Alvin Tang boosts hopes for assault on Standard Chartered Marathon
Hong Kong runner strolls to victory in 30-kilometre race in Shek Kong
Alvin Tang Man-wa boosted his hopes of becoming the first Hong Kong runner home in February's Standard Chartered Marathon by winning the SPT 30km at Shek Kong on Sunday.
The race, now in its 14th year, was established to provide runners targeting the Hong Kong Marathon with a long-distance race a month or so beforehand to assess their training and overall fitness.
Despite being somewhat young for a marathon runner, Tang ran in this year's Hong Kong Marathon and posted a time of two hours and 42 minutes. The 20-year-old Baptist University student then competed in the Beijing International Marathon in October and clocked a respectable 2:38.
"I'm targeting a time of sub-2:35 for the Hong Kong Marathon because I want to be the leading Hong Kong finisher - I want to at least be in the top two," said the Sheung Shui-based athlete, who finished yesterday's race in 1:55:41.
I train every day and am currently clocking up around 120 kilometres each week, most of which is done around Sha Tin
"I'm too young to think about going sub-2:30, but I'll be working on that goal in the next couple of years. I train every day and am currently clocking up around 120 kilometres each week, most of which is done around Sha Tin."
For one so young, Tang has a refreshing air of confidence about him. However, his victory in Sunday's race came down in the end to a touch of fear.
"I haven't run this race before so my plan was to stick with the lead runners and then see what they would do as the race progressed.
"When we went through the 4km mark I thought the pace was too slow and so I took the lead," added Tang, who is undergoing a three-year associate degree in sports and recreation science.
"The chasing pack was still well in touch when we reached the turnaround point at Tai Lam Chung so I couldn't afford to relax at all - in fact I was expecting someone to challenge me almost until I crossed the finish line."
Ngai Kang and Yip Tung-hoi were among the chasing pack in the men's race and ended up having their own fight for the minor prizes, with Ngai winning a sprint for the finish line to clock 1:58:00 to Yip's 1:58:02.
Sarah Cheung Hoi-wah also ran Sunday's race for the first time and surprised herself with victory. The 32-year-old immigration officer held a slender lead at the 5km mark and ended up a minute clear of second-placed Chan Wai-fong to win in 2:20:37.
"The race was much harder than I expected - anything more than a half marathon is tough for me," said Cheung, who lives in Sham Shui Po. "The hills seemed fairly gentle on the way out but were much tougher coming home - in fact I got cramp in my leg and foot and had to walk a couple of times."
Cheung is targeting the Standard Chartered half marathon in February and hopes to run a couple of minutes faster than she did in this year's event, where she placed third overall, one spot ahead of former marathon great Joan Benoit Samuelson.
