Sunday October 26^th 2008

On Sunday October 26th 2008, Pursat Province is pleased to host its second annual 5k and 10k road races. The event follows last year’s successful ‘Okhna Khleang Moeung Run’ (named after a famous historical figure from Pursat), which attracted nearly 300 runners. Last year it was mainly local students, plus a hardened bunch of up-for-it expats, who took part. This year we’re aiming for 500 runners, including invited runners from the neighbouring provinces of Battambang and Kampong Chhnang and some national level runners from Phnom Penh. Plus more nutty expats. 

The event is organised by the Pursat Department of Education Youth and Sport. Because it’s locally organised in the province, don’t expect chip timing or a goody bag. We can however, promise you a warm welcome, a fun day out, and lots of community spirit in a beautiful but rarely visited part of Cambodia! 

Entry for the race (either 5k or 10k) is $15 for expatriates and $1 for Cambodians. This includes a T-shirt for all runners. There will be cash prizes and trophies for the winners. All money raised will buy sports equipment for Pursat schools, and will sponsor Pursat runners to take part in other athletics events such as the Angkor Half-Marathon in December.

Also, a local NGO in Pursat, Disability Development Services Pursat (DDSP) is hoping to get some disabled young people to compete in the race. If you’d like to sponsor one of them, please get in touch with Steve Harknett.

 We hope to see you there!

Race Information

Basic Information

Because the race will start early on Sunday morning, you will have to travel to Pursat on Saturday. On Saturday from 1 – 5 pm, race organisers will be at the Than Sour Thmey Hotel in Pursat where you can pay and pick up your T-shirt and race number. Please do this on Saturday so that on Sunday morning we can start the race as early as possible to avoid the heat.

This year there are around 400 participants in four races : 10 k, 5 k, 2 k (wheelchair-users) and 1 k (amputees). The entrants are students from some 13 schools from all over the province, including Kandieng, Kravanh, Krakor and Bakan districts; and other runners from Pursat’s police and military police, the Ministry of Labour, NGOs and the general public. Disabled athletes are taking part thanks to a local NGO Disability Development Services Pursat. We are also pleased to welcome a group of runners from Battambang and a delegation of national-level athletes from Phnom Penh, including Cambodia’s Olympic marathon star Hem Bunting.

A big thanks to the Pursat Department of Education Youth and Sport for organising the event, and to the National Olympic Committee for their patronage.

The start

The 5 k race will start at 7 am – the start is out of town (on the road to Kandieng) and trucks/romorques will take runners there, leaving from Pursat stadium (see map) at 6.30 am. Runners should aim to be at the stadium before this.  The stadium is about 15 minutes’ walk from guesthouses in Pursat and about 1,500 riel by motodop.

Runners for the 10 k who want to see the start of the 5 k can go to the start, but they should have transport (eg. motodop) to bring them back quickly for the start of the 10 k (you will need to hire a motodop from Pursat).

The 10 k race will start from central Pursat town at the ‘new bridge’ at 7.45 am.  Please get there on time so we can start the race before it gets too hot ! Unfortunately we can’t start any earlier than this because of the limited numbers of race organisers.

Personal-best chasers and running purists please note : neither race is an exact distance. The 5 km has been measured as 5.5 km and the 10 k as 9.96 km. This was to ensure that the races start at convenient places where crowds can gather without causing traffic disruption.

For the really obsessive: one 10k participant reported that his GPS reading was 9.37k

Also please note that at the start of both races there are limited toilet facilities, no changing rooms and no storage facilities – find a friend to take care of your stuff !

The two disabled races will start between the two main races. The wheelchair race will start from near Pok Ambor primary school and the amputee race will start on Koh Sampov Meas (the river island).

The races

Please see map for route details. Race marshals will be stationed at junctions and corners to guide runners.

The 5 k and 10 k routes are both flat and on tarmacked roads, except for a stretch of unmade road on the 10 k route, from about  - k.

There are three water stations on the 10 k route (at approx. 4.5, 6.5 and 8.5 k) and two on the 5 k route (at approx. 1 and 3.5 k).

Roads will not be closed to traffic although there will be police escorts and race marshals to ensure safety. Most of the roads are quiet anyway. You should however take care in Pursat town near the market and at the junction near Pursat Primary School, which can be quite busy.

There should be painted km markers on the road, provided that the rain hasn’t washed them away !

Pursat Hospital staff will be present to provide some basic medical care but don’t expect wonders.

The finish

All races end in Pursat Stadium. When you finish you should immediately be given a card with your finishing position on it.  Present this to a race official who should be sitting at a table near the finish so that your result can be recorded (you may be asked to fill in your name and nationality on the card, although this shouldn‘t be necessary since the race officials already have a list of runners’ details).

This is the first year that the organisers will try to compile the results for all finishers (last year it was only done for the top 8) – it’s a complicated task so please understand if there’s any confusion. Any results that they manage to produce will be posted on the website asap.

Refreshments will be available at the stadium.

After the race there will be a prize-giving ceremony at the provincial stadium, at around 9 am. Prizes are as follows:

10 k (men and women)

1st prize:    250,000 riel ($62.5)

2^nd :           200,000 riel ($50)

3^rd :            150,000 riel ($37.5)

4^th – 10^th:     80,000 riel ($20)

5 k (men and women)

1^st prize:    200,000 riel ($50)

2^nd :           150,000 riel ($37.5)

3^rd :            100,000 riel ($25)

4^th – 10^th:     60,000 riel ($15)

Winners will also receive trophies and sports shirts.

What next ?

Funds raised from the race will be used to buy sports equipment for several rural schools in Pursat province, especially buying running shoes for promising rural runners. The funds will also help these runners to compete in other events such as the Angkor 5 and 10 k in Siem Reap in December.

The race has also succeeded in raising some funds for DDSP, an NGO in Pursat working with disabled people.

With a bit of luck we’ll do it again next year ! The race organisers would be happy to talk to any interested sponsors.

Thanks for supporting our event – we hope you’ve enjoyed it. Please feel free to give us any feedback on how we can improve things for next time.

Pursat

Pursat is a relatively quiet, sleepy province of Cambodia which generally receives few tourists. The town is situated along a picturesque river, the Steung Pursat. Probably the most enjoyable thing to do in Pursat is to walk or cycle along the river’s banks, visiting the various pagodas or the Koh Sampov Meas river island. Pursat is famous for marble-carving. Carvings can be bought all over town but there are some particularly good workshops along the river near the wooden bridge.

Outside of Pursat town, Pursat province’s other attractions include:

Travelling to and from Pursat

Pursat is 185 km from Phnom Penh and easily accessible by bus or taxi. The road condition is excellent and the journey takes around 3½ hours by bus, a bit less by taxi. The bus fare is around 18,000 riel ($4.5) one-way. Bus companies include Capitol (near O Russey market), Sorya (near Central Market) and Rith Mony (near TV3, not far from the railway station). Bus services to Pursat run from 7 am to around 12.30 pm.

Taxis are slightly more expensive - around 20,000 riel ($5) one-way, but this is only for one seat – a bit cramped for most barangs, so you might want to buy two seats. Taxis for Pursat leave Phnom Penh until around 6 pm, but they become scarcer the later it is. 

Travelling back from Pursat to Phnom Penh is no problem - there are plenty of buses and taxis leaving Pursat both morning and evening. Bus companies and taxis are situated along National Road 5 near the main bridge (Spean Thmor).

Getting around Pursat isn’t usually a problem; motodops (motorbike taxis) are common, especially along the national road and near the market. However Pursat goes to be early and it can be difficult to find a motodop after about 6.30 pm.

Staying in Pursat

There are plenty of cheap, clean guesthouses in Pursat with double rooms around $5 - $6 (with a fan) or $10 (air-con). The most centrally-located guesthouses, all within walking distance of the bus and taxi stops on national road 5, are:

The Than Sour Thmey is recommended as this is where runners will register.

Eating and drinking in Pursat

The main guesthouses in Pursat (Phnom Pich and Than Sour Thmey) have their own restaurants. Phnom Pich’s serves good food but in a rather sterile atmosphere. The Than Sour Thmey’s restaurant is not recommended.

The best places to eat in Pursat are:

Registration
 

We’d appreciate if you could register in advance to hopefully ensure that we have enough T-shirts for everyone. To register, simply e-mail Steve Harknett (see ‘contact information’) giving:

Pursat River Run 2008