This third stage with 58k will be the second longest one of the race. It will be also one of the toughest. It will come after two tough running days: when starting this stage we will have already 100k and 5000m elevation “in the legs”. It will be a “mountain stage” with a majority of the track over 1000m high, a total of 3000m elevation, and a masterpiece Doi Chiang Dao.

After passing many small villages of different tribes (Akha , Lisu , Karen) and running through rice fields, bamboo forests and pine trees, we will arrive at Pakhia. This is a Hmong village at the foothill of Doi Chiang Dao. This mountain has a summit at 2225m and is the only alpine mountain range in Thailand. Because of its characteristic shape and its range of steep mountains, it is called the “tooth of Himalaya”. The track from south to north will go through the tooth and will be one of the nicest part of the week. It willl look like a mix between a French Alps mountain and a tropical forest.

We will cross the North by reaching a moutain pass at 1600m high and go down to Na Lao Mai, a Lisu village. After a magnificent run through the jungle and a series of rocks which would delight lovers of boulder climbing, we will engage in a beautiful mountain valley. Surrounded everywhere by mountain summits (Doi Nang, 1818m, also known as ” The Sleeping Lady mountain “; Doi Mae Khong, 1420m; Doi Khom San Phra (1410m), the village of Ban Nong Khatae seems lost and its people living appart from any civilization.

The last part of our journey will see us going alongside a ridge in beautiful pine forests before going down into the jungle and reach Ban Mae Cha, another Lisu village where we will spend the night.