Like any proud father, Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng is effusive about his "baby", when he slips "derivative" into the conversation. The banking jargon might be common in his office on the 32nd floor of Standard Chartered's headquarters in Central, but in the context of the Hong Kong Marathon, it is met with laughter. He laughs too and then finds another word more fitting - "offshoot" - as he tries to explain the phenomenon of the Hong Kong Marathon and outlines his hopes, aspirations and dreams for the next decade and more. Did we think with confidence that the people of Hong Kong would pull on shorts and sneakers and run around the streets? I was a sceptic Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng Sitting in that same office 20 years earlier, Hung and other StanChart chiefs did something bankers rarely do - took a gamble - and invested in a marathon race. Not just a one-off throw of the dice, but a 10-year investment. Hung, the only local Chinese in the room, was the sceptical, reluctant one, arguing that Hongkongers' love of sport ended at horse racing and mahjong. "Did we think with confidence that the people of Hong Kong would pull on shorts and sneakers and run around the streets? I was a sceptic. I said athletic endeavour is not in their DNA. It was a risk," he said. "The idea was to support, sponsor and promote something of a wide participatory nature. But we were caught by surprise in the first year - only 1,000 [participants] - I thought 'Oh, my god, it's going to be a long road'." But the "baby" grew exponentially, and at 19 years of age is now shackled by a limit of 73,000 participants across the marathon, half marathon and 10km events. "It was certainly not a slam dunk. But it's one of these cases where if it's not working like the early years, what do you do to adapt," said Hung. "We put in a lot of effort in making this not just a pure running thing, but part of a good healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally. And it just somehow found its way and became more and more widespread in popularity." That phenomenon is hard to explain in a city lacking a vibrant sports culture. "It's not easy to pin down, but sport is a universal language, bringing universal bonding," Hung says. "And this is something special because of its spirit. "The marathon is not just about running, it's not just about the event. First of all, it is about lifestyle, it is about training for it. And every year during September, October, November it is wonderful to see people start to train for it." Even Hung's wife, Anita, has caught the bug, and she is the "furthest thing from being an athlete", he admits. "I would never have imagined that." The health aspect took on an even greater importance during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003 - helping spark a whole fitness industry - and the bank's slogan "Run For A Reason" has inspired tens of thousands to hit the streets, many forming teams and running for various charities. "It became more and more of a fashionable thing to do, a positive thing," Hung says. "You are not just running for a good time, you are running for a purpose. You can do what you want but you are running for Hong Kong and I want Hong Kong to be that beneficiary." The success has brought many challenges and the need to tinker with the route, the biggest moving the finish to Victoria Park from Bauhinia Square and running the 10k solely on Hong Kong Island. "Like most things we just have to perfect it," says Hung. And this year, that "perfection" is using Hennessy Road and Yee Wo Street for the first time in the run for the finish line in Victoria Park. It's taken a couple of years to convince transport chiefs and police to close part of that main trunk line. Occupy Central may have helped Hung and the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association, in showing that roads and areas can be closed down for more than half a day. "Thanks to government support, we have changed the tail end of the route to Hennessy Road with the wider road offering better air and more fans," says Hung. "Given Hong Kong's unique geographic limitations, we have to leverage every ounce of every square inch. "But you have to have public transport for both arriving and departing areas. That gives us a very, very finite choice. "Otherwise, we would have it in the New Territories ... but how would you get 70,000-plus people to and from whatever the location beginning or ending." As debates continue about how to accommodate more people - split the three events over two weekends or continue with one - Hung favours the status quo. "I prefer one day, otherwise the spirit will get diluted. If we could extend the road closure from 10.30am to 11am on Island East Corridor, for example, then we could add another 6,000 people. There are only finite ways we can improve. "But I would not underestimate the power of improving the qualitative side," he says, referring to an upward migration of athletes contesting the marathon and creating a carnival atmosphere while throwing in England's Notting Hill festival as an example. "We should be able to creative derivatives ... sorry, wrong word ... offshoots of activities around the backbone of running, like the youth dash which is an experiment, but I see it becoming very big." "Big" is now in Ben's vocabulary and that can only mean one thing for the Hong Kong Marathon - breaking the 100,000 barrier. "I would never have imagined the culture the way it is now and the progress we have made. Bankers tend to be conservative. I tend to be an optimist but I would never have put this in my best-case scenario planning. "Looking now you think slam dunk, no brainer, but it took us a long time. What we knew was the history of being in Hong Kong. We are the oldest bank bar none in Hong Kong." And the next 20 years? "My dream is not entirely surprising ... the race run through more streets featuring the best elements and the uniqueness of Hong Kong so over time it becomes the best in Asia. Some have criticised the route as lifeless and soulless and I would be sympathetic to that view. I would love to inject more spirit. "Hong Kong has grown and matured a lot in the past 20 years. We have travelled a long way and I'm very, very passionate about this ... seeing this little baby grow couldn't be more gratifying."
