Date: 20 January 2013
Venue: Shatin, Hong Kong
Distance: 10km (Garmin: 10km)
Timing: 52:40 (Gun); 52:29 (Chip); 52:35 (Garmin)
Pace: 5:15 min/km (Garmin)
Result: 12th(AG); 23rd (Women); 264th (Overall) (all results here)
Website: www.stsa.org.hk (event link here)
This was a local neighbourhood run organized by the Shatin Sports Association with only one category on offer ie 10km although they do offer prizes for both individuals and teams. Out-and-back route from the Shatin Sports Ground which took us past the waterways of Shatin up to the fringes of the Shatin race course. Temps were in the high teens on Sunday morning which made for a perfect setting.
Km1-2
Congested start since it was a ¾ loop around the stadium before heading out to the foot path along the waterway. Since I had a day-long event at #HK100 the previous day and only at the halfway mark of my recovery window, was planning on enjoying this run as much as possible and soak in the scenery and atmosphere – hey, it’s a new-to-me venue (and probably for a lot of runners from other parts of HK). It was a shared foot path with the usual Sunday runners as well as cyclists (read: narrow path; dodging/watching out for oncoming traffic etc).
Km3-5
Each one settling into their pace and we had earlier crossed the bridge onto the other side – km3; also first hydration station. The views continued to fascinate me – hey, was taking it easy, remember? Locked into a conversation with 2 guys who were running alongside; seems like one was coaching/pacing the other. Saw the leaders coming back after km4 – super speedy guys!
Km6-8
Turn around and you step on the timing mat. Saw a lot more runners on the other side. Second hydration station (same one as the earlier one). More photographers at the bridge as we head back to the other side. Lost the earlier 2 guys. A slight congestion as we ran into a training group (around 20?) but once they heard us coming up from the back, they moved aside. Thanks guys!
Km9-Finish
Great shout out from the volunteers who said “1.5km to go”, in Cantonese – I had no problem with that. Also another shout out about uneven surfaces. Soon you’re at the stadium – I always hate finishing with a lap around the stadium (yeah I know most of you like this…unfortunately, this is my nemesis – you can see the finishing chute but oh, oh, you’re still some ways away).
More photos from Wah Man Hung Ying
Pros:
a) Great effort put up by the association.
b) Love the small neighbourhood feel. Here are some of the neighbourhood kids (and adults!) with their crafts near the entrance.
c) Fantastic organizing team – I had some email queries (eg register via email, bank transfers, how to get to the start point etc) and the replies came back in 24 hours. Kudos!
d) Race bib pick up on event day, even for locals.
e) Cheerful volunteers – they were really enthusiastic. This race reminds me of the Singapore runs organized by the PA where the volunteers are mostly seniors and local residents.
f) Distance markers every km.
g) Love the lion/dragon dance before the prize presentation.
h) Post race grub: runners were handed a bottle of water (or 2!), isotonics and bananas.
i) Time chipped and the results were available within 48 hours (I think!).
Cons:
a) Narrow and shared foot paths reminiscent of ECP.
b) Baggage collection was a mess and chaotic as runners gathered at the stands shouting out their individual numbers to the volunteers who got flustered. Thank goodness, I finished early enough and had a kind young man (20-ish) look for mine. One of the guys who I spoke to said he had been waiting for more than 15 minutes – when I left, he was still waiting. There really wasn’t any organized or specific queues for the runners and it doesn’t appear that the volunteers were assigned to specific categories/numbers either – so you had runners shouting out + volunteers running from one end to the other. More or less.
Photo log:
Swag
Prizes and Stage Area
Km1-2
Congested start since it was a ¾ loop around the stadium before heading out to the foot path along the waterway. Since I had a day-long event at #HK100 the previous day and only at the halfway mark of my recovery window, was planning on enjoying this run as much as possible and soak in the scenery and atmosphere – hey, it’s a new-to-me venue (and probably for a lot of runners from other parts of HK). It was a shared foot path with the usual Sunday runners as well as cyclists (read: narrow path; dodging/watching out for oncoming traffic etc).
Km3-5
Each one settling into their pace and we had earlier crossed the bridge onto the other side – km3; also first hydration station. The views continued to fascinate me – hey, was taking it easy, remember? Locked into a conversation with 2 guys who were running alongside; seems like one was coaching/pacing the other. Saw the leaders coming back after km4 – super speedy guys!
Km6-8
Turn around and you step on the timing mat. Saw a lot more runners on the other side. Second hydration station (same one as the earlier one). More photographers at the bridge as we head back to the other side. Lost the earlier 2 guys. A slight congestion as we ran into a training group (around 20?) but once they heard us coming up from the back, they moved aside. Thanks guys!
Km9-Finish
Great shout out from the volunteers who said “1.5km to go”, in Cantonese – I had no problem with that. Also another shout out about uneven surfaces. Soon you’re at the stadium – I always hate finishing with a lap around the stadium (yeah I know most of you like this…unfortunately, this is my nemesis – you can see the finishing chute but oh, oh, you’re still some ways away).
More photos from Wah Man Hung Ying
Pros:
a) Great effort put up by the association.
b) Love the small neighbourhood feel. Here are some of the neighbourhood kids (and adults!) with their crafts near the entrance.
c) Fantastic organizing team – I had some email queries (eg register via email, bank transfers, how to get to the start point etc) and the replies came back in 24 hours. Kudos!
d) Race bib pick up on event day, even for locals.
e) Cheerful volunteers – they were really enthusiastic. This race reminds me of the Singapore runs organized by the PA where the volunteers are mostly seniors and local residents.
f) Distance markers every km.
g) Love the lion/dragon dance before the prize presentation.
h) Post race grub: runners were handed a bottle of water (or 2!), isotonics and bananas.
i) Time chipped and the results were available within 48 hours (I think!).
Cons:
a) Narrow and shared foot paths reminiscent of ECP.
b) Baggage collection was a mess and chaotic as runners gathered at the stands shouting out their individual numbers to the volunteers who got flustered. Thank goodness, I finished early enough and had a kind young man (20-ish) look for mine. One of the guys who I spoke to said he had been waiting for more than 15 minutes – when I left, he was still waiting. There really wasn’t any organized or specific queues for the runners and it doesn’t appear that the volunteers were assigned to specific categories/numbers either – so you had runners shouting out + volunteers running from one end to the other. More or less.
Photo log:
Swag
Prizes and Stage Area
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