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South China Morning Post
18-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Kenyan runner's 14km daily journey to Hong Kong marathon success
I grew up in a remote area of Kenya, called Nandi County. School was very far away, so usually we would just walk. We'd go in the morning, about 7km. If we were late, I would just start to run. In Kenya , schools don't provide food, so for lunch I would go back home and then again to school after. From this habit of going back and forth, I would cover almost 14 extra kilometres per day. Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi training in Kenya. Photo: courtesy Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi I was seven when I started running. From that age, there were school running competitions and I thought I could try out for them. That is when I developed a love for the sport. In school, there was no coach. You just ran. Often I would end up number one or two. From interschool meets soon I was moved to another race class exceeding my level at my school. I remember I ran a 5,000-metre race and I came second and was again taken to the next level, where I regularly won. Advertisement After I graduated from secondary school, I started to really engage with training. I would do a morning run, then go to some classes. After I got home in the evening, I would do a small run of maybe 3km before resting. My parents encouraged me to do sport. Before me, there was nobody in my family who were athletes. But after me, my younger sister and brother started running, too. Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi with his daughter Beryl Chepkoech Rutto in Kenya. Photo: courtesy Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi In athletics, there is often a transition. People in their teens might start young in track, running short distances. Then maybe after you might try 10km, 15km or a half marathon. For me, in my 20s, the first real marathon I did was in 2021. It was during Covid. I went to the city of Eldoret, in Kenya. I came in sixth. From there, I was selected to go to a training camp about 50km away from home. I trained there with some elite runners. The coach also introduced me to a manager in Europe, from the Netherlands, and the manager then invited me to run a marathon in Siena, Italy. I came in 12th. Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi, who competes all around the world, crosses the finish line at Victoria Park to win the Hong Kong Marathon. Photo: Edmond So marathon is a very tactical race. It needs a lot of time, dedication and commitment. I run 35km a day. I will do 20km in the morning, in a high-altitude place. Then after breakfast, I sleep for an hour. You have to rest your mind. Then I train again in the evening at an even higher altitude. I do this for three weeks, then I am ready. You have to love the training and the competition It is really hard to stay at the top among marathoners. If you look at most races, you have maybe five Kenyans and five Ethiopians at the top of the list. I also have about 50 individuals that are training mates. In this year's Hong Kong Marathon, the top four male runners were Kenyans. We came as friends but during the race, we were competitors and rivals. We all understand each other as Kenyans. In a race, at first we assist each other, as well as Ethiopians or anyone else, but after some time you focus on yourself. Sometimes the managers don't want us to communicate so much before or after because other guys might be sponsored by different labels or they are with another running club, so they want us to keep our secrets to ourselves. But because we are all Kenyans, we advise each other anyway. Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi considers becoming a coach one day. Photo: Eugene Chan The course in Hong Kong was tough. Out of all the marathons I have run, this was the toughest because of the elevation. Other races are more flat. What assisted, or rather, pushed me was the training. I do hill work, hill sprints. I never focus on speed; I just focus on mileage. I'm hoping to run for another five years, but my goal is the Olympics. With the time I have now, I can qualify, but to be selected for the Kenyan team is very tough. If not the Olympics then at least the World Championships or the African Championships. After retiring, I might go into coaching because I love the sport. I really like athletics, and I like working with younger runners.
South China Morning Post
15-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon to become 2-day event – could Hong Kong follow?
This year's Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon will take place over two days because it has become so popular, organisers revealed on Tuesday, and Hong Kong officials said they could follow suit if it proved a success. Advertisement The change will see the half-marathon and marathon held separately, on the Saturday and Sunday respectively, on the weekend of December 6 and 7, with a children's race, 5km, 10km and marathon relay also planned. Officials said the move had been driven by an increase in runners over the past three editions of the event, with the marathon up 31 per cent and half-marathon 46 per cent in that time. More than 55,000 competitors took part last year. Jeff Edwards, managing director of Asia for The Ironman Group, organiser of the Singapore Marathon, said it was always looking 'for ways to improve the overall race experience and create an environment where runners can perform at their best'. 10km runners on the Island Eastern Corridor during this year's Hong Kong Marathon. Photo: Eugene Lee 'These adjustments, which have been thoughtfully planned, are aimed at creating a smooth flow throughout to ensure the best possible race experience for our runners, and allow for more runners than ever before to be a part of this event,' he said.
South China Morning Post
15-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Bib controversy has put the Hong Kong Marathon's reputation at stake
Running in the Hong Kong Marathon is one of the most rewarding activities on offer in the city. Almost 74,000 competitors with highly sought after places in the races battled their way through the streets last Sunday, striving for personal goals and taking in spectacular views. With Hong Kong staging multiple 'mega-events' of varying appeal, the marathon is one of the best, allowing elite athletes and budding amateurs to achieve personal goals while showcasing the city. The integrity of the event is of the utmost importance. An otherwise successful marathon was, sadly, marred by the disqualification of four runners for not wearing the right bibs. Two of them had finished first and second in the half-marathon. The other two ran in a 10km event, one finishing second. An investigation found, thankfully, that this was not intentional. It revealed all four shared the same manager, who had distributed the bibs incorrectly. But the high-profile disqualification of top-placed runners cast a shadow over the event. It is a reminder that competitors have the responsibility to check they are wearing the right bib, in accordance with the rules. The bibs carry each runner's name. It should not be difficult to check.
South China Morning Post
15-02-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Marathon would run more smoothly with less crowding
Published: 11:30am, 15 Feb 2025 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification I would like to commend the organisers, staff and volunteers of the Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon 2025 for their hard work and dedication in putting together such an iconic and well-loved event. Running through the streets of Hong Kong is always an incredible experience, and the energy and support from the community are what make this event so special. However, I feel compelled to offer constructive criticism about the overcrowding issues that have plagued the event, particularly over the last two years. The first 5-6km of the half-marathon were uncomfortably congested, with runners packed shoulder to shoulder, making it nearly impossible to establish a steady pace. This overcrowding led to faster runners weaving through the crowd, resulting in collisions, trips and falls. To make matters worse, cones were inexplicably placed in the middle of the raceway throughout the course, and I personally witnessed runners falling over them. Adding to the congestion were participants walking, taking selfies and live-streaming as early as the second kilometre. While the marathon welcomes runners of all abilities, walkers so early in the race exacerbate bottlenecks and create unsafe conditions for those attempting to run at faster paces. There needs to be greater emphasis on ensuring that runners in earlier start times have faster anticipated finish times to minimise this issue. This is my third time taking part in the Hong Kong Marathon and overcrowding has been a recurring problem. Last year, during the full marathon, the merging of the marathon and half-marathon courses near the end created severe bottlenecks, with runners literally running in place at times. While taping off lanes allows ambulances to reach runners quickly, taping off entire lanes in two-lane areas funnels thousands of runners into inadequate space.
South China Morning Post
12-02-2025
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Marathon: man pictured wearing bib assigned to ‘mainland China' woman
Published: 7:20pm, 12 Feb 2025 Further evidence of cheating at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon came to light on Wednesday after pictures posted online showed a man wearing a bib assigned to a woman with a mainland Chinese name. Pictures posted on a Facebook group for runners in Hong Kong showed a middle-aged man running the Hong Kong Marathon wearing bib number 33150, which was registered to a woman named Cao Youxuan. A screenshot of information on the Hong Kong Marathon website said that Cao was registered as competing in the Women's Master 3 category and completed the 42km race in three hours 18 minutes, and 55 seconds. That time meant a ranking of 75 out of all female marathon runners and 10th in the category, but official images show a man wearing her race bib. When the Post checked the information of runner 33150 on the Hong Kong Marathon website, the name and bib number could not be found, suggesting the runner had been disqualified. A male runner wearing bib 33150, which was registered to a woman. Photo: Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon A check by the Post found that other runners records had been removed from the results.
