HK record-setter Maggie overcomes the odds in Vegas
She was sleepless and cold, but that didn't stop Maggie Chan Man-yee from shattering the SAR record on Sunday when the United States-based distance running queen finished second in the Las Vegas Half-Marathon.
'It was freezing, but I did well. I'm delighted to have broken the record,' said Chan after clocking one hour, 14 minutes and 22 seconds to slice seven minutes off the record held by veteran runner Ng Lai-chu, who set the old mark at 1:21:26 three years ago. Chan, who has now added to her six SAR records in distance running, took up the half-marathon recently as a build-up to her first full marathon later this year. She will run her specialised events - 5,000m and 10,000m - at October's Pusan Asian Games.
In Las Vegas, the 26-year-old finished behind Kelly Cordell, who came in at 1:13:04. 'We couldn't bring too many things on to the bus for the start as we had to pack our belongings in plastic bags,' she said of the near-freezing conditions. 'I was shivering for an hour before I started warming up. When the race started, I needed to have my long sleeves on as my body just couldn't warm up enough. My racing jersey probably had less material than my underwear.'
It was a tremendous effort from Chan, given that she did not sleep well the night before. 'I had a hectic schedule and it was 10pm before I got everything settled. When I was ready to go to bed, I heard some rock music outside the hotel. There was an outdoor concert! It was so loud, even though I was on the 32nd floor.
'A while later, three drunken guys were yelling and laughing outside my room. I finally got up at about 11.30pm and told them to be quiet. I was really brave to have done that as I could have got shot. Luckily, they went back to their own rooms, but the concert started again. It went on until 1am.'
Chan was not making any excuses for her failure to win the race, but rather blamed herself for under-estimating her rival.
'I was running with three other leading girls for about six miles. Then one girl [Cordell], who beat me once in a 10km race but lost to me twice over 5,000m, decided to pull out from the group. I ran with her for a while before she decided to get rid of me. That was my mistake, letting her go, because I didn't think she was that good,' said Chan, who finished 39th overall in a 3,000-plus mixed field.
American Josh Cox won the race in 1:04:02. Chan said the race against time to meet the flight back home to Utah - where she'll be working as a volunteer at the Winter Olympics - was even more exciting.
'I only realised my flight was at 11am when I was chatting with people at the finish at 9am. I needed to drive back to my hotel, take a shower, pack my bag, return my rental car and take a bus to the terminal.
'When I got to the check-in counter it was five to 11. The lady at the counter said I couldn't make the flight. I only realised what she meant when I saw 200 people lining up to go through the security check. Fortunately, I was allowed to go first. I had just ran a half-marathon and I couldn't even walk after my race, but I made it from one end of the airport to the other in 15 minutes,' said Chan, who finally made the flight.
