Running the Ruins

Marathon runners have a lot of options for interesting race routes.  The Paris Marathon takes racers straight down the famous Champs-Élysées, while the Philadelphia Marathon paces in front of the steps made famous from the "Rocky" movie.

For more than 20 years, the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon in Cambodia boasts a unique course of taking runners throughout the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the same name, an area of over 400 acres outside of Siem Reap, dotted with temples dating back to the 12th Century.  The event is also for charity, benefiting those victims of antipersonnel mines in the country.

This year's race, the 22nd annual, had a slight change of course due to a spontaneously scheduled* Buddhist ceremony to be held that same morning at the main and namesake Angkor Wat temple itself. This meant that the new route began further north near another famous temple area, Angkor Thom.  While starting near the base of the Bayon Temple and running along the Terrace of the Elephants is still an inspiring experience, nothing really compares to the sunrise aura of Angkor Wat itself.

Post-race running crew

After a bit of stress getting to the starting line, which resulted in me ditching my tuk tuk driver in a literal tuk tuk jam, and doing a nice 2km "warm-up" run, the race ultimately started about 30 minutes behind schedule.  Despite the increasing heat as the early morning wore on, the course was fairly flat, well marked, and with frequent water stations.

Posing alongside the Terrace of the Elephants

Though I had a lofty goal of at least going sub-1:30 again - my last long distance race was a full marathon back in 2013 in São Paulo - I was pleased to be able to finish in 1:34.43 which put me 53rd overall for all male runners and in the top 3% of finishers.  At just shy of 36, I'll take it!


*According to the locals we met, the Cambodian Prime Minister, in an apparent attempt to flex his political muscles in an election year, rescheduled the Buddhist ceremony to be the morning of the race, in the location of the race.  Traditionally this ceremony - which can take place at any time during the calendar year but requires essentially all the monks in Cambodia to attend - is held in Phnom Penh, the capital. Regardless, there were now 10,000 monks arriving to a limited-access, rural architectural area, in addition to the 10,000 or so runners, organizers, and supporters. If you want a perfect storm to create havoc, you've succeeded!