Month of Marathon Madness

February 2012 will go down history as the month that I ran in 3 fun runs. The famous flood of 2011 that devastated Thailand for 3 months prevented some marathons on schedule and they had to be postponed. This will explain why the medals that we were awarded in February 2012 had November 2011 engraved as the date done.

The photos will show the three runs: "The North Face 100" "Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon" and "International Half Marathon."

My daughter did the three marathons with me.

The North Face 100K Marathon

February 2012 is what I call Marathon Month Madness. 3 marathons would be held on this month: The North Face 100K; Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon 2011 and Bangkok International Half Marathon.

The most popular of the three is the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon, because it ranks together with the other chartered marathons in the US and the recent one done at Singapore. For this reason the North Face only attracted the ultra marathon guys but not the regular fun run marathoners like me.

The photos will show how my daughter and I fared in this one-of-a-kind marathon. JJ tagged along and took control of the cam while we were in the midst of the event.

the flyer for the event. we paid up 3 months in advance and started training every other day.

in the van to samut songkran. we disembarked at maeklong.

famous umbrella market maeklong...

with the train passing all umbrellas and tarps give way to the passing train and veggies are just centimeters from the wheels. a few seconds after the train passes the scene is just a market again. this happens 8 - 10 times a day.

checked in @ Baan Imoun resort

beside the grand maeklong river

soaking in the scene while hydrating for tomorrow's race. the beer can wait after the race.

got this room @ 1,400 baht

off to wat Kaew Charoen to get our racing kits.

wat Kaew Charoen

race kit includes: champion chip, shirt, bib/number and some snacks.

my age category shows i'm the only non-Thai. the rest were senior citizens.

kai's category... only 5 of them.

dinner by the roadside

my plate!

wat kaew charoen @ 4:30 AM

100 & 50K runners getting ready

25K runners at the starting line

5:45 getting ready. she didnt bring a singlet for racing coz she planned to wear the north face shirt only to find out that the shirt was too big and bulky for running. so she wears a cotton top that she had for other purposes.

stretching almost felled the tree.

first in line for photo purposes. the thai lady in red beside me never misses marathons in thailand. she shouts "pilipins" every time she sees me, which is approx 7 races already

oldest runner in thailand 93 yrs old

yeeaahhh.... ready!

that's us... 10K runners... my best time ever for 10 kilometers

finished! the sun is barely out @ 7:30 clocked at 01:09:34 which is my best time so far. I found out later that i was the 6th in my age category.

kai clocked in @ 01:16:35

still panting from the run

with Grace an american from Guam

in the official shirts

free massage

the only run were massage was free

breakfast @ the temple grounds

awarding: kai placed 3rd in her category

about 30 years ago I also placed 3^rd in a 14K marathon in Davao. I was about Kai's age too then. my price was a whole roasted turkey.

the winners

7 years more and he'll be 100!

back to the hotel

a short nap before checking out...the trophy.... hahaha

 mini bus station for Bangkok

back in Bangkok wet and tired

missed this little girl!