Trinh Quoc Luong runs barefoot and still comes first in the MetaSports Marathon Nha Trang

The athlete from Bac Giang said this was the first time he encountered such a "tragic" situation. About 8 km from the destination, a shoe was glued and the sole was peeled. Quan decided to remove and run barefoot. "I was able to remove one, but due to haste, I accidentally knotted my shoelaces. I struggled and could not remove the other. Fearing that the group behind me would follow, I stood up and continued running with one leg. and one foot without shoes," recounted Trinh Quoc Luong.

He just ran and asked the BTC team on duty on the way to find a lighter or anything that could break the laces of the other shoe, but there was none. "At that time, my mentality was extremely unstable, losing my temper, afraid of the following group chasing me, so I couldn't do the manipulations neatly," said Luong with a laugh. After limping for more than 1 km, Luong met a water filling station. There is a fruit knife. He used a knife to cut the shoelaces, running barefoot to the finish line.

Twice stopping to remove his shoes, it took him two minutes to narrow the gap with the following group. Unaccustomed to running barefoot, Luong's racing speed was significantly reduced. Last 2 km, Hua Thuan Long overcame from behind. "In the first turn, I looked back at the opponent, did not see Mr. Hua Thuan Long, only saw Mr. Nguyen Van Long, so I did not take precautions," Luong said.

Psychological instability plus painful feet due to blistering, when Hua Thuan Long overcame, Luong did not observe carefully, still thinking that this is a 21km athlete, so he followed behind to relieve fatigue. "Following, but I had a bad feeling, so I asked. He answered running 42km, I was startled, stretched to the finish line," the male athlete said. Trinh Quoc Luong crossed the finish line before Hua Thuan Long only 2 seconds.

The wet road due to athletes' drinking water, plus sweat, is quite slippery when running barefoot. "I had to run on tiptoes so as not to fall. I didn't get tired when I finished, but my toes were bleeding and I was in pain, I couldn't stand but sat down on the ground. Fortunately, there was support from the medical team," he said.

Since following a sports career, this is the first time Luong has run barefoot. In the race in Nha Trang on the morning of August 13, Luong did not reach the achievement goal, but he was satisfied that he did not give up when faced with a difficult situation. According to Luong, this is the most emotional race ever.

To keep memories, after the race, the male athlete asked many acquaintances to look for shoes, but only found one. "I will put this shoe in a special place in my house to always remember the race in Nha Trang. I still hope BTC or someone in Nha Trang picks up the other two pieces," Luong laughed.

Before the race, Luong prepared a new pair of shoes. He only wore it once while surveying the road. This is a line of men's running shoes that athletes are familiar with when competing, so buy a lot of stock.

When leaving the starting line, the shoes were still Luong's assistant, and he compared with the Kenyan athlete to the 16th km. The Vietnamese track and field athlete only retreated after going up Luong Son Pass. "The steep pass is not an advantage, while the opponent climbs very well, so I maintain my speed to find opportunities to pass. However, the incident broke all plans," he shared.

As a result, Trinh Quoc Luong finished third overall, with a record of 2 hours 44 minutes 32 seconds, after two foreign athletes, Hiroki Nakajima (Japan) and Victor Kipkemei Chepkwony (Kenya).

Trinh Quoc Luong (27 years old, Bac Giang) is a track and field athlete, on the payroll of the Border Guard sports team. He has been in sports since 2011. 3 years ago, this was the prominent name of the Vietnamese running village. He won the Hanoi night run in 2020 with a score of 2 hours and 31 minutes. This is also the MetaSports Marathon system-wide record.