photos courtesy of Tom Vosters
For our second event, and longest distance of the CNTR 2020 competition, we had an early start to proceedings in order to run as free of traffic as possible, and to avoid the heat and bright early morning sun which becomes such an important factor in longer race distances. Our experience has shown there is a stark difference when starting this kind of race closer to 7 am than 6 am, so in order to give athletes a comfortable run and the best chance at achieving a PB we made sure we started early (as can you can see us giving the race briefing before sunrise).
Bianchi pushes Colombi in an unexpected close race
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| Athletes warm up as a group, ready to start the 10km |
Watch the full video of how the event went down here
To see all the photos from the event, check our facebook page
To favour fast running we have also selected a simple, level course on a wide and very smooth tarmacked surface, consisting of four loops of the single block comprising the Sokha Hotel with an additional starting partial loop stretch of just over 1.4 km giving us a fast, compact and easy to manage 10 km road race course.
After jogging the 700 m from our meeting point (and finish line) to the start line just beyond the iconic Wat Sampov Treileak pagoda, the athletes gathered at the start line patiently waiting for some early morning ferry traffic to pass before setting off.
This week twelve athletes lined up, with a field boasting six Cambodian and six international runners. Frontrunners Colombi and Bianchi set off at a quick pace and by the end of the first section and crossing the finish line for the first time, a few distinct groups had already formed. Colombi and Bianchi crossed the line together and already thirty seconds ahead of the following group of three consisting of Chan, Poun and Vosters, with the remaining competitors already dispersed and not sticking to groups. The fast pace at the front of the race continued with Colombi and Bianchi completing the second (and first full) lap in just over eight minutes, now establishing a large gap over the second group, now down to just Chan and Poun running their lap around 45 seconds slower.
With the rest of the field now widely dispersed, Colombi and Bianchi continued to forge ahead but the early pace now reduced by around 10 seconds per km. With a big gap over third position it could have been a cat and mouse game to the finish, however, by the end of lap 3 Bianchi’s pace dropped off significantly as the early pace set by Colombi had its effect taking it’s toll on the less experienced athlete. Colombi’s greater endurance allowing him to maintain a strong and consistent pace to the end, and regularly looking over his shoulder to ensure the now fatigued Bianchi could not muster any comeback, crossed the line comfortably 26 seconds ahead of his rival in 38:14. For his efforts Bianchi secured a strong PB, taking over a minute off his previous best set way back in 2008.
In third place, Chan Leanghak’s greater endurance saw him outlast rival and triathlete Poun Seanghai, maintaining a consistent pace to cross the line in 41:40 and just far enough ahead not to be pipped at the line by young US runner Vosters who put in a very strong final lap of 8:26 but remained around 100 metres back as Chan took third place. Heng produced a strong and very consistent run to come in sixth in 44:12 for a new road PB, just behind Poun who also recorded a PB with his time of 43:48.
In what was overall a very strong race with a small field of twelve, we had two comfortable sub-40 times, and three quarters of the field finishing in under 48 minutes with half of the runners securing PBs.
Here are the final results, including lap times
In the overall standings, several athletes leapfrog initial leader Chhun, who sat out this event and now sits in fifth, with Bianchi of the UK at the top of the standings on 1840, 160 points ahead of Colombi of France in second position, and Chan and Poun of Cambodia occupying third and fourth places respectively, separated by just 13 points. Of the three female athletes, Heng is building a strong lead, on 2000 points, ahead of her rivals.
With the competition’s longest race complete, participants now prepare for the next event, the 400m on the track.
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| Briefing for competitors and volunteers before the race besides the Tonle Sap River |
To see all the photos from the event, check our facebook page
To favour fast running we have also selected a simple, level course on a wide and very smooth tarmacked surface, consisting of four loops of the single block comprising the Sokha Hotel with an additional starting partial loop stretch of just over 1.4 km giving us a fast, compact and easy to manage 10 km road race course.
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| Everyone starts strong |
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| Race leader Colombi runs past iconic Cambodian Temple |
This week twelve athletes lined up, with a field boasting six Cambodian and six international runners. Frontrunners Colombi and Bianchi set off at a quick pace and by the end of the first section and crossing the finish line for the first time, a few distinct groups had already formed. Colombi and Bianchi crossed the line together and already thirty seconds ahead of the following group of three consisting of Chan, Poun and Vosters, with the remaining competitors already dispersed and not sticking to groups. The fast pace at the front of the race continued with Colombi and Bianchi completing the second (and first full) lap in just over eight minutes, now establishing a large gap over the second group, now down to just Chan and Poun running their lap around 45 seconds slower.
With the rest of the field now widely dispersed, Colombi and Bianchi continued to forge ahead but the early pace now reduced by around 10 seconds per km. With a big gap over third position it could have been a cat and mouse game to the finish, however, by the end of lap 3 Bianchi’s pace dropped off significantly as the early pace set by Colombi had its effect taking it’s toll on the less experienced athlete. Colombi’s greater endurance allowing him to maintain a strong and consistent pace to the end, and regularly looking over his shoulder to ensure the now fatigued Bianchi could not muster any comeback, crossed the line comfortably 26 seconds ahead of his rival in 38:14. For his efforts Bianchi secured a strong PB, taking over a minute off his previous best set way back in 2008.
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| Volunteers hand out water in the longer distance events |
In third place, Chan Leanghak’s greater endurance saw him outlast rival and triathlete Poun Seanghai, maintaining a consistent pace to cross the line in 41:40 and just far enough ahead not to be pipped at the line by young US runner Vosters who put in a very strong final lap of 8:26 but remained around 100 metres back as Chan took third place. Heng produced a strong and very consistent run to come in sixth in 44:12 for a new road PB, just behind Poun who also recorded a PB with his time of 43:48.
Here are the final results, including lap times
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| Chan gives 100% effort to the finish, 3rd place |
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