The midnight run in Bangkok has over 5,000 participants
It’s 9 weeks today until the Bangkok Midnight Run at the Amari Hotel in Pratunam, Bangkok. The course is a 12km loop around the streets of central Bangkok, running along Petchburi road and looping back towards Asoke, Sukhumvit and then back through Pratunam to the start. There is also a 6km option, and as the name suggests they both kick off at midnight on Saturday 8th October 2011 from Amari.
Given the times that me and my friends have recorded in the past few years I’m pretty sure it’s actually closer to 11km than 12km, but I’m not one to complain about a kilometre less when I’m running around in the middle of the night.
I’ve found the easiest way to register for the Bangkok Midnight Run has been to actually go to the Amari Hotel itself. You can do this anytime from now until the day of the race.
Charity
It’s all done in the name of charidee with two very worthy causes – Baan Gerda, which cares for HIV & AIDS orphans in Lopburi, and Chalerm Prakiat School which is an education centre for children who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. The race costs 300 baht and all proceeds go to the above charities. 2.6 million baht was raised last year which is an amazing effort. You get a racing vest and various other freebies along the way.
Training and Running Schedule
9 weeks is plenty of time to train for the race, even if you feel your fitness levels are low. I’ve devised an 8-week running plan for you to help prepare so there are no excuses!
CT stands for Cross Trainer, but can also be bike, rowing machine or swimming. On CT days take it nice and easy but if you’re feeling sore or tired then make it a rest day. On rest days try to squeeze in a short pulse raiser (for example, 5 minutes on the bike) followed by stretching. This is important to aid recovery and prevent injury and tightness in the muscles.
The start of the race gets pretty packed
You don’t have to stick by the program to the day. Tuesdays activites can be switched to Monday or Wednesday, for example. And don’t get disheartened if you miss a few sessions – just focus on starting up again and getting back on track! The main running day is Saturday so you may have to tinker with your social schedule a little!
Complete the ‘runs’ as fast as you can, record your time and see how this pace matches up with your target time for the final race. If by the 5th or 6th week you’re feeling particularly good one day, feel free to extend one of your runs beyond the scheduled run, and conversely if you’re feeling terrible another day just stop and have a good stretch – it does’t have to be followed to the letter, it’s just a good guide.
Easy runs are on Sundays and are time-based – don’t worry so much about pace, just get your legs used to running for that amount of time. Contact me if you would like to discuss your training for this race or your fitness goals.
WEEK 1
Monday: REST
Tuesday: 2.5km run (all runs as fast as possible)
Wednesday: CT 20 mins (CT = cross-trainer, bike, swimming or rower) or rest
Thursday: 2.5km run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 3km run
Sunday: Easy run or CT for 25 mins (don’t worry about pace on easy runs)
WEEK 2
Monday: REST
Tuesday: 3km run
Wednesday: CT 25 mins or rest
Thursday: 3km run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 4km run
Sunday: Easy run or CT for 30 mins
WEEK 3
Monday: REST
Tuesday: 4km run
Wednesday: CT 25 mins
Thursday: 2km run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 5.5km run
Sunday: Easy run or CT for 30 mins
WEEK 4
Monday: REST
Tuesday: 4.5km run
Wednesday: CT 25 mins
Thursday: 3km run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 6.5km run
Sunday: Easy run or CT for 35 mins
Stretch on your rest days to help recovery and lessen the chances of injury
WEEK 5
Monday: REST
Tuesday: 5km run
Wednesday: CT 25 mins
Thursday: 4km run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 7.5km run
Sunday: Easy run or CT for 40 mins
WEEK 6
Monday: REST
Tuesday: 5.5km run
Wednesday: CT 25 mins
Thursday: 3km run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 8km run (Extend to 9 or 10km if you’re feeling good)
Sunday: Easy run or CT for 40 mins
WEEK 7
Monday: REST
Tuesday: 6km run
Wednesday: CT 25 mins
Thursday: 4km run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 9km run
Sunday: Easy run or CT for 45 mins
WEEK 8
Monday: REST
Tuesday: 7km run
Wednesday: CT 20 mins and good, long stretch
Thursday: 3km run and good, long stretch
Friday: REST – ensure you stretch well after 5-10 minutes pulse raising activity
Saturday: RACE DAY – good luck!
Sunday: Relax!
If you would like any further help completing the Amari Bangkok Midnight Run in your target time, or if you have any other running or fitness goals you would like to discuss, please feel free to contact me.
We’ll be looking at some nutrition tips between now and the race. Enjoy the training, and good luck!
Bangkok Midnight Run Course Map:
Links
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