I Had a Go at Running in Thailand

One of my favourite things that running gives me is a great way to see a new city. Pounding the streets brings you closer than watching the world through the window of the air conditioned taxi as you zip between tourist hot spots. Running often necessitates a visit to a quieter, less touristy place in search of the elbow room, and safety, to run. So when my wife and I set off for our honeymoon in Thailand, naturally, the first thing in my bag was my running shoes!

Our first stop was Bangkok, this isn't a travel blog so I'm not going to drown you in details, but we arrived in time for Songkran. This is the Thai new year national holiday and lasts all weekend. The celebration is about washing away one's sins and bad luck and is a festival of family unity and reverence for ancestors. The young wash the feet of their elders and food offerings are taken to temples for the monks. It’s the washing part that has taken on a new perspective and made the event most famous with outsiders. Whole streets are closed down and become makeshift water fight arenas; locals and tourists fill them, armed to the teeth with super soakers and water buckets! Anyone and everyone is fair game for a dousing in the name of cleansed sins! A mass water fight in 35°C, what's not to love!

Unfortunately, with the jet lag, the heat and the festivities I wasn't able to get out for a run during our first stay in Bangkok. It didn't help that the pavements and street furniture gave the impression that pedestrians were an afterthought in this city of 10 million people. As the celebration wound down we took an overnight train to Chiang Mai, discovering on arrival that our hotel, whilst beautiful, secluded and dripping with luxury, was directly under the flight path and without any suggestion of sound proofing. The mercury was hitting 40°C during the day so any run would need to be early morning. With Air Asia and friends doing their best to keep me awake an early start wasn't happening easily.  Add in the news that Chiang Mai was holding the unenviable title of "most polluted city in the world", my plans for a run were once again shelved.

The Thai approach to maintenance of the narrow pavement can be, erm, hazardous to runners 😕

Our next stop was Phuket. It was slightly cooler than Chiang Mai, and I saw quite a few cyclists, but they were all out in the early evening and much braver than me! The humidity had me going through three t-shirts a day and the traffic looked terrifying. No running for me! We had one more night in Bangkok on our way home and that was going to be last chance.

Our hotel was located close to Lumpini (or "Lumphini") Park. Created in the 1920’s as an exhibition space it is now described as the green lung of Bangkok. I did a quick bit of research in my hotel room and found that it is home to a 2.5km loop, used for runners, walkers and cyclists, which is permitted for runners only between 7am and 10am. Perfect! I set my alarm for the dawn start on our final morning in Thailand.

Despite having been in the country for over two weeks, and visiting places hotter than Bangkok, I still hadn’t got used to stepping into an oven whenever I went outside. At 7am this was somehow no different. I walked and tentatively jogged the kilometre or so to the park. As I neared the entrance my heart sank. There was a huge line of traffic queuing on the main road just to get into the park. Serious looking policemen were allowing them to inch between the large, elaborate grecian pillared (an incongruously purple!) gates and guiding them to parking spaces. My final chance at a run in Thailand and there was clearly some sort of event on!

Well, I wasn’t turning back. I decided to press on with my plan until someone or something stopped me. Over the 4x4s and saloon cars being guided to what I assumed was the overflow car park, I could see the running track. Great, it was a running event. I couldn’t see any sponsors banners or supporters but there must have been almost 50 runners, all heading in the same direction, in the small stretch of the route visible to me behind the temporary barrier at the edge of the car park.

Hold on, none of the runners had a number on, and they were all running the same way because that’s the direction the distance markers are written on the track. As I passed what must have been the fourth police officer who hadn’t given me a second look, let alone tried to stop me, I stepped through a gap between the barriers, which from closer inspection didn’t look to have been moved for some time. This event I had stumbled on must actually be what the locals call “ศุกร์” (suk). To us, “Friday”!

Taking the walk/jog from the hotel as my warm up I dove into the fray and set off for a couple of laps with the enthusiasm of someone who hasn’t run a step for two weeks. I had been expecting a path much like I am used to in parks up and down the UK. A few meters wide at best with a some benches thrown in for good measure. What I got was a dual carriageway, complete with central reservation covered in lush foliage and the occasional topiary elephant.

Crossing one of the humped brides

I set a comfortable but quick pace to begin with, enjoying the feeling of working my legs after two weeks of exploring Thailand. I was passing everyone I saw, weaving through the runners, joggers, power walkers and strollers. The track steadily curved around the park, crossing small humped bridges, always in the dappled shade of the trees. There are two man made lakes in the park, both inside the track which skims quite close to the edges. In fact it feels like the path only deviates from the water to make space for the café stalls. Plastic tables and chairs under umbrellas or the natural shade are scattered along the full lap. Many already had tired runners gulping down chilled bottles of water or sipping on sweet tea, watching the later arrivals plod past.

Somewhere around my first loop I spotted the large triangles painted on the floor. They were positioned every 100 meters and showed the distance from the starting point. I had been too busy working out what was going on to notice which part of the loop I had joined at, I only knew hadn’t started at 0. By the time I saw the 1km triangle I was hoping to see some familiar scenery soon. My enthusiastic speed was starting to give way to the heat, I still hadn't seen anyone running at a pace close to mine and I was beginning to understand why.

I allowed myself to ease up the pace on my second lap, spotting people retrieving bottled water they must have stashed on a previous lap and cursing my lack of foresight. I hadn't even brought money to buy a drink after my run. I can usually manage without water on all but the longest runs; I also don't usually run in 30°C weather. Where were the people with the super soakers when you really need them!?

The slightly slower pace allowed me to take in a bit more of my surroundings. As well as the runners and walkers I shared the path with there were plenty of others enjoying some morning exercise. The open grassy areas and tree covered verges were awash with groups, large and small, practicing what I assumed to be tai chi. There was even about 20 of them outside the Lumpini Hall, that sits proudly between the two lakes, that looked ready to storm the building as they added swords to their graceful movements.

I made a short video for my Instagram after the run that shows the park a bit more, and how hot it was! I have included it here as well in case you missed it!

I even spotted one of the aforementioned serious looking policemen happily come out of his small shelter to take a photograph for a runner. This really was a green and pleasant oasis in a loud and chaotic city. I had barely seen anyone engaging in exercise during my time in Thailand and assumed that the heat and lifestyle left little room for it; but here in the biggest city I had ever been was a haven of physical well being, lively and full of people of all ages. It just goes to show that its worth the effort to run whenever you find yourself in a new city. I did feel sorry for the people I had to walk past on the way back to my hotel who were enjoying fresh wok fried noodles from the street vendors, with a side of sweaty westerner aroma!

Hopefully I will have a few more opportunities as I get into the swing of training for my autumn marathons and a few exciting plans over the summer!

Follow me on Instagram @runningthebreeze as I prepare to take on the Nepal Impact marathon in November 2019  with @hantoddie!

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