Amazean Jungle Ultra Trail

Leaving Heathrow on a cold misty Wednesday mid February we set off to catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur and from there a short flight to Penang.

The race was in Betong, Thailand right on the Thai- Malay border so flying into Penang was the nearest airport (there is one in Betong but they built the run way too short so it’s closed and being extended). As soon as we exited the airport, I could feel the humidity and heat; it was so nice to be warm again after -4 at home.

It took 24 hours of travel to finally get to Betong. We arrived on Thursday in the evening so headed straight out for dinner. Delicious noodles! After missing a nights sleep, as Thailand is 7 hours in front, we slept so well.

Friday was all about race prep.

We went to register, have the compulsory kit check and then just pack the bags ready to race the next day. I did a short run and within minutes was sweating so could fully appreciate what was coming! I had done some runs on the treadmill with the heater on and fully dressed for outside so hoped that would help the acclimation.

The night before I managed to get a meal of noodles, fried egg and vegetables which was perfect. Meat seems to be a big part of their diet here so that combined with the language barrier make it pretty hard to order vegetarian food.

I was pretty nervous about the race; I was in good shape and I guess I just wanted to see what my body could do. I slept abysmally the night before as by now the time zone difference and my nerves took effect, however, I was still looking forward to getting on that start line.

Jon was also racing, but the 100K. It was early starts (0500, 0600). I carried my oat breakfast from the UK, so just had to make a coffee, heat up the oats and head out the door. The race started in the Betong Mongkolrit Tunnel and so I had to squeeze my way past all the other runners to try and get near the front. It was here I bumped into the SCOTT Malaysia contingent.

We were off. Even at that time in the morning it was 21°. The Initial bit was on the road to give time to spread out the field before the single track.

There were 4 stations really well spread out; 10km, 12km, 10km, 12km and then 12km to the finish. It was meant to be 54km, however, my watch clocked 59km. Running to the second aid station was definitely long – 14 km.

The course was essentially 3 big hills which were well spread out in the first 30km. They were in the depths of the jungle, hands on knees efforts. The descents were really steep and technical. I lost count of the amount of times I fell over being tripped by roots and a slipping on wet leaves and mud. My feet weren’t actually that dirty at the end but my arse was covered in mud.

If I wasn’t looking at my feet I was looking for course markings. I got lost once and after that I was really vigilant.

The jungle protected you from the sun although the humidity prevailed. I came up with a plan of taking two sips from my flask every 5mins and this worked really well although by the end I could have drink the whole flask every 5mins. I definitely didn’t need a wee!

I had a nutrition strategy that really worked for me (to my surprise I had no stomach issues). I took a gel every 30 minutes and 2 sips of some really concentrated carbohydrate drink every 20mins until it ran out then used both my flasks for water. The aid stations provided iced cold water which was heaven for my palate.

As soon as I left Betong I think I was running as lead female. However, I didn’t want to come out here and not race hard so I kept trying to track the men in front of me. The 100km runners started an hour earlier and we’re doing the same route for the first 30km so this was really motivational. I passed Jon, Fergy and Clare (another couple we travelled out there with), all doing the 100km, after about 2.5 hours and it was really nice to cheer them on.

I ran the first 30km on and off with some other men but after leaving the 3rd aid station much quicker I was pretty much on my own.

The last 6km was all on road which felt super hot but great to get a chase to really run it in. Although I soon discovered my quads weren’t happy about it; whether I left them on the technical descents or whether I’ve gone off too fast I’ll never know. I just kept pushing, eating and drinking.

To finish the race, the route took you around Betong which seem to go on forever. There were mopeds everywhere which kept you on your toes!

Eventually I could see the finishing straight and it felt so good to know I was going take the win. On finishing I actually found out that I was fourth, overall as well (7hrs 14mins- 37mins behind the winner); so happy.

The day after was about recovery and exploration of Betong. I had avoided anything too foreign before the race to avoid getting sick, however, afterwards I was prepared to take the risk.

A Thai massage was incredible; tasting the Durian fruit- I was told if I could get past the thorny rind, and its potent smell (rotting meat!) the taste was worth it. They were wrong- it’s revolting; the taste was bearable but the texture was awful.