Husband-Carrying-Wife Race in Can Gio: When Non-Professional Arena Becomes a Lens to View Vietnamese Sports

In the scorching September heat of Can Gio, where green mangrove forests along the Saigon River catch the midday sun, an unusual race took place. There was no starting gun piercing the air, no hurdles or special track. Just a smooth 200-meter stretch, a few dozen couples with shuffling steps, bent knees, carrying each other from start to finish. The winning couple's finishing time? Over three minutes. Average speed — approximately 1.1 meters per second, equivalent to a brisk walk while carrying a 50-kilogram sack of rice on one's back.

This is the wife-carrying race — a game originating from Northern Europe, called Eukonkanto in Finnish — held for the fifth consecutive year at the HDBank-sponsored marathon. Alongside it were children's runs of 1.5 km and 3 km, creating a comprehensive picture: sports is not only for powerful athletes competing, but also a playground for entire families.

A Race Outside the Official Competition System

Before delving deeper, this event must be placed correctly on the sports map. The wife-carrying race belongs to no official World Athletics system, has no qualifying standards, no world rankings, and certainly no records were broken here. This is an event at the grassroots level of mass participation sports — where the goal is not to find the fastest or strongest, but to attract as many participants as possible.

Comparing the winning couple's speed at Can Gio with the world record of the Eukonkanto discipline — approximately 60 seconds for 253.5 meters in the Finnish version — is disproportionate. But this very comparison reveals something important: people didn't come to Can Gio to break records. They came for an experience, to do something quirky together in the early autumn sun, and perhaps — for a good social media photo.

Based on my observations over more than two decades following running events in Vietnam, this trend is not new. In the early 2010s, when large-scale marathons began appearing in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, most participants had never run before. They bought shoes, trained in parks, and completed their first 10 km in over an hour. That was the prehistory of Vietnamese mass sports — pure curiosity and the desire to challenge oneself.

Now, after more than a decade, we have more professionally organized marathons, with precise timing systems, professional athletes participating, and — more importantly — side events like this wife-carrying race. Its presence for five consecutive years shows: organizers have understood that a marathon is not just 42 km of running, but a comprehensive sports festival.

The Winning Couple: Xuan Them and Thuy Linh

The winners of this year's wife-carrying race were Mr. Xuan Them, 34, and his wife, Ms. Thuy Linh, 29. Both belong to An Suong Runners — a community running club, not a sports team or academy. This information is more important than we think. It shows that the winners here are not professionally trained athletes, but amateur runners who could be office workers, factory workers, or anyone passionate about running.

Notably, this couple didn't stop at the wife-carrying race. The next day, both registered for the full 42 km marathon. This is a decision worth contemplating. Carrying approximately 40 to 50 kg on one's back for 200 meters, then running 42 km the next day in September heat — this is not something an inexperienced person would do. It shows both are experienced runners, accustomed to running on consecutive days, and have probably completed several marathons before.

When asked about his motivation for participating, Mr. Xuan Them shared that he found it "interesting" and "useful for the community." This answer, based on my experience following amateur events, is very characteristic of Vietnamese amateur runners. They don't run to break personal records (though sometimes they do), they run for joy, for community, and for some indescribable reason — what people call "runner's high."

Children and the Future of Mass Sports

If the wife-carrying race was the highlight for adults, the children's runs of 1.5 km and 3 km are what sports policy planners should be thinking about. This is the lowest tier of the mass sports pyramid — where children first learn the concept of "running as a sport."

In one of the children's runs, a young child cried midway — a perfectly normal sight at children's running events worldwide. What deserves recognition is that pacers were present, helping the child complete the course. This detail shows the organizer had safety and supervision preparation, though the professional level may not yet meet international standards.

According to data from recent marathons in Vietnam, the growth rate of participation in short distances (5 km, 10 km) has consistently been higher than in marathons. This shows: mass sports is gradually forming from the ground up, from beginners, and children's running events are the bridge between the next generation and exercise habits. A child participating in a 1.5 km run today might become a 42 km marathon runner in ten years.

The Festival Marathon Model: When Sports Becomes a Marketing Product

The fact that HDBank — a commercial bank — is the title sponsor of this marathon is not coincidental. In Vietnam's fiercely competitive banking sector, sponsoring a mass sports event is an effective marketing strategy. Unlike TV or newspaper advertising — where viewers can skip — a marathon creates a direct experience, linking the company's image to the thoughts of thousands of participants and spectators.

This model — I call it the "festival marathon" — has been proven effective in many Southeast Asian countries. In Thailand, the Phuket Marathon attracts tens of thousands of foreigners annually, becoming part of the sports tourism industry. In Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur Marathon has developed into a brand. In Vietnam, although not yet at impressive levels, the trend is gradually forming.

But more importantly, the festival marathon model benefits not only the sponsor. It creates a comprehensive sports ecosystem where both professionals and amateurs, adults and children, can participate. The wife-carrying race, children's runs, and 42 km marathon exist within the same event — each serving a different audience, but all converging on one common point: sports as a community activity.

The Real Risk: Temperature and Humidity

Returning to the numbers. The wife-carrying race took place in just over three minutes for 200 meters. At an average speed of 1.1 meters per second, the man carrying the woman on his back endures a load equivalent to 55 to 75 percent of his own body weight. In exercise physiology, this is a significant load, especially when combined with bent-knee posture and short steps — factors that create pressure on the lower back and knees.

But the real risk isn't in those 200 meters. The risk lies in the fact that this couple — and many other couples — will continue to run a 42 km marathon the next day. September in southern Vietnam sees average temperatures of 27-32 degrees Celsius with humidity potentially reaching 80-90 percent. This is conditions that any sports coach would warn about: running a marathon in this weather requires careful water and electrolyte supplementation strategies, as well as the ability to adjust pace when the body shows signs of heat overload.

I have witnessed many amateur runners collapse from heatstroke at marathons in Vietnam, especially at events held during summer. This is an issue that organizers need to take more seriously — not only for participant responsibility, but also for potential legal consequences if incidents occur.

A Different Perspective: Women's Sports in Vietnam

There is one angle that I — as a gender equality advocate in sports — cannot overlook. In the wife-carrying race, the woman plays the role of "load" — she is carried, transported, set down. Meanwhile, the man decides pace, direction, and strategy. This is an athletic interaction model that gender researchers have repeatedly pointed out: even in recreational activities, gender power structures are recreated.

However, it must also be said: in the context of Vietnam in 2026, women's participation in mass sports activities has increased significantly. Children's runs include both boys and girls. Marathons have increasingly more female participants. And most importantly — Ms. Thuy Linh herself, the one being carried, also registered for the 42 km marathon the next day. She is not just "the one being carried." She is a runner.

A View from Outside the Field

Throughout more than two decades of writing about sports, I have learned one thing: never underestimate the power of seemingly small events. A wife-carrying race at Can Gio may mean nothing to a professional track athlete, but it means something to hundreds of participants, their families, and the Vietnamese amateur running community.

This event also reveals a trend: Vietnamese sports is gradually shifting from "watching" to "participating." Previously, Vietnamese mainly watched sports on television — football, volleyball, Olympic athletics. Now, more and more people participate themselves: running, swimming, cycling, yoga, gym. This is an important cultural change, driven by events like the Can Gio Marathon.

However, the concerning issue is: the organization quality of mass sports events in Vietnam still hasn't kept pace with growth rates. Shortcomings in emergency medical services, precise timing systems, and beginner coach training — these are issues that Vietnamese sports needs to address if it wants to turn mass sports into a sustainable industry.

Conclusion: What Arena for Vietnamese Sports?

Returning to the wife-carrying race. 200 meters in just over three minutes. A brief moment in a long day at Can Gio. But behind that moment is an entire story about Vietnamese sports changing — from "watching" sports to "doing" sports, from stadiums reserved only for professional athletes to roads where anyone can run.

The couple Xuan Them and Thuy Linh will never be mentioned in world rankings. They won't have nicknames, sponsorship deals, or fans. But they completed a race — not with speed, but with participation. And in a country where mass sports is still developing, participation — in my understanding — is the most valuable thing.

Tomorrow, both will run the 42 km marathon. I don't know their finishing time. But I know one thing for sure: they will finish. Because people who can carry 50 kg on their back in September heat, then get up the next day to run again — those are not people who give up easily.