Stardand Charter Hong Kong Marathon 2007

The event was to start at 0705 a .m. I found that it had been drizzling all night long and the street was still wet when I was walking to the nearby bus station at 04: 30 a .m..


Luckily the rain had stopped. I got on N269 departing from Tin Shui Wai to Mei Foo MTR Station. I wore sport shirt & sport shoes because I knew that it was difficult to find a place to change my clothing at the scene. I felt that some passengers cast weird eyesight on me.


The bus reached Mei Foo at 0545 a .m. I saw lots of passengers waiting inside the station. They were recognized to be participants of HK Marathon by their sportswear.


When I left the station at Tsim Sha Tsui, I was flabbergasted by the spectacle spreading ahead. Thousands of runners carpeted most part of Nathan Road in the early morning and the neighboring streets were stuffed with runners who were performing warm-up exercise.


When the race was due to start, runners tried to occupy the best position in order to achieve better time of their own.I regretted that I did not move forward to get to a good position.


When the race started, it was difficult for me to run smoothly in the midst of runners. I meandered my way through the crowd. The charter marathon was something like a carnival to me.


Parents run with their kids and juveniles took photos while they were running. Some of them even used their cell phone describing the scene to their friends or playing with each other during the race.


During the first ten minutes, I could not run on my own speed. I knew that I might not finish the event within one hour.


Eighteen minutes later, I reached the entrance of the Western Harbour Tunnel. Seas of runners funneled into the tunnel so I had to run cautiously to get my way.


Running through the tunnel was a hard time for me because it was sticky and the temperature exceeded 25 degree inside. All I want was to leave the tunnel as soon as practicable at that moment.


I began to increase my speed. I knew that it was unwise for me to do so but I had no choice. Consequently, I was physically drained after leaving the tunnel.


There was a left upturn flyover leading my way to Central and Admiralty at the exit of the tunnel. I felt hot and exhausted. I struggled to move forward. I really wanted to give up, however, when I looked at my watch, I still had chance to finish the event in one hour so I kept on running.


There were lots of runners hanging around me during the event and numerous onlookers clapped their hands and shouted to encourage runners on the way.


Having passed through the downtown of Central, Admiralty, I saw the finish point, I summoned up all my strength and run through it.


My official time is one hour & 2 minutes. It falls short of my expectation. I think I can finish 10 km within one hour. I may try again next year.

Mizuno Half Marathon Championships 2007 at Plover Cove Reservoir ( 7-1-2007)

Re: Mizuno Half Marathon Championships 2007 at Plover Cove Reservoir ( 7-1-2007)


 I participated in the above race on 7-1-2007.I woke up at 4:15 a.m. Having performed some warm-up exercise, I left home at 5:10 a.m. It was chilly that morning. When I reached Tai Po Railway Station at 6:10 a.m. it was still dark, I could only see the dim outline of everything at that moment.


 I went to the starting Point (Plover Cove Reservoir) with 2 friends by bus. We reached the destination at 6:45 a.m. The outside temperature was around 10 degree celcius. I had never run for such a long distance, i.e. 21 km. so I prepared for the race right after I submitted my application 2 months ago. I practised running in the nearby football field to get in my best shape.


The race started at 8:00 a.m. that morning. Lying before me was a mountain slope which was an ordeal to me simply because I only practised running on the flat and soft running track. Having run for about an hour, I felt a little bit sore on my left knee. I feared that I might not finish the event. Luckily, the painful feeling only emerged when I run down slope. So I reduced speed to run down each slope in order not to make the situation worse.


During the race, I was overtaken by other runners but I insisted on running in my own speed. The scenery was beautiful along the reservoir. I was not familiar with the race course and just run blindly forward.


 It was a relief when I caught the sight of a signage indicating that I had covered 17 km. I looked at my watch, I had run for more than one and half hour. It gave me some encouragement and I summoned up the rest of my strength to move forward.


Minutes later, I was running along the main dam. I assumed that running to and fro along the dam would end the race. I began to adjust my speed and overtook some runners, however, I found that my justification was wrong soon after I reached the end of the dam.


There came a path leading up a slope and I had to run for a longer distance. It was a rough time to me because I could hardly move my exhausted limbs as they did not listern to me.


I staggered to and fro to cover the last 2 km. I nearly crumbled to the ground when I passed through the finish point. I completed the race in 2 hours and 15 minutes according to my own record. I have tried my best for the race.


2 hours 15minutes and 48 seconds was my official times as released by the HKAAA one day after the race.