Ngoc Hoa - from wild card to national marathon record

Once a reserve member of the Binh Phuoc athletics team, but thanks to her extraordinary efforts after eight years, Hoang Thi Ngoc Hoa set a national record.

Although they both trained in the Binh Phuoc athletics team, Ngoc Hoa became famous much later than her fellow countryman Hoang Nguyen Thanh. The name of this female runner only became more widely known after she reached 2 hours 44 minutes 52 seconds at the Hong Kong Marathon on January 21, breaking the old national record of 2 hours 45 minutes 9 seconds set by Hoang Thi Thanh at the 2016 National Championship - the same time Ngoc Hoa started packing up and leaving home to start her career.

Ngoc Hoa competes at the Hong Kong Marathon 2024. Photo: NVCC

Unlike Nguyen Thanh, who was assessed by coach Tran Doan Minh Thien of the Binh Phuoc athletics team as having the qualities to run a marathon, Ngoc Hoa rose up mainly with her extraordinary will and desire to assert herself.

Born in 2000, Ngoc Hoa grew up in a farming family with three sisters. She loved running since middle school and represented Thuan Phu Secondary School in the Phu Dong Sports Festival. In 2014, the Binh Phuoc athletics team opened a selection round for talented athletes. Hoa was introduced by a friend to take the test. Here, Hoa was evaluated by coach Minh Thien, who later guided her until she went to Hong Kong and set a national record.

"Compared to her peers in the provincial gifted class, Ngoc Hoa does not have as good qualities. At that time, she was selected based on sending practice, a kind of reserve. However, it can be said that Ngoc Hoa is diligent to make up for her ability. She is very hard-working. Whatever homework I give her, Ngoc Hoa completes, even asks to practice more. She is very aware of her own shortcomings and finds ways to improve. I think Ngoc Hoa has a desire to assert herself, even though she is usually a bit shy," commented coach Minh Thien.

Initially, Ngoc Hoa trained for the 5km distance in the gifted team. At the age of 16, she switched to marathon training (42.195km) as assigned by the coaches. For objective reasons, Binh Phuoc athletics focused on cross-country and mountain climbing distances. Since then, thanks to her own will, Ngoc Hoa gradually improved her performance and became a formidable long-distance runner of Vietnamese athletics.

"Perhaps because I was born in a place with only sunshine and red basalt soil all year round, and had to work to support my parents since I was very young, I have become accustomed to hardships and hardships and always aspire to excel through sports ," Ngoc Hoa shared, while thanking her family for creating conditions for her to pursue a top career. "In the early years when I was away from home to train with the national team, my parents often traveled 20 km to visit me. Later, when I grew up and became independent, my parents felt more secure."

Ngoc Hoa takes a photo with coach Minh Thien after winning the bronze medal in the SEA Games 31 marathon. Photo: NVCC

Although only 24 years old, Ngoc Hoa has gone through ups and downs. In 2022, she won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 31st SEA Games. The moment Hoa vomited after finishing the race became one of the most impressive images of the SEA Games in Hanoi. After this achievement, Hoa was expected to change the color of the medal at the SEA Games the following year, in Cambodia. However, she could not surpass her own time of 2 hours 57 minutes 35 seconds and was surpassed by Le Thi Tuyet ( Phu Yen ) and Nguyen Thi Ninh (Army) at the National Sports Festival (December 2022), resulting in her not getting a ticket to the SEA Games.

Despite this setback, Hoa threw herself into training. In December 2023, she finished third in the Techcombank Marathon in Ho Chi Minh City with a time of 2 hours 50 minutes. According to coach Thien, this tournament is just one step in a four-month plan for Hoa to aim to break the national record at the Hong Kong Marathon.

Coming to a major race that attracts up to 35,000 runners from all over the world, Ngoc Hoa said she was quite nervous when standing at the starting line. Not to mention, the day before the race, Hoa had a health problem because she was not used to the cold weather of Hong Kong, plus a very tight training and competition schedule.

"That was only my second time running abroad. The foreign athletes were very individual, looking at them, I was a bit nervous. I really liked that feeling. There was something exciting. Standing next to such athletes made me feel more professional. The Hong Kong course was very windy because it was coastal and had many slopes. When I was about 100m from the finish line, the coach predicted that I would have the possibility of breaking the record, so he urged me to speed up. I was overwhelmed with emotions when I got home even though I was quite tired and couldn't think of anything else," Hoa recounted.

Hoa said competing in the Asian Championship in Hong Kong was a valuable experience that helped her gain more confidence. She hopes to participate in more tournaments abroad in the future.

Ngoc Hoa plays with senior Nguyen Thanh during a practice session. Photo: NVCC

Besides coach Minh Thien, Ngoc Hoa admitted that she was also greatly influenced by Nguyen Thanh - who also set a national record at the Hong Kong Marathon. Both were born and raised in Dong Phu district, Binh Phuoc - a land famous for its emulation movement to be good farmers.

"Many people saw that I had the same last name and lived in the same district as Thanh, so they asked if we were related. I would like to clarify that this was just a coincidence. However, Thanh was like a brother to me in the Binh Phuoc athletics team. He guided me a lot. Whenever I didn't understand something, I asked Thanh because he was easy-going and always willing to help," Hoa said.

Currently, Ngoc Hoa and her teammates from Binh Phuoc athletics team are training in Binh Thuan to get used to the sunny and windy conditions. First, they will focus on the national championship at the end of March. Binh Phuoc's goal is to win both men's and women's marathon gold medals.

As for Hoa, she hopes to stick with marathons for a long time and continue to push her limits. "I like the spirit of constant effort in marathons. Only then can I know how far I can go. That's why I'm not afraid of challenges, always trying to overcome my shadow of yesterday. I still have many goals to conquer and want to contribute more to my hometown Binh Phuoc," she said.

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