Over 4,000 runners join Ben Tre Marathon in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region

The race was one of the activities held to celebrate the 200th birthday of Vietnamese poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu and his UNESCO recognition as a World Cultural Celebrity, as well as part of the provincial traditional cultural festival.

In addition to competition expertise, the tournament was meant to promote the development of tourism in Ben Tre among local and international sports lovers. 

The event took the runners through a uniquely-designed route, crossing green coconut trees, from the tomb and memorial area of Nguyen Dinh Chieu in Ba Tri District to Ben Tre City, the provincial capital.

Nguyen Dinh Chieu was born on July 1, 1822 in the former southern province of Gia Dinh, the location of modern Ho Chi Minh City.

He was a patriotic teacher, physician, and poet of southern Vietnam in the second half of the 19th century, the Vietnam News Agency stated.

Chieu contracted an eye infection and was soon blind at the age of 24 and later opened a small school to teach poor students.

He was a popular medical practitioner who offered treatment to local people.

The poet moved to Ben Tre in 1862 and continued teaching, writing, and making medicine until his passing in 1888.

His ‘Luc Van Tien,’ written in the 1850s, is one of the two most celebrated Vietnamese epic poems, along with Nguyen Du’s ‘Truyen Kieu’ (The Tale of Kieu) in the early 19th century.  

Nguyen Dinh Chieu was recognized as a UNESCO World Cultural Celebrity in November 2021.

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