Ultra Trail Panoramic, Pai 2019

The ultras are never a “chop chop” business, but that is also the beauty of it, taking time to plan, to prepare, to arrive, to soak in the atmosphere and to run the race.  Whether completing it or not, the experience itself, is something that money cannot buy.

Span over 6-8 Dec 2019, the race itself is already getting giggly from the race bib collection itself.  With everything held at the Pai district office, the quiet town of Pai, got its gist of excitement with many runners from over the world joining this race to experience the beauty of the Northern Thailand.  Pai is much further from the PYT last year, actually passed by it 2016 when I wanted to do the Thailand Ultramarathon but event was called off as the Thai King has passed away that year, sending the nation into grief.  Good thing was there was no rain and relatively dry in Pai but it was dry cold, and temperature could go as low as 8 degrees celcius.

Went with a couples group with Kim Song, Jeric and Kim Lai ( all bringing their lovely wives as supporters).  We took off since early morning and only reach Pai around six plus in the evening.  Good thing was the guest house I was staying TTK Guesthouse was very near to the start and collection whatsoever, the guest house is value for money , like a studio apartment.  It has hot shower, TV,  Refrigerator, and good breakfast.

6th dec was the flag off of the 100 miles folks which most of the Singaporeans were up for, while we have Ms Amy Khor, an Avid trail runner , who is a star herself, did a full coverage of the race events on behalf of Asian Trail Master.  Me and Kim Lai went for our final race brief at 4:30 pm and at 6pm, the 100Miles folks started their race.  Was quite lucky to catch Sally ( the lady I did TMBT with) and the Malaysian Ultra Runners at the race.  Impressed with these folks as they really can do powerful stuff!

I hanged around the OPEN BAR , a small mini refreshment area with hot coffee and instant noodles with tons of cakes and bread.  Pai also has a walking street market like Chiang Mai, so I took a short walk there and grabbed some street food before heading back to get prepared for the race.

Race Start and Route

 

Starting at 4am, the weather was chilling, braving the cold, I decided to don a wind breaker and my usual tigh high socks.  I come to realise that long pants are not for me as it is easier to “do business” in shorts.  The starting line slowly filled up as the 100km runners gather, there were actually not many 100km runners.  4am on the dot we flagged off, the whole route was actually quite manageable, I only thank god that it was not like PYT last year where it rained more than half the time and everywhere was wet cold and muddy.  At least for Pai, it didnt rain, most of the route were dirt road, mud strips and proper tarmac road.  But there were a few points where it was right into the forest, with corn crops and also thicker vegetation.

Water Point and rest Points were equipped with loads of hydration, rose syrup, coke and some sports drink mix ( which I am not sure of the brand).  Bread, cakes , jellies and at only 2 stations, there were hot food.  The bag drop was at the scenic, Nam Pla Mun School, you can get a view of the mountains and the trail up to the school is simply a great photo shoot area.  Kids were preparing some simple fried egg, chicken mushroom soup with rice.  However, when I was there, the food was already cold.  I think they need to conserve the gas so food cooked were not kept warm.  One thing I notice about this race is that there weren’t much hot food.  The last station for some meal for the 100km race is at Ban Sai Ngam, it is actually one point out of middle of no where.  More like a pit stop provision store in the forest, there was one lady serving chicken soup with rice.  As the weather was cold, the food was just warm and not piping hot.   I only managed to find one station with coffee ( hot) and rest did not have it, which I thought was essential as most people needed it to keep awake.

Toilets, if there are, at the check points were ample and good but those which did not have, you will need to do it in the wild.

Meeting New Friends

The 100 miles route and 100km route, will all converge some how in the beginning and at the end.  From the bag drop onwards, I have been chancing with the Malaysian Ultra milers, 3 dudes in a team.  After which I learnt that they were all completing the 4 trails challenge by Tee Lak Kow, the organizer.  This time round I made friends with them, although I was trying to go faster, I eventually stopped at the SP check point where there was supposed to be a water point, as I thought I had lost my way.  It was supposed to be 3 km away from the Ban Tsai Ngam, but I felt I was already 5-6km away.  I waited for the trio as they were just behind me since the bag drop.  They caught up and also addressed my concern, but we all came to conclusion that we were at the right path.  Just as we were wondering, a motobike caught up and saw us, seems like the check point had been closed.  We were relieved when the rider, who was also dispatching some water in the forest, confirmed that we were on track.

To our final check point before ending, I was left with only 7km while the trio had another 20+km to go.  We were all reluctant to leave the checkpoint and it was getting really cold. The bon fire at the checkpoint kept us warm, I opened my emergency blanket while 2 of the trio opened their disposable ponchos. Before we head off, I took picture with one of the team, Kok Fei.  Was glad I made new friends again as most of the 23 hours till then I was solo and alone.

Final Bits

It was the most sleepy part of the day as I made my last 7 km back.  I felt like running but my legs are just too shattered.  Good thing is that the last part was all roads, but it was colder than in the forest as there were no vegetation to shield off the wind.  I staggered and dragged myself to finalize this race.  With my Emergency blanket swaying away, and the cold making me shiver, all I could think of was to finish this once and for all!

Finally, Pai city came to sight and I see familiar stores and even passed by my guesthouse, I guess I was pretty un-glamorous when I finished the race. With one hand holding the emergency blanket and one hand holding the poles, I was like a joke and shivering.

The ending point was quiet and not many people around. Everyone was hiding from the cold.  The “Open Bar” was still in operation.  The hot food stations were setting up too, I managed to get a pig’s blood kway teow soup and also some hot coffee.  Medal and Finisher tee was handed to us.  The bag drop bag could only be retrieved at the cut off time.  Not expecting myself to finish way before the cut off time, I left my rooms keys with the guesthouse, but it was 4am Sunday so they were not opened as yet.  I hanged around a bit more, and finally went back around 6 am.

Overall

This race overall was really scenic and less torturous in the sense of better weather.  Although the cold was bad, but it is better than having to go wet all the time!  I will recommend it if you prefer less technical trails.  As usual the rest and relax in Thailand is much more affordable and great, I enjoyed this trip greatly and look forward to the next 100km in 2020!