The marathon was billed as a Run in Paradise. For Phuket province, Thailand's biggest island located south in the Andaman Sea, is a premier tourist destination, even voted once as Fortune Magazine's World's Top Five retirement destination. Where else would anyone wish to retire but in paradise?
I traveled to Phuket using an award ticket from the Royal Orchid Plus frequent flyer program of Thai Airways. I have been an ROP Gold member for over 10 years now. With several thousand miles about to expire, I decide to put them to good use. I just had to pay the taxes for a round trip Bangkok-Phuket ticket.
This was my second trip to Phuket. In my previous job, I had once attended a research conference in the island. I remember the beaches, the swimming pools, the food, the entertainment, even the lady boys. But since it had been years since that last visit, I had to ask for directions again at the airport.
The venue for the marathon was The Laguna Phuket Resort, less than an hour's drive from the airport. The resort itself is an exclusive enclave with at least seven name-brand resort establishments in its premises- Dusit Thani and Banyan Tree, just to name a few.
I arrived before noon of Saturday, the day before the event. With little time to spare, I decided to proceed directly to the race packet claim area inside Laguna Phuket Resort. It was a makeshift tent but big enough to accommodate a few hundred people. I could see it was full of runners as I went inside.
This was going to be my second marathon in Thailand, following a Christmas marathon I did in 2010 in Chiang Mai. One challenge in joining Thai races is the registration process- both in terms of understanding the language as well as paying for the race fee. Luckily for this event, there was Go Adventure Asia.
I had registered for the event online using the GAA service. If I wanted to, I could have also booked my hotel through them. Getting my race bag, I found out that it almost empty- just a shirt and the race bib. No race booklet even. Maybe this was in keeping with the paradise theme- stay green and lean- I thought!
But if one wanted to shop, there were vendors inside the tent also. Official race merchandise with 'Run Paradise' logos and imprints were on sale- t-shirts, jackets, vests, caps, and mugs. There were also exhibits on upcoming races in Thailand plus a few other running related products akin to a mini race expo.
Done with the race preliminaries, I then hopped into one of the shuttle vehicles that go around the resort complex continuously during both day and night. And the good thing about this service is that it is for free. I would be using the shuttle several times during that day and during race day Sunday.
Arriving at my hotel, I found other marathon runners from Singapore and Malaysia also about to check in. I had booked my room through my usual agent-Agoda- just for a single night. This was going to be one-night stand! There was very little time to waste if I wanted to see how paradise looked like.
Forget about lying down on a comfortable king bed in a lavishly-appointed and spacious suite, resting a tired back on a soft blue couch, or soaking in the view of the gorgeous countryside garden from a private balcony.
The clear and blue waters of the resort's swimming pool and lagoon in plain view of my room was beckoning. The high noon heat of the sun coupled with the sun loungers, umbrellas and the variety of drinks in the poolside bar were temptingly inviting.
But neither the elegance, ease, and air-conditioned comforts of my room nor the promise of a refreshing and cooling dip in the swimming pool could prevent me from venturing where I eventually ended that Saturday afternoon- the beach, with giant, rip curling waves meriting a red flag warning!
I would stay on the beach for a few hours, until it was time for the event's pasta party. And what a treat this turned out to be. Prepared by the resort's chefs, the menu was as varied as the food was limitless. It was also a good time to meet runner-friends. I met a running group from home and had dinner at their table.
A ceremony was held during the party, honoring the sponsors and guests. Among them was 2012 Miss Thailand World Vannessa 'Na Chatra' Muangkod, the Marathon Ambassador who calls Phuket home. She was to lead the Community Walk the next day to raise THB 2M for a mobile library for local schoolchildren.
The record 4,088 who took part in the race were running in five different categories- a full marathon (42K), a half marathon (21K), a quarter marathon (10.5K), a 5K Walk and a 2K Kids Run. By 4:15 AM, 42K runners began lining up for their 4:30 AM start. They came from all over Thailand and 50 other countries.
There were no long ceremonies before we were all let go into the darkness. But not before the race emcees enjoined us all to enjoy the run into paradise. I was feeling good then and at one point ran about 2Ks at a very fast speed with a Malaysian runner. Then I kind of relaxed as dawn began to break.
Then we would assault Phuket's hills and rolling terrain. The 42K route would turn out to be basically an out and back course that made a loop in the last 10K. Full marathon and half marathon runners shared the first kilometers going out of Laguna before heading north through local communities.
The route was mostly rural with a brief foray into a rather big village. We would not venture into Phuket's other tourist attractions such as Patong Beach, considered Phuket’s central tourist and night time entertainment district and summed up by the local saying 'If it is not in Patong, it doesn’t exist in Phuket'.
There would be race marshals at key junctions during the run who pointed runners to the right direction. But, in truth, it was impossible to get lost. Medical services were also provided to those in need, including ambulances positioned at strategic points along the race course.
Of Phuket's over 525,000 population of which more than 115,000 are foreigners, most are into Buddhism. Thus, we would witness monks doing their usual morning routine- begging for alms and dispensing blessings to believers. With still over 25K to run, overseas runners wished some of those blessings came their way.
The route would take us into the forested Sirinath National Park in the northwest corner of Phuket Island that includes Mai Khao Beach and Nai Yang Beach. The only national park in Phuket, this 22 sq km land and marine reservation is comprised of 8.5 sq km of land with the remainder in the Andaman Sea.
As with other beach forests, the diversity of tree species in the park is rather limited. But the same cannot be said of the two coral reefs in the bay that is home to over 200 coral species. The calm bay waters also provide a conducive nesting and breeding environment for three species of protected turtles.
After a short run on the park with the sound of waves slapping the beachfront in the background, we would reach the U-turn point where we would begin the return run to the starting area. A timing mat, one of several that were set up at the 10K, 21K and 31K points would record our run's progress using ChampionChip.
There would be water stations set up at every 1.5 to 2 kilometers. With Phuket's island setting and tropical humidity, it was becoming unbearably hot as the sun would every now and then emerged from cloud-filled skies. Water stations also provide bananas, watermelon and isotonic drinks.
One thing that amused me was the pink air-conditioned bus that served as a port-a-let. I saw at least a couple and used one. Of the 35 marathons I had done up to this event, I came across a bus toilet only once- in St. Louis, Missouri and there was only one! Perhaps in paradise then, they come in abundance!
The rolling terrain of Phuket made for a great downhill run as we headed back to the starting area. In fact, about 70 percent of Phuket Island is covered with mountains, stretching from north to south, while the remaining 30 percent, mostly in the central and eastern parts, is made up of plains and valleys.
We would pass thru what seemed like a rubber plantation cum local park. Rubber and tourism are considered as the main backbones of Phuket's economy. In fact, Phuket's rubber plantations, with rows upon rows of thousands of rubber trees, enables Thailand to become the biggest rubber producer in the world.
On our run back to Laguna Beach we would briefly enter residential areas. It was at this point that a Caucasian offered me a gel, which I politely declined. Some Phuket villages still retain the ways of 20 years ago before the tourism boom. A few, like Kathu, celebrate their unique way of life through street village festivals regularly.
From the 38K to 40K, we would run parallel to the sea, just before entering Laguna Phuket. At this point, I felt the monsoon winds that blow year round in Phuket, ensuring that the weather remains warm and humid. As it was June, the rainy season had began. Dark clouds had formed and a downpour was threatening.
All of the roads we ran on were paved and smooth. There were no runs on trails or bare ground. Police and security guards controlled vehicular traffic along the route that for the most part remained traffic free. A few vehicles would pass by, much to the mutual delight of runners and passengers who greeted each other.
Then it was back to the finish area near the entrance of Laguna Phuket, considered Asia's finest destination resort, with its deluxe hotels and villas dispersed in 1,000 acres of tropical parkland. I was aiming for a 5-hour finish and as I glanced at my watch, I realized I miscalculated my pace- I would go over by 2 minutes.
Nonetheless, this was one of the faster finishes I have had in a while, after the tendinitis injury in Taipei. Arriving at the finish line, I flashed a '3' with my left hand and a '5' with my right. This was my 35th marathon finish after all, the 10th for the year. Way ahead of the one-a-month-goal so there was enough reason to smile.
In the men's 42K, 2008 and 2009 winner Stephen Paine of Australia was poised to become the event's first three-time winner as he led for most of the way. At the 37K, however, a 29-year old Thai civil engineer Danchai Pankong passed him to win the race (02:49:33). Sonoko Kashio of Japan topped the women's side (03:37:21).
There were a handful of Maniacs based in Asia who joined the event- from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Guam. Australian Maniac and 'Marathon Man' Trent Morrow, who I have ran with before in Hobart, Tasmania and Bali, Indonesia would make history. He completed his 50th marathon with this race.
Leaving on the evening flight to Bangkok later that same day, I couldn't help but venture into the Thai Airways restaurant in the airport's second level. If this was paradise, I had to taste it for the very last time before I head back to purgatory or some other less idyllic place. So I ordered some Phuket delicacies and downed them with Phuket beer.
The LPIM route provides a runner snippets of paradise- lots of greenery, fresh air, ocean breeze, and serenity. But it also provides a glimpse of what the opposite of paradise may look like- intense humidity, scorching heat, and loneliness. In the 42K that I ran, at the finish line aside, I was cheered on by a non-race official only once. But then again, perhaps this was by design. Maybe in paradise, peace and quite reign supreme. For how else can one enjoy the hymns of the cherubim?
Korp koon krap Phuket!
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