Race Report: 2019 Bangkok Marathon

On November 17, I ran the Bangkok Marathon.  This was the first half of a two-part Asian trip.  I’ve been interested in running a marathon in Thailand ever since my friend Maricar traveled there.  I didn’t get serious about going there this year until I noticed that this race and the Bagan Temple Marathon in Myanmar were six days apart.

A few years ago, some of my friends did the Bagan Temple Marathon with Marathon Tours & Travel, and they loved it.  The itinerary for that trip required arriving in Yangon, Myanmar on November 20.  That’s three days after the Bangkok Marathon, which was convenient timing.  There are multiple airlines with non-stop flights between Bangkok and Yangon.

The Bangkok Marathon has a midnight start.  Technically, the race is on Sunday, but it seemed more like a Saturday night race.  That meant my last opportunity to get a full night’s sleep was Friday night.  For that reason, I wasn’t comfortable arriving any later than Thursday.

That was problematic.  I ran a marathon in Havana the previous weekend, and I didn’t get home until late Monday night.  The only way to get to Bangkok by Thursday was to leave early Wednesday morning.  Even then, I wouldn’t get there until after 11:00 PM on Thursday night.

I couldn’t get there in less than three flight segments.  Delta recently added flights from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Seoul/Incheon, but they don’t fly that route every day.  Wednesday, unfortunately, was the wrong day.  I had to change planes in Seattle and again in Seoul/Incheon.  To ensure safe connections, I had to leave Minneapolis at 6:55 AM.  That meant leaving home by 4:30.  I’ve rarely been able to sleep on airplanes, and this was a long trip, so starting the trip tired wasn’t ideal.

The day before I left, I started having symptoms of a cold.  For almost a week, I was averaging between three and four hours of sleep.  That eventually caught up to me.  All day Tuesday, I had a mild case of post-nasal drip.  During the night, I started to feel a sore throat.  I didn’t have any other symptoms yet, but it wasn’t the best way to start the trip.

My longest flight segment was a 12 hour flight from Seattle to Seoul/Incheon.  I was originally booked in a Premium Select seat.  That’s something new.  It’s not first class, but it’s more comfortable than economy.  The day before the trip, I called Delta to ask if I could use miles to upgrade to a first class seat.  I could, and it only cost me 45,000 miles. That’s a bargain to have a seat that reclines completely flat for a 12 hour flight.  That gave me a realistic chance of getting some sleep on the flight.

Wednesday, November 13

During the night, I started to have a sore throat.  After getting up, I was back to just having post-nasal drip.  At this point, I was still clinging to hope that I could fight off the cold.

My flight to Seattle arrived about 30 minutes early.  That gave me a three hour layover before the long flight to Seoul/Incheon.

About halfway through my flight to Seoul/Incheon, I felt sleepy, so I took a nap.  Being able to recline completely flat is a game-changer.  I’ve never been more relaxed or more comfortable on an airplane.  It took a long time to fall asleep, but then I slept for at least an hour.  That was enough sleep to tide me over, but not so much that it would be more difficult to adjust to the time zone in Bangkok.

When I woke up, I felt slightly congested.  I was no longer optimistic about beating the cold.  I assumed at this point that I would gradually develop all the other symptoms.

Thursday, November 14

Toward the end of my second flight, we crossed the International Date Line.  Now instead of Wednesday afternoon it was Thursday afternoon.

As we began descending, I felt some discomfort in my ears.  I feared they would get more painful as we continued to descend, but they didn’t.  They gradually adjusted to the change in air pressure.  I was still only partially congested.

I arrived at the Seoul/Incheon airport in the late afternoon.  After another two and a half hour layover, I finally flew to Bangkok.  The last flight was only five and a half hours, but boarding was delayed, because of a last minute change in aircraft.  Everyone needed to get new seat assignments.  By the time we took off, we were already 40 minutes behind schedule.

To save time on arrival, I didn’t check a bag.  I’ve never been good at packing light.  Fitting everything I needed for a two week trip into a carry-on bag wasn’t easy, but I managed to do it.  After getting off the plane, I went straight to the long line for passport control.

Because I arrived so late, I spent my first night at an airport hotel.  The Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport is connected to the airport terminal by a tunnel.  By the time I got there and checked in, it was already after midnight.  I wanted to get to sleep as quickly as I could.  When I got to the room, the AC wasn’t on.  It took me a while to find the climate control.  It was set to 23 degrees Celsius.  When I turned it down, I could feel cool air coming out of the vents, but it would take time to get the room cooled down.

Friday, November 15

At 1:30 AM, I finally tried to go to sleep.  I set my alarm for 9:30.  In theory, I could get eight hours sleep.  It didn’t work out that way.

As I tried to figure out how to turn off all the lights, I inadvertently turned off power to the climate control.  I turned it on again, but it reset to 23 C.  I didn’t notice that.  I went to bed thinking the room was cooling off, but it was actually starting to warm up again.  I tossed and turned for hours before realizing the room was getting warmer.

At 5:00 AM, I noticed the climate control was set to 23 C.  I got up and changed it, but it took time for the room to get cool.  I eventually fell asleep, but I only slept for about two hours.  That was a lost opportunity.

When I woke up, my congestion was worse.  Did I mention this wasn’t the best way to start a trip?

I lost both Wednesday and Thursday to air travel, so I was overdue for a run.  When I got up, I went to the hotel’s fitness center and ran for an hour on one of their treadmills.  That workout seemed like a turning point.  Despite my cold and my lack of sleep, I felt OK for the rest of the day.

My room rate included my choice of breakfast or lunch.  By the time I was dressed, it was time for lunch.  I had the lunch buffet in the hotel’s Japanese restaurant.  The buffet was a fusion of different styles.  I had an eclectic selection that included sushi, pumpkin curry stir fry, pizza, and crème brulée for dessert.

I was able to get around Bangkok using public transportation.  There’s a train into the city from the Suvarnabhumi airport.  In the city, I used a combination of sky trains and MRT (subway).  One of the MRT lines was recently extended through the “old city,” making it easier to get to my hotel.

For the next five nights, I stayed at Riva Arun Bangkok.  This hotel was located on the Chao Phraya River, directly across from Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn).  My room had a balcony with this view.

I was impressed with the service at this hotel.  They brought me a small pot of green tea to drink while they were filling out my paperwork and checking to see if my room was ready.  They escorted me to my room and one of the employees gave me a tour of the room.

After unpacking and making sure the AC was on, I took the trains to the Marriott, where my friends Shannon and Eric were staying.  We spent the evening at the Octave Sky Bar on the roof.  We stayed long enough to see the city at night.  Then we went down to the 45th floor to eat dinner.

By the time I got back to Riva Arun, my room was nice and cool, and I was ready to get some sleep.  Before bed, I stepped out onto the balcony to see the view of Wat Arun at night.

I had no trouble getting to sleep that night, and I slept for most of the night.

Saturday, November 16

I had breakfast at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.  From there, you not only have views of the river and Wat Arun, but you can also see Wat Pho.

After breakfast, I took a tour of the Jim Thompson House Museum.  Jim Thompson was an architect, designer, and textile colorist who revived the silk weaving industry in Thailand.  He designed his home, which consists of six teak buildings of traditional Thai architecture.  His home is furnished with an extensive collection of paintings, sculptures, and porcelain.  Some of the pieces are as much as a thousand years old.

In 1967, Jim Thompson went missing while hiking in the jungle in Malaysia.  To this day, nobody knows what happened to him.  His home is now a museum.

From the Jim Thomson House Museum, it was a short walk to the National Stadium, where packet pickup for the race was being held.  With my race packet, I got both a T-shirt and a singlet.  On my way back, I saw someone grilling chicken and pork kebabs, so I had street food for lunch.

After dropping off my race packet at the hotel, I went out to explore the neighborhood.  I walked past Wat Pho, the Grand Palace, and Wat Mahathat.  Along the way, I passed numerous small shops and street vendors.  Then I stopped to explore the amulet market.  This is a narrow alley lined with dozens of vendor selling amulets and other souvenirs.

On my way back to the hotel, I explored some of the small shops near Chang Pier.  Wherever I went in the old city, I saw tributes to the royal family.

Shannon was also doing the marathon, so she and Eric stayed at Riva Arun Bangkok the night of the race.  I got back to the hotel just as they were checking in.  Shannon still needed to pick up her race packet.  While they were going to the expo, I explored a different part of the old city.

This temple is called Wat Suthat.  The large red structure next to it used to be the support for a giant swing.  The giant swing was used as part of religious ceremonies, but the practice was stopped after several fatal injuries.

I had dinner with Shannon and Eric at an Italian restaurant near Khau San Road.  The restaurant was on such a narrow alleyway, that we would have missed it if not for using my phone for directions.  We all had pizza, and it was excellent.

As we were walking back from dinner, all the temples and government buildings were lit up.  This is the Supreme Court and the Grand Palace,

Here’s Wat Pho at night, viewed from the roof of our hotel.  In the distance, you can also see parts of the Grand Palace and the Rama VIII Bridge.

I still had four and a half hours before the race, so I decided to try taking a nap.  I never take naps, but this was an unusual circumstance.  It was already well after dark, I had a huge sleep deficit, and I was going to be running through the night.

I set an alarm and went to bed.  Before long, I fell asleep.  Before I knew it, I woke up from a two hour nap.  I can think of plenty of races with normal start times where I got less sleep than that.

I was feeling pretty good.  The nap energized me. It even seemed like my cold was breaking up.  I didn’t have any new symptoms, the post nasal drip was gone, and I didn’t have as much congestion.  I took a shower and started getting dressed.

I hadn’t noticed any mosquitoes since arriving in Bangkok, but Eric noticed one at dinner.  I was going to have a lot of exposed skin during dinner, so I used lots of insect repellant.  I didn’t have to worry about sunblock.

At 11:30, I met Shannon in the lobby, and we walked to the start.  It was a 10 minute walk.  I’m glad I used the bathroom before leaving the hotel, because I didn’t see any port-o-potties anywhere in the start area.

Before the race, there was a brief drum ceremony.  Shannon took this video of part of it.

Then they led us through a 10 minute warm-up routine.  I’ve seen similar things in a few European races, but this had an Asian flavor.  It was energetic.

Sunday, November 17

One might assume they hold the race at night so we don’t have to endure the radiant heat of the sun.  That might be the case, but I suspect it was for another reason.  Between midnight and 6 AM, it’s easier to close down the roads.  A majority of the course was on a major highway and the highway was completely closed to traffic.

The course is mostly out-and-back, starting and finishing in front of the Grand Palace. 

I assumed the course would be lit, but I had a small flashlight with me, just in case.

Shannon and I ran together for the whole race.  Neither of us was planning to go all out for a fast time.  We paced ourselves conservatively, respecting the heat.  We just wanted to finish.

For the first kilometer or so, we were running along the same street that we had walked going to and from dinner on Saturday.  We once again got to see familiar landmarks like the Ministry of Defense and the Supreme Court.  We continued through busy streets for another kilometer and a half.  We ran past the Democracy Monument, which was lit up beautifully, but I didn’t have a camera with me.  It didn’t want to get my camera saturated with sweat.

At the start of the race, the temperature was in the low 80s, with stifling humidity.  The temperature gradually dropped during the race, but the humidity never got any better.

They had water stations every two kilometers.  That was very consistent.  I don’t recall seeing any odd numbered kilometer markers, but the even ones were always right at an aid station.

After two and a half kilometers, we went up a ramp that took us onto Rama VIII Road, named after the eighth king of Siam.  After about four kilometers, we crossed the Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River.  The bridge supports were lit up.  That’s a photo I would have taken if I had a camera.  As we crossed the bridge, I took in the views of the river.

Shortly after crossing the bridge, we turned onto a highway.  We were on that same highway for most of the race.

Most of the course was well-lit, but there were a few brief sections where the street lamps weren’t on.  I never needed to use my flashlight, but I did need to pay more attention, so Shannon and I didn’t get separated.

As we were nearing the end of the eighth kilometer, Shannon said she needed to slow down.  I didn’t realize it, but she was really struggling with the conditions in the early kilometers.  Around the same time, a runner from Ireland asked me if I spoke English.  He wanted to know how far we had gone.  I could see the next aid station just ahead.  I told him this aid station was 8K.  He ran with us for several kilometers and we had a nice conversation.

We slowed down a bit, and before long, Shannon was feeling better.  The highway wasn’t very exciting as far as scenery goes, but it was usually at least 50 feet above ground level.  Before we got onto the highway, there wasn’t any breeze.  Now that we were up higher, we had just enough of a breeze to help with the humidity.  That really made a difference.  It’s the reason Shannon started feeling better.

The 8K aid station was the first one to have Gatorade.  Before that, we could only drink water.  After that, we saw Gatorade at about one third of the aid stations.  Later in the race, we started to get excited if we approached an aid station and saw Gatorade banners.

Even though the aid stations were frequent, I found myself needing to drink two cups at each aid station.  I was sweating like crazy.

I think we were about 15K into the race when we started to see elite runners already coming back.  There was a lead pack of about eight runners who were all still together.  I’m sure the race for first place got exciting later.

For most of the race we were running in the westbound lanes of the highway.  Around 19K, we made a U-turn into the eastbound lanes.  We continued east for about two kilometers before turning around to retrace our route back toward the city center.

I rarely looked at my watch, but we reached the halfway mark in about 2:05.  Before the race, Shannon was guessing we might run the marathon in 4:15.  Now that we were half done, she said she was hoping to finish somewhere between 4:15 and 4:30.  She didn’t seem confident that we would break 4:30.  I assumed we would slow down, but I didn’t think we would slow down that much.

Coming back, we spent longer at the aid stations.  Shannon was drinking two cups, pouring one over her head and putting ice in her shirt.  We walked through the aid stations, but between them, I think we still ran at the same pace.  I was hot enough to feel sweaty, but I never felt the need to pour water over my head.  The pace we were running usually felt somewhat comfortable, so I wasn’t overheating.

There weren’t any port-o-potties anywhere on the course.  About two thirds of the way through the race, I cut back to only drinking one cup at each aid station.  At this point, I knew I wouldn’t get dehydrated.  I wanted to make sure I didn’t need a bathroom stop.

There was a half marathon that started later than the marathon.  With a little over 10K to go, we passed their turnaround point.  Suddenly the road got much more crowded.  Shannon and I had to pay close attention to keep from getting separated, particularly at the aid stations and on the few sections of the course that were dark.

For the rest of the race, we just needed to grind it out.  We were hot and tired, but the remaining distance gradually got more manageable.  With about 5K to go, I saw something in the distance that was lit up, but it was high in the air.  I assumed it was the top of a building, but I couldn’t see anything underneath it.  When I mentioned it to Shannon, she recognized it.  It was the top of the Rama VIII Bridge.  As we went around a corner and saw it form a different angle, I could make out the entire bridge support.

When we crossed the bridge again, we had about 4K to go.  The last 4K wasn’t the same as the first 4K.  We took a different route through the old city.

With about 2K to go, I looked at my watch.  Shannon didn’t want to know if she was going to break 4:30 or not.  I could see we easily would, but I kept that to myself.

We passed Sanam Luang.  This is a large park where prominent events are held.  We ran past it earlier in the race, but this time we were on the opposite side.  I didn’t know exactly what our route to the finish was, but I knew where we were.  In the distance, we could see the tops of some of the temples.

We turned left just before the Grand Palace.  Then we turned right to make our final approach to the finish line. We crossed the line in 4:20:42.

At first, I didn’t see where we were supposed to get our medals.  Then I remembered a tent we walked by before the race.  It had a sign that said something like, “Hand out finisher coin.”  We assumed that meant medal.  We looked for the tent.  In front of it, there were volunteers handing out the medals.

As we continued through the finish area, I started to see other runners carrying T-shirts in sealed bags.  We already got a T-shirt and a singlet at packet pickup.  Were we really going to get another shirt?  Shannon was skeptical, but I also remembered passing a tent with a sign that said, “Hand out finisher shirt.”  Sure enough, we found the tent and got our finisher T-shirts.

Out last stop before leaving the finish area was the food line.  Our post-race food included giant prawns and a large bowl of tasty soup.  We also got bags with other post-race snacks.

As we left the finish area, we saw Eric.  He had just walked over from the hotel.  He arrived at the same time we were leaving the finish area.  That was amazing timing.

We sat down on the curb to eat our post-race food.  Then we walked back to the hotel.  My first priority was to get out of my wet running clothes.  I didn’t want to put my wet clothes on the hardwood floor of my room, so I put them out on the balcony.  Then I took a shower.  I had to wait for my hair to dry before going to bed.  By the time I was ready, it was more than an hour since we had finished the race.  It was still dark outside, so I was hopeful I could get to sleep.  I didn’t need a full-night’s sleep.  I just needed a nap.  I was awake for a long time.  Eventually, I noticed light filtering in from outside.  I kept trying to sleep, but eventually I had to go to the bathroom.

When I looked at the time, it was two hours after going to bed.  It’s possible I fell asleep without realizing it.  It didn’t seem like I had been awake in bed for two hours.

I got dressed and met Shannon and Eric in the lobby.  They were flying to Chiang Mai, but they had time to tour the Grand Palace before heading to the airport.

The Grand Palace is large and incredibly ornate.  I took dozens of photos.  It was tough to select just a few, but here are some of my favorites.  The highlight of the palace was Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha), but we couldn’t take pictures inside the temple.

Inside the temples, your knees and elbows need to be covered, so I was wearing a long sleeved shirt the whole time we were at the Grand Palace.  In long sleeves, you get sweaty fast.  When I got back to the hotel, I had to take another shower.

After cooling down, I had lunch at a restaurant a few blocks from the hotel.  After lunch, I explored Chinatown.  At first, I wandered somewhat randomly through the narrow streets, past food vendors and narrow shops selling just about everything.

It’s a shame I went there so soon after lunch.  Some of the food looked good, but I wasn’t hungry.  The only thing I bought was some fresh pineapple.  My last stop before leaving Chinatown was Wat Mangkon, a Chinese Buddhist temple.

I had time to do more sightseeing, but I was too tired.  It was a sunny afternoon, with temperatures in the low 90s.  Spending so much time walking around outside wore me out.  It didn’t help that I spent most of the previous night running instead of sleeping.  I went back to the hotel and relaxed in the shade on my balcony, watching boats on the river.  I waited to see the sunset behind Wat Arun.

There are plenty of good restaurants in the neighborhood of my hotel, but as I started walking to dinner, I noticed that most of them were already closed.  The one I went to was still open, but I had to order quickly.  I ended up ordering more food than I really needed.  Their prawn spring roll was listed as an appetizer, but it was a whole plate of spring rolls.  After eating that, I struggled to find room for my entrée.

I went to bed shortly after dinner.  That night, I crashed hard and slept for nine hours.  I really needed that.

Monday, November 18

After breakfast, I went to Wat Pho.  As with the Grand Palace, it’s hard to capture the grandeur if this place with just a few photos.

Within Wat Pho, there are several temples.  In one of them, I had the opportunity to sit on the floor and relax for several minutes while listening to a dozen monks chanting in unison.  The best known temple at Wat Pho holds the world’s largest reclining Buddha.  You have to see it with your own eyes to appreciate how big it is.

Next, I took a ferry to the other side of the river to see Wat Arun.

From in front of Wat Arun, I could see my hotel across the river.

When I checked in at Riva Arun on Friday, they gave me a voucher for a 24-hour unlimited ride pass on one of the hop-on, hop off tourist boats on the Chao Phraya River.  One of the stops was a pier next to Wat Arun.

There were nine different piers where you could get on or get off.  I mostly just wanted to ride along the river and enjoy the views.

I ended up getting off in three places.  Everyone had to get off at the Sathorn, which was the southernmost pier.  While I was waiting to board the next boat going north, I visited this Hainanese temple.

We also had to get off at the northernmost pier.  From there, I could see the Rama VIII Bridge, which we ran across during the marathon.

I was planning to get off at this pier anyway, as I hadn’t had any lunch yet, and there were several restaurants nearby.  I found one called Mango House, where I had this fruit and waffle concoction called Mango Paradise.

My last stop was near the Pat Klong Flower Market.  Like other marketplaces I visited, this one had narrow alleys and small shops.  Here, all the shops were selling flowers.

I was done with the hop-on, hop-off boat, but I wasn’t done visiting temples.  From the flower market, I took the MRT to Wat Traimit (the Temple of the Golden Buddha).  This temple holds the world’s largest solid gold Buddha.

It started raining just before I got to Wat Traimit.  All morning and afternoon, the heat index was above 100 degrees, so the rain felt good at first.  To enter any temple, however, you have to leave your shoes outside, and the shoe racks were a good distance from the entrance to the temple.  By the time I left, my shoes and socks were fairly wet.  When I got back to the hotel, I had to change into dry clothes and shoes.

I was hoping to get up early on Tuesday, so I wanted to stay close to the hotel for dinner.  You can’t get much closer than the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.  After dinner, I got to bed as early as I could.

Tuesday, November 19

It’s tough to find a good place to run in the old city.  The streets are busy, and the sidewalks are crowded.  The only time you can run on the sidewalks is during the pre-dawn hours.  I got up early, so I could go for a run while I had the chance.

By now, I knew which streets had wide sidewalks and were well lit at night.  I mostly stuck to streets I had run or walked along before, but at one point I crossed a bridge over a canal with the intent of running back on the opposite bank.

A security guard immediately said something to me.  I stopped and turned toward him.  I was nervous, because foreign visitors are supposed to have their passports with them at all times.  I didn’t have mine with me while I was running.  That wasn’t his concern.  He was just telling me I couldn’t go that way.  His tone wasn’t at all menacing.  In fact, he was smiling and apologized for having to stop me.  That’s Thailand in a nutshell.  It’s the land of smiles.

As I finished my run, there was more traffic in the streets, but the sidewalks still weren’t crowded.  In all, I ran a little over seven miles, finishing a few minutes after sunrise.

While I was up on the roof eating breakfast, I noticed it was really hazy.  Buildings that were only five miles away were barely visible.  By the time I was done eating, the smog was beginning to bother my eyes.  This was the first day it was like that.

It seemed like a day for indoor activities.  As soon as it opened, I went to Museum Siam, which was only a few blocks from my hotel.  Museum Siam is a cultural museum, that attempts to define “Thai-ness” and how it has changed over time.  It has 14 exhibits.  I found the first several exhibits easy to understand.  That last few made me realize how little I still understand Thai culture.  It would be interesting to come back to this museum after an extended stay in the country.

I had lunch at one of the many small restaurants near the hotel.  Their menu struck me as a mixture of Thai food and entrées I think of as Chinese.  I saw the same thing at other restaurants.  That reminded me of one of the exhibits at Museum Siam.  Even people from Thailand can’t always agree on which foods are genuinely Thai and which foods are Thai versions of foods from neighboring countries.

By now, the air quality had improved, so I was no longer limited to indoor activities.  I reluctantly changed into a long-sleeved shirt and went out to see one more major temple.  I could have walked the whole way, but I rode the MRT for one stop so I wouldn’t have to spend as much time in the afternoon heat.  This is Wat Saket (the Temple of the Golden Mount).

 

When I got back to the hotel, I found out there was going to be a rehearsal later in the afternoon for a royal barge procession that’s going to take place in December.  Most people were watching from the roof, but I could watch it from my balcony.

In the evening, I walked up to Khao San Road.  This is the shopping and nightlife spot for young people backpacking across Asia.  I had to at least check it out, so I found a place to eat dinner there.

Wednesday, November 20

Today I fly to Myanmar to begin part two of my Asian adventure.

To be continued…

Race Statistics

Distance:  42.2 kilometers

Time:  4:20:42

Average Pace:  6:11 per kilometer (9:57 per mile)

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  392

Countries:  40

Race Report: 2019 Marabana Marathon

On November 10th, I ran the Marabana Marathon in Havana, Cuba.  Since 1960, the United States has had an economic embargo of Cuba.  This embargo has changed over the years, but United States citizens are generally prohibited from traveling to Cuba unless they obtain a permit from the Treasure Department.  In the last decade, it’s become easier to obtain a permit to travel to Cuba.  Now, there are enough people traveling there from the U.S. that commercial airlines have daily flights to Havana.

I traveled with an organization called Project Hemisphere, which has a group permit for travel to Cuba.  I booked the trip through Marathon Tours & Travel (MT&T).  MT&T booked our hotel accommodations and helped us get our Cuban visas.

Traveling to Cuba takes some advance planning.  U.S. banks aren’t allowed to do business there, so you can’t use credit cards or get cash from ATMs.  All transactions are cash, and once you arrive there’s no way to get more money.  You have to bring enough for the whole trip.  Most of my expenses were pre-paid, but I still had to have money for incidentals and a few of my meals.

I’m used to being connected wherever I go, but on this trip, I felt like I was as far off the grid as I’ve ever been.  I usually buy an international phone plan that gives me virtually unlimited talk, text and data for $10 a day.  That wasn’t available for Cuba.  I could use my phone there, but I had to pay roaming charges.  The least expensive way to stay in touch with Deb was via text messages.

Thursday, November 7

Delta Airlines has one daily flight to Havana, which departs from Atlanta.  I wanted to give myself as safe a connection as possible, so I took the first flight of the morning out of Minneapolis.  That gave me a scheduled connection time of two hours and 17 minutes.

My first flight departed at 5:20 AM.  For international flights, they recommend arriving three hours early.  That wasn’t going to happen.  The security checkpoints don’t open until 3:30, so there wasn’t any point arriving any earlier than that.  Even still, I had to get up pretty early.  I seriously had a “what was I thinking?” moment when I set my alarm clock.

I arrived in Havana just after 1:00 PM.  That was about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.  The international arrival process didn’t take long, and soon I met one of the MT&T greeters inside the airport terminal.  There were 67 people in our group, and most of the flights were arriving at about the same time.  MT&T brought us to our hotel in two motor coaches.

One of the first things you notice driving through Havana is all the old cars.  Cuba doesn’t have its own auto industry.  Prior to 1960, they imported cars from the U.S.  Since the embargo started, they haven’t been able to do that.  Most of the cars you see around the city were built in the 40s or 50s and have been maintained ever since.  If you see a newer car, it was imported from Russia or China.  In Havana, every day is like a classic car show.

We stayed at Parque Central Hotel.  That hotel was conveniently located for the marathon.  The race started and finished about a block from the hotel.

We arrived at the hotel at 3:00.  Check-in time isn’t until 4:00, but most of the rooms were ready.  Mine was one of the few rooms that weren’t.  In fact, mine was the only room not ready by 4:00.  While I was waiting, I exchanged some of my money for Cuban Convertible Pesos.  That’s the currency that foreign visitors can use.  Residents use a different currency.

When I finally got into my room, I turned on the AC, so the room could start cooling down.  Then I went out for a short run.  The old capitol building was just a block away from our hotel.  I didn’t want to venture too far away on my own, so I ran past the capitol building and did laps around two small parks that were next to it.  I only ran about three miles, but that was enough to give me an appreciation for the heat and humidity.

The capitol was originally used as Cuba’s parliament building.  After the communist revolution, it fell into disuse.  Recently, they’ve been restoring it.  When the restoration is complete, it’ll be used as the seat of government again.

Our hotel was also the packet pickup location for international runners.  After showering and changing clothes, I had just enough time to pick up my race packet before meeting the group for dinner.

Our only group activity on Thursday was dinner.  For dinner, we went to La Guarida, an old Creole restaurant which was featured in the movie, “Strawberry and Chocolate.”

The hotel had air conditioning, but it wasn’t very robust enough.  When I went to bed, it was 77 degrees in the room.  I could feel cool air coming out of the vents.  It just wasn’t enough.  That first night, it took me several hours to get to sleep.

Friday, November 8

I joined some of the other runners for a short group run before breakfast.  We ran the beginning of the marathon route.  It was nice to get in another run, but it didn’t leave me much time to shower, change clothes, and eat breakfast before we had to be ready to leave.

Our group was so large that we divided in two, each with its own English-speaking guide.  Our first stop for the day was Havana’s largest cigar factory.  Here, we learned about Cuban cigars and saw the workers hand-rolling them.

Next, we went to a day care center run by Sister Theresa Vaz for children aged two to four.  They depend a lot on donations, so some of us made cash donations and others brought clothing or supplies.

In between our stops, our guide told us about Cuban life and Cuban history.  We had lunch at a private paladar on the edge of town that has botanical gardens with dozens (perhaps hundreds) of varieties of fruit trees.

After lunch, we went to Finca Vigia, which was Ernest Hemingway’s home from 1939 to 1960.  It’s a four story home with a pool and tennis courts.  It’s ten miles outside Havana, but you can see the capitol from there.

Wifi isn’t widely available in Cuba.  There’s only one ISP, and that’s operated by the Cuban government.  Most homes aren’t connected, and most businesses are on a nationwide intranet, instead of the internet.  Most people can only go online by buying a card that gives them one hour of access time and then using it at an internet café.  Our hotel was connected, and they gave each of us an access code good for 20 hours.  Unfortunately, you could only get a connection on the ground floor.  Friday afternoon was the first time I had enough free time to sit in the lobby and check my emails.

We were on our own for dinner that night.  Our guide recommended some local restaurants, but the hotel had a dining area on the roof, where they also had a pool.  I joined a few runners for dinner on the roof, where I was able to have pizza.  As it got dark, we had a nice view of the capitol building with the lights on.

All day, I had my room shut with the drapes closed and the AC on.  The room wasn’t any cooler than it was on Thursday.  It was only because of sheer exhaustion that I was able to sleep that night.

Saturday, November 9

On Saturday, I had more time to enjoy breakfast before meeting the rest of the group to start our itinerary for the day.  Our first stop was a craft market.  We got there just as they were starting to set up for the day.  The first level had vendors selling souvenirs.  The second level had artwork.  I spent too much time browsing through the first level and didn’t make it to the second level before it was time to leave.

Out next stop was a boxing academy.  We saw young men getting instruction on boxing.  Boxing and baseball are two of Cuba’s biggest sports.

Next, we went to Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro.  This is a fortification originally built by Spain to defend the harbor.

From Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro, you get good views of the city from across the harbor.

Then we began a walking tour of Old Havana.  One of the sights we saw was La Catedral de la Virgen María de la Concepción Inmaculada de La Habana.

This is the Museum of the Revolution.  In front of it is a tree of lights.

Halfway through our walking tour, we stopped to have lunch at Al Carbon.  Then we continued walking through Old Havana.  This is Castillo de la Real Fuerza, a 16th century fort built by Spain.

This street is paved with bricks, but the bricks are made of wood.  This was done to reduce the noise from carriages.

After our walking tour, we were on our own for the rest of the afternoon.  I spent part of that time online, organized my clothes for the race, and then went up to the rooftop pool.

Later, we had a pre-race dinner with chicken, fish, and two kinds of pasta.  Nobody walked away hungry after any of our meals.

I went to bed as quickly as I could, but it took a couple hours to fall asleep.  Then I got about four hours of good sleep.

Sunday, November 10

Sunday was race day.  Our hotel started their breakfast service early that day.  I went downstairs at 4:30 to eat a light breakfast before returning to my room to get ready for the race.

The race started at 6:30.  The starting line was about a block from our hotel, so I didn’t have to worry about waiting in line to use a port-o-potty.  We met in the lobby for a group photo at 6:00.  Then I made one last bathroom stop before going outside to line up for the race.

It rained hard for most of the night, but the rain stopped about 30 minutes before the race.  It was about 73 degrees at the start of the race.  I expected it to get up to 80 by the time I finished.  It was cloudy, which was good, but we still had to deal with the humidity.  In Cuba, the humidity is always about 110 percent.

                   

The course was a 21.1 kilometer loop that we had to run twice.  Only 16 people in our group were doing the marathon.  Most were doing the half marathon, which was only one loop.  There were also a few doing the 10K race.

I lined up in what I thought was an appropriate place.  At 6:15, the wheelchairs started and the rest of us moved forward.  Now, I was much closer to the starting line than I expected.  Most of the runners around me were doing the 10K.

Even though I was surrounded by 10K runners, the start was congested.  For the first few blocks, I had to work hard to get around slower runners.  By the end of the first kilometer, however, there was plenty of room to run at my own pace.  I was pacing by feel.  I wanted to start at a pace that felt about the same as my effort in races with cooler temperatures.

At two kilometers, I checked my pace.  I was averaging 5:05 per kilometer.  At that pace, I would finish in less than 3:35.  That was a Boston qualifying pace, which is much faster than I expected to start.  My goal was to break four hours.

I was already feeling the humidity.  Sweat was running into my eyes.  I had to remove my sunglasses to wipe the sweat away.  I wondered if I would be doing that constantly throughout the race.  I decided to back off a little and let other runners go by.

We were now running along the Malecón, where big waves were crashing against the sea wall.  Sometimes the waves would splash over the wall, drenching the sidewalk and part of the street.  Our guide had advised us to run in the middle of the street, so we didn’t get splashed with seawater.  I usually run the tangents, but here I stayed in the middle of the street, even if it meant running farther going around a bend.

Most of the runners around me were either running the 10K race or the half marathon.  I wanted to be able to follow another runner whom I knew was running the marathon.  I saw a woman from Spain go by.  Her race bib was on her side, so I could tell it was a marathon bib.  I could also tell that her pace was too fast for me.  I didn’t try to follow her.

At three kilometers, my time was 13:49.  Either I ran the third kilometer in 3:40 or the kilometer markers couldn’t be trusted.  After that, I assumed their locations were only approximate.

At four kilometers, my time was 19:54.  Previously, I thought it was just the 3K marker that was off.  Now, I had to consider the possibility that the first two were off, and I was actually running faster than five minutes per kilometer.  In cool conditions, that pace would be comfortable.  In Cuba’s heat and humidity, it was crazy fast.

By now, I was seeing runners coming back on the other side of the street.  They were doing the 10K, which was out-and-back.  I wondered how much the field would thin out as I passed the 5K mark.  It thinned a little, but there were still quite a few runners.  The half marathon had a large field.

I was wearing a Marathon Globetrotters singlet with a “10 countries” badge on the back.  Another runner commented on that, and I explained that the badge was out of date, and this was actually my 39th country.  His name was Charlie.  He lives on London, but used to live in New York.  As we continued talking, I learned that he and I had done several of the same races, including London, New York City, Twin Cities, Comrades, and Midnight Sun.

Charlie’s pace felt a little bit fast for me, but I continued running with him because I was enjoying the conversation.  I was no longer checking my pace at every kilometer marker, but my pace was just a little slower than five minutes per kilometer.

Just before 7K, we left the Malecón to run back into the city.  Up until now, the course was flat, but the rest of the loop would have rolling hills.

The aid stations had bottled water, but no sports drink of any kind.  To ensure I wouldn’t “hit the wall” in the late miles, I brought half a dozen gel packets to eat throughout the race.  I ate the first one as I reached an aid station at 7K.  On average, I wanted to eat one every 6K, but I always waited until I was approaching an aid station.

The water bottles were half a liter, which was more than I could drink at once.  Not wanting to waste water, I carried the bottle with me and drank as much as I could.  When I couldn’t imagine drinking any more, I poured the rest over my head.  That was effective in cooling me off.

At about 8K, it started to rain.  At first, it was just a gentle sprinkling.  That felt perfect.  It was just enough to keep me cool.

Now that it was raining, I no longer needed to pour water over my head.  At the next aid station, Charlie and I split a bottle of water, so we didn’t have to waste too much.

At about 10K, Charlie noticed another runner had a shirt from Russia.  Charlie asked him if he spoke English.  As it turns out, he attended college in Boston and spoke perfect English.  Charlie asked him if he would recommend the Moscow Marathon.  I asked him about the White Nights Marathon in St. Petersburg.  The three of us ran together for another kilometer or two.  Then the runner from Russia said he couldn’t maintain that pace and had to back off.  I decided this was also a good time for me to back off too.  At times, I felt like I was struggling to keep up with Charlie, particularly on the hills.  We both let Charlie go, but the two of us continued to run together and talk.

Somewhere around 11 or 12 kilometers, the rain suddenly got much heavier.  Now it was a downpour, and there was water running across the street.  It got increasing difficult to avoid running through deep puddles.  I’m not a big fan of rain, but I no longer had to worry at all about overheating.  As long as it was raining hard, I could maintain a fast pace without it taking a toll on me.

At 15K, the runner from Russia said he had to let me go too.  I felt like we had been slowing down in the previous kilometer or do.  He was doing the half marathon and was getting into the tough miles.  Now that I was on my own, I sped up again.  With the heavy rain keeping me cool, I could run fearlessly.

At18K, I reached an intersection where we had to cross halfway before turning right.  Here, the water running across the street was an inch or two deep.  My shoes filled with water.  For runners who came through here later, the water was above their ankles.

In the last kilometer of the first loop, I had to make a few turns in rapid succession.  After the last one, I saw the capitol on my left.  Farther ahead, I could see the start/finish area. Runners nearing the finish of the 10K made a U-turn and joined us just before the finish.  The 10K and half marathon runners stayed to the left to finish.  Those of us doing the marathon stayed to the right to begin another loop.

I finished the first loop in 1:47:02.  I was still on pace for a Boston qualifying time.  I knew the pace I was running was only made possible by the rain.  If the rain stopped, the second half would be much hotter.  Right on cue, the rain stopped.

The first turn of the second loop came after just two blocks.  There were enough half marathon finishers wandering through the street that it would have been easy to miss this turn.  I remembered it.  There was also a course marshal who was watching to make sure nobody missed the turn.

Just after that turn, there were volunteers handing out plastic pouches filled with an orange flavored drink.  I had enough gel packets to take care of my caloric needs, but these pouches didn’t hold as much fluid as a water bottle.  I could drink the whole thing, so I didn’t have to waste any water.  They were only available at certain aid stations, but I drank them instead of water whenever I could.

Now that we were past the half marathon finish, the field really thinned out.  I could see a runner about a block ahead of me.  I didn’t want to be on my own, so I worked to keep him in sight.

One of our guides had told other runners doing the marathon that they would need to move to the sidewalks in the second loop.  She might have just meant runners who were going to be close to the time limit, but I assumed the worst.  It wouldn’t be the first time I ran a two-loop course where there was traffic in the streets after the first loop.  That’s what the Bermuda Marathon is like.

I was most worried about the long section along the Malecón.  I didn’t want to have to move to the sidewalk, knowing we would get splashed by the big waves.  As it turned out, we didn’t have to.  The course was still blocked off to traffic, so we could run in the street.

I saw 10K runners still coming back on the other side of the street.  I wondered if the street was still closed to traffic because of them.  What would happen when we passed the 5K mark?  As it turns out, we always had at least one side of the street to ourselves.

Now that we were next to the sea, I felt a strong wind.  It felt like it was a tailwind, yet it was strong enough that it still cooled me off.  Now instead of the rain keeping me cool, the wind kept me cool.  It also helped me pick up my pace.

I looked up and saw a flag blowing in the wind.  It was definitely a tailwind.  Then I noticed it was an American flag.  I didn’t expect to see many of those in Cuba.  I was running past the United States Embassy.

In the center of the street, there were storm drains.  The covers were removed to relieve the pressure from the waves.  When a big wave came crashing in, it not only splashed over the sidewalk, but it sometimes caused water to shoot into the air through the storm drains.  I made a point of avoiding both the sidewalk and the storm drains.

The waves were getting bigger.  In one place, they splashed all the way to the middle of the street.  Sand was washing over the street.

At 28K, I left the Malecón for the second time.  Soon, I once again turned to head away from the coast and into the city.  I was two thirds done with the race, and I was still on pace to qualify for Boston.  I started up a long gradual hill.  Without either rain or wind to cool me off, I had to respect the heat.  I eased up a bit going up the hill.

For the rest of the race, there would be turns almost every kilometer.  I had been passing other runners since the halfway mark.  Each time I passed one, I looked ahead to see if there was another runner to follow.  I was worried about missing a turn.  They didn’t have a lot of markings at the turns, but they always had course marshals looking out for us.

After making one turn, I couldn’t see anyone ahead of me.  I briefly hesitated, wondering if I turned in the wrong place.  Two spectators recognized my confusion and enthusiastically confirmed I was going the right way.  When I was all the way around the next bend, I once again saw a runner ahead of me.

The weather kept changing.  It briefly started sprinkling again.  That helped.  At other times, the sun came out.  That didn’t help, but I was far enough into the race that I knew I could tough it out if I got hot.

I checked my pace at every kilometer.  The placement of the markers wasn’t always accurate, but my pace always seemed on target to finish in 3:31 or 3:32.  I realized at halfway that breaking four hours was in the bag.  With 9K to go, I started to gain in confidence that I would break 3:35.

I got the impression that I had paced myself better than most of the other runners.  I passed the runner from Spain who was too fast for me near the beginning of the race.  Later, I passed Charlie.

At about 36K, I noticed one corner of my race bib was drooping.  The race bibs were similar in style to the race bibs usually used in European races.  They don’t hold up well in rain.  The paper gets soft, and they tear easily. One of the safety pins holding my bib in place had torn through the paper.  I had to come to a stop briefly, to re-pin it.

As I resumed running, I immediately felt one of my insoles slipping forward in my shoe.  That can happen when water gets between the insole and my orthotic.  I think stopping and starting was the catalyst to make it slip when it did.  With 6K to go, I could live with the discomfort.  It’s worst on hills, and the rest of the loop was fairly flat.

After another two kilometers, a different corner of my bib was drooping.  I stopped again to re-pin it.  I was trying hard to pick up the pace.  Stopping twice didn’t help.  Fortunately, I only had a few kilometers left.

At 39K, I had a scare.  Suddenly, I was barely on pace for 3:34.  Did I lose that much time stopping to re-pin my race bib?  Was I slowing down?  I suspected that kilometer marker was off, but I took no chances.  I poured it on.  I really wanted to get a Boston qualifier in this race.

I had gradually passed other runners since the halfway point.  Now I started to pass several people who were walking.  I had caught up with the back of the pack of the half marathon.

At 40K, I was back on pace, but I still took no chances.  I continued to accelerate.  Just past 41K, I recognized exactly where I was.  I knew the last three turns.  Then I would see the capitol again.

As I ran past the capitol, I could see the finish line.  Now I ran with urgency.  In prior years, this race sometimes ran out of finisher medals.  They use the same medals for the 10K, the half marathon, and the marathon.  Since all three races start at the same time, the marathoners are most at risk of not getting a medal.  I started passing people as if my medal depended on it.

As I was approaching the finish line, I was once again directed to the right.  I finished in 3:29:42.  That shocked me.  I qualified for Boston with more than five minutes to spare.  I never thought it would be possible to do that in this climate.  The rain was a game-changer.

Now I looked for volunteers handing out medals.  They were all on the left side of the street.  I went over to them, but I was on the the other side of a barrier.  One of the volunteers pointed ahead.  I saw some tents in the next block and assumed I was supposed to get my medal there.  When I got there, I asked, and they pointed back to where I came from.  It wasn't until later that I realized I was probably misdirected to the wrong side of the street.  The volunteers handing out medals probably assumed I was only finishing my first loop, so they were telling me to keep running.   I went back and found a place where I could get over to the left side of the street.  Then I walked through the tent on that side and got my finisher medal.

Out hotel was so close to the finish line that I accidentally walked right past it as I continued through the finish chute.  It was only after walking back to the hotel that I realized how fast I ran the second loop.  I ran negative splits by more than four minutes.  That was certainly unexpected in a race where the second half was the hot half.

After stopping at my room to get out of the wet running clothes and change into my swimsuit, I went up to the roof to take a dip in the pool.  Then I changed clothes and had lunch at the poolside dining area.  I usually eat pizza after a race, but the pizza at the hotel wasn’t that good.  Instead, I followed a different tradition.  I celebrated a BQ with BBQ.

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the hotel and talking to other runners.  Later, we went as a group to a post-race celebration dinner.   I really enjoyed the group dinners.  There were 69 people in our group, so we were always seated at several large tables.  I sat with different people on different days, so I got to know several of the other runners.

While I don’t generally sleep well on trips, I sleep best the night after a race.  This was no exception.  I got to bed late, but slept solidly for at least seven hours.

Monday, November 11

Before breakfast, I went out for a short recovery run.  Now that I was more familiar with the city, I didn’t need to stay as close to the hotel.  I wore my race T-shirt, which is thin and vented.  It’s perfect for running in Cuba.  I ran mostly along the Malecón.  The waves weren’t as big, so I was able to run on the sidewalk.  This is a great place to run in Havana.  You can go for miles without having to cross any traffic.

Some runners stayed in Cuba for three more days.  Those of us flying home on Monday were mostly on flights that left in the early afternoon.  MT&T arranged to have a motor coach take us to the airport together.

The first airport I went through in the United States was Atlanta, so that’s where I went through passport control and customs.  I thought they would ask to see my permit or ask me the purpose of my trip, but it was just like any other international arrival.

I didn’t arrive at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport until 9:00 PM, and didn't get home until closer to 10:00.  It was nice to sleep in my own bed, with a much cooler temperature, but I still didn't get a full night's sleep.  My next trip begins early Wednesday morning, so it’s going to be a quick turnaround without enough time to catch up on sleep.

Long after I got home, I eventually discovered I won my age group.  I don't know what my award was, but it was too late to pick it up. 

Race Statistics

Distance:  42.2 kilometers

Time:  3:29:42

Average Pace:  4:58 per kilometer (8:00 per mile) 

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  391

Countries:  39