Hong Kong Marathon: 2025 race under way as tens of thousands brave cold
Thousands of runners flooded onto specially arranged trains, busses and ferries as they made their way to the respective start lines for the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday, and the first athletes began their races to the finish line at Victoria Park.
With elite runners starting from 6am, up to 42,500 were expected to eventually make the journey from Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui to Causeway Bay in the marathon and half-marathon, while organisers said more than 30,000 had signed up for the more leisurely 10 kilometres, starting at the Island East Corridor.
With temperatures hovering around 9 degrees Celsius (48.2 degrees Fahrenheit), runners travelling to the start wrapped up against the cold, and some took time to nap, or listen to songs to relax. Others just stared at their phones.
With the city's leader John Lee Ka-chiu in Harbin for the Asian Winter Games, it fell to Acting Chief Executive Chan Kwok-ki to take his place at the start line.
Chan cheered on both local and overseas runners as the marathon got under way, while Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee was the officiating guest for the Half-Marathon Challenge.
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Hong Kong Marathon returns to pre-pandemic levels with 74,000 runners Hong Kong Marathon returns to pre-pandemic levels with 74,000 runners
Among those taking part in the race was Garry Li Chun-kit, an experienced runner with 'five or six' half marathon appearances in the city's biggest race under his belt.
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