Hong Kong Marathon: organisers relieved as record performances overshadow casualty list
- Cooler conditions allow athletes to set new benchmarks and claim bonuses, but 10,000 runners still fail to show up for showpiece
Organisers breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday after a record breaking day and improved casualty figures at the annual Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.
For the first time in the event’s history, there were course records in both the men’s and women’s marathon,while the casualty list was reduced from previous years.
Since 2015, three runners have died in four years, but only one runner was in serious condition on Sunday after suffering a decreased level of consciousness. Organisers refused to give more details.
Of the 64,700 participants, 15 runners – eight men and seven women – were taken to the nearby Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai for treatment.
As of 7.30pm on Sunday, five more runners were taken to hospital for treatment in the afternoon, taking the total number to 29. But 20 of them have already been discharged, with nine remaining in hospital. Seven are in stable condition and two in serious condition
In 2018, 32 runners were taken to the hospital, a figure slightly higher than the 27 hospital cases in the previous year.
Organisers were thankful the weather turned cooler and humidity levels were not as high as the predicted level of over 90 per cent.
“The weather today is similar to the forecast with a temperature between 18-21 degrees Celsius and 88 per cent humidity,” said William Ko Wai-lam, chairman of the organising committee. “But because of the wind and patches of rain, we have had a cooler day than yesterday and the event went smoothly.”
Lobo Louie Hung-tak, associate sport and physical education professor at Baptist University, said the rain had stopped many casual runners from pushing themselves to the limit.
“The weather conditions would not bother the elite runners as they know how to cope with it,” said Louie. “But for many casual runners, they would not dare to run all-out in the rain which may be dangerous. They may suffer from bruises or scratches if they fall on the slippery surface.”
Lou, however, said the organisers and sponsors should launch more educational programmes to teach the public how to prepare for a major long distance running event.
“We did a survey four years ago and most of the marathon participants did not have sufficient training before the event. This is dangerous,” Louie said.
Meanwhile, organisers said they would review the cut-off time for different groups after participants in the half marathon challenge group complained about a last-minute change from three hours to two hours, 20 minutes.
About 500 runners were allowed to change to a slower group after the complaint but still about 30 who remained in the challenge group did not make the second cut-off time in Marsh Road in Wan Chai. They were allowed to proceed after organisers considered these slow runners would not affect the leading pack of the marathon challenge group.
In a speech to kick off one of the events at the marathon, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po joked about his coming budget with fellow runners.
“Please feel free to give me your thoughts on the budget during the run,” he said. “But please note that in nodding my head, it does not mean I agree to adopt your suggestions. I may have simply run out of breath and can only nod my head as a polite response that I’ve heard you.”
Almost 10,000 runners failed to show up for the showpiece event – the 12.6 per cent no-show rate being similar to previous years.
Chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor sounded the start of the marathon in Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, with other races being the half marathon, 10km, a wheelchair race, youth dashes and a family run.
Both athletes cleared away from their rivals and claimed a US$10,000 bonus for breaking targets set by the organisers.
The 2020 Hong Kong Marathon will take place on February 9, 10 days after the Lunar New Year.
