Kim's Blog: China Coast Marathon Jan 18th

I meant to put this on my blog a few weeks ago, but I forgot! Jan 18th I participated in the China Coast Marathon. I raced in the half-marathon event. This was quite a different race than I had done before. It was located in Sai Kung, which is known to be a very beautiful part of Hong Kong. There is a large reservoir there. Also, the race start/finish is at a "day camp," so there's also pictures of that. It seems to be a popular place for kids to come and do activities at the day camp. Sai Kung is in the New Territories, roughly the northeast part of Hong Kong. This area is also near the ocean. I woke up early to meet a 6 am chartered bus in Central that took myself and other runners from this part of Hong Kong out to Sai Kung. It only took about 45 minutes on this bus to get there. It was quite a chilly morning. The weather had been very cold in Hong Kong the week leading up to the race, but the forecast said the weather would warm up on this Sunday. However, I came prepared for whatever weather, warm or cold. It was so cold before the race! I wore what had become my trusty cool weather running outfit. I debated whether or not to wear the ear cover band and my gloves, but feeling cold (in the high 40s F), I chose to wear it. The race started at 8 am. As soon as the sun shone strongly, it really started to warm up! The forecast was right and I should have listened. Not a mile into the race I was too warm and regretting my outfit. Luckily my gloves fit in my running belt and I looped the earband onto my belt. But, I wished I was wearing short sleeves. The race itself was pretty...it was a in a country park and along the reservoir. It was quite tough with challenging hills throughout the race that did not relent! So, my 2:04 time was ok with me, considering all the hills. The hills really took it out of me and I look like I am suffering in the photos! Ha ha.

There wasn't a bus to take the runners back to central, so instead, I had to take 2 buses, 3 trains and 1 taxi to get back to my apartment! I think it took 1.5 to 2 hours instead the 45 minutes bus ride. Therefore, there's also some pictures of trains and scenery on the way back from Sai Kung. Interesting, the stations that have outdoors stations do not have barriers to keep people from jumping/falling onto the tracks. However, in the underground stations right in the middle of the city, they do have those barriers.

A typical train station in Central.