Colourful characters hit Central Rat Race in support of Hong Kong mental illness patients
Costumed heroes pack charity event to promote awareness and raise money
Characters from Captain America to Tarzan took to the streets of Central yesterday as more than 500 people donned fancy dress for the annual Central Rat Race to raise awareness of mental health problems, with the city’s chief secretary pledging to do more to promote psychological welfare.
Every year since 2006, the Rat Race has turned the busy streets of Central into a fun-filled obstacle course for half a day.
Racers are tasked with navigating their way through to raise money for the charity Mindset, which supports mental health organisations and projects in Hong Kong and on the mainland.
READ MORE: Design a costume and join the Rat Race
Technician Marco Lau Ho-nam, 22, sported a leopard-skin costume in a Tarzan-like style.
Running for the first time with seven colleagues from German conglomerate Siemens, Lau said the race was fun and challenging.
“We surveyed the obstacle course before the race … You have to be calm. In one of the legs, you’ve got to run up three levels of escalators,” Lau said.
In the past 10 years, more than 4,000 people have run the race, raising more than HK$21 million.