Phuket 10.5K Recap

On June 9th I ran the Phuket 10.5K in Thailand. I had originally singed up for the half marathon, but due to the heat and humidity (nt to mention three weeks of treadmill running that was more about maintaining shape then anything else) I decided to cut down on the distance.

The race began early in the morning and was mostly flat, with just one uphill. It was great to see the roads blocked off really well and plenty of water stops. Not knowing how my body was going to react to the conditions (i.e. 90 degrees and humid and all hell) I began the race at a comfortable pace and aimed to maintain or pick it up as I went along.

After the first kilometer, I began picking off the runners in front of me ne by one, realizing I felt surprising good and the course was flat. I also had to adjust to having kilometer markers rather than mile markers and did my best to calculate my splits (it was a rough estimate). Unlike most races, I noticed that runners paid close attention to me as I ran by them. This was probably because I stuck out like a sore thumb, but it was a bit weird to experience.

I ended up finishing in 13th place, running just shy of 42 minutes - a pace of around 6:16 miles. After the race I got a quick massage/stretch by the staff, collected my age group award and went for a swim, because I was dripping with sweat.

Overall this was a great experience. It was my second international race (the first I've done in Asia). Of all decisions I made, the best was to rn the 10.5K - the humidity was a killer!

Overall Ranking: 7 (out of 10)
Course: 7
T-shirt: 7
Medal: 6