Hong Kong is Runner-Friendly

Posted On April 4, 2010

While I did run the marathon in Hong Kong last February, I wish I could go back there and run other routes in the city.  I tried to have a recovery run in the city after the marathon, but I was still tired so Quennie and I decided just to take pictures of great running places instead.  I may have scared you to running the Hong Kong marathon with its strict cut-off time.  But if you have the chance and train for it, you’d feel good about the accomplishment.

Check out these running places if you visit Hong Kong.  Hong Kong runners are lucky to have these runner-friendly facilities for the public.  Parks have dedicated running paths, routes have great views of the city, and highways have bike and run lanes.  I wish some cities in the Philippines will start planning for similar facilities for runners.

Hong Kong is a  small place but several running events also happen regularly.  Many of them are advertised in billboards, public trains and buses.

Here’s a billboard announcing a race walk event in HongKong.  Several races happens monthly.

 

Here’s an exciting adventure event in HongKong.  Trail Run + kayak + swim.

What if a resort in Batangas will sponsor something similar?

Victoria Park in Hong Kong was the finish area for the 2010 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.  A day before the event, I got to look around the park and found a runner’s path within the park.  The path looks rubberized like a track oval.  Hong Kong runners are lucky to have this kind of public facility.

 

Next stop is the Avenue of the Stars in Kowloon.  Near the Avenue of the Stars are fitness activies like Tai Chi.  At the same time, there were a lot of runners here even at night.  What I like when running at the Avenue of the Stars is the great view of the harbour and the cold winds.  If you are in Hong Kong, don’t miss to run here.

 

During our last day, Quennie and I went to Ngong Ping to see the Giant Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery.  We rode the cable car which was about 5 kilometers long.  The view from the top was scary but we got to observe more running facilities down below.  There were several runners and bikers and they hve a dedicated lane away from the highway for training.

 

 

 

There are a lot of great place to run in Hong Kong.  I hope similar public facilities will also be developed in key cities in the country to encourage more runners and for our safety as well.