Shanghai Running, We Run Shanghai
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I passed the turn-around point and also the 2nd
water stop and was already now beyond 5km
with the boring part of course now over. I was
approaching the gate and pool area and was
happy to see storms of children lining the course.
They were all reaching out to the racers for High
Fives. I saw some runners taking the time to
specifically go smack as many hands as possible
„whopping it up‟ it was quite adrenaline pumping seeing all these kinds screaming encouragement with huge smiles and waves. I was infected by this moment and also gave my fair
share slapping high fives taking my mind off the
run and putting a grin on my sweating face (the
temperature was now in low 20s but sun was
blocked by trees so still quite nice).
I passed a barefoot runner who then over-took
me. A few KM later I saw him take a face plant
15meters in front of me (I‟ve fallen in a few races
so know that feeling well – quite embarrassing) /
he got up quickly and seemed fine / but he never
passed me again ;<)
I came through the ancient door my pace a little
slower now around the 5:15 mark and knew I
was not going to break my best ½ time this year
of 1:42 so decided to just take it easy. I rounded
the corner at the Elephant Terrace and amazingly started passing a few giant elephants carrying 4- 5 tourists each coming the other way. As I
approached the South Gate exit I could see an
Elephant coming through at the same time I was
going to pass. How cool it was to have to slow
down and squeeze through the gate at the exact
time an elephant was coming through. I then
was passed by a runner who had a Hash House
Harriers (the international drinking club with a
running problem – where I actually first met the
founders of SH running) t-shirt from Vietnam / I
shouted ON ON and he turned and said “can‟t
wait for a beer at the finish”.
I was now nearing the 19km mark and felt quite
good and really started to pick up my pace – I
could still see the back of the Hasher a 150 meters or so in front of me and set my sights to beat
him (I take a little pride in being an above average hash runner). The crowd was thickening
with 1km to go and I was gaining but still a bit
off so moved up to another gear. As I passed the
Hasher and tried to shout “Beer Near” which was
but barely audible as I was sprinting the last 100
meters through the finish and clicked my GPS
watch (1:48 – bit slow for me but was a sensational fun run). I picked up my race medal, had a
quick drink of water then a pee and headed to
about 400 meters from finish to get some pics of
my Singaporean friends‟ finish.
As I was waiting they started to announce the
winners – we had on the mens side a Japanese,
Aussie and American as 1,2,3 and on the women‟s
side it was a Singaporean, Philippino, and Brit (I
guess not enough prize money to attract the
Kenyans) all sharing the podium – the full race
results are included with this link http://
www.angkormarathon.org/angkor-marathonrace-result.php
Copyright Shanghai Running 2013.
What an end to a fantastic weekend and this
Cambodian Khumer Kingdom running experience was like kumbaya to a catholic boy‟s ears. I
highly recommend this race/weekend to anyone
who has wanted to visit Camdodia/Angkor Wat.
What a superb weekend and a magnificent
country and people.
Postscript
The only unfortunate part which I learned later
was that the race organizers ran out of medals. I
did a quick survey of my friends and between
2:15-2:30 ½ marathon times they ran out – so
believe this would represent hundreds of people
finishing without receiving a medal. I know this
was many runners 1st ½ marathon and they
would cherish a race medal. I also know how
difficult it is to organize a major run in a developing country (being very close to my friends
who organize the Kenyan Ultra). The runs proceeds are for charity to help local children and
those disabled and hurt through land mines. I
think the organizers should reach out to see how
many runners truly want medals and see if there
is a low cost option (not to take away from the
charity) in providing them. I personally would
try and assist with the logistics to help keep the
costs down to the organizers (so organizers if
you’re reading this please contact me for assistance).
I want everyone to go away with a positive feeling on this race, city, etc and would hate to have
lack of medals as a small issue on what should
be a dream weekend.
www.shanghai-running.com
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