First ultramarathon kicks off this weekend

If running a full 42.195km marathon sounds gruelling, imagine having to run a 100km ultramarathon!

This pinnacle of sporting pain comes to Thailand for the first time this weekend, with the inaugural North Face 100 - Thailand 2012 trailrunning race, held from Friday to Sunday at Kaew Jaroen Temple, Amphawa in Samut Songkhram.

The Thai leg of the biggest trailrunning series in AsiaPacific features the 100km run, 100km duo (run in pairs, 50km each), 50km, 25km and 10km runs, with participants split categories according to sex and age. The first Thai national to cross the finish line in the 100km event will represent the country in the North Face 100 Grand Finale in Beijing in May.

Trophies will be awarded to the top three finishers in every age group, while cash prizes worth more than Bt800,000 will go to the overall winners in each category.

Race briefings will take place on Friday, while all races are scheduled to kick off at 4am the following day. Competitors in the 100km ultramarathon must complete the course within 18 hours. The 100km world record of nine hours 19 minutes and six seconds was set last year by Spaniard Kilian Jornet, 23, in Australia.

Thai marathoner Boonthueng Srisang, former double SEA Games gold medallist, will test his mettle in the 50km trail run, his longest race ever. Genevieve Jane Irwin, aka Channel V's extreme sportsloving VJ Jenny, will compete in her first trail ultramarathon.