My first race of the year was the HKSCM, made more memorable
because it was the 20th anniversary of this very popular race.
Melvin and I agreed that we would run the whole course together, since neither
of us was aiming for good timings. It was a wet and rainy race weekend in
Hongkong, with prolonged heavy showers throughout the days.
The rain continued with gusto to race day. We stepped out of
our hotel in the morning and promptly decided to head back for a long-sleeved
shirt and poncho/ rain shell. I was glad we did that, for the rain lasted
throughout the 42km and was very heavy at some points. In fact, we saw some
runners turning around as we were walking to the start point. Subsequently, the
papers reported that some 70,000-odd runners had signed up for the various
distances, but only 61,000 made it to the start. I guess the rain deterred many
from undertaking the miserable task.
It was a splashy run all the way, with congestions along
certain sections. As we had started at the back of the pack, it took us almost
10km to break away from the crowds and settle into a more comfortable pace. The
only sections where we were able to run ‘properly’ were in the tunnels, which
offered a welcome respite from the rain. However, at around the 28-29km point,
the full-marathoners merged with the half-marathoners and things became tricky.
There were so many runners on the roads and we literally slammed into people
who were walking or trotting along. I reckoned that we spent more effort
weaving ourselves in and out of the crowd than actually running. It became more
congested towards the last 2-3km as the route narrowed to go up the famous
41-km-slope before funnelling back to the city roads of Hongkong Island.
All in, we managed to cross the finishing line together at
3:57h.
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