A Walk to Remember

It was one of those bucket list items.  Complete the 10k that runs through the ancient Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Since I live and teach in Phnom Penh, this is one thing I wanted to do while living here.  Completing a 10k is a feat in and of itself, but running through one of the ancient wonders of southeast Asia at sunrise... can you get anymore monumental than that?

We registered, but the date of the race fell on the most inconvenient weekend.  I would have to miss our yearly Christmas party for work.  I also fell sick a few days before the race.  Nevertheless, we loaded in the van and traveled eight hours north of Phnom Penh to the small and beautiful town of Siem Reap.

We registered the night before and checked out the route.

They even had emergency tuk tuks stationed around the course!  I was very impressed with the organization of the event.  We even had little chips zip-tied to our sneakers to record our times. (electronic chips, not potato chips!)

We woke up at 4:30 the next morning and made our way to the starting line.

And we're off!

I only ran a short distance before I stopped to take my first picture. The sun is popping up behind some Angkor Wat ruins.

Not too pleased with the pace I'm making, I'm sure.  His stern face makes me starting jogging again... after a few pictures of course.

But how could one not stop and take in the view?  (and take a breather)

We don't just get to see Angkor Wat in the background, we get to run through some of the ancient ruins!

There were little highlights throughout the run to add some interest and encouragement.  Here's a Khmer band and a dancer.

There were monkeys on the sidelines.

Am I discouraged that this young fellow is in front of me in the race, or am I proud as heck for him that he's doing it?  Proud as heck of course.

When I saw this in front of me I kicked my walk up to a jog again.

Proceeds from the event go to local charities, especially victims of landmines. 

They have photographers along the way and you can buy them for a pretty price.  I checked out my race photos online.  It would almost be worth it just for a laugh.  I looked like death warmed over.  Like someone threw a bucket of water over me, like I'm being stabbed in the back while carrying an invisible bag of cement on my back, but I'm still in motion somehow.  Yes, it was that glamorous.

Well, it was a great run,  I mean jog/walk.  I finished in one hou.... 

Ah ah ahchhoooooo! 

Ahem. 

Pardon me. 

What you ask? What was my finishing time?  Yes, you heard correctly.  

I finished.

And it was definitely a walk to remember.