Thailand International Half Marathon race report

Some of you may already know from the race report last year that I am from Bangkok, Thailand. Every winter I go back to visit family and friends for 3-4 weeks (and also to escape the “mild” Ohio winter). For the past two years that I was in Bangkok, I signed up for 10K races. I only wanted to keep to a shorter distance because of the weather. It’s usually 85 degrees in December in Bangkok and I am not sure about my ability to deal with the heat coming from a single-digit weather. This year I was more confident in my ability to run longer distance. So, I stepped up to a half marathon this time. I found Thailand International Half marathon on the weekend that I would be in Bangkok. Running has become such a popular sport in Thailand that you could find a race any distance on every weekend.

Thailand International Half marathon is a race that starts under the bridge. First, you run up the Rama VIII bridge (about 0.5 miles) and the whole race was on the bridge. The race started at 4am to avoid closing the road for too long and to avoid the heat. When you organize a race in a city that sometimes it could take 2+ hours just to drive over 6 miles, you have to carefully plan everything and one more hour of closing a road could result in a much heavier traffic jam. On the race day, I woke up at 2.30am, got ready, packed the ritual PB&J sandwich, and hopped on an UBER at 3am. It took about 20 minutes to get to the starting point. Luckily, they allowed race-day packet pick up. I picked up my number and walked around the starting line area. The race started at 4am sharp after singing a song to praise the King (Thais don’t sing the national anthem before the race). Luckily, it was only 75 degrees on the race day – perfect running weather!

The race had 3 distances – 5K, 10K, and a half marathon. The half marathon started at 4am but the other 2 distances started at 4.45am. It’s an out-and-back race and the runners had to collect a hair tie at the turnaround point to show that they actually made it there (and be eligible for the awards). The first 3 miles flew by and I stayed conservative. This time I ran with no gel or other electrolyte products. I only carried a small handheld water bottle because I knew that there were water stops every 2 miles (with water and Gatorade). At Mile 4 water stop, I needed Gatorade. So, I ran to the water stop and asked the water station worker (in Thai) “Where is ‘Gatorade’?” She looked confused and returned a blank stare. Another runner ran by and barked “Where is ‘electrolyte’?” and she pointed to the next table. That’s when I realized, unlike in the US, Thai runners don’t call electrolyte water “Gatorade” but they just called it “electrolyte water”. One new thing learned.

At the turnaround point, I collected the first hair tie. I felt great so I decided to speed up a bit. On the way back, I saw my friend around Mile 10, greeted her, and kept going. I collected another hair tie at the 2^nd turnaround before making my way down the bridge to the finish line. The finish time was 2 hours and 11 minutes. Not bad for a half marathon ;)

After crossing the finish line, I regrouped with my friend and her friends. We lined up for the post-race food, which was quite disappointing compared to other races I’d run in Thailand (but still better than some races in the US). They had rice with an omelet, tuna sandwich, boiled rice with pork, banana, chocolate milk, and glass jelly in syrup for dessert. There were over 30 nationalities participated in the race. The top 5 overall male runners were all from Ethiopia and Kenya.

Overall, it’s a well-organized race. We were fortunate to have a cool weather. I did not PR but it was unexpected for me to run that fast in Thailand. So, I was happy with my result.