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Lantau Mountain Marathon Report, Jan 6, 2008
Report | Results | Splits (Lantau Island, Hong Kong, sunny with temperatures between 17-25 and 60-80% relative humidity) King of the Hills Lantau Mountain Marathon – Warm and Smoggy The weather started to warm on Saturday and by race time it was over 20 degrees. Combined with medium to high smog levels, finishing times slowed predictably, though the races were still quite competitive with a near record turnout. Full Marathon – Stone Back in Form Tsang Siu Keung Stone found himself in the unusual position of not being in first place as the lead runners neared Sunset Peak. Bob Shorrock led the charge up the hill. Stone knew he didn’t need to panic, however, as he runs down technical trails faster than anyone else in Hong Kong. Sure enough he was back in first place before he reached Tung Chung and went on to record another dominating victory, his second in this season’s series. Law Chor Kin recovered from a missed turn that cost him at least 10 minutes to catch up with Bob Shorrock at the last checkpoint and then cruised home in second place. Bob came in third in what he described as a “humbling” experience. Bob led in the usual parade of super V45s with KK Chan second, followed by Chan See Kau. Expecting father, Rupert Chamberlain, was 6th overall and the third open finisher. Jeannette Holmes-Thomson followed closely behind Rupert, motivated by racing against both her husband and the other women in the field. Lee Bik Sai, Ada was the second women in, just a few minutes ahead of Lam Lai Po. Chan Kin Kwok was victorious in the male V40 category, easily beating John McKinven and Yuen Kwok Man into second and third respectively. Ng Chau Yan thoroughly dominated the M50 category. Ng Wing Kwong was second, followed by Ho Hon Ming in what he called a “PW” – personal worst time in the 15 or so years he has been racing this course. Marlboro Ann Miles actually listened to her doctor and rested her knee over the holidays. As a result, she returned to form with a victory in the female veteran’s category. Monica Ng was second, followed by Ma Yan Wah, who looked awfully fresh at the finish and admitted to having extra energy in reserve. Tom Walker cruised to victory in the male V55 category. Law Kwong Chow was second with 60+ year-old Yeung Wing Kai finishing third and lamenting a wrong turn that may have cost him a higher podium placing. The story of the race that was not reflected in the results was the toll that the conditions took on the field. Over 30 runners either dropped out or failed to make cut off times. Many others finished complaining of cramps and dehydration. Half Marathon – Crown this Man King Italian Stefano Passarello ran away from the field in the first, uphill leg of the race and was an estimated 2 minutes clear at the top of Sunset Peak. Mountain racing in Italy consists of running uphill only, however, so Stefano lacked the experience and technique to maintain his lead on the subsequent drop to Pak Kong Au. By that checkpoint, Jeremy Ritchey was in first, Ryan Blair second and Adrian King third. The final 7.5 km contour trail favors speed merchants and Adrian King, unsurprisingly, passed the other 2 and claimed his second victory of the season. Jeremy Ritchey ended up second for the second race in a row, with Ryan Blair third and early leader Stefano fourth. Leung Ping had an excellent run to place 6th overall and first in the male V45 category. Leung’s regular age-group rival, Derek Irwin finished second in the category, followed by Yip Kam Shu. Returning to HK for a visit, Alex Copping, showed that he’s kept up his running in the land of fish & chips with a narrow-margin triumph over fellow male V40 Peter Faarbaek. Anthony Davies was third. Tsang Sin You handily won the male V50 division, ahead of Shek Kong and Neil Robertson. Wong Peter Chun Tong ran his best race of the season to capture the male V55 title. Claus Rolf was second and Cho Yan Kwong third. Sarah Walker should perhaps be renamed as she sprinted to victory in the ladies’ half marathon. Cissy Chan finished second looking lean and mean, despite protesting that she had done zero training. Cissy was just ahead of Riitta Hanninen. Marcy Trent-Long returned to KOTH racing with a female V40 victory, Fiona Sommerville was just 20 seconds behind, followed by Roushana Sjahsam. We contiue to receive tremendous support from our sponsors, ADM Capital Foundation, Swire Coca-cola, Powerbar, and Protrek/Montrail and and are getting record attendance for almost every race. Encouragingly, course sweeps reported seeing virtually no rubbish left by our racers during this race. My great thanks to everyone who has embraced the concept of only depositing litter in litter bins. The next race takes place in Repulse Bay on Sunday, 27th January. This is usually the best- attended race of the season and offers showers and food outlets nearby for those who wish to enjoy a beach picnic following the race. See www.seyonasia.com/koth for further details. Happy trails. Keith Noyes Race Director KOTH 2008 KOTH Lantau Half Results MO 1) Adrian King, 1:24:53; 2) Jeremy Ritcey, 1:25:33: 3) Ryan Blair, 1:27:25 M40 1) Alex Copping, 1:31:27; 2) Peter Faarbeak, 1:31:58; 3) Anthony Davies, 1:34:42 M45 1) Leung Ping, 1:31:14; 2) Derek Irwin, 1:34:26; 3) Yip Kam Shu, 1:37:14 M50 1) Tsang Sing You, 1:42:08; 2) Shek Kong, 1:48:20; 3) Neil Robertson, 1:54:32 M55 1) Wong Chun Tung, Peter, 1:44:14; 2) Claus Rolff, 1:51:59 3) Cho Yan Kwong, 1:53:24 FO 1) Sarah Walker, 1:48:03; 2) Cissy Chan, 1:55:25; 3 Ruiitta Hanninen, 1:56:08 F40 1) Marcy Trent Long, 1:59:32; 2) Fiona Somerville, 1:59:52; 3) Roushana Sjahsam, 2:03:44 2008 KOTH Lantau Full Results MO 1) Tsang Siu Keung, 3:43:25; 2) Law Chor Kin, 4:02:06; 3) Rupert Chamberlain, 4:27:01 M40 1) Chan Kin Kwok, 4:40:31; 2) John McKinven, 4:55:22; 3) Yuen Kwok Man, 5:00:23 M45 1) Bob Shorrock, 4:10:58; 2) Chan Kwok Keung, 4:14:32; 3) Chan See Kau, 4:18:11 M50 1) Ng Chau Yan, 4:43:22; 2) Ng Wing Kwong, 5:05:17; 3) Ho Hon Ming, 5:11:58 M55 1) Tom Walker, 5:18:51; 2) Law Kwong Chow, 5:46:32; 3) Yeung Wing Kai, Peter, 6:00:28 FO 1) Jeanette Holmes-Thomson, 4:30:45; 2) Lee Bik Sai, Ida, 5:04:01; 3) Lam Lai Po, 5:07:01 F40 1) Ann Miles, 5:13:37; 2) Monica Ng, 5:48:11; 3) Ma Yan Wah, Maggie, 6:10:09 |
