This was my second year lining up a tough race as a tune-up before marathon season. Last year it was the Vang Vieng X-Race 25K trail — I went in with almost all road training, blew up hard, and suffered all the way to the end. This time, I still want to push myself but a smarter race choice for me was Chiang Khan Super Half: road course to match my training conditions, one brutal climb in the middle.
Training Build
I’d been following Dr. Will O’Connor’s 12-week half-marathon plan but also keeping in mind that: I would need to have the legs to get up and down the hill (Phu Thok). I worked in a couple of long runs up and down the Nakai Plateau in Gnomalath, and did all my mid-week medium-long runs with the most elevation I could find around Vientiane. Not much, but better than dead-flat along the Mekong.
Training went well — I only missed two runs in a down week for the whole block. Along the way I bagged a 5K PR, so everything was trending in the right direction. The idea was to get a solid hit-out before starting the marathon block for Vientiane Marathon in December, but also with one eye on a strong half marathon in Luang Prabang in October.
My race plan was to try to maintain what should be about marathon pace 4:35-4:40 /km on the flats and do whatever it took to get up and down the mountain without exceeding my threshold. A friend had mentioned that the climb was too steep to run down but I rate myself as a good downhill runner and the strava segment confirmed that many people to run down. I estimated my time for the 25k would be 2:05-2:10, with some uncertainty about what the climb had in store for me.
Travel & Arrival
We crossed the border Friday night and stayed near Nong Khai. Saturday morning I snuck in a 15-minute shakeout up and down the highway.
We cruised up the Mekong, stopped at a hilltop temple with a viewpoint, checked out some cafés, and kept it easy.
Chiang Khan itself surprised me. I hadn’t done much research, but it had real Luang Prabang vibes — old wooden shopfronts, narrow lanes right on the river. There was a bit of confusion about where we could drive and where to collect bibs, but eventually we found the start/finish and sorted it.
At bib pickup they had some of the trophies on display. I pointed at the second-place age group trohpy and told Prae, “That’s going to be mine.” Of course she didn’t believe me.
Race Morning
Alarm at 3:30 AM for a small breakfast. Left the hotel at 4:20, expecting parking chaos near the river, but it turned out fine; we rolled in just in time for a quick jog and straight into the corral.
No fanfare — just a flat “five seconds to go… five, four, three, two, one… go.” Off to the races.
I settled into about 4:30/km, keeping it controlled. Gel every 20 minutes, i could see the lights of the escort with the leaders down the main road through town.
The Rollers (6–12 km)
By 6 km I realised the profile had deceived me. The big mountain in the middle had hidden how much elevation there was in the lead-up. Holding 4:30s here would have pushed me past threshold and into Bonksville.
I wasn’t looking to repeat my experience from X-Race last year so I flipped my watch screen to heart rate and ran by effort: ease off on the climbs to stay under threshold, push a little on the downs. That became the rhythm through the rollers. I yoyo’ed back and forth with another runner who was just holding a consistent pace over the hills
I’d planned to lap my watch at the base of the climb to track the ascent and descent separately, but I forgot — only remembered about 300 m up, after I’d already started power-hiking.
The Climb – Phu Tok
This was the main event: 240 m over 1.7 km up Phu Tok. The Nakai Plateau clims I’d practiced on wasn’t this steep. There I could mix run-walk and hold HR steady. Here, running wasn’t sustainable.
So I went into power-hike mode, moving as fast as possible while keeping HR capped. Plenty of lighter guys streamed past — using their power-to-weight advantage. A few were still trying to run, but the tiny gain in pace wasn’t worth the huge extra effort. I just tried to keep my hiking cadence high.
Because it was an out-and-back (or up and down), we saw the leaders coming down. I was surprised not to be that far out of touch — they appeared on their descent when i was about halfway up. I tried counting positions but lost track at about 20. Looking back at the splits I saw I crested the top in 35th place.
No views at the summit — Phu Tok was wrapped in cloud. Just mist, a drink station and the relief that the climbing was done.
The Descent
Then it was send it back down. Very steep, awkward, I was leaning way back and catching every footfall. steep enough that it really takes a toll on the legs.
This time I remembered to lap the watch: 4:12 and 4:13 for the descent. Started passing people straight away. A lot were cautious on the downhill; I felt confident and let it roll, even if it meant i might pay for it later.
The Grind
At the base we merged with the 15K runners who’d skipped the hill, but things strung out again fairly quickly. i could see several lone runners, each about 50-100 m apart, up the road.
This was the grind section. The 4:30s were gone, so I settled into 4:40s–4:50s. Coming off that climb and still having 8–10 km left felt like a long way.
But I just kept chugging along and reeling in the guys in front. Plenty were fading badly, some even walking. That gave me the push to keep pressing on. This was a sufferfest, and it turned out I was pretty good at suffering.
The Closing Stretch
Having done half marathon training by the 21 km marker, I was ready for this race to be over. The markers played mind games too:
- 22 km marker came up at <21.5 km.
- The next couple were short as well.
- I was spurred on by the thought that maybe the course would be half a km short.
It was not to be, the 24th kilometre was the longest about 1.5km it reset the distance counter so we back to bang-on 24 km. with 1 full kilometer to go.. That 24th kilometre was the only one slower than 5:00/km. I battled with thoughts of taking a walk break, slowing down and jogging it in. Concentration was everything. If I let focus slip, pace drifted into 5:00–5:15. Every time I noticed, I forced it back into the 4:40s–4:50s.
Somewhere in there, I passed another a guy who kept looking back at me. the intrusive thoughts got to him, he cracked and started walking. Then I came up on Prae and the kids in their 5K. Again for a moment I thought, maybe i should stop here and walk it in with them, but no — I still had more to give. Quick hello, smile, and back to work.
One more runner ahead in the final straight. I put the hammer down, went by, and closed the last kilometre in about 4:30 pace, the final few hundred metres dipping close to 4:00 flat.
Finish time: 2:08:28 for 24.9 km
Aftermath
Across the line I was down. I’d emptied the tank, my finish mine photos are atrocious. I just needed a drink and somewhere to sit down. one of the volunteers tried to wave me over for a finisher shirt, but I needed a sit down.
Sat there, tipped water on my head, collected myself. I’d told Prae I’d be 2:05–2:10, and landed right in the middle, even with the hills being tougher than expected.
After I’d collected myself i wander back along the final stretch to jogged it in with family, the watermelon and more cold drinks. No one had handed me a placing lanyard so i thought better check my result, I scanned the QR code on my bib — to my surprise: 1st in age group, 14th overall.
I’ve had minor age-group placings in Vientiane before, but never a win. For the first time I got to go on stage and be presented a trophy.
Looking Ahead
Now a few days later, the DOMS has really kicked in — quads trashed from hammering that descent and then grinding the back half. But that’s good strength work heading into marathon prep.
I’d hoped to run more of this around goal marathon pace (4:30–4:40/km), but the course made that unrealistic. That’s fine. I’ve steeled my mind and legs for the hard work of marathon training to come.
I’ll hav to wait until the threshold test to start the marathon block. That’ll set will be my benchmark and help me set a target for Vientiane Marathon in December.
For now, I’m happy: a smart race, my first age-group win, and a solid launchpad for the marathon season.