A 6k run with a beer stop at a bar

While this activity is quite common in other parts of the world, having a mid-run beer stop at a pub isn't exactly easy for us to pull off in Chiang Mai since most of our runs take place far away from shops and especially bars. But there are exceptions and anyone that was with us this day could probably see that this was coming since the nearby bar of Tintin, is actually quite famous in expat circles for the people that live ab it of a ways out of town.

It's not a super nice place, but it is a place and it was kind of nice to emerge from the jungle behind it and see it like an oasis of sorts, especially considering how terribly hot it has been lately in Chiang Mai.

When there is a beer stop on a run, you don't have to pay for the beers as they have normally been paid for out of the CMH3's coffers and we will do things like this anytime we accidentally end up with some spare cash. We are completely not-for-profit and anytime we do end up with extra money we waste it right away.

Even though this trail was carefully planned with Tintin in mind, it was still mostly a jungle trail and very off-road. It has been so long since we were out this way that I honestly forgot that there was civilization so nearby so when we did emerge from the woods, it took me a minute to realize where we are.

Most of our trail runs are somewhat close to a road with shops on them but virtually none of these shops are places that are geared towards foreigners. This is in the Hang Dong area of Chiang Mai, and that just happens to be a quite popular place for foreigners to rent or buy houses. I think that a place like Tintin would struggle to survive otherwise. But the beers were cold and they were free and I am never going to complain about that.

The "beer near" sign on the ground caught me off-guard because at that point we were only about 4.5 km into what we were told was a 6km trail and until we came out of the thick I was presuming it would just be a car on the side of the road which is what a lot of our beer stops have to look like since most of our trails are actual trails.

It was a welcome stop but there was a downside. Since the place has air con those of us that were dripping with sweat, which was almost all of us that aren't Thai, got kind of used to the cooldown and this made going back outside to finish the remaining 1.2 km a lot more difficult.

We do 3 runs a week and other than the recent Ballbreaker and CherryBreaker events, I can't even remember the last time we had a beer stop on trail.

But this is just one of the many surprises that you can look forward to if you come and join us for a trail run in Chiang Mai. We try to keep people guessing and this is why we don't normally even announce where the trail is until the night before a run. A great many of our participants don't even drive to the trails because they want to get a bit tipsy and the only way we allow this is if you rode on the bus to get there. We like beer and we like having fun, but we will not allow drink-driving in our midst. We have a stellar reputation with the various officials in Chiang Mai and it would only take one idiot to ruin all of that. It's been 40 years in the making so we will not allow that to happen.

So come and join us if you are in the Chiang Mai, Thailand area. We are still doing at least 3 runs per week and you can check the full schedule on our poorly functioning website

ON On!