From the late shift to the winner's list

Every expert says it's vital to get a good night's rest before a big race - unfortunately for Christy Yiu Kit-ching, nurses' sleep patterns are generally dictated by the roster.

Despite only enjoying a few hours' shut-eye after a Saturday late-shift at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po, the 23-year-old still delivered a great tactical victory in the half-marathon, retaining her title and beating new rival Michelle Lowry for the first time since the American came to Hong Kong.

Yiu, who recently completed a four-year nursing degree at Chinese University, had asked for an early shift on the Saturday to prepare, before a late change threatened to upset her preparations.

It seemed to have little effect though, as she stretched ahead of Lowry early on then managed to fend her off for the whole race to finish in one hour, 21 minutes and 31 seconds, 39 seconds ahead.

'Originally, I had a morning shift, but I had to swap for somebody and work the evening shift. I think I got about three hours' sleep,' Yiu said. 'Because all my work is shifts, I can't sleep as soon as I go to bed. I'm very tired and I didn't want to go too fast at the start in case I ran out of energy.

'I'm very excited to win, because I had a very strong opponent in Michelle.'

Before yesterday, Lowry, 34, had won every race she entered in Hong Kong since arriving from the United States in August and beat Yiu in January. The Utah native went to Yokohama late last year in a bid to make the qualifying time for the US Olympic trials in the marathon and Yiu knew she was outmatched in terms of experience and endurance.