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This morning Brenda was out of bed at 2:00 AM preparing for her 4:00 AM start time for the Chiang Mai Marathon. Since I was only running the half marathon that started at 5:00 AM, I got to sleep in until 2:30. The start times are early to ensure everyone finishes before it gets too hot and before there's too much traffic on the race route.
After we showered and fueled up, we walked the 2.5 kms to the start line at the 3 Kings Monument in the middle of the old city. Although the race was small by North American standards, there were probably close to 1000 runners registered. The interesting thing is that the majority of the participants are foreigners from a multitude of countries. Sadly, no Kenyans on this day.
Brenda's race started at precisely 4:00 AM and after I saw her off, I waited around for my turn. The temperature was fairly cool, around 16 degrees, so I had to wear my new sweats (bought just for the occasion) over my running gear while I sat around.
Again, the Half Marathon started right on time and we weaved our way around the moat and ruins of the walls that protected the old city against invasion from Burma for eight centuries. We then headed out toward the airport until we came to a sharp turnaround at the 14 km mark that directed us back to the old city and our starting point. Two hours and four minutes after the start of the race, I crossed the finish line. I know that's not terribly impressive to the runners out there, but it's a personal best for me.
I figured Brenda would be done her race by about 8:00, so I changed from my sweaty race wear into my dry sweats and waited for her to arrive.
Lo and behold, at 7:48, she crossed the finish line, fast enough for her to honored as the 4th fastest female in her age group. She received the very beautiful trophy that you can see in the attached album and, much to our surprise, a cash prize of $2,000 Baht! That's more than enough to pay for both our race registrations and food to replenish the calories we expended this morning.
We both felt great afterwards so we walked the 2.5 kms back to our condo, stopping along the way for a very delicious Pad Thai for breakfast. When in Rome....
- comments
Vanessa Great job guys!!!
Betty Fabulous! Brenda's prowess is gonna pay for your next adventure of some sort!