Once, there were only three kinds of people in Thailand who ran.
“The first group was boxers. The second was crazy men. The third group was those who must run to kae bon (fulfil a pledge made to divine beings),” Prof Udomsil Srisangnam, 74, said, laughing, as he recounted his early days of running in Bangkok.
The time to which he referred was three decades ago, when the health-conscious doctor suffered a heart attack at the age of 40. He took up running after reading an article in a magazine about its benefits for heart disease patients. Running helped heal his heart. Afterwards, Prof Udomsil wrote a popular book on running called Ving Soo Chevit Mai (Running For A Better Life) and spent decades promoting running for health.
The running scene in Thailand looks entirely different today. Public parks are occupied by joggers — executives, housewives, vendors, students — and they run for health as well as recreation. It’s one of the the cheapest exercises, and one that somehow connects to humans’ primitive instincts. It also has a democratic implication — the beauty of running is that everyone is equal.
“Running is one of most equality-based activities. You do not need a membership to a gym or a country club. You do not need pricey sports equipment. Runners are created equal. In public parks, millionaires and vendors run side by side,” said Sathavorn Chanpongsri, a former national team marathon runner and one of Thailand’s best known “running freaks”.
Prof Udomsil Srisangnam has dedicated his life to promoting running as a path to better health.
The enthusiasm is palpable, and Thailand has become an interesting place for runners. About 300 marathons were held last year, according to Sathavorn. The biggest event, the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon, drew about 50,000 participants, whereas ordinary events usually attract about 2,000. In February alone, there were 27 running events organised across the country.
It was not the first time Thailand experienced a running boom. The first wave took place in the late 1980s, when Prof Udomsil started a public campaign to promote running for health. The watershed event occurred in 1987, when he organised Ving Loy Fah Chalermprakiet, a marathon on the Rama IX Bridge to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Siriraj Hospital and the 60th birthday of HM the King. The tournament was a phenomenon, with more than 100,000 participants, and converted many locals into runners.
“Almost every week I had to travel to a province to open a marathon and talk about running and its health benefits. Every province has created its own running clubs,” Prof Udomsil said.
The first boom, however, was short-lived. Marathons were still organised, but the heart and soul of running for health was lost along the way.
“Marathon competitions are created to fulfil commercial reasons. Runners chase medals, trophies and cash prizes. The situation worsened to the level that running clubs needed to invite influential and wealthy persons in order to have enough cash to recruit the best runners to join their clubs.”
Running then devolved back into something only for professionals — and to please demanding deities. The spirit of running for health faded. This was followed by the commercial boom of fitness franchises and their promotion of gym memberships as part of the urban lifestyle. Running was then popular only on treadmills.
Prof Udomsil helped form the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), an independent state agency that promotes good health, 12 years ago in an attempt to revive running activities in the country, albeit without much success.
“It is so difficult because you are fighting against commercialism and advertisements that dominate the running scene,” he said.
But running made a comeback about two years ago, with companies organising events, and Lumpini Park at weekends becoming as packed with runners as a mall with shoppers. It is not easy to explain, though it can be partly attributed to the gym scene, which, while still active, isn’t as popular or “sexy” as it once was, and partly to the inherent appeal of running with the middle-class, who tend to be more health conscious. Haruki Murakami’s popular book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running made the sport cool, and a number of running apps that track performance and improvement have made the activity more personal and quantifiable.
Knowing how many kilometres you’ve run and how many calories you’ve burned is a big morale boost.
Then there was the 2012 Thai film Rak Jed Pee Dee Jed Hon (Seven Something), a romantic comedy which features a couple who meet while running in Lumpini Park and starring popular actor-singer Nichkhun Horvejkul and television host Suquan Bulakul. ThaiHealth helped promote the film with a special screening Scala Theatre, where thousands of runners ran to the show. Many people, especially middle-aged women, admitted the film inspired them to give running a try.
Apart from the movie, ThaiHealth also launched the “Running for Better Life” campaign in the same year organising workshops, film screenings and publishing Thai Jogging magazine to promote the sport.
Running has become the new black. Actors, singers and other celebrities — even politicians — have joined marathons. Large companies such as Charoen Pokphand, PTT and Best Performance Engineering, a provider of construction and maintenance service in the petrochemical industry, have contacted Sathavorn to provide running courses for their staff.
Running has again become a big business. Running shoes can cost as much as 10,000 baht, while exercise clothes have become more fashionable and pricier. Accessible technology, such as digital wristwatches that record and track speed, pace, location and heart rate, also help promote running.
Things look good and speedy, but the question remains — how long will the running boom last?
Prof Udomsil is optimistic. The godfather of running believes that it will be sustained because people now look at running as a healthy way of life.
“Running will maintain its popularity as long as the running community retain the soul of running, which is to create better health and a better life,” he said.
WHY DO WE RUN?
It is hard to understand why people take up running, not to mention join marathons, which sometimes require competitors to run continuously for up to six hours. The best way to find the answer is to try the sport or to watch a marathon to catch a glimpse of the interesting world of runners. Many confess that they took up running because it is a convenient and affordable form of exercise. Some run to fight disease, lose weight or, like Forrest Gump, to soul search. Whatever the reason, many runners say that they are addicted and run because they like to.
Like many women, Rawinun Ekaluksananon, 40, an account auditor, started running as a means to lose weight from her 60kg body. Within three years, she managed to lose 15kg. Rawinun started winning second and third prizes in 10km mini-marathons and 21km half-marathons. She is now training to run her first full 42km marathon this year. She said the sport gave her a new perspective on life.
“It tests your endurance and help you create self-discipline. But what I like the most is the relaxed feeling after I finish running. I love the feeling of my body releasing endorphins. Besides, I found new friends through running. These running pals are quite nice,” Rawinun said.
Bundit Tianrat, 40, a published writer and self-proclaimed “runner-wannabe”, took up the sport three years ago for health reasons. In his first year, he ran on a treadmill in a gym, before moving to the park. He has run in half-marathons since April. Running has helped improve his health, but what’s most attractive to him is the new perspective he has acquired.
“I found a new world that exists within the running community and in marathons, and I found this world very, very interesting.”
For Bundit, running is more than huffing and puffing.
“Running forces us to observe and listen to our body. It teaches us to have a reality check and an honest opinion about ourselves ... our body condition and our stamina. Running will teach you to do what you can when you are ready. It is quite philosophical and Buddhist in some respects. It prevent us from being greedy and overreaching.”
Bundit said he plans to write a book about the world of marathon runners.
“It is not about how to run or running tips. I am just an amateurish runner and have never won any trophies. Thus, I am not in a place to tell people how to run. My book will be about inspiration and my experiences of trying to be a runner. If I can run, anybody can.”
GET MOVING
The most common warnings that people hear about running concerns knee, muscle or leg injuries, which may deter those who wish to try the sport.
“Those warnings are merely a myth,” said Sathavorn Chanpongsri, project manager of Running Towards Better Life, under ThaiHealth. “Like many activities and sports, runners can become injured if they do not run properly, or overdo things. Elite runners who spend many hours a day practising can be injured, and those who put their feet and move their bodies in wrong positions are vulnerable to injury.”
Running Towards Better Life provides free workshops that teach amateur runners to move properly. The courses are held regularly at public parks such as Lumpini Park (now moved temporarily to a park between the ThaiHealth’s office, near the Aviation Radio Office on Soi Suan Phlu). The course is available two or three times a week and usually takes place from 5-8pm.
Check the schedule at www.facebook.com/sathavorn.din
Runners participating in the 2010 Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon wait at the starting line.