Thailand Marathon – Part 2

Having had a nice few days in Bangkok, it was now time for the race.

The alarm went off just after 2am on the Sunday morning, giving enough time to get ready then triple-check everything because I'm paranoid I'll forget something.

The minibus left the hotel in Bangkok at 3am and took 90 minutes to get to the temple where the race was starting. It was still warm outside - a taste of things to come. They gave us a light breakfast on the coach. I was almost too nervous to eat but forced it down as I knew I'd need the energy.

The scene at the start was magical. There were only 250 or so marathon runners, but about 1,500 doing the half and 10k (it was mainly locals doing the shorter distances - that shows who's got sense!). It was still dark, the temple grounds were lit up and there were tents and food stalls everywhere.

Before the race started there was a traditional blessing but I was so busy checking my bum-bag contents again that I missed it. There were also fireworks but I think they were during my 4th and final visit to the toilet.

Finally, I kissed Debbie goodbye and headed nervously to the start. I lined up near the back with Kevin, the guy from Houston. Even though I had skimpy running shorts and an even skimpier running vest I was still sweating. Then we were off.

Kevin's race plan was to run slow and steady and that stopped me racing off at the beginning. It was an eerie feeling following this trail of people down dark country roads with burning torches staked every 50 yards or so.

Kevin walked for a minute every mile so I carried on by myself. My aim had changed from beating 4 hours to coming in as much below 5 hours as possible.

The Thai Temples Marathon is the friendliest race I have ever done. I chatted to a young man from Singapore until mile 6 then at 7 miles I met an English guy who ran the bar and restaurant services for a hotel in Phuket and we talked until about mile 17. When the Tsunami hit I thought of him and whether he was still there.

The English guy pushed my pace up and I ran faster than I should have, but the time and miles went by smoothly. Unfortunately he had to rest at 17 miles as an old injury started to flare up.

The course goes out to a temple just over halfway then comes back on much the same road so I got to say hello to people again. Every mile or so were simple concrete bridges - about 10 feet in height. On the way out we were joking "watch out for the hills" but on the way back each one was like Everest.

The roads were very quiet and occasionally there were schoolchildren singing and adult Thai bands. The water stations were excellent. There was water at least every 2 miles towards the end and they had fruit and iced sponges as well.

Although we were protected from the sun by thin cloud, it was hot and unbelievably humid making dehydration a real issue. I made sure that I stopped at every water station and regularly doused my head with iced water. I avoided the mistake some people made of soaking themselves all over as wet socks are very tough on your feet after 26.2 miles!

The fact that it was my first full marathon, that I was under-prepared due to injury, had jet lag and it was humid combined to make the last hour incredibly hard. Someone asked me after if I'd wanted to walk at all. I said "With 6 miles to go I wanted to walk. With 3 miles to go I wanted to lie down and sleep. It was only the snakes beside the road that stopped me".

Actually there was one very clear thought that kept me going. I was going to send a text to Kim at work when I'd finished and it was going to say "Finished in xx:xx. DID NOT WALK". Honestly, I just kept repeating it to myself over the last few miles (embarrassingly loud sometimes but everyone just assumed I was American).

I kept working out how far I had to go and how long it would take. I reckoned I had 10 minutes to go and was really suffering when I was cheered on by the wife and daughter of a French runner I had spoken to and wondered why they were so far from the finish line. Then I turned a corner and saw the finish line just 200 metres away. What a lovely surprise.

Even though I was exhausted I remember sprinting towards the line. However, when I watched it back on video I was barely shuffling, so goodness knows how slowly and painfully I must have been running up til then.

I'd done it. A lovely young lady squeezed ice-cold water over my head (which was beautiful) then the race doctor asked how my hip was doing. The event was so friendly that while I was running Debbie had been chatting to the doctor so he knew I was carrying an injury and came over to check it out. Imagine that happening at London or New York!

I had finished in 4h 45m. Under the 5 hours and really the best I could do. I had given everything and was totally exhausted. I lay by a tree and drank loads of water then hobbled over to get some food. It was lovely to be able to stand by the finish line once I had showered and applaud some of the people I'd met as they finished.

Later we caught the bus back to the hotel and I spent the afternoon resting by the pool, enjoying a beer and basking in the glow of my success. I even booked myself an hour's Thai massage which was lovely except when she did my feet!

I didn't sleep too well again Sunday night which surprised me. I thought I would have been out like a light but I just couldn't get comfortable. Monday morning was nice and lazy again, then it was time to go home.

The Thailand marathon is flat but it is hard because you're jet-lagged and it's so humid. But it is such a different experience and was so friendly that I really enjoyed it. It is a perfect complement to the bustle of London and New York.

If you'd like to find out more (as if you need more convincing to do it!) you can also read Richard Gordon's account.

Cheers.

DavidM