Stonehaven’s Robert Hudson says he was “kind of surprised” after winning the Ho Chi Minh City Marathon while on holiday in Vietnam.
The 36-year-old cruised round the 26.3-mile (42.2km) course in 2:33.33 to top a field of thousands of athletes in Sunday’s race.
He finished close to three minutes (2:36.31) ahead of former Vietnamese international Le Van Tuan in a unique event which got under way at 3am due to South Vietnam’s hot and humid year-round climate.
Robert said: “We probably got lucky by flying in Friday night to Saturday morning.
“I’m with my wife, so we forced ourselves to be in the sun, go to the expo, get a good lunch in and then I was bedded just after 7pm – and I actually was tired.
“It wasn’t planned that way, but it worked out and I was able to get five good hours sleep before waking up at 1am to have a bit of toast and a coffee.
“I went in with no expectation other than to just enjoy it. This was a long run for fun really. I just wanted to run it at a steady pace – and I did that.”
Robert was content to bide his time in the race, and when rivals ahead of him faltered, he was Sai-gone, adding: “There were four runners who took off just ahead of me and they all blew up.
“I was kind of surprised I won it – I thought there would’ve been a better calibre of athlete, but it was more a top-end masters field.
“It was a unique experience. I would highly recommend it. It was cheap to enter and a great course.”
Robert’s next big marathon effort
Ex pat Robert’s participation in the Ho Chi Minh City Marathon fitted in to a holiday he and his wife are currently taking in Vietnam from their home in South Korea.
Robert grew up in Stonehaven and graduated from the University of Aberdeen, but has lived in South Korea for 16 years and works as a university English teacher – having initially only travelled over to teach for a year.
Before emigrating to Asia, football was Robert’s sport of choice, and he played at youth level for Stonehaven, before turning out for Cowie Thistle.
He thinks football gave him a base level of endurance when he took up running in 2015.
Robert says he initially started running to “keep fit, but it’s progressed a bit from there”, revealing he started to take it “quite seriously” from 2018 onwards.
The Aberdeenshire athlete now has close to 30 marathons under his belt – including New York, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo and Seville.
Having cantered to victory in Ho Chi Minh City, Robert aims to go quicker in his next race outing.
He is looking to build on his personal best of 2:24.01 in March’s Seoul Marathon, and said: “Seoul has two kind of events there, so I’ve done it about six times now.
“That’s the race I’m targeting.
“My PB is 2:24.01, so hopefully around the 2:23 mark would be ideal, if all goes well and weather permitting.”
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