{"id":82361,"date":"2026-09-05T09:06:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T01:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=82361"},"modified":"2026-09-05T09:06:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T01:06:00","slug":"angkor-wat-marathon-6500-runners-race-through-cambodias-ancient-khmer-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=82361","title":{"rendered":"Angkor Wat marathon: 6,500 runners race through Cambodia\u2019s ancient Khmer empire"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Under the cloak of darkness, runners gather in their hundreds at the entrance to the Angkor Wat temple complex, in Cambodia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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The Angkor Wat temple complex. Photo: AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As the clock ticks down to 4.30am and the start of the first of four races \u2013 the full, 42km (26 miles) marathon \u2013 pacers make their way to the starting line, competitive racers cramming in behind, waiting for the klaxon to sound. With minutes to go, dignitaries deliver speeches from a stage, wishing competitors luck, thanking sponsors and praising the event\u2019s success over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngkor Wat always has such a special vibe, so it will be exciting to run among all of the ancient temples,\u201d says Christine Hellington, 32, an Australian who recently moved from Cambodia to Vietnam and is competing in her first marathon. \u201cI\u2019m hoping the atmosphere will help push me through, so I can actually finish it.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) president Thong Khon, Chinese ambassador Wang Wenbin and NOCC secretary general Vath Chamroeun together light a torch with a blazing flame to officially open the event, then the klaxon sounds and the runners set off towards Siem Reap city, roared on by spectators young and old, who are lining the road.<\/p>\n

For many competitors, such as Hellington (who did manage to complete the 42km, in five hours and 34 minutes), this marathon\u2019s appeal isn\u2019t just about finishing. Unlike conventional city races, in which competitors run in the shadow of skyscrapers and urban landmarks, here, runners spend much of the course among the temples, settlements and reservoirs that once formed the heart of the Khmer Empire (802-1431).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Under the cloak of darkness, runners gather in their hundreds at the entrance to the Angkor Wat temple complex, in Cambodia\u2019s Siem Reap. They wait…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":82362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4840],"tags":[5434,10237,7580,2200,2485,2925,570,11510,3340],"class_list":["post-82361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-globetrotting","tag-ancient","tag-angkor","tag-cambodias","tag-empire","tag-khmer","tag-marathon","tag-race","tag-runners","tag-wat","wpcat-4840-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/82362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}