Save Turtles Run 2026
Five Years Of Footsteps For Nature

On Con Dao, where forested mountains descend towards the sea and turtles return to its shores, running becomes a gesture of connection. Marking its fifth year, Save Turtles Run 2026 transforms a sporting ritual into a celebration of nature, responsible travel and collective action, leaving a green imprint well beyond the finish line.

At first light on 9 August, Con Dao awakened to the rhythm of more than 700 runners. Setting out from The Secret Con Dao, participants took on 5km, 10km and 21km routes that traced the island’s coastal roads, residential quarters and more challenging stretches. Here, the landscape was never merely a backdrop. Mountains, forest and ocean accompanied every stride.

Since its inaugural edition in 2022, Save Turtles Run, organized by AKYN Hospitality Group and The Secret Con Dao, has pursued a distinctive idea: that sport can become a meaningful passage towards conservation. What began with 153 runners and a VND 107.9 million contribution to sea turtle conservation has, season by season, grown into a meeting point for runners, travellers, local communities and conservation advocates.

The evolution has been deliberate. Virtual participation broadened the programme’s reach in 2023; 2024 brought the memorable rescue of a 65kg green turtle; and in 2025, the introduction of the 21km distance invited runners to experience more of Con Dao’s terrain. Each edition has added another layer to a journey shaped by one enduring belief: meaningful travel should leave more than memories behind.

For its fifth chapter, “Final Chapter – Beyond The Finish Line,” carries a deliberately open-ended sentiment. It is less a conclusion than a pause to reflect on what five years of collective movement have made possible. In 2026 alone, the programme contributed another VND 100 million to sea turtle conservation, bringing its total contribution since 2022 to VND 529 million.

The race also celebrated its strongest performers. In the 21km category, Nguyen Tien Danh and Le Thi Kim Chi claimed the men’s and women’s titles in 1:28:41 and 1:39:23 respectively. The 10km victories went to Le Van Chi Cong and Nguyen Thi Hiep, while Nguyen The Viet Nhan and Khong Tran Gia Han led the 5km category.

Yet the most compelling moments unfolded away from the podium: a runner offering encouragement, friends crossing the line together, footsteps slowing to absorb the sea breeze. These quiet gestures capture the spirit of Save Turtles Run more eloquently than any stopwatch.

Five seasons have turned a race into a conversation between people and place. On Con Dao, where sea turtles remain part of the island’s living heritage, “Every Step We Take, Miles of Greener We Make” becomes more than a slogan. It is an invitation to travel with greater awareness, and to carry that awareness beyond the island, long after the finish line has disappeared from view.