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Destined to runDestined to runING Thailand Temple Run, 19 March 2006By Roman FloesserDestination marathons are thecoming thing. Over the last fewyears they have surged inpopularity, and the phenomenonis unlikely to let up. Combiningrunning with a holiday means thatfast times and personal bests aresome way down the list of whattourist runners look for in a race.That’s good news for an event likethe ING Temple Run. Fast timesare not part of the package, butthe run has a lot more to offerthan that.Started by the general mangers ofa hotel and a tour company in2002, the run was alwaysenvisioned as a destinationmarathon. Less than 400 runners,including 34 from 12 foreigncountries, participated in the firstedition. The ING Thailand TempleRun has grown since then toaccommodate more than 3000runners including 645 foreignrunners from 45 countries.The location of the race is itselfappealing. Samut Songkram isThailand’s smallest provincesituated some 85km south east ofBangkok. It is known for itscoconut, banana and lycheeplantations as well as its floatingmarkets. Millions of fireflies glowat night along the Mae KlongRiver. Combined with thecountless temples scatteredthroughout the countryside allthis makes the setting of the INGThailand Temple Run one of themost beautiful race locations onthe marathon calendar.Living up to its name, the eventstarts and finishes at WatPumrinkudeethong, a temple thatis home to fifteen Buddhistmonks. The monks not only playhost to the race but the abbot ofDISTANCE RUNNING April - June 200625