February 27, while waiting to recover from her injury, this runner happened to see information about the Breaking PCCC event organized by the Vietnam Ultra Trail (VUT) group at Ham Lon Mountain, Soc Son, Hanoi on March 10. At that time, she was very hesitant, not sure if she could recover from her injury within 10 days to participate. Phuong Lien had only started trail running two months before, and had participated in the Vietnam Trail Marathon in January. A week before the event, she ran a test lap of the route and achieved a time of 1 hour 53 minutes. From there, the female runner determined that she could complete the 32km distance, but did not expect to achieve a high result.

Phuong Lien admitted that she was reckless, because the 32km distance was longer than her accumulated experience. Before that, this runner had never run two PCCC circuits. Her longest road run was only 30km. However, the 36-year-old Hanoi runner did not expect too much. She considered this an opportunity to challenge herself and the distance as a longer-than-usual long run to prepare for the upcoming tournament. Phuong Lien also hoped to meet and learn from the experiences of famous trail runners at the event.

"Thinking like that, but my point of view is that when entering a race, you always have to try your best. When I finished a lap, the organizers told me that I was in second place in my distance. That gave me more motivation to take the lead and keep that position until the end of the race," she said.

Phuong Lien in the moment of winning Breaking PCCC on March 10. Photo: VUT

In the end, Phuong Lien finished after 3 hours and 25 minutes, setting a new record for herself. Her lap time was 1 hour and 40 minutes, faster than the previous week. Although this result could not break the 32km record of the PCCC (3 hours and 17 minutes), Phuong Lien said she was proud and had more confidence for the next tournaments.

At the Breaking PCCC event, the remaining three events all saw new records set. In the men's 32km distance, runner Nguyen Xuan Tu, born in 1987, finished first after 2 hours and 30 minutes, setting a new record. He said he had never run two PCCC laps before and participated because he wanted to assess his own strength, not thinking about competing for a prize.

In the men's 16km event, runner Nguyen Dinh Tuan finished first, setting a new record of 1 hour 5 minutes (equivalent to a pace of 4'05). In the women's event, runner Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh also set a new record of 1 hour 21 minutes (pace of 5'05).

"This is a meaningful event, helping the trail running community prepare for many upcoming tournaments. The achievements at this event will be the basis for everyone to choose suitable distances to compete in the upcoming tournaments," runner Xuan Tu commented.

According to VUT, more than 350 adults and children participated in the event. Breaking PCCC organized a children's event with a 6km route. According to Mr. Dang Quang Huy, a member of the event's organizing committee, about 70% of the participants achieved new personal records.

Quynh Chi - Vnexpress.net