29th Feb 2020 - PPAC sprints event

photos courtesy of Alvie Kendrik and Neil Bianchi

PPAC’s first sprint event and athletes match Paralympic qualifying times

Athletes take to the start line for heat 1 of the 100m

PPAC teamed up this week with the Paralympic athletes to organise a fun sprint session at the track. This was the first time that PPAC has done a 100 or 200m race, so it was great preparation for the upcoming CNTR 2020 final where participants will compete at the same sprint distances.

Participants clapping as the event comes to a close

You can see all the photos from the event on our Facebook page

The 100m para heat gets underway

In total we had 23 athletes competing overall, including CNTR athletes, guests and para-athletes including five wheelchair athletes in a record-equalling turnout for a PPAC-organised track event.

The wheelchair athletes line up for the 100m with guest starter, international sprinter, Sokong

After warming up we gathered the athletes and headed to the 200m start. To make sure everyone was ready and comfortable with the procedure, everyone had the chance to do a practice run, while also enabling the PPAC team to iron out any technical issues before the start of the heats proper.

Martin and Meyjou give the race debrief

For the 200m athletes were divided into three heats, the first two for CNTR runners, guests and para-runners, and the third heat dedicated to the wheelchair athletes. Without a detailed performance history of all the athletes the line-ups for the first two heats were arranged as equitably as possible following discussions between the various coordinators.

Meyjou collects registration data from the para athletes

The 200m race There were two strong performances in the 200m race, from Kenya Abe and Hong Bong, with the Japanese sprinter slightly stronger and taking victory in 24.59s just ahead of the Cambodian athlete in 24.90s. In a tight battle for third place, American Will Lynch managed to hold off CNTR overall leader, Neil Bianchi, with both veteran athletes dipping under 27 seconds. Despite running very hard in the practice heat Patt Chat was able to stay ahead of compatriot Meyjou Heng and British athlete Martin Kendrik and claim fifth place in 29.42s. The remaining athletes consisting of para-runners and two guests from Northbridge International School completed the distance between 32 and 45 seconds, with a particularly stand-out performance from Sot Yin with her guide Barang Yi to record a time of 33.08s, just two seconds outside the automatic Paralympic qualifying standard.

Here are the overall 200m results

The 100m race In the 100m the top two was a similar story with Kenya Abe running out to a comfortable victory in 12.20s followed by Hong Bong in 12.77, guests Sochen, Will and Sovandara and CNTR’s Neil Bianchi were closely bunched between 13.42 and 13.57s for third to sixth places followed by sub-15s athletes Patt Chat and Meyjou Heng taking seventh and eighth.

Here are the overall 100m results

Wheelchair races
In the 200m wheelchair race, the four Cambodian athletes lined up and it was Vun Van who took first place in a strong 25.91s followed by Savoeun Heng in 26.71s. It was more closely contested between third and fourth place with Saoen Hun claiming third in 28.90s ahead of Phun Chum.

In the 100m wheelchair race Hok Hea also joined the line-up. Hok Hea took a comfortable third in 16.14s but was unable to break the dominance of the top two, Vun Van and Savoeun Heng, who took first and second in 14.70s and 15.18s respectively. Third to fifth all registered times under seventeen seconds to complete a very high standard race. This was a rather impressive race overall, and we note that today’s winning time of 14.70 is equal to the Minimum Entry Standard (MES) for this year’s 2020 Summer Paralympics due to be held in Tokyo. We are privileged to have witnessed some world class performances in our small event.

Here are the results from both the 200m and 100m wheelchair races

So we wrap it up for another successful PPAC event with a record number of participants turning out at short notice among whom seventeen Cambodians, and twelve new first-timers, including a strong representation for the para-athletes who had a rare opportunity show off their world class performances. We hope to be able to collaborate more on future events and continue to attract more runners and volunteers to come and get involved with Phnom Penh Athletics Club’s regular activities. See you all next time!

Cambodia's Next Top Runner - Event 6 - 2.73km

photos courtesy of Martin Kendrik

Another track closure forces CNTR to incorporate stadium race into competition

Runners closely bunched at the start of the race

This Sunday we prepared for event 6 in the series of CNTR 2020 races, which was due to be the 3000m race on the track. However, we discovered early in the morning that the stadium was shut in preparation for an international club football match two days hence, so we quickly had to improvise and work out an alternative race plan for the group of athletes already waiting and warming up.

Watch the full video of how the event went down here

You can see all the photos from the event on our Facebook page

After successfully measuring out the requisite starting point for a 3000m course using the stadium’s perimeter pedestrianised track we gathered the athletes and explained the situation. In fact we had two options: (1) do a 3000m race which would mean relocating athletes and equipment to a slightly awkwardly located starting point and associated logistical headaches for timing and recording the race, or (2) take a slightly more straightforward option and run exactly two laps of the outer track for a non-standard race distance of 2.73km, keeping things simple for athletes and our redoubtable crew of volunteers while also reducing the likelihood of technical issues.

The organising team and athletes were happy to go for the second option, and this also meant that, in spite of just four CNTR athletes being present, since several other participants had already posted times for the same 2 lap course two weeks prior, we could use the day’s race to complete event 6 without further delay by substituting the planned 3000m track race with the 2 lap stadium race.

Bianchi setting a new course lap record

Runners evenly matched the whole way

One lap around the stadium is just over 1.36 kilometres (giving a two lap distance of 2.73 km) and is in most part a very smooth and clean tarmac surface though there are a few obstacles, including other people exercising, a section of hard gravely concrete to the West of the stadium, two tight corners by the tennis compound, some drainage holes and the occasional construction vehicle or errant private car. Despite the start being somewhat delayed and the sun quickly rising in the sky, the weather was slightly overcast with a gentle breeze allowing for good running conditions. The athletes would complete a minimum of two qualifying laps to register a time for event 6 of the CNTR competition. Athletes would have the option to go for a third lap if they were feeling especially strong.

Athletes ready to go at the start line

The race In total, eleven athletes lined up to race 2 or 3 laps around the Olympic Stadium’s pedestrianised outer track. The fastest runner completing 2 laps was Neil Bianchi with a time of 9:16 with Meyjou Heng and Jacob Hodges slotting in just behind in 9:54 and 11:07 respectively while both continuing running to complete three laps. Overall, including all guest athletes, we had two under 10 minutes and a further five under 12 minutes. Special mention to Jeremy Prost who improved on his time from two weeks ago by 34 seconds which goes to show if you keep just running and racing regularly you will see you your times start to improve little by little. The top runner completing 3 laps was Meyjou Heng with a time of 16:59, followed by Jacob Hodges in 17:03 and guest athlete Elaine Lee in third in 18:10. With Kheang Por and Kimkheang Heng completing the line-up of five three-lap finishers in total.

Here are the CNTR competitor results, combine the 2 stadium run heats

This is what the overall standings look like now

These are the full results from all runners in today's event

The fastest single lap was also by Neil in a quick time of 4:31, followed by Jacob, Meyjou and Paul Hodges in fourth, all running sub-4:00/km pace - some really strong running all round by the CNTR competitors!

This is the current overall rankings of fastest stadium lap

Getting CNTR back on track With possible further closures of the track in the future, we were obliged to make a decision to get Event 6 done and out of the way so that we could focus on preparing the conclusion of the CNTR 2020 competition with the least additional delay. This meant that this week’s 2 lap stadium race would be combined with the results of the first stadium race on 9th February and the times of the eight CNTR participants used to determine the overall result for Event 6. Not ideal, but with time running out and athletes and organisers having many other commitments, the competition needs to be concluded as quickly as possible. See what happened in the first 2 lap stadium race here. In summary, with a single lap record and a strong time of 9:16, overall leader Neil pipped Bunthorn to first place by just four seconds. Jacob was a comfortable third overall with Martin easing to fourth place followed by Meyjou in fifth and top female competitor. In the overall standings Neil extends his lead by twenty points with the two sprint races remaining. Jacob cements third position and Martin moves just behind Loup Colombi who despite missing two events remains in fourth position. We’d like to extend a very warm welcome to newcomers Yin Ling, Sopheak, Puthpagna and Kheang - we hope you enjoyed this morning's event, and hope to see you all again soon and a final thanks to all the helpers without whom this event would not be possible and for helping us organise another fun event. See you all at the next event!

Cambodia's Next Top Runner - Event 5 - 1500m

photos courtesy of Martin Kendrik

Top 2 ease round well within their comfort zone

Guest heat participants charge off the start line

This week we were back on the track hosting the quintessential middle distance event - the 1500 m. Once again we invited guests to compete in a separate heat.

The 1500 m is one of the historic track events having been a constant fixture at the Olympics since the first modern games in 1896. Athletes need to complete three and three quarter laps of the track in the ultimate test of speed and endurance.

Watch the full video of how the event went down here

You can also watch the guest heat here

To see all the photos from the event check out our Facebook page

Race analysis In a fast start to the race, overall leader Neil Bianchi set a very quick pace completing the first ¾ lap (300 m) in 51.75 seconds just ahead of Bunthorn Chhun.

Athletes banter at the start line after the race

Paul, Neil and Jacob striding down the home straight

These two strode out at the front both completing the second lap in a slightly slower 1:14 but by the third lap Bianchi’s pace dropped significantly allowing Chhun to ease off the pace before stepping on the accelerator with a 68 s final lap to stroll to a comfortable victory in 4:31 with Bianchi in second place seventeen seconds back in 4:48.

Paul Hodges leads the way in the group cool down

Meyjou Heng interviews one of the guests after the race

A strong finish from Jacob Hodges secured third position in 5:06 ahead of Martin Kendrik setting a time of 5:19 maintaining a very consistent pace throughout the race, and a sprint finish over the final 60 metres saw Meyjou Heng claim fifth place ahead of Paul Hodges who set the only PB of the day’s competition in 5:46.

Results
Here are the final results of CNTR competitors including 200m split times

In the overall standings Bianchi remains ahead of 2nd place Chhun with 4293 points to Chhun’s 4000. After missing this event Colombi is just under a thousand points further back with 3027 with Jacob Hodges just behind in 5th place on 2915 points.

Cambodia’s top female athlete, Meyjou Heng has risen one place to 7th in the standings with 2146 points followed by Kendrik of the UK just 35 points behind in 8th position.

Here are the overall race results including all runners

A very good effort from all athletes, we look forward to seeing more regular performances.

Developing Cambodian Athletics, One Step At A Time

photos courtesy of Tom Vosters

Phnom Penh Athletics Club hosts Cambodia’s Next Top Runner 2020

Runners start the 5km road race

Cambodia’s Next Top Runner (CNTR) is a competition organised by Phnom Penh Athletics Club (PPAC) to find out who is the best runner in Cambodia, combining long distance fitness, sprint speed and power, and middle-distance speed-endurance - and most importantly who has the dedication and commitment to turn up and complete the whole series of races.

Our novel idea is to challenge all the runners over every track distance - to compare sprinters with long distance runners - in a single competition.

The top runners chase the lead bike

Full information and about the competition and PPAC can be found by:

• Subscribing to the YouTube channel and following the documentary series we’re creating: https://www.youtube.com/martinkendrik
• Liking and following the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cntr2020
• Regularly visiting our website: https://cntr2020.idevit.host/
• Emailing: ppathleticsclub@gmail.com
• Whatsapp: +855 704 75 407

Early morning 10km road race briefing in front of the Tonle Sap River

PPAC was founded by and is managed by UK entrepreneurs/sports enthusiasts Martin Kendrik and Neil Bianchi, to facilitate CNTR and other sports events.

In the first competition of its kind, the 2020 edition of CNTR started in the first week of January. The competition is divided into eight race events held on Sunday mornings at different venues around Phnom Penh. Road races are held away from the city traffic around the Sokha loop at Chruoy Changvar while track events take place at the Olympic stadium athletics track. If successful, the format could be repeated in the following years.

CNTR 2020 was open to Cambodian locals and foreigners of all ages, however, most of the competitors were invited to take part based on their previous performances.

Maximum effort in the 400m track event

Competitors race over 8 events in Phnom Penh, ranging from a 100m sprint to a 10km road race. Points will be awarded based on performance in each race, the athlete with the highest total points over all races will be declared Cambodia's Top Runner 2020.

Each event has a time-cap (based on internationally recognised standards) that must be met to score full points. Time requirements are needed to uphold a minimum standard for an elite national competition, separating it from mass participation events.

The winner of each race will be awarded 1,000 points, and the last athlete who completes the race within the time-cap will receive 200 points. All the finishers in between get their respective points. Athletes who fail to finish within the time-cap will gain 1-199 points depending on the results.

One of the major reasons for the format of the competition was to identify which top athletes also had the motivation and dedication to turn up and complete each event week in, week out. A major component of making it as an elite runner is to be dedicated to consistent training and regular competition. This is a highly important factor for potential sponsors of top athletes.

Cambodia's top female runner takes on the male dominated field

The idea for the competition originated from discussions about organising regular competitive time trials to test athletes’ progress. While simple time trials are easy to operate with one or two organisers, the more elaborate CNTR competition was not possible to organise without the assistance of the local athletes who have connections to the elite running community. To help with this we work with the top national athletes. The strategic planning of the competition is done by Martin and Neil with additional coordination from top-level athletes Meyjou Heng and Bunthorn Chhun (who both represented Cambodia in the 2019 SEA Games) to help with the Cambodian community. There are a number of other volunteers who help out at each event on the day.

The idea was to create a higher level competition for the country’s top runners. There are currently very few races and it is felt that most are not designed, or suitable, for high performance competitive athletics and focus on mass participation. In contrast to this we focus rigorously on operating with competition conditions: accurate race distance measurement, electronic timing and documentation and publication of all results.

Our goals are to raise the standard of elite level running in Cambodia, provide more races and more competitive races - especially track events - and raise the profile of the top runners. The CNTR competition and the objectives of PPAC will go a long way towards helping Cambodia achieve more success in athletics and related disciplines.

2 of Cambodia's upcoming stars battle it out

The success of this competition is very important for the development of further projects in the future and we believe this and future similar initiatives are necessary to help put Cambodia on the road to sporting success in athletics.

We believe the only way to raise the standard of athletics in Cambodia is to try to create more serious events to push more athletes to compete and to train harder. By attempting to promote competitiveness at the highest level we hope more athletes will take part and push themselves to improve.

So why should athletes take part in CNTR?

Initially, 33 people registered including 24 Cambodians with several entries from Japan, Australia, France, UK and the USA. Disappointingly, 16 dropped out before the first event with 15 still remaining after 4 events. Since starting the competition many others have turned up and want to get involved which is a promising sign for future events following the conclusion of CNTR 2020.

Cambodia's best runner giving maximum effort to dominate in the 800m

On the journey to finding Cambodia's best runners, the competition aims to provide a number of great benefits for the athletes taking part and completing all 8 events:

• Bring together Cambodia's best runners and improve the running community spirit by running alongside the other top runners in the country
• Meet like minded people and find athletes of a similar level that may improve group training options in the future
• Gain experience from regular competitive racing
• Increase motivation to train harder for a specific goal
• Athletes push themselves harder to improve their speed and endurance and take part in races you normally wouldn't have the opportunity to do
• Gain self discipline from taking running more seriously and committing to turn up each week
• Identify the race distances which athletes are most suited to and where their training should be focused to maximise their potential
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses in athletes’ speed, endurance, fitness and technique
• Gather important data about athletes’ current ability over a wide range of distances to help track their progression over the coming months and years

During this process, we hope to:

• Support professional Cambodian runners towards achievable goals in 2020 and beyond
• Encourage development of a higher quantity and standard of events for runners to participate in
• Increase access to good quality group training, community support and coaching
• Support running as an activity with multiple benefits and reach a broader spectrum of age and socio-economic groups

We also want to promote:

• Good health and well-being
• Gender equality of opportunity - We encourage as many women to take part and hope those that do can inspire others to get involved in sport
• Sustainable cities and communities, and environmentally friendly events

Racing toward the Mekong River in the morning sun

Athletics is one of the most accessible and rewarding sports and is great for building strength, fitness and coordination, staying healthy, and developing strong discipline. You don’t need any experience to try out and it requires minimal equipment.

We want more people to get involved. We hope that giving people the chance to try out competitive athletics on the track and at short road race distances will encourage more participation and interest in the future.

The only way to improve athletics at the elite level is to widen the number of participants at the base of the pyramid. More athletes must be training effectively and participating in meaningful competitions on a regular basis to push each other to the highest level, driving up the standard of those who will potentially represent Cambodia in future international events.

Athletes race past one of Cambodia's iconic temples

PPAC operation philosophy

PPAC provides all the events for free for all competitors, making it accessible for anyone, regardless of their economic status, unlike many other races which charge significant entry fees.

CNTR is a free to enter competition operated as a not-for-profit community project by PPAC whose main aim is to help develop elite level athletics in Cambodia.

PPAC and the CNTR competition currently have no budget, no funding, no sponsorship and no help from any NGOs and charities. We spend large amounts of time organising the events, aided entirely by a few dedicated volunteers.

Funding is urgently required to help continue running the events. Any funding would improve on the standard set so far, and provide prizes for competitors. Further details can be found in our sponsorship proposal. Success at this stage will increase the possibility of creating bigger, better and more competitive events in the near future and encourage more athletes to take part.

We believe what we’ve created so far with so few resources is phenomenal but with funding, we’ll be capable of taking it to the next level.

We want more like-minded people to get involved and help organise events. We are looking for timekeepers, photographers, videographers and publicity. If you think you can assist the competition by volunteering at an event in some form, or are interested in providing sponsorship, please get in touch.

We have a full sponsorship proposal document prepared for interested parties, please contact us for full information.

Everybody can play their part in raising the profile of Cambodian athletics. Together we can encourage more people to get involved and help develop the sport of running. Please share this with your friends and come and test yourself against the best.

Fantastic participation from Phnom Penh's small yet high quality running community

9th Feb 2020 - 2 Lap Olympic Stadium Race

photos courtesy of Tom Vosters

PPAC hold first dedicated race whilst CNTR takes a week off

This week the athletics track was closed for a kids’ football event – this is the first time that CNTR has been unable to use the track for its Sunday morning event, so a little improvisation was necessary.

When there is a likely possibility of unforeseen difficulties outside of your control you need to have a backup plan. Every morning and evening (and even during the day) walkers and runners use the pedestrianised road way that circles the perimeter of the main stadium building infrastructure (that includes the stadium, tennis complex and the indoor arena). This loop is tarmacked roughly 75% of the way (except opposite the stadium entrance) and is divided down the middle by a solid yellow line, with vehicular traffic required to circulate anti-clockwise on the ‘outer’ side, at a speed of under 10km/h, and pedestrians on the ‘inner’ side of the line, circulating clockwise, with the stadium infrastructure directly on their right hand side.

Watch the full video of how the event went down here

You can see all the photos from the event on our Facebook page

So this week, PPAC held a 2 lap race of the outer stadium loop. We had several CNTR participants competing as well as some guests including a few new faces joining our events for the very first time.

Two laps of the stadium measures 2.73 km which is not a regular race distance, so we aren’t using it for the competition at present, but it would serve as good practice for pacing in the 3000m track race and since it is a fixed loop could also be used in the future to compare performances and times for one lap, two laps or any number of laps – as long as the start and the finish lines are the same.

Another easy victory for Chhun

Kendrik finishing in 2nd place

The race In total, ten athletes made it to the start line, among whom seven Cambodians, and including four CNTR 2020 participants and four first-timers to a PPAC event (a warm welcome to those runners!). Ever-present CNTR participant, and top Cambodian athlete, Meyjou Heng stayed behind the scenes this week, helping coordinate athlete registration and race management with the other volunteers.

Prost involved in a sprint finish in his first race

Another sprint finish with CNTR competitor Saing

From the start of the race, the leading Cambodian male athlete, Bunthorn Chhun quickly established a big lead, completing the first lap in 4:44, already 33 seconds ahead of second placed compatriot Sovannra Long. With most of the athletes tiring on the second lap, Bunthorn was still pulling away, with a 4:36 lap, almost 9s faster than his first but still running comfortably within his capability to cross the line in 9:20, 1:18 ahead of fellow CNTR participant Martin Kendrik who also achieved a quicker second lap to claim second place after trailing in fourth at the halfway mark. Sovannra and Patt Chat were next to finish followed by young American Mason and first-timer Jeremy from France. Darareaksmey Saing was home in 14:26 to claim eighth place and final CNTR competitor for the day.

Here are the final results from the race including lap times

So all in all a successfully run race for PPAC’s first Sunday club run, albeit not quite what we imagined when we arrived first thing in the morning! We hope to be back next week with Event 5 proper - the 1500m on the track.