How Hong Kong marathon star went from reluctant runner to smashing the 6 big races

Sophia Leung didn’t start running until her 40s and even then she wasn’t keen. Six world major marathons later and running is her ‘medicine’

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Sophia Leung finishes the Nagoya Women’s Marathon in Japan in 2023, a race she has completed twice. She tells the Post how she used to make excuses to skip running, but not any more. Photo: courtesy of Sophia Leung

Published: 11:00am, 10 Dec 2025Updated: 3:25pm, 10 Dec 2025

Corrected [12:03pm, 10 Dec, 2025]

[12:03pm, 10 Dec, 2025]
The Gammon China Coast Marathon has been renamed the Road Scholars China Coast Marathon and the correct date is January 11.

Runners taking part in various marathon events over the coming months – including the Road Scholars China Coast Marathon on January 11 and the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on January 18 – have been out in full force on the streets of Hong Kong lately.

A marathon is not an endeavour one typically approaches lightly. For most, running a 42km (26-mile) race is the culmination of months or years of preparation that has conditioned both physique and resolve for the gruelling distance.

For Hongkonger Sophia Leung, who only laced up her first pair of proper running shoes in her forties, that conventional path was never part of the plan.

Shortly after completing her first marathon in Australia’s Gold Coast in Queensland in 2017, she found herself lining up for more.

Leung runs the Tokyo Marathon in 2025. Photo: courtesy of Sophia Leung

In 2018, she would take on Berlin and New York, both pillars of the prestigious six Abbott World Marathon Majors, which also include London, Boston, Chicago and Tokyo. Earning the coveted Six Star Finisher medal is a lifelong ambition for many, a globe-trotting testament to personal endurance that places awardees in one of the sport’s most exclusive clubs.

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How Hong Kong marathon star went from reluctant runner to smashing the 6 big races

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Sophia Leung didn’t start running until her 40s and even then she wasn’t keen. Six world major marathons later and running is her ‘medicine’

Sophia Leung didn’t start running until her 40s and even then she wasn’t keen. Six world major marathons later and running is her ‘medicine’