TNF100 Thailand 2014 – Race Report (Part 1)

Finally i came back to TNF100 Thailand, after completing the inaugural 100km race in 2012 (Aphawa, Samut Songkram). Mr. Chaiyut Srivikorn, the big boss of TNF Thailand manage to convinced me to race after he promised a more challenging route this time. I complained after the first race that TNF100 Thai is too flat and quite easy. Oh me and my big mouth lol.

Pre Race
TNF100 Thailand relocated to its present route since 2013 in Pak Chong. This year the organiser  change the route and added more elevations; 2,400+ elevation gain to be precise. Good enough to get 3 UTMB points from 2 points in the first year.

Race pack collection and briefing was done at Bonanza Resort.

For me it's like a school reunion, meeting back friends at race site. I met Laslo from Hungary after two years, we kept close contact through FB. Too bad that two times TNF women champion Katherine Welch couldn’t join us this year. Get well soon Katherine, we'll missed you.

Laslo offered me to stay at his house in Budapest after I competed my Italian Ultra in the future. Thanks Laslo, I hope to see you soon in Budapest. Take me trail running around your town eh buddy.

There more Malaysian runners at TNF Thai this year, which I believe is good for development of Ultra running/trail running in Malaysia.

I had chat with Chaiyut before the briefing, he said about 2,500 runners from all categories from 21 countries are participating this year. 117 are solo 100km runners. Ultra running is beginning to blossom in Thailand, I’m happy to be part of the pioneers running the inaugural race and seeing how big it get now. Amazing!

Chaiyut said that his wife ask him to look after me during the race, which caught me by surprise. He added further that his wife is a keen follower of my running career. All I can say is ขอขอบคุณคุณ, thank you for your support.

With Mr. Chaiyut (left); with last year winner Sanya from Thailand and Laslo my Hungarian friend.

With Team Malaysia at TNF100 Thailand.

The Race
Start to CP1 (10km)

Whenever I travel for a race, especially an Ultra race. I make sure I come early and had plenty of sleep and rest. To be the best shape for Ultra race, sleep is no. 1 before food. You need to focus on the Ultra game ahead, studied the route map and elevation profile.

I really don’t understand how people can relax and spend a day before the race shopping or sightseeing….in Bangkok! 200km from PakChong. For me you need to respect the distance, you can fake 42km finish but you could NEVER fake 100km finish - you need to pour your heart into it.

There’s no real fame in Ultra running. Runners do it, days in and days out because of true passion, because they’re happy doing it, they loved the game so much that it hurt if they can’t run due to injury.

Come race morning, I was feeling good, I had two nights of good sleeps. Blessed!

Toe the start line at TNF100 Thailand. Vlad Ixel from Australia (in blue shirt) would later break course record and win the race in blistering 8:35 hours.

It was cool weather at the start of the race 5:00 am, but i got a feeling that this would be a very hot race under the sun later on. All I need to do is to complete this under 18 hours cut off time, sound easy at the time. But in Ultra running, things would be changing from time to time, from bad to worse to better, like a wheel of life.

It was a fast start by the elites, I was trying to hold my pace down so hard at the time. I remembered, coz it was a chilly morning and the first 1km was on tarmac. I hold my pace and let other fast runners pass me by, then after 1km the 6^th runner overtook me and he look familiar with a Malaysian flag neatly tucked behind his hydration bag.

It was Cikgu Mat from Pekan, Pahang. I looked at GPS watch and horrified when it showed 4:30 pace. I tried to shout at him to slow down, but too late! He zoomed past me like he was running the 10km. I thought to myself, I need to slow down this stupid fast pace, I really need to spread my energy throughout this 100km race. Soon after, we hit the trails and the first incline. I slowed down automatically, it was dark and though I had my headlamp, I really need to be careful not get my leg sprain at this early stages.

More runners overtook me in the dark.

I followed these group of Caucasian runners into the trail, the inclines are getting higher. Wow I said to myself, the organiser really put an effort this time around. I saw a stone marked with “X” at the time and ran past it, it didn’t occur at that time we’re running of course. 5 minutes later, the front group stopped – they couldn’t find the route markers! Shit! I’m screwed at this early stage of the race. I felt so disappointed after running the leading packs only to get lost!

Game face on, the race is about to start.

These runners talk in different language, it’s not English though! Finally it hit me that these guys are from Italy. One of them gave order to turn back, and try to find the real route. In the dark that would be difficult. Apparently the route markers are not reflective to light, so you really need to watch them closely.

Finally we found our way back, and there’s a row of lights. Now the trail is flooded with runners, again I felt disappointed after making a good running start.

I thought I was finally safe in the correct trail then, but somehow I managed to get lost again. I followed different group this time, all of them got lost. Then a runner shouted to us and asked to follow him into the real route.

I was getting edgy and mad at the time. I stopped, took out my water bottle and drank it…very slowly. I really need to recompose myself and run a bit slower, slow is good – especially in the dark.

After a while, I joined the others and continued running. My motivation was at all-time low at the time, but i owned my mistakes and moved on.
As in life, it's not how many times you fall down, it's how many times you get back up, and that’s what count!
Finally I reached the first Check Point – CP1

Distance Covered: 10km
Accumulative Distance: 10km
Time Taken: 1:03 (6:03 am)
Accumulative Time: 1:03

 

CP1 to CP2 (10km)

It’s getting brighter now, a lot of runners and activities around CP1.

After crossing the timing mat, I stopped at the WS and look for my drop bag. Time to refill my fuel – Coca Cola and water.

Here we need to do a loop before continue climbing the “Lord of The Rings” hills.

It’s still a cooling run, one could see smog coming out while running.

No problem so far, energy level is still good. Motivation recovered.

I fast hike all the way on the Frodo Hills, I don’t want to risk injury running the though the stones, I fast hike is good enough for me to overtook few runners in front.

After that, it’s downhill and a run though some dusty trail. It was a hot weather around these parts. I could see it haven’t rain in a long time here.

I overtook Cikgu Syed here and went looking for Cikgu Mat, where is this guy?

The dusty trail reminded me so much of Leadville trail. So you do not need to go Colorado to enjoy Leadville dusty trail, you can save money and run the TNF100 Thailand.

I paced with Kirk Wadsworth from UK here, he is a former Army and now a teacher at International school in Bangkok.

Then I bumped into Siow Ping from Hong Kong. She was doing the 50km race. I met her last Dec at TNF HK, she asked me whether I finished that brutal race.

I said yes.

She said “congratulations”, coz as a 100km finisher of that race; she knows how brutal the race was.

I replied “I finished at Tai Mo Shan”.

Then we both laugh, she said many strong runners DNF at Tai Mo Shan. It was a good tough race but bad weather marred it for most of us.

Now I had two pacers for the run.

CP2 was located under some trees.

They serve water, sport drink (air sirap), watermelons, banana and the most important thing – the ice cold sponge.

Distance Covered: 10km
Accumulative Distance: 20km
Time Taken: 1:33 (7:36 am)
Accumulative Time: 2:36

 

CP2 to CP4 (21km)

After CP2, we ran past a village and what happened next was the highlight of the run.

As we arrived at a road junction, we saw a row of school children neatly in their school uniforms waving Thai flag and waving at us. Supporting us runner!

I slow down my pace, ran near them and high fived all of them. That lift up my spirit tremendously, it got me thinking about my two boys. I really missed them, I felt like I was high fived my own kids.

It getting hotter now, the sun is relentless.

As we go out from the trail, the long tarmac greeted us. It’s all downhill to CP3.

I checked my GPS watch and it says 28km, under distance?

No not really, coz after the WS at CP3 we need to do another 2km loop.

CP3. Drink more water, it’s a bloody hot day. (Photo: Nik Nasrallah).

It was one bloody long loop, after that we’re directed into another long loop into the jungle. It’s getting hotter now, I felt a cramp coming on my right calve…damn! I forgot to take Salt pills, probably much too late now. I took three pills in hoping the cramps would go away, it didn’t. It loyally stayed with me all the way till finish line.

In hotter conditions, I’m losing salt faster and I need to replace that lost salt immediately; which I failed to do.

After 30km, my legs were betraying me. I trashed my legs pretty bad, it no longer had the strong run as before. I guess I haven’t recovered from my high mileage week I covered a week before, 256km accumulated mileage (100km running and 156km cycling). I only had a week to properly train and pick up the mileage, note to myself – I need two weeks for taper!

By then it’s more run-walk-run strategy, walk all the inclines and jog downhill; as Scott Jurek used to say – free speed goin downhill.

By the time I reached the steepest inclines, my energy we almost gone zapped by the scorching sun. Here I found a Japanese runner, sat down on the ground.

I asked him whether he’s okay. He asked water from me coz he ran out of water, in the middle of scorching sun; that is a big problem during an Ultra race.

So I gave him my water bottle, he seem quite surprise with my generosity. He thanked me profusely for my kindness. He understand completely his predicament, we are all in a race and all of us need all the water that could hold. If a runner won’t share his water, it’s because he need to take care his safety first. I guess I believe in good karma, good deed today would be repaid in full in another day.

After CP3 with Nik, Siow Ping, Kirk Wadworth (blue shirt) and Dan Betts (yellow shirt).

From CP3 I had Dan Betts, another teacher from USA, teaching in an International School in Bangkok. He completed this race last year within 12 hours, he said last year route was easier and the heat was more bearable than today’s 35-40 Celsius.

We would be tied up like rubber band, he would overtook me on the inclines before I overtook him back on the downhill.

I lost Dan for quite some time in that jungle, he was somewhere in front of me.

I finally found Dan, he was sitting down under a shade of a tree. He said the sun was too much for him. Sadly, that was the last I saw of him. Looking at the result later, he DNF at 50km. It showed how tough this year edition of TNF Thai compared to the previous year, yeah me and big mouth.

Two other runners and I almost took the wrong way after that, when Kirk Wadsworth the runner I paced earlier shouted at us, hey guys this way! He said showing the marker, I thanked Kirk for his deed. See good Karma!

We arrived at CP4 (41km) exhausted and dehydrated. I drank plenty at the WS, top up my bottles, wet my hair with ice cold sponge, top up my coke from my drop bag and out of there in 10 minutes.

Distance Covered: 21km
Accumulative Distance: 41km
Time Taken: 2:57 (10:33 am)
Accumulative Time: 5:33

 

CP4 to CP5 (9km)

I stopped by the roadside after CP4, there were sands inside my sock and it started to rub between my toes. When I took out my shoes and my socks, after clearing out the sands – it is confirmed I got nasty blister between my toes. Its annoying uncomfortable having to run with these blisters. It still small though, not my priority sight now. Put on my shoes and continued running.

It’s all back on tarmac now, for about 3km. After the brief stop at CP4, I had a renewed energy, so I ran all the way on the tarmac till I reached a junction going into a trail. It was a sandy and dusty trail, another note to myself – I need to bring gaiter for next year.

It was blazing hotter now, after cleared the trail we’re back on tarmac road for 2km all the way to Simalin (the start/finish point), I had Kirk running besides me now. I noticed he gave out encouragement to every runner he passed – you can do this! He said to every one of them.

Finally we reached the CP5, I completed the first loop (50km) in 6:39 hours. Over 9 minutes for my target 13:30 hours finish time. It was so hot at 11:39 am, I really don’t know how I can run the next 50km in this heat.

To my surprise, the WS at CP5 is as small as the other WS. I was expecting a shade under a tent at 50km, solid food like rice or phad thai. They only serve bananas and Watermelons like the other WS. I was quite hungry at the time, a bowl of rice would be so great for lunch – instead I had Cliff Bar for lunch. This would definitely a challenge to finish this race, so far my trip to Thailand is really worth it. The heat from the sun was the biggest challenge that day, I was lingering at WS whether I should continue or not……

TBC

Distance Covered: 9km
Accumulative Distance: 50km
Time Taken: 1:06 (11:39 am)
Accumulative Time: 6:39