Course Review: Krabi International Triathlon, Thailand

By Wires September 6, 2017

0 Comments

Krabi Triathlon Course Review

Thailand’s triathlon scene keeps on growing fast and Krabi Triathlon is the new option in the events calendar.

The race was sponsored by the local hotels association and related government agencies and organized by Tab Agency, who holds the license for Challenge-family in Thailand and has plenty of experience in organizing triatlhon events.

There were four hundred athletes across three events, Olympic Distance triathlon (with a longer 12km run), a Duathlon, and a sprint triathlon.

Where to stay, what to do, how to get there:

You can fly direct from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Darwin. flying via Bangkok will also offer you several connections per day, the airport is forty five minute drive to Ao Nang,

Krabi is among the top 5 most visited cities in Thailand. Railay Bay is only a quick fifteen minutes ferry away and the famous Phi Phi Island (“The Beach” is just over an hour), it is the gateaway to several other islands nearby and you can opt for island hoping day tours before or after the race if you want to mix some tourism with racing.

The race is held at the Nopparatthara beach, you can stay either there, or at Ao Nang, the next beach (where the run u-turn is) is only a few kilometers away with a lot more options and Krabi’s main beach.

SWIM (2 loops for total of 1.5km)

The scenery from the swim start is breathtaking, the water is warm and jelly-fish free, the swim is as good as it gets in Krabi. One caveat is the depth of the swim, while the organizers tried to time the date and start time with the tide, it was a very shallow swim that would allow participants to walk for the first and last one hundred meters or so or each lap.

While this may come across as annoying, it also provides the beginners some comfort as they could see the bottom for the whole swim and take a quick break in the most shallow parts. With that said, it is deep enough that you move faster by swimming rather than walking.

BIKE (40km)

The 20km out and 20km back bike course is a nice option to most races in the region that are multi-loop. The course was mostly flat, but with some gentle climbs, mostly uphill in the final 10km. Then a fast ride back to town on the way back. Drafting wasn’t allowed and it wasn’t an issue. Safety was satisfactory, while traffic was controlled and only partially closed, the main intersections were safe and road quality was also very decent.

RUN (2 loops for a total of 12km)

The run course takes the athletes from Nopparatthara beach, down to Ao Nang beach then back, two laps for the Olympic Distance, this makes the run very dynamic as you can check in your competitors very often. There was one climb on each lap in between beaches and all else is flat, making this a nice variation and an extra challenge even though the climb isn’t too steep.

Most of the run is along the coast, providing the athletes a great scenery and while you can always count with the heat in Thailand, as the race started 6.30am, athletes got to start their runs at around 8am, the sun wasn’t out at full force yet.