Race Media

A rare chance to race for charity in Doi Inthanon

Thailand’s most famous national park sets a spectacular stage for the first edition of the MSIG Thailand Action Asia 50

THAILAND, July 26, 2017 – The first edition of the MSIG Thailand Action Asia 50 will be held on Sunday December 17, 2017 in Doi Inthanon National Park in the northern Thailand province of Chiang Mai. Home to the country’s highest mountain, the 2,565-metre Doi Inthanon, the park has been dubbed “the Roof of Thailand” and covers an area of 482 square kilometres – or about one-third the size of Bangkok.

Action Asia Events is the first and only trail running company allowed to hold a charity running event in Doi Inthanon National Park. December’s event, which will offer three race distances (54km, 34km and 14km), follows on the heels of the successful test event on June 4, the MSIG Thailand Action Asia 50 zero edition. The test run had 100 participants who each donated US$10, 100% of which went towards the purchase of trees for planting and the construction of a water dam in the local Hmong and Karen hill tribe village areas.

The same two projects will be supported by funds raised in the first edition of the MSIG Thailand Action Asia 50. The event, supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, also aims to raise awareness of Doi Inthanon National Park and its villagers.  

Ms Sarima Chindamat, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Hong Kong (TAT-HK), said: “We are very honoured to partner with Action Asia, a reputable and experienced trail marathon event organiser from Hong Kong. We are excited and pleased that Thailand now becomes one of the key adventure tourism destinations in Asia. I would like to give special thanks to the Doi Inthanon National Park team for their full support to promote sustainability and sport tourism together with TAT-HK and TAT-Chiang Mai.

“Doi Inthanon National Park is an iconic scenery in northern Thailand that is home to the famous twin pagodas, built to commemorate the 60^th birthdays of the late king and queen. It is also home to many local tribes and interesting local attractions, including coffee plantations, camping, restaurants by the river, and so on. Tourists can enjoy a trail marathon while embracing the beautiful natural scenery and the local Thai experience.

“We sincerely thank Action Asia for sharing their knowledge and experience in sport tourism. Their commitment to this project is second to none and they have inspired us to make this Chiang Mai trail marathon an annual event. On December 17, 2017, TAT-HK, TAT-Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon National Park and Action Asia will join hands to introduce a challenging and exciting trail marathon event to all Hong Kong and international runners. Don’t miss this adrenaline-pumping event of the year in Chiang Mai.”

Wuttiphong Dongkumfu, the Assistant Chief of Thailand Doi Inthanon National Park, said: “Doi Inthanon Action Asia Mountain Marathon is a fundraising marathon that Doi Inthanon National Park co-operate with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Hongkong and Chiang Mai Office together with Action Asia Events.

The goals of this event are for promoting awareness and improving environmental conditions in Doi Inthanon National Park. Moreover, funds we have raised from the event will support water dam construction and tree planting. Last but not least, I would to like to invite all domestic and international runners to join the Doi Inthanon Action Asia Mountain Marathon: 1st Edition that will be held on 17th December 2017.”

Matthew Grose, Senior Vice President - Human Resources and Business Excellence of MSIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Co.,Ltd., said: “MSIG Insurance Thailand are very excited to support this first Action Asia Trail Run in Thailand and also very honored to be involved with this event because it will be held in the beautiful and auspicious Doi Inthanon Park.”

“We are always enthusiastic to support the healthy, active lifestyles that many of our customers are living these days, including our many travel insurance customers who often travel within Thailand and overseas to take part in adventure and other physically active holidays.”

“We also have many wellness programs to support our staff, such as sports activities and clubs, regular health checks and medical advice, as we believe that wellness is one very important part of building an engaged workforce. This is one of the reasons, along with our many other activities, that our Employee Engagement Survey scores are consistently higher than the norm in Thailand. So, as part of our MSIG Wellness Program for staff we will also be sponsoring a number of our staff to run in this event. So we are very honored to partner with Michael and the Action Asia team and looking forward to a very popular and successful trail run on 17 December.”

Michael Maddess, Director of Action Asia Events, said: “We are honoured to be supporting Doi Inthanon villagers with a focus on construction of water dams and tree planting through this MSIG Thailand Action Asia 50.”

The 54km course will feature a total elevation gain of over 2,000m with over 2,000m elevation loss which will be the first officially sanctioned Skyrunning event in Thailand.

MSIG Thailand Action Asia 50 test run women’s 50km champion, Bangkok resident Woraphan Kijsawasdi showed her own support to this meaningful event. “The test run was challenging because the beginning 20 km is only going up-hill. It’s not quite normal in Thailand, since we don’t have many tall mountains like Doi Inthanon. I donated more than 10 dollars to the village for the good cause of water dam construction and tree planting. I know you have the “No Cup Policy” in the race, and I couldn’t agree more with that. I would recommend people coming to this place to leave with their rubbish, for the aim of protecting the environment for the villages.”

She also recommended on the 1st edition race: “New challenged limit of yourself to run up to Doi Inthanon area. You will see the beautiful scenic view around you as panoramic. Let's join us in race day.”

Local participant Pichet Sirilertpornchai is also looking forward to the first edition. “It's a beautiful race meanwhile challenged to run with elevation gain in the highest mountain of national park in Thailand and I think the weather in race day will be quite good because it's winter season in Thailand,” he said.

This fundraising event is possible due to the generous support of presenting sponsor MSIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited and supporting partners Tourism Authority of Thailand-Hong Kong, Doi Inthanon National Park, Hoka One One, Outdoor Channel, AirAsia, Alpha Runner, Tri Action, International Skyrunning Federation, ITRA, Action X Store and Action Asia Foundation.

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About MSIG Thailand

MSIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited is a leading General Insurance company in Thailand providing retail and commercial insurance solutions for Thai and international clients through multiple distribution channels. With a history that can be traced back to 1889 in Thailand, and a long established reputation for combining sound professional underwriting with innovative product and distribution offers, we are the insurer of choice for over 400,000 policy holders.

Annual premium income is over 4 billion baht and continues to grow steadily, sold via our network of brokers, agents and bank and corporate partners, and through our 21 nationwide branches. Critically, our claims service provision is underpinned by the professionalism and integrity expected from one of the world's leading insurers. MSIG Insurance (Thailand) became a public limited company in October 2012 and is a member of the MS&AD Insurance Group.

 

About Tourism Authority of Thailand, Hong Kong (TAT-HK)

Tourism Authority of Thailand, Hong Kong (TAT-HK) was established as the overseas office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand to be specifically responsible for the promotion of Thai tourism with respect to the Hong Kong market. 

TAT-HK supplies information and data on tourist areas to the public, publicises Thailand with the intention of encouraging Hong Kong tourists to travel to Thailand, develops creative marketing campaigns to attract Hong Kong tourists, keeps updated Thai tourism info, as well as cooperates with and supports the production and development of personnel in the field of tourism.

Be inspired by the joy and magic when traveling in the Kingdom of Thailand, and enjoy your exclusive THAICATION – that is the key message from TAT-HK. Follow TAT-HK Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TAT.HongKong), mobile app (Gals Getaway In Bangkok), Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/tat_galsgetaway/) and Youtube (TAT-HK) to enjoy and develop your own exclusive “THAICATION”!

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