This one wasn’t the race I was hoping for when I signed up, but it was still a good experience.
Pre-Race
The lead-up wasn’t great. I managed a couple of 40k weeks, then only 20 and 25 going into the race. I tried to throw in some sub-threshold running, but I really wasn’t ready for it. I should have just been running easy.
I went straight from the dam site to the train to bangkok, then on to Pattaya for a few days with the family, so I didn’t get much running in that week before. I jumped on the treadmill at the rooftop gym in the Grande Centre Point Space Pattaya for a shakeout on the Thursday, but that was about it.
This was more of a family trip than a race-focused week. We had Airbnbs booked, the whole extended family was coming, and everyone was doing the 5k, which was great.
Bangsaen10 is by far the biggest race I’ve done—around 10,000 people. When I signed up, I was planning for a proper PR attempt. Instead, I turned up underdone and just had to see what I could give on the day.
Expo & Race Morning
The Expo and bib collection was a huge event in itself. The convention center was massive, packed with people and things for sale. We followed the winding curciut through the differen level and areas to collect our shirts and bibs, and then into the expo where full of vendor stall seeling running gear. I never really see anything I want at these things, but free ice cream is always a win.
It rained heavily the evening before and through the night, but luckily it cleared up just before the race. Our accommodation wasn’t too far, but too far to walk with the whole family. We tried driving close for a drop-off, but the road closures we read about at the Expo didn’t match what was actually happening. In the end, it worked out—we grabbed a songthaew from the closure point to the big car park near the start, only about 500 meters away.
I should have scoped out the start line the day before. Instead, I ended up funnelled through a choke point by some shops, hundreds of people jammed in together. Once it opened up again, we still werent at the corral entrance, this was quite stressful with the clock ticking. I got in with just enough time for a short jog around the car park—only a few hundred meters, not even worth recording on my watch.
My corral was based on my PB, but I knew I wasn’t in that kind of shape, so I filtered towards the back
The Race
The gun went off, and it took about 30–40 seconds of shuffling before I got across the line. At least I was running by then.
I started out around the same pace I’d run the 5k a month earlier, 4:17–4:18/km, but it was hot and it became clear pretty quickly that I wasn’t going to be able to hold that pace. I backed off into the 4:20s and then 4:30s.
I hadn’t done my homework on the course. I thought it would be flat along the beach, but instead we went around the headland. starting around 4.5 km there were some short sharp climbs , and monkeys were sitting on the road, even running back and forth across the road amongst the runners. Hill and dodging monkeys were things I had planned for.
The uphill at 6.5k cracked me. I had to take a short walk break, which felt embarrassing, but it is what it is. I walked again on the next hill, ran the downhills, then ended up walking for a third time at the last chicane with a kilometre to go.
From there, you could see the finish line in the distance. That gave me just enough to pick it up a bit and finish with a little flurry.
Finish & Post-Race
I crossed in about 46:30 on the clock— 46:06 on the watch once you take off the shiffle to the line after th gun goes off. I grabbed a medal, a drink, and started walking back down the beach side of the course to look for the family.
They were still a way back, so I sat in the gutter for a while to catch my breath. Eventually, I found them, jumped in to run with them for a short stretch, then scooted out before the finish and met them again on the other side. The kids had their own shirts, bibs, and medals—even though they’d just sat in the stroller most of the way, the only ran from the finsih line to the medal collection.
The post-race food setup was like a streetfood market. We had vouchers to redeem, but the lines were huge—15 to 20 minutes for everything. Still, pooling the vouhcers from the whole family and redeeming several at once we receach the front of the lines, we ended up with a big haul. We sat around and ate some at the venue, then carried the rest back to the Airbnb and had a proper feast.
Reflections
It wasn’t the PR attempt I had in mind when I signed up, but it was still a good race to be part of. My first time in a huge event like this, a good family weekend, and a bit of a kick up the backside to get training back on track for the next block. i think for now my preference will be for small to mid sized events. Maybe the feeling would be different, running well in a pack of similarly paced runnners