Thailand joins ARWS Family and hosts its FIRST “Observer Status” Adventure Race

Thailand joins AR World Series family and Recently concluded Krabi Adventure Race 2022 in Thailand was the new addition to the ARWS Asia Regional Series. This Race was under “Observer Status” and focused on introducing new teams to this wonderful format of the sport.

Thailand is a Southeast Asian country. It’s known for tropical beaches, opulent royal palaces, ancient ruins, and ornate temples displaying forms of Buddha. The host province “Krabi” is abundant in scenic beauty with lush tropical greenery, rugged limestone cliffs, meandering caves and a stunning coastline with some of the best beaches in the world. The country and its terrain are perfectly suited for Expedition Style Racing.

“Mr. Alongkorn Jiamanukulkit” Event Director said “Being part of the ARWS ASIA SERIES is a big boost for adventure racing in Thailand. With this collaboration we are happy to have Thailand on AR Global platform. We are so excited to showcase our country to the adventure racing community and invite them to join us from across Asia and the world for future race. We are thankful for all the support from Government towards AR. Thailand is a country for expedition style racing, and we are hopeful to host in coming years and surprise all the teams who are looking for more adventures and experiences.”

This observer race had two categories “Adventure (40KM)” and “Extreme (80KM)” that includes, kayaking, swimming, trail running and MTB. There were 416 Athletes about 208 Teams of two who took part in various categories (All Men, All Women, Mixed) and tested their team spirit.

The race was flagged off by “Mr. Somchai Hanpucdeepuntima” Deputy Governor of Krabi and Officials from Sports Authority of Thailand from Hat Noppharat Thara with MTB leg for Extreme at 6:00 AM and 6:30 AM for Adventure category. This leg took teams to less explored routes via farms, tarmac, slushy trails, hamlets to picturesque lake for Kayaking and Swimming. Due to weather conditions, the Sea kayaking was shifted to control lake for safety concerns. Here teams swam for 200 meters to reach Kayaking out point and kayak for about 2 KM to collect 2 checkpoints around the island. Team in Extreme category need to hit a target with slingshot while on kayak to gain their CP band. Post this they continued their MTB section to next checkpoints amidst the beautiful Rocky Mountains and lush greenery and not to forget vast beaches until they reach the main Krabi town to drop their cycles and race to the finish line. The finish line was one of the spectacular sights to witness. It was on the Hat Noppharat Thara beach and high tide by the time teams finished. Top 3 teams were awarded with trophies, mementoes and cash prize. There were many first timers who got introduced to the sport and there were some seasoned triathletes too and who are now ready to claim “Koh Samui Title” at next Asia Regional Race.

ARWS Race Director “Ms. Ajita Madan” from NthAdventure represented ARWS and was there to observe the race says, “Having hosted multiples races in India and working with international race directors I was here to witness the race overall, share my expertise and advise on future races. There is certain standardization required for all the races hosted under AR World Series banner. Be it sprint races or expedition style the experience and adrenaline of AR remain same. The ARWS community is always encouraging and supportive towards new races and teams. And I and am happy to see the way it was organized being the first observer race. Race Director’s did a great route and the admin was well planned. We are really excited to see the sport growing in Thailand and how wonderful it was to have AR supported by Government. It was pleasure to be here and interacting with Government officials, partners, sponsors, teams and handover the Observer Status certificate to the Deputy Governor. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for future AR in Thailand and of course next stop is Kho Samui.”

The next race scheduled for 24^th and 25^th September 2022 in “Koh Samui” which will be the first ARWS ASIA Ranked event. The preparation is already in full swing, and Thailand is looking forward to hosting few international teams as well as expecting some tough local competition. All the premier teams racing at this race will be receiving ARWS ASIA Ranking. And the Winner of this race will get a FREE entry to next Asia Regional Race that is Namma Adventure Race, India hosted by NthAdventure on 9^th to 11^th December 2022, which was announced live by Ms. Ajita Madan, Race Director of the Race during opening day.

Big thanks to all the partners and sponsors for supporting Krabi Adventure Race 2022.