Will Race For Elephants

8/2/2019 Will Race For Elephants

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Will Race

for Elephants

In late 2011, Triathlete con-

tributor Holly Bennett traveled

to Phuket, Thailand, as a guest

of the Laguna Phuket Resorts

& Hotels to participate in the

second annual Ironman 70.3

Asia-Pacific Championship

and to experience the unique

culture and spellbinding

scenery of the island nation

known as the Land of Smiles.

The Ironman 70.3 marks the

headline event hosted by

Laguna Phuket, a 1,000-acre

tropical beachfront parkland

including seven luxury hotel

and residential villa properties.

The Laguna Phuket Triathlon,

now in its 19th year, features

a weeklong multisport festival

that culminates with the Iron-

man 70.3 race and acclaimed

Black Tie and Board Shorts

after-party. Here, Bennett

shares excerpts from her travel

journal along with highlights

from the pro race, Thailand

to-dos and tips on traveling

to and competing in far-flung

destination events.

81

By Holly Bennett

The author and baby Meena


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Take itFrom HollyTips & to-dos whilein Phuket

HYDRATE LIKE MAD.Elec-trolyte tablets are ideal

theyll boost sodium and

potassium levels without

overloading carbohydrates.

Even tastier: Try the natural

isotonic properties of fresh

coconut water. The fruit can

be slashed open to order at

any beachside stand.

GO FOR EASY GEARING.

Even super cyclist Chris Lieto

reported he would prefer a

26-tooth chainring after pre-

riding the course.

DONT STRESS. Youre bound

to forget somethingbe

prepared to be less than 100

percent prepared. Most items

can be easily replaced at the

expo. Or ask around. Your fel-

low triathletes are a helpful

bunch.

Sun, Nov. 27: Arrived in

Phuket 28 hours after leaving

home (Boulder, Colo.). Too

excited by the sights, sounds

and smells to let exhaustion

sink in. Pulling into the resort,

my taxi passed the transi-tion area where the final

finisher of the Laguna Phuket

Triathlon (takes place prior

to the 70.3 race)a guy in

the 70-plus age groupwas

heralded by his fellow com-

petitors. Still in the cab yet

already inspired!

Mon, Nov. 28:Shook off

jetlag with a run on jungle

roads around the backside of

the resort. The heat was thickand delicious. Enjoyed the

first of many lingering break-

fast buffets: eggs, potatoes,

grilled tomatoes and plate

upon plate of fresh tropical

fruit. Walked the length of

breathtaking Bang Tao Beach,

then paid 500 Thai Baht

(roughly $16) for an hour-long

open-air beachside massage.

Tue, Nov. 29: Checked

out the swim course: 1,280meters in the salt-saturated

sparkling Andaman Sea, a run

up and over a steep soft-sand

berm, and a final 620 meters

in a freshwater lagoon. Given

that the bike course includes

twice traversing a pedestrian

bridge plus two sections of

mind-bendingly steep climbs

and descents (said to be

2022 percent grades), and

the run covers sandy trails,

golf course grass and cobble-

stone paths along with proper

pavement, the race promises

to be part Ironman, part ad-

venture race. Bring it on! With

the spirit of adventure front

of mind, traveled with friends

to nearby Patong for a night

out on bustling Bangla Road,

punctuated by spicy green

curry, colorful street stalls

and a booming bar scene.

Wed, Nov. 30: On the tour-ist track, joined a speedboat

day-trip to various sights

in Pahng Nga Bay, including

James Bond Island (made

famous in the film The Man

with the Golden Gun) and

stunning limestone sea caves.

Prior to de-boarding for lunch

at the floating Muslim fishing

village of Koh Pannyi, we

were given strict instructions

from our guide: Women,

no sexy! We respectfullydonned our swim cover-ups

during the meal.

Asia-Pacific RaceTips From the Pros

Justin Granger (AUS):Theraces in Asia are some of the

hardest youll ever do in your

life. The heat is just one factor.

The courses are very dicult.

They seem to build roads

over any sort of mountain or

hillthey just throw them in

anywhere. You need to be

wary of the obstacles on the

race course: dogs, bualo,

locals on mopeds. But once

you get into it, once you get

here and just go with the flow,

it becomes normal.

Floating village of Koh Pannyi

A dip in paradise

Renowned Bangla Road

James Bond Island


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ATTEND THE ATHLETE MEET-

ING. Especially in an unfamil-

iar venue, youll want to have

your questions answered and

any concerns allayed.

INTRODUCE YOURSELF to

other athletes. With the com-

mon bond of triathlon, youll

make international friends

for life.

TREAT YOUR TASTEBUDS

with local cuisine.Favoritespots include Lotus or Tom

Yam Gung (Bang Tao Beach),

Tawai (Phuket town), Tropica

(Patong) or any of numerous

resort restaurants. It was my

mission to sample Thai green

curry everywhere I ate, each

dish proving more delectable

than the last.

CONSIDER A COOKING CLASSto hone your own Thai culinary

talent. Laguna Phukets Dusit

Thani hotel offers four-course

meal classes; thats where pro

Belinda Granger was coached

in crafting her favorite des-

sert, mango sticky rice.

Thu, Dec. 1: Fine-tuned my

bike with help from eager

mechanics at the expo. Said

hello to the hundred or so cy-

clists gearing up for a police-

escorted preview ride, led by

Ironman champion and race

marshal Jurgen Zack. Optedout of the pack and instead

rode only the final portion

of the course, the famed Nai

Thon Beach hillsmore than

enough to know this would be

one tough bike! Meandered

back toward town, gladly

getting a little lost among

the villages twists and turns.

Found K-Swiss-clad Michael

Raelert, similarly lost but

happily exploring on his bike.

Headed back to the beach foranother splash and massage,

then cheered athletes com-

peting in an open-water swim

competition on the triathlon

course. Rehydrated with

fresh coconut water prior to

attending a hilariously enter-

taining sports quiz trivia

show, broadcast live on localradio and featuring the races

headlining pros.

Fri, Dec. 2: Met an age-

group athlete from Holland

preparing to race his first

ever triathlon. Said he sought

a positive adventure to mark

the close of a personally chal-

lenging year. My guess is he

came to the right place! Also

met 3-year-old Meena, one of

the resorts resident baby el-ephants and a certain allure-

ment for my trip to Thailand.

Elephants are revered here,

their grace and magical goodcharm entrancing everyone

they touch. I watched in awe

as Meena, accompanied by

her mahout(trainer) cruised

down the beach, crashed

through the waves and body-

surfed as only a 700-plus-

pound baby elephant could.

The days enchantment car-

ried into evening, when a sun-

set cocktail party honoring

the pro athletes was capped

with a lighted lantern release,signaling good luck.

Asia-Pacific Race

Tips From the ProsBelinda Granger (AUS): Either

get completely acclimatized,

or just come in blind. This is

advice Brett Sutton gave me

and its worked for me every

time. If you arrive late, make

sure you stay really hydrated

on the airplane. And then stay

a few days afterward so you

can actually enjoy the place.

Thats the best part.

Chris Lieto (USA):Its really

only a month before this racethat it starts to get cold in most

of the U.S. You could do some

bathroom heat training to

prepare. Once or twice a week,

do at least 3045 minutes. Put

your trainer in the bathroom,

bring in a space heater, turn on

the shower, shut the door and

ride. It gets very moist in there,

thats for sure!


Emma-Kate Lidbury (GBR):

Really keep on top of your

nutrition with electrolytes.

Also, you have to be prettycareful with the foodthe

local diet is very spicy and isnt

necessarily what were used

to in the Western world. Try to

keep out of the sun near race

day. You want to get used to

the sun, but stay out of it in the

middle of the day. Youll get

plenty during the race!

Belinda Grangers mango sticky rice

Athletes rush into the open-water swim competition

Meena strikes a pose

Lucky lanterns


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EXPLORE! Theres a diverse

and vibrant country beyond

the swim, bike and run

course.

GIVE BACK.As a guest of thehost community, do your part

to support local charitable

initiatives. In 2011, Laguna

Phuket launched Lagunas

Swim Survival Program, de-

signed to teach Thai children

lifesaving swim lessons, and

tied a fundraising element to

the race for athletes wishing

to help.

RETURN TO TRAIN at

Thanyapura Sports & Leisure

Club (a 20-minute drive from

Laguna Phuket), a world-

class luxury sports facility

complete with a 50-meter

pool and organic caf, where

Ironman legend Jurgen Zack

serves as director of the tri-

athlon academy.

SMILE and show apprecia-

tion everywhere you go. The

Land of Smiles locals will

reward you in kind with

friendliness beyond compare.

Sat, Dec. 3: The usual pre-

race scurry, turning in transi-

tion bags and bike. Then

nothing left to do but relax,

feet up, listening to the rain.

Down it came, starting slowly

in late afternoon and building,

monsoon-like, throughout the

evening. It rained and rained

and rained some more.

Sun, Dec. 4 (Race Day!):

Racing inPhuket is a lot like

racing in Kona, in that you will

face adverse conditions of

one sort or anotherwhether

heat, humidity, wind, rain or

some combination therein.

Add to that stray dogs (I

lost count at 11), scuttling

chickens and zippy moped

riders on a bike course wind-

ing around wildly overgrown

hairpin turns and youll know

youre in Asia. It will be one

of the coolest adventures of

your racing career! At times

the skies cleared; at times

they turned on full-blast like

a faucet. The cooling rain

meant temperatures capped

in the mid-80s and moist,

mucky air. But in the midst

of Mother Natures chaos,

we raced one of the best-run

events Ive ever experienced.

The course was perfectly

marked with colored arrows.

Smiling, rain-sodden volun-

teers packed every corner,

preventing any possible

confusion at the turns. Yellow

flag zones neutralized the

cycling pace in the steepest,

slipperiest sections. Aid sta-

tion hand-offs were flawless,

and especially fun as I triedto say, Kop khun ka! (Thai

for thank you) each time

I was handed sustenance or

an ice-soaked sponge. And

while we athletes felt genu-

inely welcomed in Phuket

everywhere we went, nothing

communicated this sentiment

more clearly than the throngs

of local schoolchildren, stra-

tegically staged throughout

the course, dressed in their

own sport uniforms, wavingemphatically and cheering

Highlights From theFront of the Field

The 2011 Ironman 70.3 Asia-

Pacific Championship attracted a

field of 34 professionals vying for

a $75,000 prize purse and more

than 1,000 age-group athletes on

the hunt for World Championshipslots (30 for Konas Ironman, 45

for Las Vegas Ironman 70.3).

The rain on the bike was

enough to slow even the most

skilled pros. Two-time Ironman

70.3 world champion Michael

Raelert (GER) said of the steep,

wet descents from the lead

packs perspective in his post-

race Facebook report, All of us

nine big boys braked and were so

scared like little girls. Raelerts

caution was rewarded: He made

it safely to T2, scorched the run

in 1:11:15 and set a new courserecord by eight minutes, nearly six

minutes ahead of his closest rival.

Chris Lieto (USA) crashed just

20K into the bike course. He was

banged up and behind far enough

to warrant withdrawing from

finishing in the wild conditions.

Womens victor and reigning

Ironman 70.3 world champion

Melissa Rollison (AUS) was on

a mission to win, given that the

prior years race in Phuket (where

she finished second) was the only

attempted triathlon title she had

not captured in her short time onthe professional circuit.

And 44-year-old Natascha

Badmann(SUI) proved the

strength of experience from her

six-time Ironman world champion

pedigree, claiming second in the

womens division.

Thailands top age-group

finisher was rising multisport

star Jaray Jearanai, a Phuket

local and marketing executive at

Laguna Holiday Club. Jearanai

capped oa season in which

he was the first Thai athlete

to compete in back-to-backIronman 70.3 and full Ironman

World Championship events.


Melissa Rollison (AUS):

On the plane I always wear

my Compressport so I arrive

feeling better. I do eat the

airlines food, but I always take

my own food as well to be sure

that I have enough.

their hearts out. Heading

into the Nai Thon climbs, I

passed two locals on rather

rickety bikes, each with a

freshly killed duck hanging

from the handlebars. Dinner

was apparently on! The heat

was rising once I reached the

run course; sucking up salt

tablets and fluidswater,

fizzy 100Plus sport drink,

Coke or Fanta Orange soda

was key to survival. At the

start and finish, the two-lap

course passed through the

elephants park, empty of the

beautiful beasts on my first

go-around. (One of the babiesgreets the top professional

finishers, a common feature

of the races photography,

but in the interest of elephant

well-being she doesnt stay

all day in the finish chute.) I

had joked with a friend at the

start line, saying, I wont rest

until I reach the elephants!

Sure enough, as I rounded the

final corner, there they were,

back home in the park, their

majestic silhouettes gracingthe horizon.

Unique awards await in Phuket. This one belongs

to GBRs Jenny Gowans, who finished in 5:03:08.

Will Race For Elephants

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