Cam Daily

The 6th Sihanoukville-Angkor Premium brew International 0.5 Marathon can hit the road on Sunday, March 5, on a route offering a lot of ocean breeze over longer stretches of bounds following the removal of many barriers on beach fronts within the wake of the ocean pageant at the top of last year.

A refreshing change for the half-marathoners is the lowering of barriers on the Independence Beach section of the road that was interference the ocean read, enabling the runners to soak up the scenic beauty and luxuriate in the breeze.

Similar measures have also been taken on several different locations linear unit route.

While the organisers area unit hoping for an even bigger turnout this year, the participation numbers are seemingly to stay identical because the previous edition that saw near one hundred fifty overseas runners change of integrity one,200 locals and expats for the 21km charity run and different attractions like the men’s and women’s 10km and 3km fun run all ages and athletic talents.

“Removing the blockade of the sea read on several beach fronts throughout the ocean pageant has created an improved surroundings for the runners. I strongly feel that once the word spreads regarding this new expertise we are able to expect a lot of overseas and native runners,” secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee Vath Chamroeun told The Post yesterday.

While Sihanoukville as a holidaymaker hotspot continues to attract guests in nice numbers, the patronage for the half marathon has been pegged at the same levels for the past few years, unlike the Phnom Penh and Siem Reap versions, which have frequently shown inflated participation from overseas runners.

One of the explanations on why foreigners had been some what defer is that the non-availability of direct international flights to the Sihanoukville, which inevitably means that further prices and additional travel.

The current domestic scheduling of flights has not been convenient either.

“The government is treating this as a priority and working with the non-public sector to determine this property. The upgrading of the existing airport can begin next year,’’ Chamroeun said.

The runners in the 21km half marathon can have a 6am begin at Ochheuteal Beach, with the day’s other events set to roll in over short intervals thenceforth.