PHNOM PENH ATHLETICS CLUB

photos courtesy of Tom Vosters PPAC team up with NTU to manage their 5km monthly run Mass start for all runners in the 5km road race event This week we had another early 6am start for the 5km road race. We were once again away from the city’s heavy traffic in Chroy Changvar, a quiet but rapidly growing district just over the other side of the Tonle Sap river from central Phnom Penh. This week we had the chance to team up with the NTU Alumni Association who host a monthly race which has a prize fund of 80,000 Riel (around $20) for each of the top ten finishers. We grabbed the opportunity and offered to coordinate the race for everybody and have their 30+ runners join the CNTR 2020 athletes in one big joint event in what we hoped would be a great example of the power of positive collaboration. So we had one race, 49 runners and, for the first time, some prize money at stake. The CNTR athletes are starting to get used to more regular competitive running, but would they rise to t...

photos courtesy of Tom Vosters & Martin Kendrik PPAC invite guests to compete in special heat, 23 people in Cambodia race 400m! CNTR Competitors and guests cool down after 3 exciting heats In the small Cambodian running community that's dominated by long distance and ultra running, we weren’t sure we would ever see any track races but today this is exactly what was on offer and we were really impressed to see 23 people turn up and test themselves over a one lap sprint around the track. The competition boasted 13 CNTR 2020 athletes as well as 10 guest runners who came to get involved and see what all the fuss is about. It was an overcast morning in the city so the conditions were ideal for some high energy sprinting. With the 400m being the longest pure sprint event we were sure it would test the athletes’ anaerobic capacity to the limit. We had thirteen participants spread over two heats grouped by their overall CNTR 2020 standings after the first two events. The curr...

photos courtesy of Tom Vosters Bianchi pushes Colombi in an unexpected close race Athletes warm up as a group, ready to start the 10km 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). Watch the full video of how the event went down here 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 ...

photos courtesy of Tom Vosters & Martin Kendrik Chhun sets impressive 800m time in first event Athletes cool down in the sun This is the first event in the CNTR series. To be in with a chance of being crowned Cambodia's next top runner, a thletes have to compete in 8 different races over 8 different distances to prove their ability but most importantly, their dedication to training and athletics. Most of the competitors were specifically invited to take part based on their previous results in other races. Watch the full video of how the event went down here You can also watch the Khmer version of the above video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1POltZaJug&t=371s To see all the photos from the event, che ck our facebook page The first week is one of the hardest events, the 800m. It's pretty much a long sprint for 2 laps of the track. Athletes start in their lanes, run the first 100m and are then allowed to break into the first lane. For th...