The Ultra Trail Unseen Koh Chang for 2017 took place from 18-19 February in the Island of Koh Chang. The island can be reached by boat which ferries vehicles like cars, vans and motorcycles over. Ko Chang is one of the largest Thai islands in the Gulf of Thailand, contains dense, steep jungle. Mu Ko Chang National Park, a preserve with hiking trails and waterfalls such as tiered Klong Plu, covers the interior and extends to offshore coral reefs.
The starting point of the race.
Reaching the Koh Chang Pier
Our boat with the vehicles heading to the Island of Chang!
The Race
It is not a simple race, not only because of the elevation, but because of the high density of the vegetation in the area. The race has 12km, 35km, 70km and the 100km categories for all runners to challenge themselves to. To add on the difficulty, the Island of Koh Chang gets really hot from Mid morning to about late afternoon. It is all scorching heat and burning sunshine. The race is organised by the Teelakow company : http://www.teelakow.com/th. Initial registration had some hiccups, but later on it was okay so you need not have a Thai Bank account to settle the payment.
Race Bib and goodie bag collection is under a big tree.
Tentage selling sporting items
For the exact race route, do check out the following website in the Asian Trail Master:
http://www.asiatrailmaster.com/news/2016/8/22/ultra-trail-koh-chang-first-supertrail-in-2017
Thailand’s forest are heavily vegetated with a lot of deadfalls. Whether it be branches, big tree trunks or leaves, the dense vegetation can sometimes disguise the unseen live branches hidden below their cover. Some of the live tree branches are also not exactly strong and get uprooted easily, so if you run and grab them you will be in for a good fall. That being said, parts of the race is actually on tarmac ground, but the elevation is also no joke. There is also a small about 500m plus on pure white beach sand. This is where the coconut water point is hidden! Fresh coconut juice shuckers are all at this drinking point. Backed up with the cool wind and swaying coconut trees, runners can get swayed to give up and just chill here! This water point is really by far my favourite and it really hits the spot.
Thick ground vegetation in the forest.
Dry land with dried branches and leaves are also common scene.
Mountain range in View
Moving out of the sandy beach comes the real challenge. More forested areas with rubber plantations, and the most painful of it all, river crossings with big shaky stones. The unstable stones are unpredictable, many of the runners actually lose balance and slide down. The difficulty is added on by the big fallen tree trunks to obstruct your way.
Idyllic coconut trees
Beautiful Sandy Beach is also one of the places that runners get to run past.
At about 28-29km, there is another nice pit stop with Khao Niew ( glutinous rice wrapped in pandan leaves) , many fruits and isotonic water and pure water. This stop is shady and most of the runners are already very exhausted by then. One thing I cannot understand is that glutinous rice is actually not that digestible, why did the organisers serve it? Or maybe these types found in Thailand are more easily converted to energy by the stomach. That has yet to be verified. Out from this pit stop is a bit of the tarmac road and finally before we hit back the finishing line. The shock hit the 35km runners, we turned in back into the forest! This last 5km is really a test of your mental mind. Not only the elevation is a challenge, the ground vegetation is also not easy. Not to mention the down slopes, which is my worst! Point in time I really wish that I could just roll down the hill and call it a day. Heat is already up by then since it is around mid noon. To me seems like the humidity is really not that high but the scorching heat is the killer. Many of the runners start to rest by the trees. Actually if you are strong enough, this is the stretch to overtake many of your competitors in front.
- Some of the replenishment you can get from the race. (L to R): Fresh Dole Banana, Khao Niew ( Glutinous Rice wrapped in Pandan Leaves) and Coconuts freshly shucked.
FINALLY out of the forest, you will see a familiar road that leads you back to the finishing line. This stretch is not technical but super duper hot as there are no shades no trees to shield you from the direct sunlight. So you really have to brave the heat and hit it back the roads. The ending stretch is really very encouraging with the Emcees shouting out your name and bib and fellow finishers cheering for you.
The FINISH
The common scene at the ending is a super sweaty face, dying for hydration or even kneeling on the ground. The ending point is really very well organised, you collect your finisher tee and specially designed coconut husk finisher medals, these are all dished to you by the friendly volunteers. The official photographer is also there ready to take a snap of you with all your victorious tributes! Which to me is really a fantastic idea after such a tough trail. The organiser’s choice of photographer is really good. Been to numerous races in Singapore, I feel this race has really very good and scenic photographs taken of the runners. Link: https://www.facebook.com/TheMemoryShot/?pnref=story. The memory shots really give the runners memorable shots that bring out the best in you.
The finisher medal
Unique Winner Trophy
Delicious Fried Otak Otak for the Finishers and those waiting
Delicious Food for all At the end of the race
Everyone gets some food
Time and time again emphasised, the after race meals are the best that anyone and sought for. There is a full spread buffet of Thai goodies like Phad Wun Sen ( Fried Vermicelli), Otak Otak, Tom Kha Gai( Chicken soup curry), Khao Phad ( fried rice) . Hydration is also very ample for the after race.
There is even a make shift bamboo “shower” area to just cool yourself down.
I did not managed to get anything this time, but must comment that the trophy is really very unique and intricately designed. Wanted to try hard to get one of them, but my age category simply was full of really strong runners and very tough competition.
CONCLUSION
This race is really very memorable despite the toughness of it all. I especially enjoyed the company of all my good friends, Singaporeans and Thai like wise and also all the wonderful planning and organisation by the Thai friends. If by myself, I think the logistics will be a big issue. Those who are travelling alone there, it is best that you arrange with some other groups going there or it is going to be a tough ride. The race itself is one thing, but the most important part is learning from the seniors in trail and seeing all the power houses there. Part of the Asian Trail Masters’ Series, this trail is definitely worth your time 🙂