Under the cloak of darkness, runners gather in their hundreds at the entrance to the Angkor Wat temple complex, in Cambodia’s Siem Reap. They wait in groups, stretching muscles to pumping house music while a little way off, apsara dancers and traditional Khmer musicians help lift the early-morning energy.
Volunteers, many of whom have been at the site since 2am, hand out bottles of water to a crowd of runners and spectators that started arriving at 3.30am, ahead of the staggered starts of the 11th Angkor Empire Marathon.
From a small stage framed by the stone carvings of mythical Nagas at the main-road end of the causeway that crosses the moat to Angkor Wat, two emcees shout out motivational phrases in Khmer and English.
Read Full Article At Source
