Harold and I were in The House of Fruit Shakes in Vientiane in January 2023. We noticed a running bib on the wall for the Vientiane International Marathon so we asked the owner who speaks excellent English about it. The Fruit Shakes and the sandwiches are great too! Highly recommended.
She had just run the 10K at the event and was pretty excited about it. This year when we planned our trip back to Laos we planned it so we would be in Vientiane for the race.
If you read our previous post about the Friendship Run in Bangkok you know it took us 2 hours with google translate to sign up for that race. The Vientiane International Marathon is a bigger event and it is international so we were able to sign-up in English. There was also a race kit pick-up and expo so we did not have to get the bibs mailed to our hotel or pick them up from a random office building
We flew from Pakse to Vientiane the day before the race on Laos Airlines. The earliest flight we could get landed 2 hours before the end of race kit pick-up which was a bit too close for comfort.
The night before when we tried we were not able to check in online. We checked the flight number to make sure the flight was still going. The only Laos Airlines flight with that number was from Hanoi to Vientiane? We eventually figured out that the flight made a stop in Pakse where we hoped we would be able to get on it.
We went to the airport early and they took our bags and gave us boarding passes so it was looking good. The flight was uneventful. We even got a sandwich on a 1.5 hour flight. But it was 20 minutes late. As a result we took a taxi directly to the race kit pick-up where we were not the only foreigners, but we were the only ones with suitcases!
We picked up our bibs, got selfies with a few locals,
and took a picture with a car and posted it on Facebook to get a key chain.
It was another early morning start. The full marathon started at 3:30 am, the half, which we were running ,started at 4:30 am and the 10K started at 5:00 am. Our hotel was about 4 km from the start and when we asked the hotel about getting there the only suggestion they had was that we walk. We set the alarm for 2:45 am.
Race morning we had a coffee and a bun from the local convenience store and then we headed off. The race starts in the square in front of Pha That Luang which is one of the most famous landmarks in the city.
The streets were very quiet at 3:30 am! We did get a chance to cheer for the marathoners as they came by.
There was a very enthusiastic cheering section in front of the Toyota dealer. Toyota was a race sponsor. The cheering section was there when we passed at 3:30 am and they were still there when we were on the way home at 8:00 am.
We arrived at the start a little before 4:00 am. They had a bag check and water. There were not a lot of bathrooms which was not too bad for us as there were only 500 in the ½ but it must have been a bit of an issue for the 10K and 5K which both had thousands of runners.
The race was chip timed by Sportstats! Which is pretty funny for us as it is a Canadian company. We started on time. There were police and volunteers controlling the traffic. The roads were basically closed to traffic and fairly well lit. The course was well marked and there were water stations every 2 km. The water stations all had water and a few had a sports drink which was clear. It was hot even at 4:30 am so we both ended up pouring water over our heads. Having accidentally poured gatorade over my head in the past. I took a sip of anything I poured over my head just to make sure. Harold being slightly less race experienced did not and he ended up pouring sports drink on his head. There were also two bathrooms on the course.
The ½ marathon course passes by some major landmarks in Vientiane. It is quite scenic although it would have been more scenic if it was not dark. The roads were also in pretty good shape which was important between about 14km and 16km where it was completely dark. I am told the marathon course goes further out and is darker. You would definitely want a headlamp. The course is basically flat. There were a few enthusiastic cheering stations but not a lot of spectators. There were also a few stray dogs but none of them were that interested.
The last 4 km of all the courses is the same so the ½ marathon ran into the back of the 10 km. This made for a lot of dodging and weaving. After about 6:00 am the police also started allowing some cross traffic. I almost had to stop for motorcycles 500m from the finish line.
One truly unique feature at this race was the beauty station about 300m before the finish line. They had make-up and mirrors available so you could look your very best for the finish line photos! I did not stop. Neither did Harold.
The finish line was well organised. They had drummers on either side just before the finish line. All races should have them, they were great.
We got our medals and like the race in Bangkok we had a code on our race bibs we could scan to get instant race results.
I was 39th overall, 7th woman overall and 1st in women’s 60 plus. There were 589 finishers in the ½ 167 of those were women. The 10K had 2268 finishers and 1035 of them were women. Women are running here, but the longer distances are still male dominated. The marathon and half marathon both had a fair number of international runners most of whom were expats or Asian runners from Vietnam and Thailand. There was prize money for overall and age group winners. I won a trophy and 600,000 KIP for winning my age group.
The post race food was great, noodles, watermelon, a sort of fried doughnut and a sandwich. We did manage to get a tuk-tuk back to the hotel. We even made it back in time for a second breakfast.
Overall a great, well organised event. Some additional toilets at the start would be a good idea but I am not sure how easy that is to arrange here. I have not seen a port-a-potty in Laos.
Run K2J 