Australian ultra-marathon man Pat Farmer and his running partner Mai Huy have completed the first stage of their Pole-to-Pole Vietnam run to raise funds for clean water programmes.

They covered a distance of 200 km from Mong Cai to Quang Yen in the northern province of Quang Ninh over three days from December 9.

The two runners are scheduled to embark on the next stage from Quang Ninh province to Sao Do town of Hai Duong province on December 12. The 40-day Vietnam run, which is expected to finish on January 20, also aims to highlight the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Australia.

Farmers, who completed an epic run of 21,000km from the North Pole to the South Pole also for the goal of raising funds for sanitation and clean water projects, said he hopes his footsteps will help bring clean water and better living conditions to poor people in Vietnam through the support of Australia Red Cross and Vietnam Red Cross.