Vo Thanh Nga (Nga Vo): Vietnamese female runner wearing the red flag with yellow star overcomes her limits - conquers Boston Marathon

Sit back after 4 years

4 years ago, when I first sat down to confide in you to get material to write an article about Vo Thanh Nga (Nga Vo), I could not imagine the terrible maturity in the future of female runner Nga Vo. “At that time, I was just starting to take steps into running, thinking that I was running for fun, to relieve stress, to not depend on others and to conquer myself. Even on the road, I just ran, so carefree that I didn’t calculate the pace or time!”, Nga Vo laughed, recalling “the old days of 2019”.

Now, that carefree pretty girl has become a strong and "muscular" woman, with shiny brown skin, a resolute face full of bravery - "the beauty of Vietnamese sports ". Nga Vo began to confide passionately: "Currently, the playground is bigger, more classy, ​​the running track is longer. So, every time I run, there are many thoughts, also a lot of pressure. But the passion is therefore also bigger, the goals are more and the spread, the positive influence is wider!".

Boston calls

“Faster and further” is always what Vietnamese runners in particular and all over the world in general want to aim for. Nga Vo is the same. At first, she never thought of competing in a marathon. Then, as time passed, her running distances became longer, requiring more endurance. Nga Vo not only ran in Vietnam, she registered to participate in famous running races in many places in Asia: Cambodia, Taiwan, Korea. Then 2 years ago...

Nga Vo began to think about setting foot in the distant United States, conquering the famous Boston Marathon. With the support of adidas, and receiving unconditional encouragement from her son - Merci, Nga Vo determinedly set her goal of Boston. “My son often tells me: “I like people who always radiate positive energy like you, who are passionate about sports like you. That temperament has a positive influence on the people around them!”

With her ability, Nga Vo soon qualified to participate in the Boston Marathon. The news that she and 9 other Vietnamese runners will participate in the Boston Marathon 2023, right on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of this race, has caused a positive effect throughout the Vietnamese runner community and even made fans and supporters feel excited to the point of goosebumps. Vietnamese athletes in the oldest marathon in the world - what could be more wonderful???

Victory of will

Sitting on the first floor of a rather strange Linh cafe in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, listening to Nga Vo recount the story of her competition in the Boston Marathon, I felt like I was falling into a spectacular adventure of determination and will: “I didn’t have much time to prepare for this tournament, even though it was the most important tournament of my life, due to my busy work schedule. I only arrived in the US 2 days before the competition, while others arrived a week before to prepare and get acquainted.”

“Right before the tournament, at the starting line, it was raining and the weather was very cold. But the runners around me and the others were not discouraged, we were all determined. The number of participants was very large, about 30 thousand runners, so in the first 5 kilometers, everyone was packed tightly together, it was impossible to accelerate and escape. But from there, the more I ran, the more I felt it. The running route and the weather were both extremely harsh,” Nga Vo recounted.

The Boston Marathon course is “unusually difficult”. That’s what Nga Vo said. Normally, in normal races, the first 20 kilometers are quite difficult, the road goes up and down, but the remaining 20 kilometers are flat because the athletes start to get exhausted. However, in Boston, it’s different, the first 20 kilometers still have ups and downs, and then the last 20 kilometers, the road is even steeper, challenging all the runners who come to participate.

“The difficult running route, combined with the cold and rainy weather, had a big impact. From the 19th kilometer onwards, I only ran with my will. At that time, my legs were like... 2 rocks. I could no longer feel my legs, could not count my running pace, could not feel my pace (speed), time!”, runner Nga Vo shared about the time when she faced many difficulties, the most difficult in her running life, she always tried her best to push forward.

“A lot of thoughts were running through my head. There were times when I thought about giving up, when my physical strength could no longer bear it, my body began to feel helpless under the load. However, remembering how many people back home were waiting for good news, the expectations of relatives and friends, and even the expectations of my son, Merci, who was always very thoughtful with pieces of paper, small messages in his pocket, in his wallet: “Wishing you success, Mom”, made me grit my teeth!”

“I thought, I can’t just stop like that. If I DNF (“Did Not Finish” - a term describing an athlete who cannot complete the race), how will I look at people in Vietnam? So I prayed: “Dad, please bless me!!!”, and I was more determined to rush forward. And then, that burning will made me complete the entire 42.20 km distance. I even finished with a result 14 minutes faster than my personal record...”.

RED FLAG WITH YELLOW STAR AT BOSTON MARATHON FINISHLINE

Because we had an appointment to sit together when we returned to Vietnam, Nga Vo still confided in me when she was still in the US. One of the inbox messages Nga Vo sent me on Facebook made me feel touched and proud: “The race had more than 30,000 runners, of which, Vietnam only had 10 runners participating. I was the Vietnamese female runner with the best result, and importantly, the only runner wearing the red flag with a yellow star on her head, so the caretaker paid a lot of attention to take a photo of my memorable finish line, which not every runner has in Boston!”. Along with that were beautiful pictures.

Honored to meet Eliud Kipchoge

Sitting and chatting for hours, forgetting to order water, Nga Vo proudly said: “One of the successes of this trip was completing the Boston Marathon with a record-breaking achievement (the organizers recorded that runner Nga Vo completed the 26.2 miles in 3 hours 39 minutes 12 seconds). Another success, a dream come true: Having the honor of meeting the legendary athlete who inspires runners around the world, Eliud Kipchoge (Olympic champion, and current marathon world record holder)”.

“Before flying to the US, I sent an email to Coros (Nga Vo is the representative in Vietnam of the Coros running watch brand, and Kipchoge is the global ambassador of Coros) to see if I could arrange a chance to meet the world's legendary long-distance runner. When I sent the email, I didn't have much expectation, because I knew that Kipchoge was a famous person, and was busy with a thousand things, so it was difficult to meet ordinary people.”

However, while on the plane, Nga Vo received a response from Coros, Kipchoge agreed to meet 3 Coros representatives from 3 countries, including her, after the tournament. Infinite happiness invaded Nga Vo's heart. During the flight to the US, she thought a lot, meeting Kipchoge, competing in the Boston Marathon right on the 10th anniversary of the brutal bombing, and how would she compete when she was not well prepared in Vietnam?

“I forgot to tell you that, when I ran with all my might towards the finish line, one of the other motivations that helped me complete my race with a record result was also the desire to meet Kipchoge, to show him that, in a faraway country like Vietnam, there are still very resilient and brave women who conquer marathon distances,” Nga Vo blinked proudly, as she talked about this rare and very precious “fate”...

However, Nga Vo experienced a moment of sadness and disappointment after completing the race at the finish line: “When I reached the finish line, my joy had just exploded, but my heart was aching. I heard the news that Kipchoge failed in the Boston Marathon, despite being the strongest candidate for the championship. He lost his water bottle at the water stop, so he was out of breath in the remaining kilometers. I felt very sad and cold, sitting still in the recovery room for an hour because of this news!”

“Kipchoge failed, the possibility of him coming to meet us as scheduled is very low. Everyone knows how much Kipchoge expected this Boston Marathon and he was very disappointed with the failure. When we returned to the resting place, Coros informed me that Kipchoge had not changed his schedule. Then, later, they confirmed that Kipchoge would still come to the appointment, to meet with representatives of Coros countries. When I received this information, I felt happy again...”.

“The appointment took place at 1 pm the next day. I arrived very early with a restless mood. When I saw him, I felt the sadness in his eyes. Kipchoge smiled when he met us, but that smile was filled with regret. We all knew that he was greatly affected by the failure. But because of that, I understood more about Kipchoge, a serious athlete, very professional, keeping his promises and not afraid of losing,” Nga Vo said.

“After the meeting, when Kipchoge was about to leave, I asked him to stay for a few minutes, get an autograph and speak from the bottom of my heart, expressing my admiration. Kipchoge happily accepted. I said I had idolized him for a long time, that he still inspired runners around the world in general, in Vietnam in particular, who are still running day and night, rushing forward, and if given the chance, I hope he will participate in a race in Asia to add strength to the endless running inspiration of runners in the region!”

Conquered 6 top marathons, will "run, run, run forever" until age 80...

After the Boston Marathon, the sky is still ahead. Completing the marathon in the US does not mean that Nga Vo has completed her duty. She suddenly realized that she still has many, many goals ahead, far-flung running routes that need to be explored: “After completing the Boston marathon, I think I will aim for the Chicago Marathon. I even want to conquer all 6 top marathons (World Marathon Majors in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York). I believe I will succeed!”

For runners like Nga Vo, running is the breath of life, they will not stop, and will "run, run more, run forever". Nga Vo shared: "On this trip, I learned a lot. From the fact that the Boston Marathon is not only a well-organized, meticulous and professional tournament, professional down to every step of providing water and energy drinks, to the fact that this is a cultural and sports festival, where the audience pours out on both sides of the running track with flags, fans, trumpets and drums, cheering for the athletes with all their might".

“In Boston, I saw many things that I didn’t see in other places. Running around me, there were many older runners. There were 50-year-olds, 60-year-olds, 70-year-olds, and even older. There was an older female runner, almost 70 years old, but she was still running very well and very fast. She finished with a time that was... 3 minutes better than me. Can you imagine??? Running that fast at that age. Seeing her performance, I was filled with the desire to run until later, when I was 70, 80, and even 90. Just like that, running forever.”

Completing the Boston Marathon means that Nga Vo has participated in 10 marathon distance competitions in just the past 2 years. In front of her, it is not a "road" race but a "trail" race (a combination of running and climbing hills) in Sapa - Lao Cai , at the upcoming Vietnam Mountain Marathon 2023, which will take place on September 23 this year...

“Trail running is completely different from road running,” Nga Vo explained, “Road running requires speed, but trail running requires muscle. Although I am a regular road runner, I adapted very quickly to trail running and soon had achievements on the podium, even though I had experienced some scary moments: Running in tears because I was afraid of ghosts, then afraid of the dark, because I ran beyond my normal limit on the trail in the past!”

Ahead is the destination of another race, and it will certainly still be the sky. Wishing Nga Vo to continue living the rhythm of life - breathing the rhythm of a strong and resilient runner, to continue to spread more and more positive energy to everyone around!

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/vo-thanh-nga-nga-vo-nu-runner-viet-nam-deo-co-do-sao-vang-vuot-qua-gioi-han-ban-than-chinh-phuc-boston-marathon-post688330.html