Ballot system to be introduced for public places in next year’s Hong Kong marathon
New arrangement hopes to ease the congestion seen in previous years
A ballot system will be introduced for next year’s Standard Chartered Marathon in a bid to ease the congestion seen in the past.
The new arrangement will give applicants more time to register for the event, which will be held on February 12. The first come, first served basis of previous years had been criticised for being difficult to register with. But priority entry – for those who have finished other races within a specific time – remains first come, first served.
“In the past, within three to four hours, the entries were closed and a lot of applicants could not enter,” said William Ko Wai-lam, chairman of the organising committee.
Ko hoped the new ballot entry system, similar to that used in marathons in London and Tokyo, could offer a fairer system.
“We hope to give applicants more time to register without system congestion,” he said.
While the overall quota for the event remains at 74,000, the number of places in the 42km marathon category will increase from 15,500 to 17,500.