Son La (VNA) – The VietnamTrail Marathon officially kicked off in Moc Chau district in the northernmountainous province of Son La on January 18 evening.

The two-day event drew the participation ofnearly 1,900 racers from 39 countries and territories.

Top trail runners of Vietnam, Tran DuyQuang and Cao Ngoc Ha, have competed in the event along international leadingathletes such as Jo Meek of the UK, and Moritz auf der Heide of Germany.

This is the first time the tournament hasbeen held in Moc Chau and the third competition in the chain of trail marathonevents held by Topas.

As the biggest trail marathon event inAsia, runners will compete in a wide range of distances from 10-70km.

Those who compete in the 70km distancestarted at 4am in Moc Chau, running through flower valleys in full bloom andremote villages, ending up at the Trai Tim (heart) tea hill.

As planned, over 550 million VND (around23,726 USD) will be allocated to projects in Moc Chau, which aim to reduce theinfant mortality rate as well as provide cleft lip and cleft palate surgeriesfor children.

Topas has been operating in Vietnam sincethe 1990s in the field of adventure tourism, focusing on organising sports andoutdoor events.–VNA