Daunting test for off-form De Vido
WHILE most eyes will be on the Hongkong Golden Mile's international races around Central today, it is the men's domestic race which promises to be the most gripping contest.
Police Athletics Club runner Roberto De Vido, who was Hongkong's representative in the international race last year and clocked a highly respectable 4:25.0, this time competes on the home front - and faces some tough opponents.
The Watson's trio of Martin Peace, 800 metres record holder Mike Ellis and Simon Parsons, along with elite runner Cheung Man-ho, are all capable of beating him.
De Vido has by far the best mile pedigree but his recent performances have been indifferent.
In contrast, Peace, the newly-crowned Adidas King of the Road, is fit and ready to go while Cheung is well suited by the sharp bends on the course.
Both Ellis and 18-year-old Parsons are outsiders but should be in the reckoning at the finish.
Marathon runner Gillian Castka of Ladies' Road Runners' Club looks the best of a modest field in the Hongkong women's race with teammates Sue Mulley and ultra marathoner Wynnie Cosgrove the best of the rest. In the international section Chinese athletes are favourites in both men's and women's races, run around Chater, Des Voeux and Murray roads.
Chen Hongen is men's favourite and his Chinese compatriot, Guangdong's Qui Dongwei, returns to defend the women's title won in an upset result last year.
