Running the Angkor Wat Half Marathon

I wanted to run the Angkor Wat Half Marathon last December, but because I had gone a little overboard on my trip to Thailand in October, I couldn't make it happen for me financially. But 2015, I knew I was going to do it.

My friend and I waiting at the starting line at dawn.

My friend Rory was also up for the challenge. He had never run a half marathon, but the advantage he had over me was that he would be training in the same climate – hot and muggy. I was training in Switzerland where it was cold and I would be arriving the day before the race and hoping to pull it off, jet lag, heat and all.

On race day, we arrived at the starting line at 5 am. It was dark, but considering it was going to be 28 degrees by 8:00 am, we were okay with the darkness. The race was supposed to start at 6am, but naturally it was late. So it really began at 6:30am –and just as the sun was rising, we were off and running.

I think this may have been one of my favorite races to date. It was hot (really hot) and humid, which meant I had to run slower than usual. It also meant that it was not going to be a race where I would beat my PR of 1:47. I knew I was going to come in after 2 hours if I was going to finish feeling good and not like throwing up. (estimated 2:10; came in at 2:13 -- bad, but not too bad).

Accepting that I was going to suck was the best decision. That meant I wouldn’t feel the pressure of shaving off seconds and could take the take to stop and snap photos along the way. Rory didn’t bring his phone with him (how he can run without music amazes me), so I knew my shots would be the ones that “proved” we were there -- and we may only do this race once in our lives so I wanted to cherish it.

I was glad I did.

 The race took us around all the temples in the area. It was a blast running and then when seeing a temple, veering off to the side to snap a quick photo and go on. I wasn’t the only one doing this. Many of the runners were like me. They too were getting their tourist sights in along the way.

That’s what I really like about my Angkor Wat photos. It’s the runners who are in them that make them special as these are my peeps. They may be from all over the world, but we all were there on the same crazy, hot and humid quest.

For me, it’s not just about seeing the temples – you can see temples anytime, but how many times in your life will you get to run 21.2 km to see them?


Next marathon? Dubai in January!