Hong Kong Marathon
| Hong Kong Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Date | March |
| Location | Hong Kong |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Marathon, Half-Marathon and 10 km |
| Primary sponsor | Standard Chartered Bank |
| Established | 1997 |
| Official site | www.hkmarathon.com |
The Hong Kong Marathon, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, is an annual marathon race held in February or March in Hong Kong. In addition to the full marathon, a 10 km run and a half marathon are also held.
Contents |
[edit] History
The race started in 1997 with 1,000 runners; today over 40,000 take part each year.
[edit] 1997
In 1997 Standard Chartered decided to sponsor the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Marathon, held by the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association, which had been previously suspended for three years due to lack of funds. The route was between Sheung Shui and Shenzhen.[1]
[edit] 1998
The Marathon started at Tsing Ma Bridge and ended at the newly-finished Hong Kong International Airport on Chek Lap Kok, with 6,000 participants.[1]
[edit] 1999
The race was moved to urban areas for the first time, starting in Central, ending at Sham Shui Po Sports Ground, with 7,000 participants.[1]
[edit] 2000
The route started from Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, and ended at the Sham Shui Po Sports Ground. The half-marathon was added, alongside with the already-existing full marathon and 10 km race.[1]
[edit] 2001
In 2001 the number of participants exceeded 10,000. The race track started from Nathan Road, then out to West Kowloon, onto West Kowloon Highway, followed by Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Tsing Ma Bridge, Ting Kau Bridge, then going all the way back into Western Harbour Crossing, ending at Golden Bauhina Plaza in Wan Chai North.[1]
[edit] 2002
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[edit] 2003
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[edit] 2004
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[edit] 2005
In 2005 Standard Chartered started sponsoring the newly-created Greatest Race on Earth. Hong Kong was included in the four constituent races.
[edit] 2006
In 2006 the Marathon was held on 12 February, with a prize fund of US$100,000. The entry fee was US$37 for foreign runners who paid on time. Almost 40,000 joined the Marathon. Two fainted during the race, with their lives severed. One of them died at about 3am on 14 February. The champion was from Kenya with a time of 2:14:18.
[edit] 2007
In 2007, the Hong Kong Marathon took place on Sunday, 4 March. The organizer, learning from experience of the previous year, arranged first-aid services. A record-breaking number of 6249 participants, or 16.7% of the total participants experienced injury. Hot weather sent 35 participants to hospital, including one young runner who died.[2]
[edit] 2008
In 2008 the Marathon was held on 17 February, participated by some 42,000 runners, of which over 30,000 joined the 10 km event. (Originally 49,000 had signed up but 7,000 of them did not turn up.)[3]
[edit] 10km
The 10 km race took place at Island Eastern Corridor instead of Western Harbour Crossing like previous years. The race track started from City Garden in North Point, and ran eastwards until Shau Kei Wan, where it made a U-turn, back along westbound IEC and ended at Victoria Park, near the western terminus of the IEC. Due to the proximity of Island Eastern Corridor from residential blocks such as those at City Garden, and also the early starting time of the races (05:10 to 06:40), residents complained about noises as loud as 60dB. The organizer, however, stated that it hopes to use IEC again for the 2009 Marathon, since it successfully alleviated the problem of large numbers of runners rushing into Western Harbour Crossing, which made breathing difficult within the tunnel. The new route was welcomed by the participants, saying that it was better than the old one.[3][4][5]
[edit] Full and half marathon
The full and half marathon's race tracks remained generally the same, starting from Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, then going out to West Kowloon using Austin Road, followed by West Kowloon Highway and Tsing Kwai Highway, where half-marathoners turn back. Full-marathoners continue through Cheung Ching Tunnel, then do a return trip each on Tsing Ma Bridge and Ting Kau Bridge. Competitors then ran back all the way to West Kowloon, joining half-marathoners again at Kwai Chung, and into Western Harbour Crossing. The finishing point, however, was changed to Victoria Park instead of the Golden Bauhina Plaza in Wan Chai North. This arrangement was welcomed by elite athletes, citing that it would improve their performance. Japanese runner Koichioro Fukuoka won the full marathon in 2:16:50, ending Kenya's four year domination of the event.[3][4][6]
[edit] 2009
The race for 2009 took place on 8 February, with the courses for all events remaining the same as the previous year. About 55,000 people enrolled, among which 51,272 runners turned up (of which 31,000 were of the 10 km event, 7000 in full marathon), breaking previous records. The prize pool was US$100,000, with the winner getting US$20,000. Kenyan runner Cyprian Kiogora Mwobi won the full marathon in 2:14:57, setting a new course record. The women's title was won by Winnie Frida Kwamboka Nyansikera, also Kenyan, in 2:41:25.[7][8]
The finishing rate this year was 98%. The injury count was 394, of which 16 were sent to the hospital (including a case due to a temperature), down from 31 in 2008. 5000 runners requested massage due to cramps. Blind students participated in the 10 km race with escort by their teachers. The relative humidity that day was high at 60%-85%, making the race less comfortable. The inclination on the course was also a subject of complaint.[9][10]
Two runners were found using identical number bibs with the number "4", and this spurred discussion. The number belonged to the Hong Kong delegate, Lau Kwong-man. Several days later, his coach, Ng Fai-yeung, admitted that he took one bib (Lau got two bibs for being an invited runner, one in front and one on rear) from Lau, wore it and accompanied Leung Yuen-fan, another teammate, in the race. The event committee delivered its verdict on 12 February with reference to the scandal, disqualifying Lau and Leung from the race. The HKAAA is considering holding a disciplinary hearing on the matter.[11][12]
[edit] 2011
At the 2011 edition, held on 20 February, Nelson Kirwa Rotich won the men's elite race in a time of 2:16.00 hours. However, it was the women's elite race that proved to be the high point of that year's events: young Kenyan runner Janet Rono failed to gain a position within the invited foreign athletes and she chose to fund her own journey and participation for the event. The move paid off as she won the race in a new women's course record time of 2:33:42, erasing Irina Bogachova's ten-year-old mark.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Exhibition on marathon in Victoria Park, February 2008, by the organizer of the Marathon
- ^ "迫爆馬拉松 青年中暑危殆 6249人不適". 明報. 2007-03-04. http://hk.news.yahoo.com/070304/12/22ybm.html.
- ^ a b c "馬拉松噪音超標居民投訴". Ming Pao. 2008-02-18.
- ^ a b "New Route for 2008 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon". ASIATravelTips.com. http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news07/3010-HongKongMarathon.shtml.
- ^ "四萬人跑馬拉松破紀錄". Sing Tao Daily. 2008-02-18.
- ^ "渣馬新賽道跑手畀滿分 跑入鬧市長直路助創佳績". Ming Pao. 2007-02-28.
- ^ Chui, Timothy (2009-02-09). "Pain and glory as 51,272 hit the streets". The Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=77936&sid=22616450&con_type=3. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ "渣打馬拉松人數創新高" (in Chinese). Hong Kong Daily News. 2009-01-31. http://www.hkdailynews.com.hk/news.php?id=24428. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ "跑馬拉松受傷增倍半" (in Chinese). Oriental Daily News. 2009-02-09. http://news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/4/1/1/1030169/1.html. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ "香 港 馬 拉 松 5000 多 人 抽 筋 16 人 送 院" (in Chinese). RTHK. 2009-02-08. http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/expressnews/20090208/news_20090208_55_558204.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ "馬拉松造假 兩選手成績取消" (in Chinese). worldjournal.com. 2009-02-13. http://www.worldjournal.com/wj-hk-news.php?nt_seq_id=1846268. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ "兩個4號馬拉松爆造假" (in Chinese). Oriental Daily News. 2009-02-12. http://news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/2/1/1/1033521/1.html. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ Butcher, Pat (2011-02-20). Rono surprises in Hong Kong. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-20.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hong Kong Marathon |
- Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon
- Hong Kong's Marathon Guide - information on this and other running competitions in Hong Kong
- Findamarathon.com - Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon
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