Van Trang: 'Run with my legs, not with the gossip of the crowd'

On September 6, sunlight spread over the terraced rice fields of Y Ty when Van Trang crossed the finish line in 4 hours 26 minutes. She stopped her watch in first place of the women's 42km, but what surprised many was the overall runner-up position – a rare result for a female trail runner competing against nearly all the male finishers. The image of the mother of four, covered in mud, quickly went viral. Yet, among the congratulations, there were comments targeting her chest with disrespectful metaphors, saying she carried 'two grapefruits' while running. Van Trang, nicknamed Jang Doll, was born in 2026 and lives in Hanoi. She is not a professional athlete, nor does she have a full-time nutrition and recovery system. She is a mother of four children. She learned to fit training into small fragments of her daily routine. That is why the 42km distance at Y Ty was a brutal challenge. The race is held in Y Ty commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province, the site of La Than peak at 2,860 meters above sea level. The 42km course has more than 1,300 meters of accumulated elevation gain, with steep slopes, dried creeks and slippery single tracks. Thin mountain air makes every decision important. 'The 42km distance has slopes that almost drain all my energy,' Van Trang said. 'At those moments, I focused on the section right ahead, maintained my breathing, distributed my energy and refueled at the right time. I told myself: stay calm, as long as I still have strength, I still have a chance. This endurance comes from consistency and discipline. Besides running, I train with gym, swimming and supplementary exercises to build fitness daily.' Van Trang's story did not start at the podium. The stadium was empty, but the echo of passion never fades. Even when nobody was watching, she still woke up early and trained in silence. In a place where spotlights cannot reach, dreams are still practicing. For her, stage lights matter less than whether she can finish her own workout plan. The way she moved up La Than peak is the clearest proof that discipline needs no audience. But the story did not end at the finish line. Shortly after photos of Van Trang in tight running clothes appeared, some social media users began discussing her body. They ignored her pace, her climbing strategy and her result. Instead, they focused on her natural chest and mocked her. Such comments are more than an overblown joke. They reflect a long-running prejudice: female athletes are often judged by appearance instead of achievement. While male ultra runners are celebrated as warriors, a woman finishing a 42km mountain race is dissected for her shape. Van Trang refused to stay silent. She responded: 'Honestly, I dare anyone to run 42km or 55km on mountain roads carrying two grapefruits! I run with my legs, not with my body appearance, so why drag me into online gossip groups? Some people see pressure, but I see it as vitamin C for my spirit. The important thing is that I finished, that I am happy and healthy. Judge all you want, I run with my legs, not with the mouths of others.' Her answer received huge support from the running community. Many people understood her situation: having been mocked for not looking like a typical athlete, or being asked why she runs when she has four children. But Van Trang did not let those eyes change her mind. She said: 'Sports clothes first need to be comfortable and safe. If I change myself just because I am afraid of judgment, I will always live by other people's eyes. I choose to focus on the route and my own goals.' What people see in her result is tactics; what we should feel is soul. Her finish time can be measured by a watch, but what created that time is the quiet discipline of a mother who still woke up at 4:00 am and put on her shoes while her children were sleeping. If you look closely at her training schedule, there is no magic. There are only long weekend runs, gym sessions, swimming recovery and a routine arranged down to the minute. Y Ty was not pure luck. It was a reward for consistency. The bigger issue is not who is wrong in the argument over her appearance. The deeper problem is the gap between what some audiences see and the true value of a personal effort. Some people may not understand what it feels like to keep climbing when your legs are heavy, or what cramping at kilometer 35 means. But everyone can recognize a woman finishing among the fastest runners in the entire race. At that moment, disrespectful comments become nothing more than noise. Now Van Trang is already targeting the 70km VMM race and then a 100km finish line later this year. She says: 'Let results speak. I don't need to become the version others want to see. Every day, I just need to become a better version of myself.' In that spirit, all the gossip about her body, her tight clothes and her figure as a mother of four turns into dust along the trail. Van Trang did not cross the finish line by luck. She crossed it through mornings nobody saw, through drops of sweat on the treadmill in her living room, through a quiet commitment to herself. And when she says 'run with your legs, not with other people's mouths', it is not just a provocative quote. It is the declaration of a woman who knows that achievement needs no explanation.