The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was described as the 'hardest race in Asia' by Kenya's newest King of the Road, Nelson Rotich, after he won the local showpiece quite comfortably yesterday.
Rotich, a policeman, has won seven races in Asia including marathons backed by title sponsors Standard Chartered in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Yesterday he added the Hong Kong title to his long list of accomplishments and then said that in terms of being runner-friendly, this event was the toughest.
'I have run all over Asia but this course is the toughest,' said Rotich after his two-hour, 16-minute triumph. 'Many people have said it before and I'm saying it again today. The course is very hilly, up and down, and it makes it very difficult to record a good time.'
The tough nature of the course has been a sore point in the past among the elite overseas runners who say they could have recorded faster times if Hong Kong had a flatter course.
This view is shared locally too. Hong Kong's top female marathon runner, Alison Chow Chi-ngan, decided against taking part this year and instead opted for next month's Rotterdam Marathon to register a faster time and concentrate on qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics.
'Not only is it up and down, but running through the tunnel [Western Harbour] takes a lot out of you. Oxygen is at a minimum and it is very hard to breathe,' Rotich said as he held off a late challenge from fellow-Kenyan Julius Kiplimo to cross the tape first. Kiplimo finished six seconds behind.
The dominance of the pair extends Kenya's stranglehold on the race. Rotich became the 10th Kenyan to win the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, now in its 15th year.