The date for HCMC Run 2017 – The City Marathon has already been announced. The race will have place next January 15th at the Phu My Hung and this year, there is a new distance added besides the 5km, 10km and 21km. For the first time after 25 years, a full distance marathon of 42 km will be organized by Pulse Active.
After 4 years of being held, the event has become more than just a race, it is a pride for Ho Chi Minh citizens. Consequently, there has been an increase every year on the number of Vietnamese participants. The HCMC Run attracts a wide range of people; from children and families to office workers. Most of them are participating in the 5km course which is considered as the perfect distance for first timers where sport and fun is combined. This options is also chosen by many companies who use the run as a team building activity to enhance the team spirit among the different members in a company.
The Vietnamese athletes are evolving at the same rhythm than the race. We can clearly observe a tendency of runners who are changing from a shorter to a longer distance. Actually, over the last year, there has been many requests of offering a full marathon distance which has been finally applied for this upcoming 2017.
The organizer of the marathon, Pulse Active, has already organized many Sport, Lifestyle and Entertainment events in Vietnam ranging from the competitive (Danang International Marathon and Challenge Vietnam) to the recreational fun runs (Color Me Run and The PRISMA). The number of participants for the events goes up to 15000 for the Color Me Run.
By launching these mentioned sports events, Pulse Active envisions to build up the sports community in Vietnam as well grow sports tourism for the country. Additionally of the increase on the number of participants, the events have also lead to a change on the sports market. For example, sportswear records strong value growth of 11% to reach VND5.678 billion in 2015. Pulse Active was the pioneer on sports events but afterwards, other competitors have entered into the market increasing the number of sports events in Vietnam and making it easier for people to get into sports.
Apart of from the sports community inside Vietnam, there has also been an impact on the sports tourism of Vietnam. HCMC Run – The City Marathon attracts around 7,000 participants every year, in which 36% is the rate of marathon foreigners and tourists traveling from all over the globe. Pulse Active estimates that there has been an economic impact of between $10-$12 Million over the last three international competitive events of 2016.
“We are proud to bring a Marathon to Ho Chi Minh and we see it as our mission to contribute to a healthier and sporty community as well as to the tourism and sport development of the country. We are proud of our city and we aim to show it to the world through running”, said Mr. Bady Pham, Managing Director of Pulse Active.
After the great success during the last 4 years and with the addition of the new full distance marathon, HCMC Run – The City Marathon expects to attract many runners from all over the world and to become a must marathon in South East Asia.