Running & Biking For Cambodia's Poor

The second Annual Kep Trio (Half Marathon, 10km Run & 10km Bike Ride) will be held over the weekend of Saturday February 28th and Sunday March 1st. The Kep Trio is a unique fundraising event, created by running enthusiast and former Bridges Across Borders South East Asia (International NGO) volunteer Nikki Wise. The event will raise much needed funds for the nearby vocational training centre in Chamka Bei village. This area was one of the last Khmer Rouge strongholds, not surrendering to the government until 1994, as such it was often neglected and the villagers marginalized. The centre is training and empowering the disadvantaged villagers in a number of skills. The First A! nnual Kep Trio Event, Jan 08, was an amazing success with over 80 participants generating $54,000 in cash donations and delivering 50 new locally sourced bicycles to the community.
The Kep Trio 2009 kicks off on Feb 28 with the 10km bike ride, followed by a gala dinner at the delightful Knai Bang Chatt Sailing Club. The running portion of the event continues bright and early the following day. The route begins in Kep, a beautiful seaside resort, and passes through wonderful rural Cambodian scenery and finishes at the Chamka Bei vocational training centre, where runners will be greeted by the villagers and see first hand how the money they have raised will be used. The fun-filled two day event concludes with a village celebration including an awards ceremony and entertainment by local dance groups.

"This is an excellent event for both serious runners and fun-seekers alike. It brings them to perhaps the most beautiful part of Cambodia, with gorgeous scenery and fresh sea air" said Chouleang Yin the Operations Director of Asia Adventures, a tour company that can assist participants with travel arrangements. "In addition participants are really helping the poor villagers help themselves, they have had a really tough recent history yet are really keen to learn new skills that will help lift them out of poverty".