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Fool's Gold Bill Purves
With a mere 39 years left until the demise of the “two systems”, isn’t it time for Hong Kong to abandon its futile pursuit of Olympic medals? The Hong Kong taxpayer is being compelled to spend $120million a year in pursuit of an objective which, beyond senseless, is actually harming the youth on whom the money is spent. Our elite sports system has been disrupted by the conversion of the Sports Institute for the 2008 Olympics. Let’s take this opportunity to dismantle this misguided effort and take a more productive approach to promoting the health of the community.
The government’s support for sports and recreation in general is wide-ranging but, in the manner so typical of Hong Kong, most of it is devoted to building and operating sports grounds and indoor games centres. Support for so-called “elite” sports, however, is channelled through a body called the Sports Commission under the Home Affairs Bureau. Its mandate is to raise the standard and the profile of Hong Kong sport internationally. It does this through financial support for about 200 elite athletes supported on “scholarships” at the Sports Institute in Shatin (now, temporarily, Ma On Shan), which involves providing coaching, funds for international training and competition, and in some cases accommodation. This entire elite sports effort is unjustified, mistaken and, indeed, harmful.
The avowed intent of the elite sports program is to enable full-time training for a few exceptional athletes who will attempt to win medals for Hong Kong in international competition, ideally in the Olympic Games. This is certainly an ambitious undertaking, as Olympians are, by definition, the extreme outliers in the world’s population -- far fewer than one-in-a-million, statistically. Olympic medallists number more like one in a hundred million. And how many of these hundred million does Hong Kong have? Well, 0.06 of them. Statistically, Hong Kong should expect to produce one athlete of Olympic medal calibre every 16 Olympiads. There are 9 Olympiads left before 2047. So producing an Olympic medallist is certainly an ambitious goal, but it’s also fair to ask, what if it succeeds? Is there really a public payoff to the taxpayers who funded the effort? The Jockey Club has for decades justified various forms of indirect public support by applying some of its profits to charitable giving in the community. Elite sports have no such possibility. Glory alone is the reward. But glory for whom?
Behind the avowed pursuit of Olympic medals, the government may perhaps have other motivations. When the Sports Development Board, the predecessor to today’s Sports Authority, was created in the 1980s, one unstated objective was to counter triad and Communist Party influence in the sports field. The entire topic provides a good example of self-censorship in the Hong Kong press, but a corner of the problem came to light at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 when Australia reneged at the last minute on its solemn undertaking to admit all members of the “Olympic family” for the Games. One of only two persons whom it refused to admit was Carl Ching Men Ky from Hong Kong, the President of the Asian Basketball Federation. (The other was an Uzbek boxing kingpin.) Mr. Ching is now retired from his official positions in basketball, while the Communist Party, though still underground, is no longer the pariah it was in the 1980s. It’s in control, and its control will be explicit after 2047. Funding an elite sports bureaucracy to marginalize the communists no longer makes sense. The only rationale that remains is the hoary government tradition that a bureaucracy, once created, can never be dissolved, even if its purpose has disappeared.
If this redundant creature were harmless, the hapless taxpayer could perhaps shake his head and mutter ruefully, but the Sports Authority is not a harmless dinosaur, it’s in fact a destructive carnivore. Sports Authority funding is distorting, perhaps ruining, the lives of young people. The theory is that if a potential Carl Lewis or Marion Jones emerges from Hong Kong’s amateur sports programs, the Sports Institute will be there to provide the coaching they need to achieve their potential. But the Sports Institute can’t maintain an athletics coach for one athlete; it needs a “critical mass”. So instead of the one talented youngster, the SI recruits an athletics training squad of 6 or 10 or 20 hopeless hopefuls, all but one of whom is in fact being encouraged to devote years to developing a level of “sports excellence” for which they are unqualified. The “gestation period” before they injure themselves irreparably, become discouraged or recognize the truth, spans their late teens and early 20s, when they should have been developing skills for which they were better qualified and which would serve them better in later life.
Even the truly talented are to some extent cheating themselves in the Sports Institute system. Wong Kam Po, for example, clearly has some talents as a cyclist. If he had access to the same pharmacological support that David Millar enjoyed, and that his Kazakh rivals are probably enjoying today, who knows what he might accomplish. He might even make a lucrative career as a pro cyclist on the European circuit. But this career path is forestalled by the SI system. Mr. Wong is, in effect, devoting his life to winning minor placings.
For in the end, any success the government’s funding does promote will be private success. Mr. Wong can exploit his notoriety to earn his living as a product spokesman. Former swimmer Alex Fong seems to be doing well in show business. But what is the payoff for Hong Kong? Has Lee Lai San’s gold medal made any real contribution to promoting health and fitness among Hong Kong’s McDulls? If so, it was certainly an inefficient way to go about it. Of course, the gold medal fanned a temporary flare up of “national” pride, but is that really our objective? So far it has relied on importing third and fourth string mainland table tennis players while, in other sports, excluding anyone without a Chinese complexion. With 2047 looming, sub-national pride would seem dysfunctional from a government point of view. Our elite sports system is pursuing inappropriate goals, doing it ineffectively and causing a lot of collateral damage along the way.
Fortunately, we now, ten years after the handover, have an excellent opportunity to fix the problem. The Olympians for 2008 in Beijing have already been more or less identified. The Sports Institute has been closed for the equestrian competition. Now is the time to call a halt to this folly and disband our elite sports effort: no more “scholarships”, no more cash awards for medals, no more “national” coaches. Let Hong Kong’s youth compete among themselves on an equal footing, without elites, and let’s abandon the poisonous delusion of medals in international competition. Over the next 40 years, as one or two teenagers emerge with the potential to be the next Lee Lai Shan, send them to the Beijing Sports Institute or, if their English is up to it, on sports scholarships to American universities. If they succeed, Hong Kong people will of course rejoice vicariously (and unjustifiably) at their success, but whether they succeed or not, they and the rest of Hong Kong will have the satisfaction of knowing that they did it without recourse to Hong Kong tax dollars.
Bill Purves is slowly building a reputation as a failed author to match his 50-year record as an unsuccessful runner. He has an impressive string of minor placings in major races and, more recently, has created a matching oeuvre of major books on minor topics. He lives in Hong Kong with his wife who, despite all, continues to take him seriously. Why is not entirely clear.
Selective Selections Bill Purves
The HKAAA sent delegations to 23 overseas meets in 2007, of which only 6 were road races. They made a total of 237 selections, but these were shared out among only 74 individuals. Sprinters Wan Kin Yee and Yip Siu Keung topped the list with 10 and 9 selections respectively. Sixteen people took 40 of the 237 places. All were sprinters except for one high jumper, one long jumper and two 800m runners. In all, 164 of the selections were for events of 800m or less, 52 for field events, and only 21 for distances over 800m, including the road race selections.
So which group is better? Since each race has a different size field, estimating that requires normalizing the data.
One approach is to divide the athlete’s place by the total number in the field. This gives each performance a normalized score that varies from 0 to 1.0 with, as in cross country, a lower rank representing a better performance. So in a field of 16, the winner would get a score of 0.0625 (that’s 1 divided by 16), the 8th place would be scored 0.5 and the last guy would get a 1.0. The average normalized rank for the 21 distance performances was 0.575. The sprinters averaged 0.585 and the field eventers averaged 0.736. The difference between the average distance placing and the average sprint placing probably wasn’t significant, but there are certainly no grounds for believing, as the HKAAA seems to do, that sprinters fare better than distance runners in international competition. This is especially true if we recall that the HKAAA tends to select second string distance runners because some of the best are not Chinese and/or are not HKAAA members.
On the other hand (there is always another hand with the HKAAA), the association’s interest diverges somewhat from that of the athletes in that their short-term goal as an organization is to get their nose back into the Sports Authority’s funding trough. When athletics was dropped from the Sports Institute’s group of “focus sports”, the HKAAA lost a million or more in annual funding. Getting back to focus status depends on a mix of several factors, but the most important by far is to win a few medals at major international competitions. This motivates the HKAAA to pick a few potential winners and send them to as many races as possible in hopes that they’ll get lucky. Their current golden haired boy is sprinter Tang Yik Chun, a very undeserving winner of their Athlete of the Year award for 2007. This is what really drives selections, not fairness or our average competitive level in one type of event or another. Until we have new management in the HKAAA, expect selective selections to continue.
Saga Half Marathon Report Matthew Jones
"Appropriately enough, the race took place in Saga City, southern Japan. The day itself was beautiful with blue skies and low humidity. The course was pancake flat the entire route whilst also highly scenic and the organisation was up to normal Japanese high standards. The entry numbers were impressive - some 4000 in the half marathon - and the leading pack not far off international standards.
I personally felt great and was off to a flyer in the first half, going through 10km in 33m45 and still feeling fresh and strong. Then disaster struck. Between kilometers 10 and 11 a huge swarm of bees had gathered across the road and the leading group was literally attacked. I was stung seventeen times (at least that was the number of stings poor Anna had to pick out afterwards) and such was the speed of toxins into the system that I was sick within about 30 seconds. Of course I had come to a grinding halt at this point with some of my fellow runners deciding that enough was enough and choosing to drop out. It took some time to get going again but having prepared so well and flown in specially I was not about to drop out. I managed to claw my way home in 20th in 1hr 14mins 18seconds which was my quickest time for a while and not too bad considering. I was a little frustrated given that I had been all set to break the PB. Luckily for the latter runners the leading pack seemed to have drawn most of the attack. My brother, who ran a sterling 1hr 32mins, was only stung twice, and such was the level of adrenaline that he did not even notice until he had finished. I think his blisters hurt him more than the stings. The winning men's time was 67mins 21s and the women's was 1hr 23mins and something. The normal women's winning time is about 1hr 15 but the stings slowed them down a little this time".
Douma Defying The Odds Peter Hopper
John Douma has not been content to dominate the M70 class this season.Instead, this lively 71 year old once again proved that age is irrelevant byentering the much younger M50 category in this year's AVOHK Reservoir Series and doing enough to clench the top spot in the age group in Sunday's final race and for the series overall.
This has clearly been a great season for the old timer, following his move from running to triathlon competitions during last summer. Now it'sall special meals and salads helping this finely tuned athlete reachpeaks of performance he long thought had passed him by. "Of course mybody is a temple" commented John after the race and explained "I have asecret for my success but I can't tell you exactly what it is, otherwise I would have to kill you". Well, whatever the reason, John has had a great season.
One of John's running colleagues commented "It's amazing, John came into the season like a coiled spring and dominated the early races whichensured this great result. He didn't seem quite so smooth on this challenging and demanding coursetoday. But hey, he did what was needed. We are all very worried he might take heart from this and enteran even younger age group next year like the M45 group!".
UNICEF half marathon December 2nd 2007 UNICEF half marathon December 2nd 2007
Keith Noyes had a clever idea earlier in the year to promote this race to as many decent runners as possible. To up the ante he invited all the AAA ranked 10k and half marathon runners to participate in either the UNICEF 10k or the half marathon.
Luckily for me most of the fast women chose the 10k or went to Macau so there was none of the usual ‘I am just here for a training run’ charade at the start. I wanted a PB but hadn’t done enough speed work so I knew it was ‘hammer hard and hold on’ if I was to get anything. I did the first kilometre with Yuen Fan Ada Leong but I could feel she wasn’t fighting for it so I ran on alone.
Around the first bend we saw Mickey and Minnie Mouse all dressed up and leaping about on the kerb which was delightful. The course did a loop of Inspiration Lake which was flat and picturesque then we headed out on to the highway towards Tsing Chau Tai. Following this was a decent coastal stretch which, although windy, beat jogging through the builders’ dust past the Wynn casino in Macau or through TST in the dark at 6am for the Standard Chartered.
At Ta Pang Po I was still the leading woman but both Phil Booth and Tony Flynn overtook me and there was nothing I could do about it. Coming over the last hill though at about 14km a Chinese guy decided he didn’t want a woman ahead of him and insisted on staying two steps ahead of me. Manna from heaven. I remembered my mate Andy Thompson’s mantra ‘go hard or go home’ and dug in behind him whilst he took all the wind. Thank you very much monsieur!
One last lap of the lake then 1.5km home along the waterfront. I caught up with Tony and Phil again. Tony intuitively shifted sideways to let me past but I yelled ‘Don’t! Take the wind.’ He knew exactly what I wanted and ran me home in 1.29.53. A PB by 2 seconds. Thank you very much monsieur!
Ros Barker ran a superb race overhauling Ada and clinching second place in 1.30.39. That time is about 8 minutes better than her half PB which shows how much you can improve if you train properly.
Andy Naylor went out mean, coming in second overall but admitted Chan Ka Ho ran a superlative race. The good thing about Andy is he’s magnanimous in defeat. There’s a time and a place for excuses and it is not the finish line. Thank you very much monsieur!
Race verdict: Macau versus Disney?
Macau 0: Disney 1
Japan Trailwalker 2007 Japan Trailwalker 2007
The fork of lightening hitting the ridge 50 yards above us and the simultaneous clap of thunder are a trifle sobering, particularly as we have to climb to and descend the ridge to finish the race. We (a team from Hong Kong consisting of Peter Clarke, Olly Stratton, Karen Wei and St.John Flaherty) are on the last stage of Japan trailwalker 2007, which was held on 18th to 20th May, 2007. Peter (an occasional mountaineer in his spare time) advises us to get rid of our aluminium poles. He says lightening is attracted to metal. The rest of us comply, but note that he does not throw away his rolex.
This is the first year that a trailwalker has been run in Japan. The format is the same as in Hong Kong – a 100 kilometre race for teams of four. All members of a team do the whole race and must all finish the race for the team to be placed. The very beautiful course is from Odawara (a town on the southern coast of Honshu about an hour’s drive south west from Tokyo) through the foothills of Mount Fuji to Yamanakako, a town on the shore of a lake just next to Fuji. There is a net elevation gain of just under 1,000 metres. Gross elevation is similar to that of Hong Kong trailwalker but is not concentrated in the middle stages. Hills are in general less steep than those on Hong Kong trailwalker, though there is one particularly steep and tricky scramble to the top of Mount Kintoki and the last two stages contain some irritatingly steep climbs. Most of the course is on trails rather than concrete. A lot of it is through forests, which means that you get rather adept at dodging tree roots. The temperature is cool by comparison with Hong Kong, and quite cold in the fog on the mountain tops at night. The organization, particularly of check point services, is excellent. The enthusiastic welcomes given by Japanese volunteers at checkpoints is something which we will remember for a long time. Marking is, with minor exceptions, excellent. Green (the local prefectures insisted that other colours would be environmentally unsuitable) ribbons are tied to trees and other objects at frequent intervals. Bits of the ribbons are reflective at night.
169 teams started, compared with 1,000 in Hong Kong. 141 teams finished in whole or in part. Approximately 40 teams came up from Hong Kong. Cosmo Boys of Hong Kong won in 15 hours and 14 minutes. Clive Saffrey’s team comes third. An indication of the generally low standards is that we came 11th overall in 23 hours and 7 minutes and second in the mixed category. With a combined age of 200, we also came second in the combined age category, being pipped by a team with a combined age of 203 who took almost twice as long as we did. The thunderstorm in which we finished denied us the spectacular views of Fuji which later finishers enjoyed.
The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariners Vet Champions 2007 Well we might look like a bit of a motley crew, but let me tell you, under those haggard exteriors were some Real Athletes 20 years ago. This year’s team was a combination of experience, a brave last minute replacement and a couple of us who are more used to the tarmac. 
The experience was provided by Peter ‘Duracel’ Tanner. Making his annual visit to planet Earth, Peter was a part of some famous record breaking mixed teams from not too many years ago. Talent to burn.
Peter Wong gallantly stepped into the breach on minimal training and a promise that we would keep to 18 hour pace (honest!). Peter would win an Olympic medal in modesty if they gave such things out. He had featured in Ancient Mariner record breaking teams in the past. He replaced our spiritual leader, Richard Wallace, who had had an unfortunate accident playing, very enthusiastically, with little boys in the nets at HKCC. Enough said about that.
Chris and I were new to the team and to fast Maclehose teams. More at home pounding out miles on the road, we both like the hills, but go down them like a pair of fairies.
Our support team captain was Chris Howarth, a master of logistics, his genius only slightly tarnished by his predilection for pervy photography and silly hats.  . 
Before our last minute team change we had been billed as the team that was going to challenge the record set by the Mariners the previous year with predictions of a sub-16 hour time. This was all Richard’s doing. Post change and aiming for 18 hours, the pressure was off and we could just go out and enjoy it.
That self-delusion lasted about half a second into the run, which started very enthusiastically. It was a lovely day, adrenalin was coursing through the old veins, we were surrounded by hordes of like-minded loonies and the first two stages seemed to come and go unnoticed. Except, that is, for Bill Purves who had set up his pizza parlour above Sai Wan beach and was hollering encouragement, and doling out slices of pizza to bemused runners.
We arrived at Pak Tam Au 30 minutes ahead of record schedule with the nagging concern that we may have over-cooked it. Over the next two stages to Gilwell our worst fears seemed to be realized. Peter T went into shut down mode. Remarkably, although he was suffering, couldn’t speak and had to be bullied into eating, he kept up a steady, metronome-like pace. He is used to dealing with periodic lows during his epic 24hour efforts and miraculously by Gilwell he was back with us and we were still on schedule. His recovery was accelerated in part by the bags of ice generously donated by Colin Whittington who was out on course.
Our support team had decided on more radical kill or cure tactics to speed up the recovery process. Taking their inspiration from the very decorative Fortis girls, they had decided what we needed was the distraction of “a bit of skirt”.
Imagine you’re stumbling along in an exhausted stupor and suddenly Bob Whitehead jumps from behind a bush wearing an electric blue nylon wig and pink mini skirt (over his lycra shorts) looking for all the world like a deranged, overgrown pixie: the cover of a Tom Sharpe novel come to life. More was to follow with the aid station crew. Jonathan was sporting a particularly fetching pair of Dame Edna specs. The tactics seemed to work.
After Gilwell we were in cruise control and all the way through to Route Twisk we kept adding extra minutes to the buffer. Chris and Peter W were all quiet efficiency and determination. Peter T had by now fully recovered and on his home territory where he does most of his training. I realized I was in the presence of advanced eccentricity when he turned to me at one stage and told me, whimsically, “I know every rock and every tree, you know…..I talk to them all the time on my training runs”!! Obviously the men in the white coats can’t run fast enough.
We were now going so well that our support team arrived at Lead Mine Pass eleven minutes after we had gone through. Stuart Rodney performed heroics carrying a rucsac full of assorted drinks and chasing after us, eventually catching up on the switch-backs on Tai Mo Shan. At the same time Dame Edna and Captain Fantastic had raced up from Route Twisk with emergency supplies. That stage was altogether surreal. It’s always very eerie. This year there was no moon, the boulder field on the way up to Tai Mo Shan was shrouded in ghostly cloud being blown through by a brisk northeasterly monsoon, Peter T’s glasses were steaming up and he stumbled and tripped his way through the rocks. Four points of light where making steady progress through a sea of darkness. Then, from afar, the plaintive, mournful wailing of badly played bagpipes. As we got closer a solitary figure was standing atop the last group of big boulders doing murder to some auld Scottish favourites. Braveheart meets the Hounds of the Baskerville.
The last two stages were all hard work and application. We had lost track of time and didn’t have a pair of reading glasses between us so couldn’t make out the watch dial. We knew though, that if we could just keep it going we were on for a good time. Stuart and Antony ran us in, carried extra drinks and encouraged us the whole way. Chris was giving us another demonstration of how good an athlete he is. He had breezed through on only one five hour training run. Peter W was doggedly determined. Peter T was now brimming enthusiasm, his “On-In” war cry shattering the silence when we still had 12 clicks to go.
The last stretch along the catchwater seemed to go on forever, but euphoria was setting in and eventually the lights came into view. Jonathan was waiting for us at the bottom of the steps still wearing his Dame Edna’s, wig and feather duster and along with Antony and Stuart, herded us to the finish.
A wonderful experience, amazing team mates, a superb support team and great camaraderie between teams all along the route.
A very special thank you to Richard, Chris, Jonathan, Anthony, Stuart, Bob, Martin and Bill. It may sound a little clichéd, but I can say with absolute certainty, that we would not have done it without them. Their enthusiasm was infectious and they kept us fed, watered and amused throughout.
A special thank you also to all our sponsors. At the time of writing this, we have raised approx HK$80,000.
Finally, a special mention for Peter Wong who had stepped in at the last moment against his better judgment, had been bullied and cajoled through check points, deprived of food at least once, but remained stoical and good natured throughout and came through strongly for a fine finish.
” It’s my sandwich!!!!!”
Fukuoka Marathon I just learnt from the "AVOHK newsletter" that I should be a "basketball enthusiast" ... mmm ... better I stick here to write about running, since my last experience with a ball in my hands was back in High-School.
I start from the end and from the many questions that I got about how I can keep the same even pace also in the final 10km. My unqualified suggestion is that you must train specifically with the marathon in mind and simulate race conditions as much as possible, so I always make long runs at "strong" steady pace with several miles at marathon pace or faster.
The idea of running Fukuoka come from the nice report done by Martin last year and by the encouragement given by everybody after my good marathon in Boston. I tried to survive the Summer Hot running around 40/50km weekly (even if very very slowly) and started a proper training plan at the beginning of September. For the occasion I tried train slightly more than last time, with an actual average of 90km during the 13 weeks training phase. It has been quite a daunting mental challenge to get up at 5.30am every weekday and head out for training in the harsh situation of Dongguan, but it all went quite smoothly and my fitness progressed as expected.
Unfortunately my beloved NewBalance RC600 seems no more available in Hong Kong, so I had to pick-up new shoes only 2 weeks from Marathon Day and I did a terrible "beginner's mistake", wearing a new pair of light shoes for a long tempo run. My right piriformis muscle did not like it too much and strained miserably ... I limbed back at home and the pain stayed with me all the way to the marathon. I did race under the effect of "overdoses" of Voltaren/Ibuprufen and probably did affect a little my confidence, but overall the pain has been more manageable than expected.
About the race itself: the marathon is splendidly organized and it is a pure "competitive" event. Cut-off gates are placed every 5km at 19'30"/pace and you can forget about all parafernalia of merchandising that goes together any big Marathon.
I was amazed by the level of crowd support: 42k lined up with cheering spectators, all shouting "Gambare" (Do your best) ... a new japanese word in my vocabulary.
My race went quite smoothly: I started conservatively, keeping an eye to my HR and I was towed until the 20k in a good pack. The section from 20k to 30k was more difficult because our pack went into pieces and I did not want to push too much before the 32k mark. I probably lost some seconds but I still felt quite fresh reaching the final 10k (that by way is also a turning point in the course). I just put all I had into the last 10k, with the HR climbing to 180+. The right leg was starting to be quite painful but organically and mentally I was fresh enough to focus on keeping a shorter stride and avoid too much charge on the piriformis. The last 550m on the track were a good "tour of honor" to enjoy this reward for so many early wake-up, but the right leg was completely gone and I did just "shuffle" to the finish line.
Overall, a very good experience. Japanese are "crazy" about marathon running and they really respect the runners: after the race, many spectators were bowing to me in sing of tribute for the effort, something that I felt very embarrassing being a good 32 minutes slower than the winner.
In numbers: ranked 158th out of the 312 who finished in the 2h45' cut-off, time 2h38'26", a good 4 minutes improvement on my PB. Means that middle-age runners still have chance to improve themselves....
Sowers Action 42K race  Patrick S. Ford - 15th October 2006
As an enthusiastic trail runner and school teacher I was naturally attracted to the ‘Sowers Action Challenging 12 hours’ marathon along the Wilson Trail. Sowers Action is a non-religious, non-political and non-profit-making charity organization established in Hong Kong in 1992. Their mission is to ‘to help students of poor families to pursue and complete education, to finance the building of safe and proper school premises and to facilitate the enhancement of teaching quality’. So far the group has financed the construction of 590 school buildings and subsidized more than 210,000 school places in China.
I had known about the Wilson Trail for many years but so far I had only seen the short stretch on Hong Kong Island, the first 2 sections, from Stanley Gap Road to Taikoo Shing and I had run many times up, down and around The Twins and Mt. Violet in races and for pleasure, so it was an opportunity for me to become acquainted with the subsequent sections over in Kowloon.
Originally the Wilson Trail continued from Lam Tin MTR Station but since the Tseung Kwan O line began operation the official start has been at Yau Tong Station.
The race began at the Sam Ka Tsuen playground and led immediately uphill to the official start of the trail which then followed an undulating route northwards over Devil’s Peak, Black Hill, through an assortment of villages and crossed a couple of main roads. This area can be quite confusing to the newcomer as the trail winds its way through the narrow lanes of villages, allotments and back-yards. Checkpoint 1 was found at Tseng Lan Shue. Care must be taken as several trail signposts have been defaced or painted over and in some places packs of dogs can be encountered defending their territory from marauding marathon runners.
Once the villages were left behind the trail began to climb through the trees, up Tung Yeung Shan until the road at Jat’s Link had been reached.
The road dropped quickly down to the cafe at Shatin Pass, through checkpoint 2 and then bore right before dropping further to the water catchment below Lion Rock Country Park. This 6K section of catchment was a little monotonous and uncomfortable due to the rough, uneven cobbles which had been laid along there for long stretches. On a previous familiarization trip I had noted the presence of monkeys here but even so I was little surprised when I turned a corner and found the road all but blocked by at least 50 monkeys of all shapes and sizes following a lady with a bag of food. I tried to pick my way through them without separating young from adults but despite my best efforts at diplomacy a large male rushed at me, flashing his teeth. My pace picked up a little at this point. The footbridge across Tai Po Road arrived quickly after this brush with nature and it was nice to be greeted by my wife and children at checkpoint 3 with all my fleshy parts still intact.
The next section lead through and over Kam Shan Country Park and Smugglers’ Ridge before reaching the main dam of the Shing Mun Reservoir and Checkpoint 4 after which there is a very comfortable trail leading along the Eastern bank of the reservoir before intersecting with the service road that signaled a climb up to Lead Mine Pass and checkpoint 5. I was grateful for the rain just before the top but my mood changed, with Tai Po visible in the distance, as the downpour turned the descending trail and steps into something resembling a river course. I had to avoid not only the slippery boulders and potholes, but also the sharp points of the many umbrellas brandished by the groups of hikers almost brought to a standstill by the rain.
Once back onto a road surface it was a clear run in through Yuen Tun Ha, Sheung Wun Yiu and under the Tolo Highway to where Marshals guided us around the final few streets to the Buddhist Hui Yuan College and the finish line.
I was pleased with my time and position and had a very enjoyable run along what for me was a new route. There was a good atmosphere within the college grounds with plenty of drinks and snacks and good banter with my family who had caught the bus from checkpoint 3 and the other runners, including a friend who had just completed the 10K alternative option from Sheung Dip Yuen not far from the Shing Mun Reservoir Pineapple Dam mini-bus station.
Heanor 5 miler August 2007 The Heanor 5
England is a fine place to be in during the summer. Even if temperatures have reached a level deemed to be ‘unbearably hot’ or, my own personal favourite, ‘too hot to eat’ the climate shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for hardened Honkies. There are plenty of races to choose from and odd distances seem popular at this time of year. I wanted to get out to Tywyn in Wales and have a go at the famous ‘Race The Train’ event but time did not allow for it. Instead, I plumped for a 5 miler in Heanor, Derbyshire – just a few miles down the road from the home of DH Lawrence. The appeal here was two fold: it wasn’t far from the ‘outlaws’ house in nearby Chesterfield and I’d never tackled 5 miles before.
I rolled up with my entourage an hour before the start and coughed when asked to produce ten pounds (neigh on $160 HK) to enter the race. My spirits were dampened a little when, on a brief recce of the course, queries about the direction of the race brought an “I don’t know” from a bystander. This wouldn’t have been a cause for concern had she not been wearing a bright yellow jacket with the words ‘RACE MARSHAL’ emblazoned across it. Oooh, where are the likes of Smithy, Boothy and the Leonards when you need them. Still, it was a cool summers evening in a pretty rural setting with the promise of a bar at the end of the race, so I wasn’t too bothered.
Like many HK courses, the race started on a hill. I was quick out of the blocks and found myself in 3rd position after a few hundred metres. Any illusions of grandeur were shattered once the first small loop had been completed and I had slipped back into 5th. Thereafter, it was a case of hanging in for the two large loops that followed along footpaths and country lanes, which featured a short hill and a long hill that had to be repeated. I had enough about me to move into 4th place when the guy in front of me committed the fatal error of looking back over his shoulder, but didn’t have enough steam to slip into a medal position and was grateful to finish 4th out of 229 in a time of 28.06. The young winner crucified the lot of us by rolling home in under 25.32, a hugely impressive time on a tough course. The guy who came 2nd was a 42 year old who had completed a half marathon in 1.07 earlier this year. You can't kid yourself, even when competing in fairly minor races in the UK.
The evening was rounded off nicely by the appearance of a live band outside the pavilion. I enjoyed a couple of pints of real ale but made a dash for it when the ‘Chunder Challenge’ was announced. Downing four shots of four different spirits and sprinting four laps of the cricket pitch wasn’t for me.
St John Flaherty in Chile  ATACAMA CROSSING, JULY 2006
St.John Flaherty
I have just completed my 50th freezing river crossing. It is only day 1 of the Atacama Crossing, a seven day, self supported 250 kilometre stage race which took place in the Atacama desert in northern Chile this July. By self supported I mean that we have to carry our own food, clothing, bedding and basic medical kit. Water and tents are provided. We were not supposed to do 50 river crossings on the first day, but the race markers sent us down the centre of a steep and narrow valley instead of on a track on the side of the valley. The start of the race was at 13,000 feet at the head of the valley. By the end of the day we were down to about 10,000 feet. We had started late. I was lucky enough get to camp before nightfall, but many competitors did not. By this stage, it being mid-winter in Chile, the temperatures were below freezing. Those of us in camp had the benefit of a campfire and subsequently our sleeping bags. Many competitors were still struggling down the valley through the river crossings in the dark, some with incipient hypothermia after having fallen into the water several times. It was midnight before everyone was in camp. Things looked up after that, sort of, though there was even colder water to wade through (for half a kilometre) on the first part of the next day’s stage. Apparently you know you are getting hypothermia when your legs feel as though you are being hit with twigs and there aren’t any twigs. That was how my legs felt as I was wading through the water that morning. The race format is six stages, four of around 40 kilometres on the first four days, one of 80 kilometres on the fifth day and a short 10 kilometre stage (after a day’s rest) on the seventh day. Much of the terrain is salt flats, which vary from hard crust, through crumbly crust to soft mush, all of them very difficult to make progress on. I don’t ever want to see another salt flat. When we weren’t on salt flats, we were usually going up or down hill, occasionally on massive sand dunes, probably better described as sand hills. The scenery was fantastic, with a line of volcanoes (one of them active, another a perfect Fuji like cone only 6,000 feet higher) down one side of the course and shimmering salt lakes. On the long day, the course should have been marked with glosticks after nightfall. A good stretch of it wasn’t. Fortunately, I was on a track at the time rather than the open desert and the track was relatively easy to follow. I was glad though that I saw the notice warning of a minefield after rather than before I had gone past the minefield. We finished in the main square of San Pedro de Atacama, a great little oasis town on the gap year backpackers trail. There was beer and pizza – sheer bliss after a week on dehydrated food and electrolyte soaked water. Of 139 individual starters, 94 finished. The first (an agreeable Canadian) and 94th had cumulative times of 32 and 72 hours respectively. I staggered in 48th with a cumulative time of 50 hours. This was my third desert race. I think I have grown out of them, especially as the next one on offer is in the Antarctic.
2006 Niigata Marathon
Keith Noyes and Aya Tanaka report on the 2006 event
I'll state my bias upfront: I'm a trail runner by nature and don't generally go seeking out marathons. It wasn't always like this. I ran several marathons in my younger days, but the soul-destroying 1997 HK to Shenzhen Marathon sucked the last of the marathon spirit out of me and I vowed never to run a road marathon again. Then I married a marathon-obsessed Japanese runner and it soon became clear that I was going to have to run marathons if I wanted to spend quality time with my wife.
The Japanese view toward marathons is completely different to that of Hong Kong. I was in Japan last year during the Tokyo Ladies Marathon and was shocked to see half the people on the subway watching the race live on TV on their 3G mobile phones. Above ground, the streets were packed with spectators, clutching race programs and cheering on the runners by name. My only claim to marathoning fame is that the house I grew up in is only a few minutes from the halfway point of the Boston Marathon course and Boston is the grand daddy of marathons. This gained me great face among my wife's running friends until they learned that I'd never actually run the Boston Marathon. I tried to explain that I had only taken up running after moving to Asia (we had easy access to fun sports such as skiing back in Boston) and that I'd stopped marathoning after the aforementioned HK-Shenzhen coal dust marathon, but somehow my explanation was lost in translation.
A couple of sakes later, we were all making plans to run Boston in 2007. The problem is that Boston has strict qualifying times and still attracts over 25,000 people each year to run the full marathon. I would need to run under 3:20 to qualify while Aya would have to run under 3:45 (those who know us, realize that it would have been fairer the other way around.) My 3:18 from HK-Shenzhen in 1997 was no longer valid so I would have to run a qualifying marathon just to apply for Boston.
We looked around for qualifying marathons with our basic criteria being clean air, cool weather and fast course. This eliminated almost every marathon in SE Asia from our consideration. A search of Japanese marathons brought the Niigata Marathon to our attention. Niigata is located on the Japan Sea. This would be the 24th running of the Niigata Marathon and a friend of Aya's who ran the marathon last year and won it, reported that it was well organized and flat, but prone to wind. An invitation to a wedding in Japan on 9 October made the choice easy for us so we enrolled in the 8 October Niigata Marathon. A scary, typhoon-affected landing in Tokyo on the preceding Friday foretold some of what was in store for us. We were briefly lulled by sunny skies in Tokyo on Saturday morning, but a 2-hour bullet train ride to Niigata put us in the middle of a raging gale. At least I wouldn't have to worry about overheating! Despite being a local marathon with a 4-hour cut off time, everything was extremely well organized, from baggage storage, to toilets. to timing chips, to road traffic control. The only thing that was out of control was the weather!The race started at the luxurious hour of 10 AM, allowing plenty of time to eat breakfast, digest one's food, stretch and warm up, etc. After a lap around the track we were quickly out into the streets of Niigata. Despite the weather, there were people cheering at every corner, including the traffic control police who shouted out encouragement to us while performing their duties. We soon left the city and joined a coastal road. I'm sure that the views would have been fantastic had we been able to see anything through the rain. A still offshore breeze covered the road in wet sand and insured that the running wouldn't be easy. Still, the air was clean and the weather was cool and I was actually enjoying the experience.
I was very concerned about hitting the wall, so I had decided to adopt a very conservative pacing strategy of 23 minutes per 5 km. Perhaps because of the wind, however, I was underperforming even that goal by about one minute. Shortly after 10 km, the course turned inland and the sun briefly peaked out. I managed to run the second 10 km in 47 minutes and the following 5 km in 23 minutes. After 25 km, I started passing people quite easily and was beginning to believe in myself, despite the fact that the wind and rain had returned and we were returning to the coastal road.I did some brief calculations in my head and concluded that I would need to reach 35 km in under 2:47 to have a chance at breaking 3:20. I told myself that if I had a chance at the 35 km mark that I would push as hard as I could, while if I was over 2:47, I would go into cruise mode and enjoy the rest of the race. Just after 30 km I passed Aya and latched on a couple of smooth looking runners who I hoped would help get me to the 35 km mark quickly. What a disappointment it was therefore to reach 35 km in 2:49.Still, I'd made a deal with myself so I just relaxed and started smiling at and waving to roadside supporters and eased off just enough to make sure that the final 7 km didn't hurt at all. This allowed me to enjoy the finish which offered up a smorgasbord of running conditions all in the last 5 km. In that last 5 km we experienced in order, running in a sandstorm, a 200 meter section running bent over directly into the full force of the wind, an aesthetically pleasing riverside park trail that had flooded and required running in 6 cm of water, a brief interlude of sun, about 500 meters of running in an honest to goodness hailstorm and finally back to cool drizzle for the last 2 km to the finish line. I loved it!
I'd love to use the weather as an excuse for my 3:28 time, but given that the winner ran 2:33:03, the first MV-50 ran 2:37:52 and the leading lady ran 2:48:44, that excuse isn't available. Instead, the answer is obvious: not enough training. I struggled all summer to run more that 1.5 hours without having a meltdown and with the lack of a proper training base, lacked the confidence to push harder at the beginning and put myself in a position where my goals were realistic. Instead, I was so worried about hitting the wall, that I missed it all together. At least Aya has qualified for Boston so our team is 50% of the way to the goal and we had plenty to talk about with the other runners at the following days wedding.
Phuket Half by Gillan Castka  A new race on the "local" International scene.
Phuket has launched a new marathon, half and 10km event on this year held on the 18 June. Not to be confused with the previous Phuket "mountain" marathon held in the south of the Island, this route is held in the north on roads used by the popular triathlon (usually held in December).
With the Laguna Resort as one of the main sponsors the event started and finished outside the Laguna Dusit resort. Shuttle buses are provided from the other hotels on the resort for the 5:00 am marathon, 6:00 half marathon and 6:30 10km starts.
The race route is well marshalled with ample water, isotonic and sponges, and accurate km markers.
The marathon has one major hill between 13 and 14 km on the way out to the half way point at Nai Yang beach near the airport. The same hill is tackled in reverse on the return journey between 26 and 27 km.
Emphasis is on participation rather than performance, and with a generous 7 hour cut off time you can afford to walk portions and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly 30 percent of the runners were from overseas, including large contingents from Japan and Taiwan.
Winner of the men's marathon was Taiwanese athlete Ko Shih-chieh in 3:00:36.
Hong Kong's Tse Lok-wai third overall in 3:14:20. First lady was Heather Gregg in 3:58:26.
The half marathon was won by a Thai athlete Boonchoo Jandecha easily recognised by Hong Kong athletes from his regular appearances at KOR and Nike 10km events and the Standchart. Boonchoo won in 1:18:04 with Hong Kong's Gillian Castka winning the ladies half (and placed 18th overall) in 1:34:40 6 mins ahead of Georgia Bamber in 1:41:59. HK athletes Michael Fung and Wong Wing-tak finished one second apart for 8th and 10th position respectively.
Other HK athletes to perform well included Choi Wing-chung (1:31:08) and Wang Cheng-yu (1:34:31). For the ladies Wong Yuk-ha finished 4th in 1:50:12 ahead of Thaiquain's Mandy Lam (1:51:09) who placed third in the 30-39 half marathon age group.
One to mark in your diary for next year.
2006 Round The Island Time Trial  Read AVOHK member St John Flaherty's take on this years event.
Round the Island Race - A True Grit Writes
It is 6 a.m., the humidity feels like 90 per cent., I am at the Wong Nei Chong gap car park, wondering, as always at the beginning of a long distance race, why on earth I am doing it. I do not stop so wondering until I stagger in to the finish (also at Wong Nei Chong gap) 65 kilometres and 8 hours 14 minutes later. The race consists of two loops, the first and shorter round the western end of Hong Kong island, the second round the eastern end. Both loops start and finish at Wong Nei Chong gap. The first loop gives you a false sense of security. Despite the navigational challenges of the nether reaches of the mid-levels, the terrain is reasonably benign, both underfoot and in terms of elevation, and the checkpoints, with water and food available, seem not too far apart. Just short of three hours into the race, I have completed the first loop and am feeling reasonably optimistic. I continue to feel not too bad on the first half of the second loop, managing this year to find the correct path underneath the Tai Tam reservoir dam (last year I waded through the sea instead), and struggling with not too much difficulty along the catchment to the Hobie Cat beach. But the steep steps up to the Shek O Road are a serious challenge. The checkpoint at the top of the steps provides a very welcome but all too short spot of r and r. The less said about the second half of the second loop the better. Particularly grisly is the stretch between the end of the Shek O catchment and Mount Parker Road. The terrain is difficult underfoot and constantly up and down, or seems that way anyway. A psychological barrier is crossed at Mount Parker Road since the rest of the race follows (mostly) the route of the Mount Butler Race. However, doing the route at the end of a 65 kilometre race is very different from doing it at the end of a 15 kilometre race. Finishing is wonderful. People are enormously kind. A fellow competitor gives me pot noodles and the lady in the car park office gives me not just hot water to reconstitute them but chopsticks to eat them with. The first beer after the race reminds me of why I do these things. To enjoy that first beer."
Xiamen Marathon
Xiamen has come and gone but it will live on in my memory for years to come. The excellent course, terrific support and cool weather conditions all make it an outstanding marathon. I ran the first half in under 1.19 but soon found myself falling behind the clock. After an excruciating last 5 miles, I wobbled home in a time of 2.43.
Other AVOHK'ers also had good runs with Andy Naylor setting a new PB as did Rex Whittle. Catherine Leonard had her best run for a couple of years and Geoff Johnson ran his first marathon, Stuart Leonard was pleased with his run
On the fundraising front, it looks like around $75,000 will be raised for the Hong Kong Parkinson's Disease Association. This will go towards caring for patients and supporting research. A massive thank you to everybody who's supported me.
Martin Kennard |
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RA_108_Xiamen_AVOHK.doc RA_108_xiamen.ppt
Patrick's Round the Island Experience  Round the Island - 2006
After shaving 3 minutes from my marathon PB last February I decided to have a crack at the RTI True Grit event; last year I finished joint second in the whimps category and I guess my enthusiasm for cross country spurred me on.
As I live in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island I have become familiar with various routes in the Country Parks and the hill sections have become like old friends I visit on my Sunday morning runs.
I found this familiarity with the route crucial this year as I mentally divided up the race into sections so I wouldnt become pre-occupied by the daunting figure of 65K.
This year the race began comfortably downhill towards Bowen Road and I soon found myself running quicker than I had anticipated with other runners around me. Fortunately as I reached the end of Bowen Road and began the climb upwards the field had thinned out and I could concentrate on my own pacing.
As I threaded my way behind the boulder fence above central I passed Uncle Yip, fresh from his Xiamen adventures and soon arrived at the first checkpoint.
The first loop seemed to pass quickly and after reporting in at Park Place I set off down towards Repulse Bay Gap, still within the distance I ran last year. Once I was on the catch water however, heading towards To Tei Wan, I felt I was entering the main part of the race and I couldnt say for certain what would happen between here and the finish.
I had psychological boosts along the way as my wife dashed around the island to greet me 3 times: Nam Fung Road after Aberdeen Catch water, Tai Tam Gap and then on Mount Butler Road before the last section of Sir Cecils Ride. Her presence lifted me spiritually and reminded me that there were people who were thinking about me during the race and hoping I did well.
Reaching Mount Parker Road was another boost, as St. John Flaherty has already highlighted&I knew that I was not far from the finish. Once I reached the turn off from Mount Butler Road I felt myself slowly increasing in speed as my legs began working independently as if they were fooled into thinking I was approaching the end of the Mount Butler Race!
When I turned the last bend towards Park Place, the image of Fast Dave and others cheering me on and shouting words of encouragement was an incredible sight and quite moving.
The post-race mood was tremendous, I had beaten some people, others had in turn beaten me but the main thing was that we had all tried our best and once the race was over, the camaraderie experienced with friends and fellow runners pushed the details of our times and positions into second place.
Patrick Shaun Ford |
