Run 43km, cycle 67km to draw a dragon to welcome the new year of Giap Thin 2024

Running and cycling to draw animals representing the new year is what Nguyen Ngoc Tien (working at the Norwegian Embassy) has been doing for many years.

Every Tet holiday, Nguyen Ngoc Tien painstakingly sketches out a map, checks the route, and then runs diligently to draw the mascot of the year. The animal he draws with his running steps, displayed on the map of the Strava application, makes the Vietnamese running community extremely excited.

Draw an animal every year... with your feet

On the morning of February 5, Nguyen Ngoc Tien and 18 friends from the Times Runners Club created a magnificent drawing depicting a majestic dragon holding a pearl. Notably, the pearl is located right in the middle of Ba Dinh Square. This is the 7th consecutive year that this runner with "foot flowers" has drawn a zodiac animal with his feet.

Before that, Mr. Tien started running and "drawing" since 2018. In 2020, Mr. Tien really attracted attention after drawing a very soulful buffalo in Long Bien district (Hanoi). In 2021, the running community was amazed by the tiger drawn by Mr. Tien with many sharp and vivid details.

Mr. Tien said: "Like every year, I was motivated by my fellow runners to draw a dragon to welcome the Year of the Dragon 2024. When drawing the dragon, I prioritized favorable areas, drawing at night and early morning so that everyone could run easily."

Because the distance to complete the dragon was very long, approximately 110km, Mr. Tien and his friends had to divide the work into two stages. In the first stage, he ran 43km to draw the dragon's head in two mornings (February 3 and 4). In the second stage, he cycled 70km from the night of February 4 to the early morning of February 5 to complete the dragon's body.

Prepare 3 months to draw the dragon in 2024

Two years ago, Mr. Tien drew a very beautiful and soulful tiger, so this time he had a lot of pressure to draw a dragon.

He shared: "The dragon image has many details, it is difficult to draw it clearly in a short distance. When Tet was 3 months away, I started looking for a place to draw the dragon. However, I was quite self-conscious because I didn't know if I could do it. I spent hours looking at the map on Google, disappointed and frustrated because I couldn't see any place on the street where I could draw the dragon."

After many days of studying the dragon's outstanding features, Mr. Tien found a way. He focused on drawing the dragon's head in Hanoi's Old Quarter. He drew the dragon's body in the To Lich River area. The dragon pearl was drawn by jogging in a circle in the Ba Dinh Square area.

At the end of the journey, the dragon drawn by Nguyen Ngoc Tien's running and cycling feet was highly praised by the Vietnamese running community, both realistic and soulful, with many meanings.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tien (47 years old) has been running since 2012 with the initial purpose of training to supplement cycling. Admitting himself as an introvert, Mr. Tien usually only "emerges" in the running community during Tet and spring with his drawings as a "running artist".

Although he does not participate much in jogging activities, Mr. Tien's photos make many people excited. His love of jogging, cycling and climbing is also passed on to his 3 children.