by Brett Larner
photos by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner
Runners at the 5:00 a.m. start.
The island of Phuket on the west coast of Thailand used to be one of the big three overseas tropical resort destinations for Japanese tourists. When the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami hit the island over 5000 people were killed, including both local residents and foreign tourists. Foreign tourism dropped precipitously, causing more damage to the local economy which was already struggling to cope with the direct effects of the tsunami. In 2006 the Laguna Phuket association of resorts began holding a marathon in an effort to bring people back. Along with the full marathon, organizers included half marathon and 10.5 km distances along with a 5 km walk and a 2 km kids' race, all featuring a seaside start and finish in the heart of the Laguna Phuket resort district. Out of the 2038 entrants in the first edition of the combined races, 571 came from overseas.
The view on the way back.
Now in its fourth running, th…
photos by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner
Runners at the 5:00 a.m. start.
The island of Phuket on the west coast of Thailand used to be one of the big three overseas tropical resort destinations for Japanese tourists. When the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami hit the island over 5000 people were killed, including both local residents and foreign tourists. Foreign tourism dropped precipitously, causing more damage to the local economy which was already struggling to cope with the direct effects of the tsunami. In 2006 the Laguna Phuket association of resorts began holding a marathon in an effort to bring people back. Along with the full marathon, organizers included half marathon and 10.5 km distances along with a 5 km walk and a 2 km kids' race, all featuring a seaside start and finish in the heart of the Laguna Phuket resort district. Out of the 2038 entrants in the first edition of the combined races, 571 came from overseas.
The view on the way back.
Now in its fourth running, th…