The Half Marathon

So, Eden and I (Ted) thought it would be a great idea to run (on purpose) for more than 13 miles in the Himalayan mountains. 

Yes, we don't have a TV. 

This was the first ever Bhutan International Marathon.  They have an excellent web site with information and results but more importantly - lots of additional pictures in the Photos section.  There were more than 20 countries represented and it was presented by the Bhutan Olympic Committee.   

www.bhutaninternationalmarathon.com

There was also a nice news article with video from the Bhutan Broadcast Service on the event at:

www.bbs.bt/news/?p=37569

We trained.  That might be better described as me doing my best to catch up with Eden on back and forth portions of flat (very rare) Thimphu.  This was more like the shuttle race from grade school for me, over and over and over again.  Nevertheless, Eden was ready and I was pondering small, achievable goals in my head and rationalizing with, "no one will possibly know me" and I become the story teller once it is over.  I was planning to fight off lions (or more likely tigers), Yeti, save a struggling otter and discover better ways for cultivating rice during my race.  It was to be a great run.

Race day.  This being our first marathon event, we were not aware of what was normal.  We woke up at 5am and proceeded to the front of the hotel in complete darkness.  Three of our friends also joined us so we were all standing in the dark.  Deciding we were being stood up by our arranged taxi driver, we all hitched a ride with a French couple who had a van.  I am sure this happens at the Chicago, New York and Boston marathons also.

When we arrived at the parking lot, we were loaded up into school busses to ride to the start line.  Several busses for the Half-marathon; several for the Marathon.  Bus drivers are the kings of the road in Bhutan.  Size matters.  As we rumbled along the winding, no railing, shear cliff roads the ex-pat in front of Eden and I remarked, "I have never traveled this fast in Bhutan before".  Think rocket sled on wheels.  We soon blasted right by our start line with all of us thinking the bus driver was merely looking for a place to turn around and park.  He was not.  It was Piet (the same Piet who has developed trails, wrote a book, finds tigers in the mountains, and who runs also.  More on him later.) who finally overcame the 'the emperor has no clothes' and actually spoke to the bus driver.  He was following the bus in front of him.  We turned back. 

The start line was very well organized - because the Prince of Bhutan was in attendance.  He is the ambassador of sorts for the Bhutan Olympic Committee.  Tea and rice were served. 



Piet is in the green shirt on the far right side.  Eden and I are a couple of rows behind him at the start. 

This was a better picture of the two of us at the start. 

Below you can see Eden and her florescent green Cardegals shirt, off in a flash. 



I was a bit more deliberate and I had Hope's camera with me to capture the moments.  Our race route crossed the rivers in the area several times, so bridges were an attraction. 

I was soon passed by most everyone.

Then I was passed by men on horseback. 



I had the last laugh because they missed the course markings (a pink strip of ribbon every quarter mile or so) and they crossed the river and were not seen at the finish. 



A man on a ridge raced me down to the road (with his load of timber on his back) and motioned for me to hurry up.

 Several bridges on the route.

As Amy mentioned, this suspension bridge below was about 300 yards long and 30 feet off the water, the highlight of the run.  It is the longest suspension bridge in Bhutan. 

 More bridges.

 

The race organizers have fun with you at the end.  The runners in front of you are visible on the ridge on the other side going the other way toward the finish.  You watch every turn in front of you looking for the final bridge back across.   A small pink shirt in the middle is a fellow HVO runner in the Master division. 

As I came around the final turn, Eden came back to run the last 100 yards or so with me.  The finish line is a replica of what the current king and queen were married under a couple of years ago.  I received a nice white scarf. 

The scarf is quite a souvenir.

Eden finished in the top 25 of all females in the Open division, a great first half marathon.  The results show a slightly lower finish for me.  Technically, I think they call it, "Last man to actually finish the half marathon".  I will take it.  I will note that I beat every single marathon runner that day - after they spotted me 1 hour and an additional 13 miles at the start.   

And yes, Piet finished in 1 hour 26 minutes as the first male Master division and 11th overall behind 10 members of the Bhutan armed forces.  His legend lives on. The French couple who we hitched a ride with did well also.  The French woman finished first in her Masters division.      

Again, the marathon website has plenty of cool pictures of Bhutan and runners (two more of me, one of Eden).  Take a look and see more of Bhutan.