Mekong Event Raises $21,000 for Children
Participants in the third 250km run along the Mekong river arrived at the NGO Ptea Clara, in Kien Svay. Photo: 250km a long the Mekong
- By Lepetitjournal Cambodge
- January 2, 2023 6:15 PM
PHNOM PENH – Participants in the third 250km run along the Mekong river arrived at the NGO Ptea Clara, in Kien Svay, completing the challenge and raising about $21,000 for underprivileged children.
Eighteen of them set off from Kratie on Tuesday morning. They arrived on Friday around noon and were welcomed by the children who formed a guard of honour. Along the way they were joined by dozens of runners.
Participants could run, cycle, do a bike-run combo, commit to the whole 250km or just a part of it as it was not a race, but rather a personal challenge for everyone to raise funds for the NGO.
Three of them went the distance: Hiroshi Ake, Claire Thevenet and Kim Kok.
Hiroshi is Japanese. He is a well known ultra trailer in the Cambodian long distance running scene. This is the second time he has taken part in the event but knee pain forced him to stop last year.
Claire, who is French, had never before covered 70km in one go. And now she has covered 250km over four days, with stages of up to 77 km.
She said that when she arrived at the stage in the evening, she was convinced that she wouldn't be able to continue the next day but after a good massage and a night's rest, she was ready keep going next morning.
Kim Kok is Cambodian and it was the second time he had done the run. He is also the leader of the KK Running Club, which promotes running in Cambodia and has 400 members.
Ptea Clara takes care of 160 underprivileged children south of Phnom Penh. Proceeds from the run exceeded expectations and will help improve the centre and the reception of the children.
