Sanya Khanchai wins 100km Solo at The North Face 100 Thailand 2015

          Top Thai ultra-runner, Sanya Khanchai, took out the 100km Solo (male) title at The North Face 100® Thailand 2015 against a record field of 225 runners competing in the iconic 100km Solo distance – the only one of its kind in Thailand. Against tough competition, Sanya hit the front early and never looked back finishing in a time of 10h 14m 01s.
          In the female division, American Katherine Welch returned after an injury-forced one year hiatus to take her third The North Face 100® Thailand title in four years, in a time of 12:21:21, beating last years winner, Thailand's Nampetch Porntharukcharoen, who finished second.
          Competing in the 50km distance was 2014 100km Solo winner, Australian Vlad Ixel. On the back of a strong season in Asia, Vlad was up against last years 50km winner American Ryan Scott Blair, and Swede Henrik Jannborg, winner of the 25km distance in 2014. Henrik and Vlad moved to the front early in the race and ran together for the first 25km after which Henrik found another gear and put some space between he and Vlad, going on to finish in a course record of 03:54:39. Vlad finished second with Ryan in third.
          In the women's 50km distance it was first-time competitor Naomi Imaizumi from Japan who was the runaway winner in a time of 04:58:44.
          Now in its fourth year, The North Face 100® Thailand has grown to become the largest trail-running event in Thailand and this year saw a record turnout of 2,400 runners from 38 countries competing across 15km, 25km, 50km, 100km Duo and 100km Solo distances.
          Over the four years since the event's launch, the runner demographics have changed considerably. This year more than 50% of the total runners were Thai and the number of Thais competing in the ultra distances (50km, 100km Duo and 100km Solo) increased 350%.
          Chanai Payakkapan, Brand Manager of Thai Outdoor Sport Co. Ltd. Exclusive Distributor of The North Face® in Thailand commented that “Compared to the previous events, this year we have seen the number of Thai runners in the ultra-distances increase 350%, with more Thais than ever competing in the 100km Solo. Also, it's evident that more Thai people are interested in trail-running than ever before with more than 50% of the 2,400 runners this year being Thai nationality. We're excited to see this development in trail-running and will continue to support the sport and expect to see more people enjoying trail-running next year.”
          Notable performances from Thai runners this year include Nampetch Porntharukcharoen (second place, 100km Solo), Boonsom Siddhiphongse and Uthai Noodmuang (winners, 100km Duo Open), Somsakul Aramwatanapong and Panthip Sungkamanont (winners, 100km Duo Female), Mesikarn Jongthamrongjarukit (second place, 50km female) and Sudaporn Chadchaipaiboon (second place, 25km female).
          New for this year was the 15km distance, increased from 10km in the previous years, and it was Thailand's top marathon runner, Boonthung Srisung, that ran away with the men's title in a time of 01:00:31, while in the female division Parida Apichatammarit (THA) and Patra Apichairuk (THA) finished in second and third respectively, behind winner Erika Jannborg (SWE) with a time of 01:13:37.
          The North Face 100® has become the most well-received and anticipated distance trail running series in Asia Pacific, with events in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
          For more information, visit www.TheNorthFaceThailand.com.
          Facebook: www.facebook.com/TNF100Thailand.