Hong Kong Marathon adds 1,000 extra runners thanks to new route up Nathan Road
Straight road to Mong Kok may mean faster times, organisers say
Organisers of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon have managed to squeeze in an extra 1,000 runners for next year's race, taking the total to 74,000, after eliminating a bottleneck in Canton Road.
The January 17 marathon and half marathon will now head down Nathan Road from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok instead of turning off after 100 metres - a change organisers say could mean faster times.
The organising committee had been fighting for more than a year to get the new route approved for the 20th anniversary edition of the city's biggest mass-participation event, chairman William Ko Wai-lam said.
Both the marathon and half marathon follow the same route until runners in the latter turn for home at the Tsing Kwai Highway, and the routes have changed little since 2001.
Runners previously turned off Nathan Road into Austin Road, then followed Canton Road to the West Kowloon Expressway. The new route, approved by Yau Tsim Mong District Council's traffic and transport committee this month, will see runners take Argyle and Cherry streets, then Lin Cheung Road.
"I think most of the runners will welcome this extended use of Nathan Road, because they can run on a much wider road and have faster results," said Ko.
"For the previous route, after reaching Canton Road near the high-speed railway construction site, runners would be limited to one lane only. So it was a bottleneck and led all the way to the West Kowloon Expressway.
"With this extension [on Nathan Road], we can reduce the number of [race] starts from seven to five and at the same time enable us to reopen to traffic much earlier."
But the change also raised noise concerns among residents, given that the first runners will set off for the half marathon at 6am.
Ko said the organisers hoped to work with spectators to minimise any disturbance.
"As the organising committee, we urge cheering groups to pick a position away from residential flats to support runners, especially before 7am. After that, we would also like people in the neighbourhoods to get out of bed and go to cheer the runners."
The additional places will be split equally between the marathon and half-marathon.
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The organisers had made minor changes to the route for this year's event, taking runners along Hennessy Road and Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay to the finish in Victoria Park, instead of Lockhart and East Point roads and Great George Street.
Christy Yiu Kit-ching, Hong Kong's top women's marathon runner, welcomed the changes.
"I haven't paid a visit to the new route, but it's better to have a straighter road at the beginning," said Yiu, 27, who has achieved the qualifying time for next year's Rio Olympics. "The new route can help runners maintain their pace better and stay in the same rhythm."
Registration for the marathon opens on Friday, followed by the half-marathon on Tuesday and the 10km race next Friday.
