People who run every morning aren’t always chasing fitness – sometimes they’re protecting the only hour of the day that belongs entirely to them

It’s 5:40am in Saigon. The city is just starting to stretch. The motorbikes are still rare, the food stalls are flicking on their fluorescent lights, and the river path is empty except for me and a handful of other runners doing the same thing for, I suspect, the same unspoken reason.

I run every morning. Have done for years. And if you asked me why, I’d probably mumble something about cardiovascular health or staying sharp for work. That answer would be technically true and almost completely beside the point.