Columbia Trail Masters Episode VII, Kaeng Krachan, Thailand

Those of you whom know us, presumably the majority of people who bother to visit our blog, will also know that running plays a big part in our life.

That is to say that it has become a big part of my life and with Liz giving me unwavering support, inevitably she too has turned from pure supporter and event photographer, into a runner herself. 
As such we will be sharing some of our more exciting running adventures from time to time.
On this occasion we had set off to Kaeng Krachan as it was time for the next in the Columbia Trail Master series. We were joined by a group of friends and colleagues and went in a group of 13 runners. Most of whom were ready to conquer the 10km distance and settle for the obligatory barbeque that same evening.
These weekend outings are always enjoyable as we get to leave the city behind for a long weekend, spend time with friends and explore the lesser known paths of Thailand whereby we usually get to stay at some really out of the way resorts.
Only one (me – Harald) was sufficiently mindless to have signed up for the full distance on offer in this event, which was the 50 km Ultra Trail.
Here we are before the start, still all smiles:
And if that was not enough of self inflicted punishment, little did we know that the day of the race was to be one of the most beautiful and clear sky days, Thailand has seen in a while. With that came the obvious…, 43°C. 

That combined with a 1,896 meter elevation gain and that same elevation loss over the distance, provided for sufficient agony to literally make me loose my senses… No matter what, we made it …The specific thoughts, that went through my mind during the run, especially after the 35km mark are not for this blog, which is family rated.

But the greatest sense of all for all of us in the end was the sense of achievement.



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