Hanoi man runs 43km, cycles 67km to draw dragon on map to celebrate new lunar year
Tuesday, February 06, 2024, 15:46 GMT+7
Nguyen Ngoc Tien, hailing from Hanoi, has accomplished a remarkable feat by running 43 kilometers and cycling 67 kilometers within the capital city, forming the shape of a dragon on the map.
This creative endeavor coincides with the approaching Year of the Dragon.
He has run and cycled to draw the zodiac animals of lunar years over the past seven years.
Tien initiated the project by sketching the dragon shape on the map.
Following that, he carefully planned the route and executed the plan by running and cycling to create the visual representation.
The entire process was tracked using the fitness-tracking app Strava, which recorded his route through a GPS tracker.
Tien and his 18 friends in the Times Runners Club on Monday morning introduced the drawing of a dragon holding a pearl on the Strava app.
He drew the pearl by running around Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi.
Tien first conceived the idea of running to depict zodiac animals in 2018. However, it was in 2020 that his artworks gained significant attention.
His depiction of a buffalo, created by running in Long Bien District, Hanoi, garnered particular acclaim for its lively representation.
A year later, Tien’s tiger drawing was praised by the local running community.
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| The tiger Nguyen Ngoc Tien drew on the Strava app by running. Photo: Supplied |
Tien told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that his friends, who also shared a passion for running, were the ones who inspired and encouraged him to embark on the challenge of running to depict a dragon.
As the distance was long, at over 110 kilometers, Tien ran 43 kilometers on Saturday and Sunday last week to complete the dragon’s head and cycled 70 kilometers from Sunday night to the early hours of Monday to draw the dragon’s body.
“The dragon drawing has many details and it’s hard to make it lively with a short distance," he said.
“Three months before Tet, I began to study the route and was not sure if I could do it.”
He spent hours studying the map on Google and finally found the way after several days.
Tien drew the dragon’s head by running in the Old Quarter, while its body was completed after he cycled in the To Lich River area.
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| Nguyen Ngoc Tien (L) during his running journey to create the shape of a dragon. Photo: Supplied |
Tien, 47, is working for the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam.
He started running in 2012 with the aim of supporting his passion for cycling.
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