Dexy's Midnight Runner

"Come on Eileen"...
Just kidding. But I am now officially a midnight runner by Bangkok standards. I helped raise money for 3 different charities by running in the 14th Annual Amari Watergate Charity Midnight Run to benefit children who have lost their parents to HIV. It was a little tough to see on the streets, but I did all right for myself I must say.
I was not expecting as many people as were there, but it was so much fun! I mean, how could you NOT want to run at midnight when you have those two on either side of you keeping you company?

I am guessing a nurse and doctor duo.

I had friends, my photographer husband and over 4,500 runners on hand to take to the streets with me. Because this is Thailand, I have no idea what people are chanting on the streets, so I crank up my iPod and just look down to make sure I don’t trip over a pothole on these unforsakingly terrible Bkk streets.
Fortunately, I was able to meet up with Vee Vee prior to the race. It was complete chaos, as I am learning races here are, and I had a hard time finding Josh when I left him to go get my big slashed with the marker. I still have no idea why they do that, but anyway… I am so glad Vee Vee told me about this race!

So I was in for it because my watch stopped when I was running, and there were no markers along the route to tell us how far we had run or how much longer to go. I suppose it is better that way. Then I am not always wondering just how out of shape I really am since moving here.


I was making my way toward the finish, and when I came around the corner to head in to the finish area, some woman handed me a slip, “You #5!. You finish #5!” I had no idea what she was talking about until I got to the tables where they record your time, etc.

That's me in the yellow collecting my brief 15 minutes of fame

I had finished in 5^th place for females overall, and that made me happy! I had never finished that well in any race EVER! So I had to delay my post-race drink at Henry J. Bean’s to stick around for the award ceremony to receive my trophy on stage.

It was worth it! Shortly after my race, I saw Brian come in after me, a teacher I ran my last race with, and then another one of our co-workers, Darrick, who was also happy to be finished.

Whoo-Hoo! Yes, he ran in that. And yes, he let me hold on to his Thai flag!

Not too long afterward, I caught a glimpse of Vee Vee come through the finish area with her father and his friend. I later learned that her father had just come off a hospitalization about 6 weeks ago, I think due to mini strokes. What an accomplishment! And it was a lot of fun seeing the costumes people ran in. I even got to hold on to the Thai flag!

That's Vee Vee on the right, then me and her father and his friend. Job well-done!

Us 3 Global Citzens for Berkeley International School!

We lined up to receive our trophy for a job well-done and then got some more pictures taken before heading in to the pub inside the Amari Watergate. 

They had a great band on stage and we had no choice but to take our seats in the front. I had to dance a bit and Josh got sung to and had to also sing. It was a great way to end a night at 2 a.m. I think these midnight races could become addictive! The streets are incredibly packed, and so that makes it safer and people just seem happier when they are out on the town.

A happy couple after the award ceremony. Let's go dance and party inside Henry J. Bean's now!!

I set my sights now on my upcoming Bangkok Chartered Marathon, which is the weekend before Thanksgiving. I am nervous to run 26.2 miles in this crazy heat, but we start the race at 3 a.m., so hopefully it won’t be too bad. On another note, I had registered for my 2^nd Chicago marathon prior to signing a contract to teach here in Bangkok, so I had sold my race entry (shh!!! You can get in big trouble for that!) to a friend’s cousin. So while I was finishing up with my midnight run, her cousin was prepping to run 26.2 in Chicago. Bet you didn’t know I was that fast to be in two races at the same time!
Turns out she didn’t do too bad, considering it was another 85 degree day in Chi-town for the marathon again this year. Lord knows I died last year in that crazy heat. Does this mean that now I only have 3 marathons left to run? I said I was DONE after 10 full marathons. Nah, I have to be honest with myself and run this Bangkok Marathon in November, then another 3 after that.

I guess in another sense I am racing through the week. We leave on vacation to Krabi (near Phuket) for a week on Saturday. Looking forward to some time off at the Phra Nang Inn for 5 nights.