Bangkok Ultra Trail Festival 2014

Non-competitive trail running has been with me since i was a kid in the back hills of Bukidnon (bukid = mountain) - where i grew up. street running took over when i moved to the city and i didnt think about the mountain trails until the recent years when trail running became a sport that my family embraced.

this particular event had Nok - my daughter-in-law, my son JP and his aging dad - me. the photos will tell the rest of the story.

the venue was a korean international school at nong chok by the border of chachongsao province east of bangkok

21K getting ready to go

the weather was perfect and a drone (above jp's head) was on hand to monitor the run

  the view of this beautiful lake made the run easier

 it rained the night before the race so what would you expect?

 one of the uphill segments - that's nok and jp

 downhill

 into the muck

 you can add up to half a pound of mud to your shoes

 at the far end of the lake

 puddle obstacles

 another sticky uphill trudge this time

 the beautiful countryside

 grassland

 through a clump of trees...

 ... with the trail opening into this rice field

 this stretch was really beautiful...

 ...except that it was quite difficult to pass someone because you might fall into the rice field.

 navigating through mud

 finally back to the school grounds and the finish line and Nok is running like the 21 kilometers was just a stroll in the park.

for jp it was a different story. some cramps in his left thigh and an ankle sprained from accidentally hitting a rock. he still makes it in good time.

 finishers medal

  you forget the long and tiring run when you see the medal(?)

 breakfast

 and yeah... beer!

a selfie...

... and one done by the organizers

now it's time to do the laundry.

It RUNS in the family

I have been running all my life and in many instances it was for these reasons: when my dad blew his whistle I had to run home or get a whacking, running away from a charging bull at the ranch behind our house and running in games which was my forte. Serious running only commenced when marathons or fun runs came to our country and certain groups were organized. 

The only run where I made a significant finish - third, was when I was in medical school and for that feat I got a large roasted turkey from the medical society that organized the run.

Fast forward to the most recent decade of my life and I'm pleased and elated to see my family join me in this sport. The most recent addition to the sport are my son and his fiance - Nok, who just did the 10K run in the Bangkok Int'l Half Marathon. 

over the King Rama VIII bridge across the Chao Phraya river

 the wife running on the mean streets of Bangkok on Queen Sirikit's birthday run

the daughter doing the Standard Charter Marathon on the 

sky ramp of Boromarachachonani 

the daughter's bf - JJ, doing the Columbia Trail Masters'

now here are the photos that really tug at my heart. check out the kid with number 172 at the starting line.

 this was at the Columbia Trail Masters Run 

yeah that's my granddaughter putting her heart and soul

into her run

 to her frustration the asthma kicks in and

I have to carry her the rest of the way

running has a funny effect on the hair. it's either your hair lies flat on your head, stands erect or gets blown away.

"against the wind, I'm still running against the wind.

I'm older now, but I'm still running against the wind." 

(Bob Seger)

Kailee and the Columbia Trail Masters Run

Ever since trail running came to Thailand my daughter and I decided that the street marathon had lost its luster. Running on concrete in the midst of a highway and sucking in polluted air into our lungs wasn't our description of a "fun run."

We already did the NorthFace 100 in 2012 and 2013, which were both trail runs done out in the countryside and we decided that the Columbia Trail Masters Run at Khao Mai Kaew in the province of Chon Buri would be our next challenge. Hotel accommodations were booked 5 months earlier and registration for the run was done as well. 

One thing that we discovered was that there was a 3.5K category which was dubbed the "family run" and we decided that this would be a great chance to introduce my 6-year old granddaughter - Kailee, to the sport. 

The photos will tell the rest of the story.

Breakfast at the motorway rest area on the way to Kao Mai Kaew

The stage at the race venue

with her running partner. at this point we didnt have

the slightest idea what would transpire in the next few

hours that would totally change our game plan.

Making sure that tito JJ gets the right size

getting registered

in the depths of the sea or on mountain trails

these guys don't leave my side

The Philippine Trail Running team

Yeah, she's registered and eager to run. 
just 6 days shy of her 6th birthday, which
falls on June 22.

after getting our race kits we check in at the Horseshoe

Point Resort, as they were expecting us...

... and to our delight we discover that it is also

a riding academy for equestrian sports.

that's the north side view

an indoor riding arena for riding events that I knew

were only found in European countries

There was this kid who was practicing in the outdoor track

a few hours after checking in Kailee started coughing

and breathing heavily. she actually was on ventolin

when we left Bangkok, but we noted that it was

getting worse. so we brought her to the Pattaya

Memorial Hospital to be nebulized.

after a quick checkup by a lady doctor she was 

nebulized and we were charged 1,530 Baht.

 from the hospital we head to the Central Festival mall

for lunch at 3:30 in the afternoon... she's famished.

she feels better and we take a rest while mama 

went to get some stuff to take back to the hotel

That night we mount our bibs and check our other

gear for the run. at about 8:00 Kailee get's up

suddenly from bed and runs to the bathroom and vomits 

the undigested food that she ate 4- 5 hours earlier.

I knew there and then that our game plan for the race

would take a drastic turn and that she would be unfit

to run. how do you explain that to a very eager and

motivated tyke? it also starts raining so hard for more

than 2 hours and i knew that tomorrow would be a 
challenging day for us.

i chose not to tell her yet, but i prayed that

God would make things better. the following day dawned

and we head to the starting line to warm up.

baby Gray was there too

this runner gets on with the stretching exercises

without anyone telling her what to do.

that's it babe, you gotta stretch coz you'll be

strapped to lolo's back for the race. at this point

she has no idea what was in my mind about the run.

"hey Kailee, are you ready to run?"

at the starting line

 she was the only girl in her age bracket and i bet in 
her mind she was saying "i'm gonna beat all of you guys!"

 at the blast of the starting horn she's out in

a flash and i had to haul her in little by little

to the point of raising her up on my back. she was 
kicking like a spirited pony even while on her perch... 
and that's when i find the time to tell her that she 
has to do the race on my back because it would be 
hard on her lungs.

with each mile she realizes the truth and accepts 

her fate.

at mid-point i let her run uphill for a few meters

and she concludes that she is more comfy on my back.

10 meters to the finish i let her finish on 

her own steam and she liked it.

Her mom loved the the 10 kilometer run, 

but lost her prized earphones.

tito JJ was his usual self - light and speedy.

Buffet b-fast at the Horseshoe Point was really rewarding

so was the cool pool

we have so much to thank Jesus for. we thank

him for every breath, every stride up the trail

and every blessing.

"She ain't heavy, she's my granddaughter!"