Thai rookie beats international field at Phuket Marathon
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Thai newcomer Danchai Pankong of Surat Thani was the surprise winner of the Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) among a record entry of more than 4,000 runners from 50 countries who raced a variety of distance courses.
The 29 years-old student, making his debut at Laguna Phuket and competing in only his sixth full 42km marathon, dashed the hat-trick hopes of two-time champion Stephen Paine of Australia, who led the field for most of the race.
But Danchai, studying for a Master’s in civil engineering at Bangkok’s Rangsit University, hung on behind 36 years-old Paine before powering past him at the 37km mark to finish two minutes ahead of the Australian in 02:49:33.
Paine, champion in 2008 and 2009, was followed by Briton Stuart Haynes in 02:52:54.
The complete LPIM saw record runners this year, with 807 in the full marathon, 918 in the half marathon, 1,161 in the 10.5km run, 702 in the 5km 91.5FM Community Walk, and 500 in the 2km Kids’ Run.
Japan’s Sonoko Kashio took the women’s full-marathon title in 03:37:2, with Meta Vincent of Australia second and the UK’s Natalie Alderton third.
The full 42km marathon saw sprightly Hatyai couple Somsak and Yindee Kasiwong, aged 78 and 73 respectively, chalk up a further remarkable marathon achievement.
The couple, married for 55 years, have completed 80 marathons between them and marked their debut at Laguna by finishing ahead of many much younger runners in 05:13:03 and 05:13:26 respectively.
A touch of glamour was provided by Miss Thailand World 2012 Vanessa “Na Chatra” Muangkod, LPIM charity ambassador, who led the 91.5FM Community Walk that launched Laguna Phuket’s latest community effort to raise Bt2 million for the “Fully Booked” project to operate a mobile library and learning centre for local schoolchildren.
