Running in Vietnam

I know I have been saying this a lot about other countries, but running in Vietnam really isn’t easy. Actually it’s been the worst country so far for running. Reasons are different in each city we have visited, but the only place I managed to run outside was Dalat, and it was a great pleasure, definitely my running highlight during the 5 weeks itinerary of Vietnam.

Dalat is a really cool place. In the mountains (1500 msl), with a cooler climate and plenty of trails suitable for running. In fact just 2 weeks after our visit to Dalat, the Asian Trail Championship were scheduled to take place there.

Hanoi was a mess, millions of scooter everywhere, it was during Chinese New Year (TET) so it was even messier than usual and all the gyms were closed for over a week. I actually felt sad for the 3 joggers i saw running on the 2km lap around the central lake, dodging the hordes of tourists. Da Nang area is so busy that even on the road to Hoi An there is plenty of traffic. Southern than Nha Trang the weather starts to be very hot and you still have vehicles moving in any direction from any corner. Ho Chi Minh City is notably a urban jungle. Huè might have been a nice place to run around, as well as Tam Coc, but I didn’t have enough time, as you can read here we had plenty of things to see around Ninh Binh & Hue.

February and March ended up being very limited mileage months: only 70km and 56km recorded respectively- and most of them indoor. Not good but things will change in April!

Recap of my Vietnam’s Runs