VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight

Experience the electric energy of Vietnam's largest night race as the city that never sleeps becomes your personal running track at the **VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight on Sunday, March 22, 2026**. Now in its fourth season and expecting over 12,000 athletes from across the globe, this midnight spectacle transforms the nation's most dynamic metropolis into a brilliantly illuminated playground. Departing from Tao Dan Park under the cool, traffic-free blanket of night, runners trace a 42.195km route past the Independence Palace's solemn walls, the neo-Romanesque spires of Notre-Dame Cathedral, the timeless facade of the Central Post Office, and the soaring Bitexco Financial Tower—each stride gliding through layers of Vietnamese history, from French colonial elegance to twenty-first-century ambition. It is a rare, breathtaking perspective on a city usually experienced through the window of a passing taxi.
Four distances accommodate every ambition: the full marathon, half marathon, 10km, and 5km, each delivering the signature VnExpress experience of seamless organization, complete course lighting, and race kits that include bibs, event singlets, and finisher shirts for half and full marathoners. The 2026 medal, unveiled to widespread acclaim, revives the beloved stamp-inspired rectangular design with serrated edges, embossed with the Central Post Office and Bitexco Tower against a purple night sky and an orange-gold moon. "Every step is like gliding through layers of the city's timeline," organizers explain, "preserving the intersection of past and present in the rhythm of the night." It is a keepsake worthy of the journey.

Registration closes March 5, 2026, with fees structured across four phases—Super Early Bird concluded, Early Bird until January 20, Regular until February 12, and Late until March 5. Group discounts reward collective effort: 5% for teams of 20–50, scaling to 25% for squads exceeding 1,000 runners. Corporate programs offer additional flexibility, with discounts accumulating across multiple bib purchases. The post-Tet timing delivers Ho Chi Minh City at its finest: dry air, mild temperatures, and a city freshly emerged from holiday hibernation, ready to welcome runners from Hanoi to Ha Long, Quy Nhon to international shores. This is not merely a marathon; it is the opening movement of Vietnam's 2026 racing season, a nocturnal festival of footfalls and friendship beneath Saigon's neon glow. Don't just visit the city of endless energy. Run through it.