All obsessive runners will have stories about the time(s)
they had to wake up early for a race. For me, the Bangkok Half Marathon set a new standard
with its 4AM start time. If
that isn’t early enough, the full marathoners actually started at 2:30 – which also
happened to be the same time that my alarm went off. I did not enjoy being jolted
out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night, but I convinced myself that
the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the race would supersede my desire
to sleep a few more hours. After only one snooze, I peeled myself out of bed
and set off for yet another half marathon.
I was feeling good after my rock star carb loading the night before, with some tasty green curry and mango sticky race for dessert.
The hotel also arranged a chauffeur-driven Mercedes to transport me to the starting line at Royal Palace. As I rode through the city at 3AM, it was funny to see all the people coming out of the bars after a long night of partying. As if there was ever any doubt, I am far from the typical tourist.
When I arrived at the assembly point, it was very quiet. People gradually filtered in – already dressed in full race attire and looking like they were ready to go. They sat patiently on the curb or stretched alone in silence. The adjacent field had a few booths set up for people to win Standard Chartered merchandise, and some vendors were selling race shirts from prior years. Unlike some other races, which have more of a party atmosphere at the starting line, this one was much more focused and serious.
To avoid feeling sleepy, I walked around aimlessly and scoped out the other runners. Each race bib was printed with the runner’s name, age, and an image of the flag from their home country. I entertained myself by trying to predict everyone’s nationality based on how they looked. The vast majority of runners were from Thailand, but there was a good number of international runners as well. I was clearly not the only person playing this game because I got a lot of strange looks when people noticed my bib; not because I am American, but because I was running as the HR Director - a 53-year old Thai man named Xuwat. I like to think I could pass as several different nationalities, but Thai is certainly not one of them!
About 10 minutes before the race start, people began lining up and I noticed that I was one of the tallest people around. There was one other runner around my height, who also happened to be an American. I took a picture of him to illustrate how much taller we were than the rest of the crowd.
The pre-race announcements were in both Thai and English, which I appreciated. I was surprised to hear that this race would be the largest half marathon in Thailand's history, with around 4,500 runners. Just as a frame of reference, the race I ran in Perth earlier this year had ten times as many runners. Between the humidity and the busy streets, I am not surprised that Thai people have yet to embrace a running culture!
I was actually impressed with the course, which took runners on an elevated highway, across a cable bridge, and past several palace-looking structures in central Bangkok. Unfortunately, there was very little crowd support (as can be expected at 4AM). Even though I was running under another person's name, I still pushed myself to finish with a respectable time. Why am I unable to grasp the concept of a "fun run" with a relaxed pace?
My biggest critique about the race is that the kilometer markings were completely messed up, so I don't really know how far I actually ran. In the middle of the race, the half marathon and full marathon courses merged. From that point on, we followed the same course, yet the mile markers didn't increase at the same pace. For example:
- sign #1: Full marathon, 32km; Half Marathon, 11km
- sign #2: Full marathon, 34km; Half marathon, 12.5km
How is this possible?
I never run with a Garmin watch, but always I rely on the mile markers as a gauge for how much energy I should be using. I may be crazy, but that last kilometer felt like it would never end. When I crossed the finish line, my time was a respectable 1:30:13, but it's hard to tell if I really ran 13.1 miles or some other distance!
The end of the race was admittedly pretty exciting because there was a decent amount of crowd support cheering us to the finish line. The sky was still completely dark, but the trees along the road were lit up with white lights. Unlike most half marathons, there were no medals given out at the finish line because they were actually provided at packet pick-up. I literally could have skipped the entire race and still ended up with a medal, which just seemed strange to me.
The sky was completely dark throughout the entire race, but I still managed to work up a sweat (thanks to the humidity). I can't even imagine what it would have been like if the race was scheduled during the daylight hours. Once I crossed the finish line, I really didn't have much reason to hang around, so I just took a quick selfie in front of the marathon poster, found my driver, and returned to the hotel.
It is certainly atypical to finish a half marathon and return home before 6AM, but Bangkok is anything but typical. I am grateful to the HR Director for giving me the chance to participate in the event and I am excited to add yet another country to my list of places where I have completed a race. The Bangkok Half Marathon may not have been the most exciting or best organized race in the world, but it was absolutely worth the early morning wake-up call.
I was feeling good after my rock star carb loading the night before, with some tasty green curry and mango sticky race for dessert.
 |
| Pre-race carb loading |
The hotel also arranged a chauffeur-driven Mercedes to transport me to the starting line at Royal Palace. As I rode through the city at 3AM, it was funny to see all the people coming out of the bars after a long night of partying. As if there was ever any doubt, I am far from the typical tourist.
When I arrived at the assembly point, it was very quiet. People gradually filtered in – already dressed in full race attire and looking like they were ready to go. They sat patiently on the curb or stretched alone in silence. The adjacent field had a few booths set up for people to win Standard Chartered merchandise, and some vendors were selling race shirts from prior years. Unlike some other races, which have more of a party atmosphere at the starting line, this one was much more focused and serious.
 |
| Bangkok Half Marathon starting line...at 3:08 AM |
To avoid feeling sleepy, I walked around aimlessly and scoped out the other runners. Each race bib was printed with the runner’s name, age, and an image of the flag from their home country. I entertained myself by trying to predict everyone’s nationality based on how they looked. The vast majority of runners were from Thailand, but there was a good number of international runners as well. I was clearly not the only person playing this game because I got a lot of strange looks when people noticed my bib; not because I am American, but because I was running as the HR Director - a 53-year old Thai man named Xuwat. I like to think I could pass as several different nationalities, but Thai is certainly not one of them!
About 10 minutes before the race start, people began lining up and I noticed that I was one of the tallest people around. There was one other runner around my height, who also happened to be an American. I took a picture of him to illustrate how much taller we were than the rest of the crowd.
 |
| Height difference between Americans and Thai people. |
The pre-race announcements were in both Thai and English, which I appreciated. I was surprised to hear that this race would be the largest half marathon in Thailand's history, with around 4,500 runners. Just as a frame of reference, the race I ran in Perth earlier this year had ten times as many runners. Between the humidity and the busy streets, I am not surprised that Thai people have yet to embrace a running culture!
I was actually impressed with the course, which took runners on an elevated highway, across a cable bridge, and past several palace-looking structures in central Bangkok. Unfortunately, there was very little crowd support (as can be expected at 4AM). Even though I was running under another person's name, I still pushed myself to finish with a respectable time. Why am I unable to grasp the concept of a "fun run" with a relaxed pace?
My biggest critique about the race is that the kilometer markings were completely messed up, so I don't really know how far I actually ran. In the middle of the race, the half marathon and full marathon courses merged. From that point on, we followed the same course, yet the mile markers didn't increase at the same pace. For example:
- sign #1: Full marathon, 32km; Half Marathon, 11km
- sign #2: Full marathon, 34km; Half marathon, 12.5km
How is this possible?
I never run with a Garmin watch, but always I rely on the mile markers as a gauge for how much energy I should be using. I may be crazy, but that last kilometer felt like it would never end. When I crossed the finish line, my time was a respectable 1:30:13, but it's hard to tell if I really ran 13.1 miles or some other distance!
The end of the race was admittedly pretty exciting because there was a decent amount of crowd support cheering us to the finish line. The sky was still completely dark, but the trees along the road were lit up with white lights. Unlike most half marathons, there were no medals given out at the finish line because they were actually provided at packet pick-up. I literally could have skipped the entire race and still ended up with a medal, which just seemed strange to me.
 |
| 2014 Bangkok Half Marathon medal |
The sky was completely dark throughout the entire race, but I still managed to work up a sweat (thanks to the humidity). I can't even imagine what it would have been like if the race was scheduled during the daylight hours. Once I crossed the finish line, I really didn't have much reason to hang around, so I just took a quick selfie in front of the marathon poster, found my driver, and returned to the hotel.
 |
| 2014 Bangkok Half Marathon Selfie |
It is certainly atypical to finish a half marathon and return home before 6AM, but Bangkok is anything but typical. I am grateful to the HR Director for giving me the chance to participate in the event and I am excited to add yet another country to my list of places where I have completed a race. The Bangkok Half Marathon may not have been the most exciting or best organized race in the world, but it was absolutely worth the early morning wake-up call.
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