Competitive running in Laos

On a bit of a lark, Dung signed up for the Laos half-marathon after we saw a poster for it at a local cafe. At 0600 on Saturday morning hundreds of Laotians and a bunch of foreigners lined up, some for the half marathon but most for a 10K and 5K run. Literally hundreds of kids came out for it. Dung hadn't brought any running gear but made do with her sweats and a regular T-shirt, then went out and ran the whole thing. She even ran extra after taking an accidental detour early in the race and added on an extra couple miles to the race. And in the end she literally finished in the money, taking ninth place for the women and earning a cash prize of 100,000 kip! About nine dollars and about the same as the entry fee. She wouldn't let me open the envelope, we're going to frame the envelope with her win inside, her first competitive victory!