The race started in 2013 when Michael Gilmore visited Luang Prabang not long after running the Angkor Wat Half Marathon, and thought a race in Luang Prabang would be great fun. Michael believed that races in places like Luang Prabang should support local causes as much as possible.
Since 2016, Lao Friends Hospital for Children has taken ownership of the race as an annual fundraising event. All money raised will support the hospital’s mission to provide free-of-charge healthcare to children in Laos – over 30,000 patients per year.
Learn more about the cause here.

The goal was to keep the race on the peninsula, to run along the riverside, and to pass as many of the iconic UNESCO-protected buildings and temples as possible. The longest loop we managed to stretch that to was 7km, which is a handy 1/6th of a marathon, making three circuits a half marathon.

Adding a 10k seemed superfluous and would add unnecessary complications to the route. We encourage anyone who wants to do 10k to step up to 14k as an additional challenge. We haven’t offered a full marathon for a number of reasons: it would increase the amount of time we would need to shut roads for, it could be rather repetitive to go around 6 loops, and a full marathon opens up health concerns that a half marathon doesn’t.

Great question. You can register quickly and easily online and pay with your credit card HERE. The registration fees for various distances are on the site.

Both cash and in-kind sponsorship packages are available. Please contact [email protected].

Please come spectate! In fact, even better, we have a special request – can you put them to work? Get them to support your fundraiser, put them in touch with us and get them to volunteer as marshals, route control, drink station attendants, cheerleaders with pom-poms, etc. It’ll be more fun for them that way, and we’ll appreciate the help.

Lao runners can register online or offline (Luang Prabang & Vientiane).
Lao runner prices are only for Lao nationals. All registered runners will be asked to show ID during race kit pick up.

There will be chip timing and the runners will be split up into age categories. Awards will be given for the overall male and female winner (top 3) in each distance. 

The race is in October because it is the end of the rainy season but not yet the peak season for tourists. Early morning is the coolest time of day, thus the race will start at 5:00am so everything can be done by 9:00am and runners can enjoy the rest of the day. It’s also early enough for runners to catch a glimpse of the sacred morning alms traditional ceremony during their first lap. This means that the town should be reasonably quiet, and securing flights and hotels should hopefully not be too difficult. We encourage you to stick around and enjoy this lovely little town!

There are direct international flights from Hanoi, Siem Reap, Bangkok, and a couple cities in China. Vietnam Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Thai Airways, and Lao Airlines all have international flights to Luang Prabang. Another option is to fly into Vientiane, the capital (which has direct flights from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur) and connect for a domestic flight. A new option is the high speed train from Vientiane to Luang Prabang.