Over 700 athletes from 49 countries will compete in the 1st Amazing Thailand World Mountain & Trail Running Championship, which starts tomorrow in Chiang Mai.
The inaugural three-day event, the first combined international mountain and trail running competition sanctioned by the World Athletics, features steep uphill mountain races and short and long trail races for senior athletes and the classic mountain races for both seniors and U20s.
It has attracted many world champions in both trail and mountain races. Among them are 2019 world trail running champion Blandie L'Hirondel of France, Dominika Stelmach of Poland, Azara Garcia of Spain and Sunmaya Budha of Nepal.
Budha won the Thailand by UTMB event last December in Chiang Mai.
In the mountain racing, Joseph Gray, who won the 2016 and 2019 World Mountain Running Championships, is the one to watch.
In the long trail (80K), Jantaraboon Kingchaipaipan, who is Thailand's top-ranked runner in the category, gives locals some hope. Despite being an underdog, the 37-year-old Jataraboon believes that his familiarity with the weather and the course will be a big advantage.
"Living in Chiang Mai and being familiar with the course and the weather, I stand a chance to be successful," he said. "It is also about how you manage yourself and conserve energy along the way."
Other Thais in the field are Boonthueng Srisang, Sanchai Namkhet and Arthit Soda with all three of them taking part in the mountain race.