Hong Kong Island 10k City Race will test the waters for Hong Kong Marathon, say organisers
- More than 3,000 runners expected to take part in the race through Wan Chai and Causeway Bay on Sunday
- Organisers say safety comes first for participants but they don’t foresee any problems for the race that begins at 7.45am
The Hong Kong Island 10K City Race will go ahead this weekend in an event organisers say would test the waters for next year’s Hong Kong Marathon, the annual showpiece which in danger of being cancelled because of the social unrest that has rocked the city.
The middle distance race, which will take place in Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and the Island Eastern Corridor on Sunday, covers part of the routes reserved for the annual marathon showpiece scheduled for February 9.
“It can give us a reference [to the next year’s Hong Kong Marathon] as Sundays’ race will take place along some of the marathon routes on Island side,” said Hong Kong Amateur Athletics Association executive director Dennis Ng Yu-ho. “Of course, the scale of this weekend’s race is small compared to the marathon. If Sunday’s race can be completed without any major hiccups, we can have more confidence staging more events after that.”
The official said the annual marathon showpiece was on schedule to take place even though Hong Kong has been shaken to its core by the anti-government protests for the past six months.
“There are many considerations [needed for staging the marathon]. We’ll have to examine them as we approach the event date but everything is on schedule according to our plan,” he said.
