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James Porteous

Follow @JamesPorteous  

The conditions were unfamiliar, but the results the same as African runners dominated the 20th anniversary edition of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday.
It was surely the wettest and coldest edition of the most popular mass participation event in Hong Kong, but the spirits of the 61,000-odd runners who turned up - 74,000 had registered but some obviously looked out the window and thought better of it - were undampened. 
The elite events were, as ever, carved up by runners from east Africa, with two Kenyans and an Ethiopian on the podium in the men's event and three Ethiopians in the women's. 

WATCH: Reaction from the marathon winners

Mike Kiprotich Mutai won the men's race, beating countryman Lawrence Cherono by a couple of strides in a sprint finish from 50 metres out. They finished on 2 hours 12 minutes 12 seconds and 2:12.14 respectively, ahead of Ethiopa's Gemeda Dadi Feyera (2:12.20).
Haylay Letebrhan Gebreslasea (2:36.51) and Lemma Ayelu Geda (2:36.53) battled to the line in the women's race, ahead of Bizuayehu Ehite Gebireyes (2:37.28).

Hong Kong's Christy Yiu Kit-ching, who will be competing in the marathon at the Rio Olympics this summer, finished sixth.
Ten runners were admitted to hospital, six men and four women, said athletics chief William Ko, but none were thought to be serious.
That brings our blog to a close, thanks for coming. 
READ MORE: Olympics bound Christy Yiu takes home bumper payday
READ MORE: Sure-footed Li Shao Zhuang retains rainy Men's Hong Kong Half Marathon title
READ MORE: Mary Joy Tabal eyes Olympic history for Philippines after sealing Women’s Half Marathon title in Hong Kong
READ MORE: UK’s Jack Martin takes Men’s 10km race in record Hong Kong time
READ MORE: Ironwoman Kate Rutherford claims women’s Hong Kong Marathon 10km crown at second ever attempt
READ MORE: Inspirational Fung Ying-ki makes it back-to-back wins in the Hong Kong Marathon 10km Wheelchair race
 


11am
Blimey, the rain has actually stopped. No use to much of the field, but perhaps those still out there as we approach the five-hour mark will appreciate a break.
Just spoken to women's winner Haylay Gebreslasea, who was delighted with her first ever marathon win. 
The Ethiopian finished fourth here last year and said that experience had helped her a lot. 
The 25-year-old hopes to use some of her winnings to help introduce youngsters to running in her hometown.

10:20am
Hong Kong's Christy Yiu Kit-ching is going home HK$56,879 richer after finishing sixth in the marathon, but was still disappointed not to break her PB, despite the weather. 
"I'm a little bit disappointed because my minimum standard was to break my PB. Today the first half was a bit too slow.
READ MORE: Olympics bound Christy Yiu takes home bumper payday
"The top foreign runners ran very conservatively, when I sped up they followed, when I slowed down they followed. No-one wanted to lead the pack. I led for around 13km
"But this was the first time I could follow the lead pack so maybe next time I'll learn from their strategy." 

10.10am
Just received confirmation that Jack Martin's 10km time of 31:45 is a new course record, nine seconds faster than Clinton Mackevicius in 2013. All the more impressive given the rain.
READ MORE: UK’s Jack Martin takes Men’s 10km race in record Hong Kong time
The 27-year-old is a marketing assistant for Ronhill and Hilly sportswear from Manchester, and runs for the famous Stockport Harriers club, reports Rachel Jacqueline.

WATCH: 10K reaction
He holds a 29:30 personal best for the 10km, set in 2014. He's currently ranked 23rd male in Britain according to RunBritainRankings.com.
 

9.50am
Impressive result for Hong Kong's Christy Yiu Kit-ching, who finished sixth overall in the women's marathon. She was a full seven minutes faster than last year, and narrowly missed out on a PB despite the downpour.
It bodes well for her hopes as she heads to Rio in the summer for the Olympic marathon
Meanwhile, the top three places were filled by Ethiopians, with Haylay Letebrhan Gebreslasea (2:36.51) and Lemma Ayelu Geda (2:36.53) fighting out a sprint finish. Third was Bizuayehu Ehite Gebireyes (2:37.28)

9.30am
The elite marathoners have finished but the rain is heavier and heavier and it's going to be a tough time for the amateurs. 
It was a Kenyan one-two in the men's, Mike Mutai Kiprotich beating Lawrence Cherono by a couple of strides in a sprint finish from 50 metres out. They finished on 2 hours 12 minutes 12 seconds and 2:12.14 respectively, ahead of Ethiopa's Gemeda Dadi Feyera (2:12.20)
Kiprotich said the humidity in the Western Tunnel was extremely tough to cope with. 

"The weather was not good but we just had to try our best. Despite the condifitions, I really enjoyed the race," he said.
"The conditions were similar to what I've trained in in Kenya, so it wasn't too much of a problem.
"First time in Hong Kong and the city is very good, I like it and want to compete next year again.
"My PB is 2:09 so I can go better but it was a good day."
He's heading back to his farm much the richer, and says the prize money will change his life – but he'll find time to bring back a present for his daughter from Hong Kong

8.45am
Hong Kong's world champion snooker player Ng On-yee has been in action today – the fifth time she's competed in the 10k.
She said her time was about eight minutes slower than previous years, but she really enjoyed running in the rain for the first time – a bit of a change from conditions normally found around the snooker table.
She has a busy few months, with her title to defend in the ladies world championship, then taking on the men in theirs, and said keeping fit is vital to help maintain her concentration while competing

10km wheelchair race
Fung Ying-ki made it back-to-back triumphs in the 10km wheelchair race Sunday and said afterwards he hoped his achievements would inspire more Hongkongers to follow his lead, reports Mathew Scott.
“For as long as I can I will keep competing and I hope this will inspire more wheelchair athletes,” said Fung, who crossed in 28 minutes and 51 seconds.  “Each year we are seeing more competitors in these kinds of races and this is encouraging for all of us, and for those who might not have tried racing before.”

8.25am
Hong Kong's Gi Ka-man, one of the top local runners, has hit out at organisers for their lack of support after he got injured in the Western Tunnel during the half marathon.
He said he was just told to jog back, without even a jacket or blanket to keep warm, and had to make it back to Central himself after pulling a muscle while running with the leader. 
He said he was so cold in Central that he had to try to force himself to jog despite the injury and felt "helpless"
He urged organisers to improve, saying that after a similar problem during a race in Tokyo, he was quickly given a down jacket – and a train ticket.

7.45am
The rain is still bucketing down, but the early winners are in.
The UK's Jack Martin took the men's 10k in 31 minutes 45 seconds, followed by two local elite Hong Kong triathletes Wong Tsz-to in 33:16 and Abraham Kok Yu-hang in 33:48. Jack, from the UK, is only in Hong Kong on a business trip and decided to squeeze in a run while here – not a bad result.

WATCH: Reaction from the 10K winners
Kate Rutherford, a 42-year-old mother of two, was an impressive winner in the women's 10k in 39.18 – remarkably, she said it was only her "second ever road race. Second and third was local elite triathlete Hilda Choi Yan-hin (39:22) and Yu Wing-hay (39:47)

WATCH: Reaction from the half-marathon winners
Half-marathon – Men
1 Li Shao Zhuang - China - 1:10.34
2 Wang Kun - China - 1:12.47
3 Ngai Kang - Hong Kong - 1:12.54
The half-marathon's men's winner was a repeat for Li Shao Zhuang, a medical student from Harbin. 
READ MORE: Sure-footed Li Shao Zhuang retains rainy Men's Hong Kong Half Marathon title
Li looked more surprised than delighted when he broke the rope for a repeat victory.
"I didn't really give myself a chance this year," laughed the 25-year-old. "I've had trouble with the instep on both of my feet and have only been able to run twice in the past month – and only 10km each time. But maybe that helped. I felt fresh starting the race – but I am exhausted now."

Half-marathon – Women
1 Mary Joy Tabel - Philippines - 1:21.41
2 You Ya Jyun - Taiwan - 1:22.46
3 Asada Shiho - Japan - 1:24.27
Women's winner was Mary Joy Tabal from Cebu in the Philippines. She finished second last year, but remarkably had to queue in the rain for hours to guarantee her entry this year. She hopes to make it into the Philippines' Olympic team.
READ MORE: Mary Joy Tabal eyes Olympic history for Philippines after sealing Women’s Half Marathon title in Hong Kong
The 26-year-old surged through the field soon after the start and by about 2km was out on her own, a position she held right to the wire.
"I started behind the elite runners but knew in these wet conditions I had to get to them quickly," said Tabal. "Once I did, I just thought to myself 'run as fast as you can'."
 

7am
Welcome to our coverage of the 20th anniversary edition of the Hong Kong Marathon, which is underway in the cold and rain. 
There were fears it might have to be called off if the T3 or red rainstorm flag was up overnight, but it's just miserable rather than dangerous, so off the 74,000 runners – spread across 10k, half and full marathon – went.
We'll update regularly with all the latest results from a soggy finish line at Victoria Park - if our laptop doesn't short out.


Hong Kong Marathon: Former Kenyan runner Eunice Chumba aims for victory representing Bahrain

Ronaldo and Rooney? Hong Kong marathon organiser hopes to use star power to boost annual races

Cold feet: 13,000 Hong Kong Marathon entrants fail to show up, but wet and windy weather can’t dampen spirits for the rest

In pics: Hong Kong Marathon runners get up, dress up, pound the pavement – and propose marriage on the finishing line 

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2016

Hong Kong Marathon: 61,000 runners, 10 hospitalised, one wedding proposal and Africans victorious in wet and rainy event

Competitors in TST. Photo: Dickson Lee

Dawn patrol in Island East. Photo: Felix Wong

Women's winner Haylay Gebreslasea of Ethiopa. Photo: Nora Tam

A costumed competitor protests against shark fins. Photo: Dickson Lee

Men's winner Mike Kiprotich of Kenya. Photo: Nora Tam

Men's 10k winner Martin Jack

Women's half-marathon winner Mary Joy Tabal from the Philippines. 

Snooker star Ng On-yee

Men's 10K record breaker Jack Martin

Bridge over troubled water. Photo: Felix Wong

Dark and wet. Photo: Felix Wong

Peace man. Photo: Dickson Lee

Mopping the finish line. Photo: Nora Tam

Wheelchair winner Fung Ying-ki. Photo: Nora Tam

Umbrella revolution. Photo: SCMP

Men's half-marathon winner Li Shao Zhuang. Photo: Nora Tam

Women's half-marathon winner Mary Joy Tabal. Photo: Nora Tam

Inspirational Fung Ying-ki makes it back-to-back wins in the Hong Kong Marathon 10km Wheelchair race

No Caption Available.

Fung Ying-ki crosses the line to take the 10km Wheelchair race in 28 minutes and 51 seconds. Photo: Nora Tam

Mary Joy Tabal eyes Olympic history for Philippines after sealing Women’s Half Marathon title in Hong Kong

Philippines’ Mary Joy Tabal went one better at this year’s Hong Kong Marathon to seal the Women’s Half Marathon Challenge. Photos: Nora Tam

Sure-footed Li Shaozhuang retains rainy Men's Hong Kong Half Marathon title 

Li Shaozhuang wins the half marathon in 1:19.34. Photo: Nora Tam

Flying visit: UK’s Jack Martin takes Men’s 10km race in record Hong Kong time

UK's Jack Martin cross the finish line first in the Men's 10km event to set a new course record. Photos: Nora Tam

One runner is thrilled to cross the finish line.

The rainy conditions couldn't dampen competitors' spirits.

Sport

Hong Kong

Kenyan Kiprotich takes men's prize, Ethiopian Gebreslasea the women's


The conditions were unfamiliar, but the results the same as African runners dominated the 20th anniversary edition of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday.
