Cambodia holds 1st intl half marathon at famous Bokor Mountain in coastal province

Xinhua | 2013-10-27 

By Agencies

More pictures of Bokor here.

The first International Half Marathon kicked off on Sunday at the breathtaking Bokor Mountain top resort in southern Kampot province, aiming to promote sports and environment protection, a sports official said.

About 550 runners including 100 foreigners took part in the event, Vath Chamroeun, secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), said.

The 1,075-meter Bokor Mountain is located in Kampot coastal province in the distance of some 148 kilometers from capital Phnom Penh.

"We choose the mountain for the half-marathon event because it is the kingdom's unique eco-tourism site, so holding sports event at the site will not only encourage sports affection, but also promote natural protection,"he told Xinhua over telephone.

There was a 21-km hill run, along with 10-km and 5-km races and a 3-km fun run.

According to the results released by the NOCC, the men's 21-km race was won by Cambodia's renowned Hem Bunting in a time of one hour, 22 minutes and 34 seconds. Cambodian Kaing Thoeun finished at second in 1:25:05 and French Defon Yan came at third in 1:29:56.

The women's 21-km run was awarded to British Jill Hamill, who finished in 1:37:52. Cambodian Ly Nary took the second place in 1: 43:09 and British Cer Davies was third in 1:57:37.

Vath Chamroeun said the half marathon at the Bokor Mountain would become the fourth annual half marathon event in the country following the illustrious examples of annual Siem Reap-Angkor, Phnom Penh City and Sihanoukville events.

Some of the proceeds from the event would be donated to the Cambodian Red Cross and the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital, he said.