Phu Quoc Half Marathon, Vietnam

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American Runner Sets the Pace at the Inaugural Phu Quoc Half Marathon

Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, 19th June 2012 – Evan Fox of the United States won the inaugural Phu Quoc Half Marathon last Sunday. Outpacing the entire international field, he conquered Vietnam’s island race in 1 hour 19 minutes and six seconds to claim the title.

“It was a great venue to hold a race, with a picturesque race course running along the palm tree lined beach” said Fox. “I would love to take part in it again next year.” Even the overnight thunderstorms that made for some muddy conditions wasn’t enough to stop the champion from setting an outstanding time, who commented, “it’s all part of the challenge”.
In the women’s 21km race, Ireland’s Fiona Nichols ran victory, finishing in 1 hour 48 minutes and 11 seconds.

“This was actually my first time visiting Phu Quoc despite having lived in Vietnam for over 16 years.” she said. “The half marathon was the perfect opportunity to combine a weekend holiday with participating in a great event.”

The highly diverse international field featured athletes representing six continents and nineteen unique nations.

The event was staged on tropical Phu Quoc Island, located off of the southwest coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand. All runners began and finished at the luxurious Long Beach Resort Phu Quoc, one of the island’s premiere four-star resorts. In addition to the headlining 21km half marathon race, runners were also offered a shorter 10km race and a 5km fun run that took place on the same scenic race course.

Guest-of-Honour, Mr Vo Thanh Nam, President of Phu Quoc’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department was in attendance to witness the event.

The Phu Quoc Half Marathon was Sporting Republic’s anticipated follow-up event to their highly successful Bitexco Vertical Run organised in Ho Chi Minh City last year. The Hong Kong based sport event company is currently working on several more projects in Vietnam, including plans to extend the vertical run series to Vietnam’s tallest building, the Landmark 72 in Hanoi.

“With such a positive response coming from the Phu Quoc Half Marathon and exceeding our registration expectations for its first year, we are confident that there is a strong demand for endurance and running events in Vietnam,” said Greg Bilecky of race organisers Sporting Republic. “We have been working full time to bring what should be a great schedule of races to various destinations in Vietnam for 2012.”

Race Results:

21km Men’s Overall
1st: Evan Fox – USA: 1 hour 19 minutes 6 seconds
2nd: Christian Schussmueller – Germany: 1 hour 33 minutes 18 seconds
3rd: Hitoshi Ogawa - Japan: 1 hour 35 minutes 41 seconds

21km Women’s Overall
1st: Fiona Nichols – Ireland: 1 hour 48 minutes 11 seconds
2nd: Harrop Edwina Clare Gough – United Kingdom: 1 hour 55 minutes 48 seconds
3rd: Melissa Bishop – USA: 1 hour 56 minutes 19 seconds

Official Event Website: www.pqmarathon.com