My marathons

Vietnam Mountain Marathon 50km

Run on 19 September 2026. Next race: date not out yet. Sapa Town
Sa Pa
Sa Pa. Photograph by Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The VMM 50 km is a point-to-point race of 49.6 km that starts in Sapa Square and finishes at Topas Ecolodge, with 2,700 m of elevation gain.

The course in short 2 lines
  • From Sapa Square to Topas Ecolodge49.6 km, 2,700 m of gain, Sapa Square to Topas Ecolodge.
  • The long climb to Cow MountainSummit of Cow Mountain at 2,300 m, then down to Ta Phin.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
Whole courseLandmarkFrom Sapa Square to Topas Ecolodge49.6 km, 2,700 m of gain, Sapa Square to Topas Ecolodge.

The organiser calls it a tough but spectacular ultra with a flat opening to Sapa’s lake before the first climb out of town. Its finish sits on a hilltop at Topas Ecolodge, after the climb of Mount Silverstone. The race is the World Trail Majors short-series distance, with the VMM 100 km as the other.

Sourced

Whole courseGradientThe long climb to Cow MountainSummit of Cow Mountain at 2,300 m, then down to Ta Phin.

After the summit the organiser says the descent is mostly runnable in the dry and challenging in the wet. From checkpoint 5 the trail climbs steeply through Sau Chua village, and a net downhill leads from checkpoint 6 to checkpoint 7 through small villages and bamboo forest. The route onto Cow Mountain differs from the one used before 2023.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

7 gels for Sapa Town, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

Over this distance most runners mix in real food at the aid stations; the gels cover the hours between.

  1. km 7mile 4.3
  2. km 13.9mile 8.7
  3. km 20.9mile 13
  4. km 27.8mile 17.3
  5. km 34.8mile 21.6
  6. km 41.8mile 26
  7. km 48.7mile 30.3

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

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In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
49.6 km30.8 mi

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