Halong Bay Heritage Marathon

The event was not well organised. I signed up for the half and booked Tour Package D. The signing up process was not good, because there were differences in the rates, due to different currencies, info via email was scarce, and the absolute mess happened the day of pick up in Hanoi. The days before the info that came was little and vague. Since I had some questions, I emailed the organisers, but they either didn't answer or took their time to reply. On the day of pick up, I spent 1:45 hours waiting on the street for the bus to pick me up. Some others waited even more. The two buses, a big and a small one, drove in circles around the city for over two hours to collect 40 people. When that was finally done, we didn't take the motorway to Halong, but some dodgy B-road, which made the trip last forever. The mishaps continued forever. The route wasn't closed to traffic, so car drivers and motorists honked when behind us, part of the route was under construction, only a part of the route was scenic, especially the first few miles which run along the water. The weather wasn't nice and cool as advertised on the website and on Facebook, but hot and humid. The expo consisted of three desks, not even stands, where you could buy very few items. I bought the photos and received four confirmation emails in two days. There might be more coming. Some friends discovered their names on the name wall multiple times, etc. The organisers have to improve many things for next year.

The route itself is not so scenic as they describe it and it's not flat. There are some long, tiresome ascents, especially when going up to the bridge.

Really nice place and route , I really enjoyed the time being there , highly recommended . The event is very well organized and the weather is really good

Course is flat and along the coast. Starts early enough (5am) to avoid most the heat. Really well organised and lots of aid stations with clear signage. Enthusiastic crowds when in the Bay Area and lovely start and finish atmosphere. Well recommended if you are in SE Asia.

Amazing location. The whole run you don't feel it as it feels like you are in a movie the whole way. Super weather and superbly organised. Everyone makes you feel welcome and theres so much positive energy right around. You really feel great all the way.

Last 5km is up hill all the way so not the easiest route to PB.

Amazing views and perfect weather. I joined with 3 of my friends and we all enjoyed it and Halong Bay.

It was a very beautiful race, with a beautiful scenery in one of the 7 new natural wonders of the world, Halong Bay. Aside from waking up with a headache, probably due to lack of sleep and a slight discomfort in my stomach, I felt super ok during the race. The start was at 5:30 in the morning, in a 22°C temperature, with a humidity of 90%, at the end of the race reaching about 24°C, with a cloudy sky, thus allowing me to run a little faster than in the last 3 races, finishing with a final time of 03:12:31, 12/686 general place, respectively 5/193 in M30-39 age group. I am satisfied with this result, considering that I had the resources to cut a few more minutes of the final time.

I loved this experience! It was utterly beautiful to run with sunrise across the Bay. It was quite a flat route, but I really enjoyed going over the big bridge! The photography was really good, with clear photos and the water and energy stations were well stocked. It was great to see a different part of Halong.

Well organised, great location

I like the sea view while I was running. Thank you so much

I like the sea view while I was running. Thank you so much

Best overseas marathon experience to date. Well organized. Beautiful but challenging hilly scenic route. Weather was 14 degrees centigrade. I wore layers to run. My most enjoyable marathon to date.

good location and nice course view. organized support (route guide, water ) was good. I hope shuttle service to start line for next race.

It was not well organized for the course regulations at several areas

Nothing

It was a great route with beautiful scenery. The service staffs are all friendly and cheerful.

It was not well organized. First, while signing up, there was an option to pick an EXTRA shirt for free. Ok. Later I received one email that each runner only gets one shirt and which size I want. Since I had picked one M and one L, I decided for L. And in the end they still gave both of us the wrong size. Also they advertized the official shirt as a yellow one and in the end it was totally different(but still nice). THEN they said all of us can visit the nearby Museum for free...but the Museum knew nothing about it ! LOL. In countries like Thailand you have a huge event at the finish line, with Lots of food and drink and sponsors. Here you received a cup of water and half a Banana and that was it. The route was nice of course and I was happy with the event..but it could have been organized better. Also the place to pick up shirts was a Mess,without any indicators where to stand or line up.

Lots of renovation going on. Course is OK, support is good