VPBank Hanoi International Marathon

Marathon, Half marathon, 10K, 5K in Hanoi, normally held in October. A mixed marathon course — Loops the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake before dawn.

The VPBank Hanoi International Marathon at a glance

Distances	Marathon, Half marathon, 10K, 5K
Main distance	42.2 km (marathon)
Usually held	October
Course	Mixed
City	Hanoi, Vietnam
Typical conditions	28.3°C high / 21.9°C low, rain on ~43% of days

Loops the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake before dawn.

Entering the VPBank Hanoi International Marathon

Entry fees, closing dates and start times are set by the organiser and change every year, so they are not reproduced here — a stale deadline is worse than none. The organiser’s own site and its social channels are the authoritative source for the current year, and are where entry opens.

What is stable, and what this page covers: the month the race is held, what the course is like, the conditions you should expect, and how long a build-up the distance needs.

Weather at previous VPBank Hanoi International Marathon races

Across the last ten years, Hanoi in October has averaged a daily high of 28.3°C and a low of 21.9°C, with at least a millimetre of rain on about 43% of days.

These are recorded observations for the race month averaged over ten years, not a forecast and not a single past race day — race dates move, so one day’s figures would mislead. Source: Open-Meteo historical archive.

How to prepare for the VPBank Hanoi International Marathon

How long to train

Build for 16 to 20 weeks from a base you already hold rather than from nothing. For marathon the block should peak at a longest run of 30–32 km, reached at least two weeks before race day so there is time to taper. Three weeks of taper is standard: cut volume by roughly a third each week while keeping some race-pace work so the legs stay sharp.

Training for this course

The course mixes surfaces and gradients, so build a training block that does the same rather than repeating one flat loop. Vary where you run week to week so nothing on race day is unfamiliar.

Conditions in October

Expect heat: daily highs average 28.3°C in October. Heat acclimatisation takes ten to fourteen days, so move some sessions to the warmest part of the day in the fortnight beforehand. Start slower than goal pace, drink to thirst at every station, and accept that a hot race is worth several minutes over a cool one. Rain is common — around 43% of days that month see at least a millimetre — so do some training runs wet and know which kit does not chafe.

Fuelling

Over 42 km you will need 30–60 g of carbohydrate an hour from early on, not once you feel empty. Rehearse the exact products in training — the gut trains like anything else — and check in advance which brand is handed out on course, because switching to an unfamiliar one mid-race is a common and avoidable mistake.

Race week

Sleep matters most two nights before, not the night before, so protect that one. Keep eating normally with a modest tilt toward carbohydrate, lay out kit the night before, and do nothing new: no new shoes, no new breakfast, no new socks. Plan to arrive at the start with time to spare — marathon fields move slowly through bag drop and security.

Distances and where the race is run

Marathon — 42.2 km
Half marathon — 21.1 km
10K — 10 km
5K — 5 km

The pin marks Hanoi city centre, the area the VPBank Hanoi International Marathon starts and finishes in. This is not the course line: the route is set by the organiser and changes between editions, so the official course map for the current year is theirs to publish. The routes below are for training on the same roads.

Train on these roads: 10K routes in Hanoi · long runs in Hanoi · GPS art routes