Phnom Penh (FN), July 12 - The 4th Annual Siem Reap Full Marathon will be held on August 6. Currently, about 3,500 local and international runners have registered for the event; the majority of which are Chinese athletes.

Of the 1500 foreigners who signed up, more than 600 come from China. The remaining participants represent 51 other countries.
“Due to the large marketing campaign we ran in China, more Chinese people have been attracted to participate in the Full Marathon,” stated Vath Chamroeun, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC).

“This is the Ministry of Tourism's strategy, to attract 20 million Chinese tourists by 2020," he added.

The overall number of participants has increased by nearly 10,000 in the last three years, when compared to the International Half Marathon, which has been organized for more than 20 years.

The three main goals of the Full Marathon are to attract more tourists to Siem Reap; to connect with humanitarian activities; and to encourage young people to take part in maintaining a clean environment.
=FRESH NEWS