Dan Quyet: 'Haven't broken PR yet because of pursuing marathon for a long time'

The amateur runner has not broken a personal record (PR) in two years because he pursues consistency instead of focusing on meaningless statistics.

After winning the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Night Run, Dan Quyet continued to participate in the VnExpress Marathon Hue on April 21. The amateur runner aims to win the championship despite having to compete with many national and international names. Before the tournament, Dan Quyet shared with VnExpress about the preparation process and future expectations.

- What does winning the Ho Chi Minh City Night Run Championship more than a month ago mean to you?

- After many times coming second in the VnExpress Marathon system, I am really happy to be crowned. It is more meaningful when the championship takes place right at home. My emotions are overwhelming. When I reach the finish line, I want to thank all the people who have been by my side and accompanied me throughout the past time, such as my wife - Pham Nga, and my teammates at Van Phuc Runners. The championship is like medicine that helps me to be more confident towards future tournaments.

Dan Quyet was present at the VM Hue expo area on April 20. Photo: Thi Quan — Dan Quyet was present at the VM Hue expo area on April 20. Photo: *Thi Quan*

- On the same day, April 21, there are many tournaments across the country. Why did you choose to compete at VnExpress Marathon Hue?

- Over the years, I have always appreciated the organization of VnExpress Marathon in terms of the race course, support, water supply, images, and award system. In particular, the race course is always guaranteed to be safe with good traffic flow, many water stations, and enthusiastic cheering volunteers.

As for Hue, this locality always makes me impressed and nostalgic with its beautiful landscape and friendly people. Every time I come here, I see people enthusiastic about the marathon. The race also renewed the entire race course, so I find it interesting and want to conquer the Dap Da bridge. I am just a little worried about the Vo Van Kiet section which lacks light every year. Hopefully this will be fixed this year.

Every year, VnExpress Marathon Hue always attracts a large number of runners, including top runners. This year, I will run with Nguyen Van Lai, Quoc Anh, Tien Luyen and athletes from Africa. Anh Lai won last year with a very high score. The rest are all very strong opponents while foreign athletes are unknown. The race day is predicted to be very tense and exciting. Competing with them gives me a lot of motivation and determination. I will compete with all my might.

- How do you prepare for this tournament?

- Compared to previous years, Hue is much hotter. Last year, I ran in the rain, it was only about 20 degrees Celsius. Now the forecast for race day is about 28 - 29 degrees Celsius. This is a big challenge that can somehow affect the final result.

However, I am not too worried because since the beginning of the year I have been training and participating in many tournaments with similar weather in Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Yen . My training regimen has been maintained stably for over a year. I accumulate 500km each month with all the tempo, longrun, interval, etc. exercises.

I arrived in Hue two days early to get acquainted with the competition conditions and to check out the race track. I am in good spirits and have a lot of motivation to conquer my goals. I see the competition and achieving high results as gifts for my wife and my first child who is about to be born.

- Why haven't you had any personal records in the past two years?

- I set a PR of 2 hours 37 minutes 28 seconds in March 2022. It has been more than two years since I set a new record. Last November, I came close to this number when I reached 2 hours 37 minutes 37 seconds when participating in a race in Ha Long.

Overall, my performance has not been outstanding but has been very stable. In the past two years, I have run 32 full marathons and dozens of half marathons. On average, I participate in 2-3 races per month and my performance is always guaranteed. This is what I pursue. I want my body to always be in a stable state of health, speed, and endurance, not focusing on pushing my performance up. When participating in a tournament, I always evaluate the competition conditions and my own condition to have the optimal strategy.

That doesn’t mean I don’t want to have more PRs, which is what every runner wants. I’m still training hard, building up to my goal of running sub 2:30 for the Chicago Marathon in October. There’s still half a year to go, enough time for me to achieve all the necessary factors.

Dan Quyet participates in the Ho Chi Minh City night run. Photo: VM — Dan Quyet participates in the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Night Run. Photo: VM

- What do you expect from VnExpress Marathon Hue 2024?

- I came to Hue with a relaxed and confident mindset. The goal is of course still to aim for a top 3 finish. I love the feeling of running in Hue, looking at the streets, the antiquity, the people cheering on both sides of the road, so I will try to enjoy every moment.

Besides competing, I also spent time meeting many friends and eating many delicious dishes because this is a locality with a very diverse and unique cuisine . I hope that myself and the 8,000 participants will have fun and memorable experiences when coming to Hue on this occasion.

Hoai Phuong

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