This was my 7 marathon, first overseas.
Also I was running a marathon on wheat-free diet for the first time.
I guess the marathon was what I was expecting! A lot a runners but it was neat experience to run 3 bridges and 3 tunnels (Western-Harbor tunnel under the bay) on one day. The weather was good with a nice breeze most the way. The only problems I had was the banking of the freeways, the lack of porta-potties on the start of the race and the crowded finishing area. I ended on a modest 4:52 and a nice finishers medal. Not my best but not my worst. Overall I was happy and probable will do it again but not so soon.

Definitely one of the toughest races in Asia. Lots of slopes, which really put a test to your training. Race organization was great, with plenty of drinks station. Perhaps I am a slow runner, but I didn't see any chocolate station to replenish my energy - just some raw banana stations. Overall, I had a PW result due to my own injury, plus my unpreparedness for the slopes.

I have run this quickly growing race 3 times now; however, I have not run any others, so I cannot compare as a runner (although I have supported other marathon runners in other races around the world). I enjoyed the marathon; it was very well organized, well marshaled, and there are no problems with going off track or getting sports drinks, sponges or water - all nicely supplied.

This year it was very hot when we got started but fortunately the sun ducked behind a cloud after the 7:30 a.m. start, but it did re-emerge later to bake the tired runners on the home straight. Nothing we can do about the weather but the marathon in previous years was run one or 2 weeks earlier and in HK that makes a difference (however previous marathons have been lashed by rain and winds, so they can't really win). One thing, though: this year there were no water sprays to cool runners - they weren't needed in the past, but this year everyone was crying out for a cooling spray of water mist!

For a city run, the course is quite hard and hilly, going over 2 very nice and scenic bridges and through 2 tunnels; but to be honest, it was a bit boring for the middle half of it, as it stretches along remote highways with very little support beyond the lovely cheering staff provided by the sponsors. They did really well - thanks, guys!

The end of the course is a killer - down a tunnel under the harbor and up a long incline and curving up a flyover, which undulates mercilessly before squirting you into the welcome shade (by then it was quite hot) of the streets of HK Island. It's only here, in literally the last 2 KM, that you get any of the public cheering you on (apart from the opening 2 KM). It was very welcome, but in past years I have had supporters unable to cheer for me, as I didn't get this far due to injury. This is not yet a very well supported marathon due to the course.

There was decent medical support along the course, which seems to be improving after one or two tragic fatalities in the previous years. Each year I have run, though, there has always been someone collapsed at around the 2 KM mark - chest pains, someone flat on their face, etc. - every year without fail. I suggest putting medics there because the most urgent medical cases I have witnessed in my runs seem to be here at the beginning!

As for toilets, there was often a queue, and though there seemed to be a reasonably regular intervals (apart from the bridges, where I was looking around for awhile), there was always a queue and I, like other men, jumped off and watered various saplings at conveniently positioned places.

It is really crowded at the beginning. In past years, I have crossed the start line between three and seven minutes after the gun; and the first few KM can drop you to walking pace on occasion. It's not too bad, but every year they take on more and more runners, and I really hope they don't grow much larger unless they stagger the start of something.

The medal was a nice, solid, bronze gong and there is fruit, sports drinks and chocs for finishers, but no pasta party. I think this might partially be since the Chinese aren't really big on pasta, but I didn't mind that.

Overall, a good marathon, very well organized, with a rather average course for scenery, but quite challenging (and tough for slower runners like me) on runners. It had a good atmosphere, and as I live here, I would happily run it again and recommend it to others looking for a decent run in Asia.

This was my first marathon race, so I don't have any past experience to compare to. But being born in HK, it is nice to go back there to race my first one.

The weather was very nice: a little bit overcast, 13°C start time temperature. Maybe a bit too cold for local HK people as many of them wear long-sleeved shirts, but since I trained indoors all winter in Chicago, it was nice for me.

My target time was 4:45 minutes and so initially I tried to just wait in the back. But a few minutes before the start of the race, people still did not want to line up in the starting line. Maybe people just wanted to lay back and then pass people from the beginning. (As a result, I may have been passed by 2000 people in the first 10km. I also ran a very slow 1 hour 13 minutes first 10 km).

It may seem strange that a lot of people had to pee just 2-3 miles into the race (especially male racers, in the brushes). Perhaps people were so afraid of dehydration that they drank a lot of water.

There was really no crowd at all, no spectators. One definitely needed an MP3 player to entertain oneself. There was not much conversation among runners either. As a result, many of the volunteers, especially those not alone looked really bored.

Being in the slow group, there was no banana or chocolate past the half-way point as promised- That was bad. Only after I got back to West Kowloon highway I finally can get a very raw banana (totally green and I hard to peel) and it tasted so bitter that I could only finish half of it even though I was starving. And it was only about 5 km later before I finally got a chocolate bar. The sad thing was that they saved many good bananas and chocolate bars in the post-race gift bags. I hoped that they would have more bananas and chocolates in the race, and didn't distribute raw bananas. After that, I learnt through my own experience that raw banana is very bad for your stomach, and I continued to have a stomach ache the day after the race.

The many inclines close to the end of the race definitely were a challenge. But if you save enough energy before, and belong to a slow group, it is very cool to pass people on all the inclines near the end of the race.

Maybe I was slow, but there was not much of a post-race party at all. But being in a city like HK, you can easily find your own entertainment.

And still, I think the race was totally worth the very cheap entery fee (~44 USD) compared to other races (such as 110 USD for the Chicago marathon in 2008).

**Full Disclosure - I ran this race with a head cold and on cold medicine, which turned out to result in a crummy day, so while my comments will be on the race, please keep this bias in mind.**

Great organization pre-, during, and post-race - plenty of water, sponges, and medics on the course.

The HK Standard Marathon is 100% on highways, so while the road is closed, the other side isn't so you are running all but 5K of it next to traffic and with ultimately it is not scenic (unless you consider asphalt pretty).

I'd say the biggest draw for this race is the fact that on any other day, you couldn't be running this course - because of the two bridges, the one island where you are in a tunnel the whole time, and of course, the uber-cool, running of the trans-harbor tunnel under the sea (cool little marathon-feather-in-the-cap, eh?!)

Unfortunately, I think my biggest disappointment was the difference between the course and the elevation chart. Now, as stated above, I was under the weather, and it affected my time, but even with the new 2008 course, "BRUTAL's" comment below stands. At 32K, you run a fairly long incline out of the tunnel that turns immediately into three consecutive on-ramps that go up, up, and up... ouch! Then after that, as you travel along Kowloon, you hit 5 more overpasses that, while short inclines, are fairly steep. They did me in.... In the end I should have trained better/been healthier, but the end of the course was killer, even harder than then end of the old LA course.

Still a fun day with a lot of people, but that end of the course really spoiled my enjoyment of the day.

Temperature was low at 13C; I have run two 42K races and could not believe I was drinking a very cold drink in HK. Even foreigners like me were saying, "The water is cold - no thanks."

Overall, it was still a great race!

This time I did the half marathon. Trained for my PB and started off great. Organizational support is good, and despite a slowish start because of the many, many runners, I got into my stride. Heading into the final 7 KM, I was well under my PB, but then the nightmare started. A huge number of casual "runners," "walkers" and people stopping to take photos blocked the route for the next 2-3 KM making it impossible to run! The end of the race was more like a charity walk than a race. Definitely will not join this race again unless the organization is improved.... Pity. I have done it over six times, but this was the worst.

It was the third time I joined the Hong Kong Marathon, which is well organized if you talk about the baggage deposit and pick up, drinking posts, and first aid teams.

But my feeling is that the organization is putting the focus on quantity instead of quality. More and more runners are joining but the roads from the start are far too narrow to let runners run their own pace. People block each other. Only on Tsing Ma Bridge at about 17K I felt more free to run my race. Much of the route is used in two directions, compressing the runners in a narrow lane, and a third lane is kept free for emergency service. The route is not the easiest one - mostly uphill till halfway and the toughest part is from running out of the harbour tunnel till the 41 KM mark with a number of very steep hills.

Some people suggest to reroute the marathon into town to flatten the route and to allow more fans. But in town the air pollution would be a nightmare for the emergency services. This year they didn't even allow fans at the finish! There was only a grand set-up for VIP people. What a shame this is! And they want to make the marathon more fan friendly?! My wife was very upset she could not see me arriving, and how upset I was! It took me some time to find her away from the finish.

A new route should be out of town on wide roads, at least from the start, used in single direction. No matter where the finish is, runners would attract fans anyway, but fans should be allowed. It is the best reward for the arriving runners - better than a medal (given before even starting!).

I go to Hong Kong every year to celebrate Chinese New Year but for the marathon in 2008, I am not thinking of joining unless new regulations are made to improve the quality of the race.

Five things about the HK Marathon:

1. Great logistics and great organization - KM markers, porta-lets, baggage handling, race kit, water stations, sports drinks, chocolates, etc. - absolutely well organized.

2. Three seasons in one race. Cloudy and warm at the start, drizzling and cool by the bridges, summer - warm and sunny at Hong Kong side.

3. Lonely course - boring running along the highway and tunnels. Be sure to bring tunes - iPod Shuffle is best. No spectators except for a few SC employees that cheer you on.

4. TONS of people - 6,000 marathoners joined; and 1,000 did not finish. All in all, 42,000 signed up and 37,000 people actually joined - so expect traffic during the first 10 KM.

5. BRUTAL COURSE - basically uphill through the first 21 KM. Toughest part was going out of the harbor tunnel where the is an uphill incline for about 1 KM that steepens even further towards the end - note that this is already at KM 37 or so, so this is the last thing you need. And just when you think it's over, you get hit with an on-ramp incline again - this time even steeper - and then when you think that it must be over and you can go for it at around 39 KM another on-ramp - a steep one. And when you finally think it's over one more - so steep that you actually have to walk down. Then towards the last 1 KM it becomes a psycholgical mind game because you only have 1 KM to go but you can't see the finish line till the next 50 meters as you bend around the HK convention center. To add to the steep inclines are the banks of the highways, which make it difficult to run as gravity pulls you to the side of the road.

Bottom line: If you can make it in HK, you can make it anywhere. Great experience, but I would not do it again unless they change the course to a flatter course, which they are seriously considering for next year. This was the complaint even among the African runners who swept the event. And one more thing - about the pollution: nothing to worry about unless you live in Antartica (where there is no air pollution - for the time being).

This is my first time in HK. The logistics are great. Plenty of water points.

The route is mainly along the expressway, with lots of slopes and tunnels.

Very badly designed finisher's medal, which to me is a great disappointment because I collect them. They give it to us when we pick up the race kit. You get the medal before the run.