Hong Kong had a team of 7 at the Malaysia veterans’ championships September 16 & 17, and they brought home 12 medals: 5 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze. The Malaysians attracted about 500 athletes from 12 countries. It was the usual Malaysian setup: hot all day with a tropical downpour in the late afternoon, no pork and expensive beer. This was the 35th revival of the championships.
Mick Wong was our star performer with gold in the 100, 200 and 400. Aldo Kriel was surprised to be beaten into second in the 100m but revenged himself on the same opponent by winning the 200. Shirley Wong brought home silvers in the same two events. Dominic Wong is in Mick’s M50 category, so he could earn only a silver in the 400, but he came back with an impressive win in the 100 hurdles, beating the second-place finisher by fully two barriers. Our other medallist was yet another Wong: Wong Kee-lam, who took bronze in the 100, 200 and javelin throw.
Hong Kong had a team of 7 at the Malaysia veterans’ championships September 16 & 17, and they brought home 12 medals: 5 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze. The Malaysians attracted about 500 athletes from 12 countries. It was the usual Malaysian setup: hot all day with a tropical downpour in the late afternoon, no pork and expensive beer. This was the 35th revival of the championships, and it set a record by being the first to provide toilet paper in the washrooms. Everything looked well-prepared on Friday before the meet, but on Saturday morning one of the two sets of washrooms was locked. It was the set near where the stadium staff have their offices and pantry. The remaining set were insufficient for 500 athletes and we were directed to a set of latrines in an adjacent field.
Shirley opened our account with silver in the 100 on Saturday morning. She was closing fast on the winner at the line, but just couldn’t get there. The same opponent did it to her again in the 200 on Sunday morning when she finished one step behind and again had to settle for the silver medal.
Mick and Aldo both had timed finals in their 100m races. Each won his section easily, but when the section results were merged Mick had won but Aldo was edged into second by a policeman from India. Aldo vowed revenge, which he took on Sunday when he and the copper were drawn in the same section of the 200 with Aldo in lane 8 and the flatfoot in 2. Aldo beat him relatively easily. Unfortunately, Constable Plod won’t be in Manila for a rematch.
Wong Kee-lam is now living in KL, but he says it’s only temporary. He’s studying comparative religion. In Malaysia everything will be compared with Islam, so don’t offer him char siu. This was Phoebe Kriel’s return to competition after leading her Phoebe’s Phast Pheet team (Phoebe, Aldo and their two kids) in the family relay at the Thai championships several years ago. She didn’t win a medal, but it was she who selected the restaurant for the memorable crab feast on Saturday evening that was our team dinner.
There seems to be some dissention in Singapore. Unusually, they had two teams in KL: the usual Singapore team led by AMA Secretary Kannan and a Singapore Track and Field Association team organised by Jason Wong. There were two veterans’ meets in Singapore this year, so someone seems dissatisfied with Kannan’s decades-long stewardship.
September was a turbulent month for weather with a super typhoon and black rainstorms to contend with. This resulted in AVOHK having to postpone the first race in the AVOHK 5K series. Good news was to follow and AVOHK held the rearranged Bowen Road 5km on Saturday, 23 September 2023. Freeman Lee, the Race Director, rounded up the volunteer helpers (thank you to all) to make the race a success. One hundred and seventy runners toed the line for an 8am start. Some very credible results in all age categories which can be found here:
Thank you to Watsons Water for sponsoring the series and to Freeman Lee for nailing the race organization. Just confirmed Race 2 of the 5k series will be held at Tai Tam Tuk on Saturday, 7 October 2023. 8am start.
Last shoutout to represent AVOHK at the 2023 Hong Kong Masters Athletics Championships which are being held at Wan Chai Sports Ground from 27 to 29 October 2023. Entries need to be in by Friday, 29 September 2023. Contact Aldo Kriel, the club captain, for this event at vicechair@avohk.org. 20+ club members have signed up.
Enter now and get training for the 2024 AVOHK China Coast Marathon and Half Marathon which is being held on Sunday, 4 February 2024. The usual early-bird discounts and club discounts apply. Please enter and support AVOHKs biggest event of the year which was first held in 1981. Enter online here: https://avohk.org/index.php/2023/09/15/welcome-back-to-the-china-coast-4-feb-2024/. Dave Smith and Catherine Leonard are the co-race directors.
Details on the new AVOHK Club Vest and availability will be announced shortly. A big thank you to Phil Booth for seeing this project through.
AVOHK are looking at the possibility of holding a reservoir race at Aberdeen Reservoir on Sunday, 11 November 2023. Watch out for further details.
Date for your diary. The AVOHK Christmas Party will be held at Museum Café (old Café 8) at 7pm on Thursday, 14 December 2023. We plan to arrange some entertainment and the usual Lucky Draw, HKD 250 for Club members and HKD 350 for guests. This includes 2 drinks and a sumptuous buffet. Thank you to Aldo Kriel who has volunteered to co-ordinate.
Rod Dixon, an AVOHK honorary Club member, 4-time Olympian and running legend, will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of his heroic 1983 New York City Marathon win on Sunday, 5 November 2023. Described in many running magazines as one of the greatest ever marathon victories, Rod lives out his accomplishments through his Rod Dixon Kids marathon foundation, taking his programme to many schools in the US and his home country of New Zealand. You can contribute here: https://www.kidsmarathonfoundation.org/tcs-new-york-city-marathon-2023.
Social Events
The monthly Club Social Run is held on the first Wednesday in the month. Next one is at 7pm on Wednesday, 4 October 2023. Meeting at the Hopewell Centre outside BMW Shop (formerly, HSBC). For further details, contact Norman 9249 1452 or Frank 9423 5422.
An AVOHK Club Social Gathering for members to relax and chat about running and athletics will be held at “Bobby’s Rabble” at 46 Wyndham Street. Starting at 6pm on Thursday, 19 October 2023. For further details, contact Aldo Kriel 6125 7913 or vice-chair@avohk.org .
Committee
The next AVOHK Committee meeting will take place on Monday, 16 October 2023, at 7pm.
The RUN Race 2023 returns for the first time since 2019!
This event features an 8km trail race for individuals & family pairs, and a 1.5km kids race!
At RUN, we support vulnerable refugees, particularly women, to build resilience and nurture self-reliance for a more hopeful future. With sport as the springboard and education as the foundation, we help refugees to create a life of safety and dignity, in Hong Kong and beyond.
Our Race is an opportunity for you to experience first-hand the diversity of talents that our participants bring to our community – For many this race represents another challenge on their journey to healing, freedom, and advancement. They each work tirelessly to reach their goals and we are excited to see them test themselves on the trails. If you see them out there, make sure to cheer them on and give them a high-five!
Registration & Race Start: Tai Tam BBQ Area Site 2
8km race: Individual age18+
8km race: Individual Youth (age 11-13)
8km race: Individual Youth (age 14-17)
8km race: Family pairs (1 adult+1 youth)
1.5km kids race: 6-8yrs (accompanied)
1.5km kids race: 9-10yrs (unaccompanied)
Each entry includes a minimum suggested donation. You’re welcome to give more, begin a new monthly donation, or donate on event day. Every donation, no matter the size, helps to support the most vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong.
**Waiver**
I assume full and complete responsibility for any injury or accident, which may occur while I am traveling to or from the event, during the event, or while I am on the premises of the event. I also am aware of and assume all risks associated with participating in this event, including but not limited to falls, contact with other participants, effect of weather, traffic, and conditions of the road. I hereby waive, release and forever discharge the event organizers, sponsors, promoters for all my liabilities, claims, actions, or damages in any way connected with my participation in this event.
Yes, AVOHK does have an active swimming section. Congratulations to Club member Doug Woodring who competed in the World Aquatics Masters Championships in Fukuoka earlier this month. Setting four Hong Kong M55 age group records. Read more about Doug’s achievements in this month’s newsletter.
RACES AND COMPETITIONS
Sign up now: The 2023 AVOHK 5K Series. Online Entry is live with over 250 runners already signed up. The first race will be held at Bowen Road at 8am on Saturday, 9 September 2023. This series has the full age range with masters categories in 5-year age groups from 35 years up to 80 years+. For the youngsters, you must be at least 12 years of age to enter. The series is sponsored by Watsons Water. Race Director is Freeman Lee.
Final call: The 2023 Asia Masters Athletics Championships will take place at New Clark City in the Philippines from 7th to 12th November 2023. Historically, Hong Kong have always had a large team for this event. There are no qualifying times/distance.
This is “Sport for All”. So far, 37 have signed up. AVOHK requires entry and payment by 31st August 2023. An email went out recently with details. If anyone is still interested in taking part, please email me soonest at chair@avohk.org.
Get Ready: The 2023 Hong Kong Masters Athletics Championships are due to take place at the Wanchai Sports Ground from 27th to 29th October 2023. Details at http://hkmac.org/2023HKMAC_DraftR4.pdf (English is at the back). Entry will be open from 1st September 2023. Aldo Kriel (vice-chair@avohk.org) will be the AVOHK Club Captain for this event and will be contacting Club members shortly.
2023 World 24hr Masters Championships in Taipei, 1st/2nd December 2023. Details are here:
The Monthly Club Social Run is held on the first Wednesday in the month. Next one is at 7pm on Wednesday, 6th September. Meeting at the Hopewell Centre outside BMW Shop. For further details, contact Norman (9249 1452) or Frank (9423 5422).
An AVOHK Club Social Gathering for members to relax and chat about running and athletics will be held at Bobby’s Rabble, 46 Wyndham Street. Starting at 6pm on Wednesday, 20th September 2023. For further details, contact Aldo Kriel 6125 7913. August’s gathering was well attended and even “The Railbird” put in an appearance.
COMMITTEE
The next AVOHK Committee Meeting will take place on Monday, 11th September 2023, at 7pm.
Good luck to all those athletes competing for Hong Kong, China, in the upcoming 2022 Asian Games being held in Hangzhou.
Congratulations to AVOHK Club member Doug Woodring who competed for his home country USA in the 2023 World Aquatic Championships held earlier this month in Fukuoka, Japan. Doug swam in 6 events and broke the Hong Kong M55 age group record in 4 of them
The Support China Morning Post reports that local runner Steve Carr (not an AVOHK member for some inexplicable reason) set out in the last week of May to reprise the long-dead Stanley-to-Shataukok run. His effort was abortive in that he started in Tsimshatsui, not Stanley and got hung up in urban congestion to the point that he couldn’t even finish that shortened version. I never did Stanley-to-Shataukok, but Sheila and I helped out a few times. Here’s what I remember.
It was held annually on the Saturday night closest to the full moon in May. It started from Stanley police station and ended at the Shataukok border zone control post (about 55K). There was no set route; each took the route they felt would be fastest. With only about a half-dozen starters running individually, that would ease the police surveillance and permit problems that races have these days. The only fixed part of the route was the Cross-Harbour Tunnel—the only tunnel in those days.
The start was in the middle of the night to reach Shataukok in the cool of the morning. The Tony Gover race (now called Round-the-Island) used to go past Stanley, and most runners simply took the Repulse Bay Road up to the little park at the junction of Headland Road. (The Gover race started and finished there one year.) That would be suicide with today’s traffic and runners would presumably go through Chung Hom Kok instead.
At the park it was out with the flashlights for the run down what was called the snake path to South Bay Road. (Technology had moved beyond carbide, but batteries weren’t what they are today, so there were no headlamps.) In those days there was a trail from the top end of the Deep Water Bay golf course up to the tail end of the Aberdeen catchment. Following the catchment brought you out on Nam Fung Road just above the South Island School, from where it was an easy run on lighted footpaths across the Wong Nai Chung Gap, down Blue Pool Road and through Happy Valley to the tunnel. The ride through the tunnel involved some waiting for the drivers, as there were no mobile phones in those days.
On the Kowloon side it was every man (I think Charlotte Mitchell may have tried it one year; Kitty Chow? Maggie Brooke?) for himself. Up the Tai Po Road, around Shing Mun Reservoir and over Lead Mine Pass was a popular option. But one year Nick Brooke was detained there by some Gurkhas on night manoeuvers who thought he had been sent in to represent the enemy. (Nick is a patriot with a bauhinia to prove it, but he has never been in the PLA.)
Today runners would better opt for Shatin Pass. There are escalators up to Tsz Ching Estate, and the rest of the way up is a road, traffic-free except on the night of the Trailwalker. Then it will be time to pull out the flashlight again, as the trail down to Shatin is all 19th century stone stairs. It’s easy running, but you need to watch your step.
From Shatin today it’s down the river and around Tolo Harbour on the lighted footpath all the way to the Sha Lo Tung Valley. I don’t remember that too well, but there is a trail up from the valley to a low point in the Pat Sin Leng, from where there is a country park road out to the Shataukok access road. Bus service from the police post back to the Fanling MTR Station must be much better today than it was in the ’90s when the Stanley-to-Shataukok was last run.
Hong Kong had a team of 5 at the Singapore veterans’ meet June 10 and 11, including two from AVOHK: Shirley Wong and Mick Wong. Here is Shirley’s account of their adventures.
The Singapore meet had all the usual track and field events except the steeple and pole vault, but included a hammer throw. It attracted almost 600 entries, including 237 veterans starting at age 30. Apart from our little team of 5 there were foreign entries from Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, the UK, Poland and some African country. There were 3 entries in the M80s.
The weather was extremely hot and sunny, but the humidity was low by Hong Kong standards. It was over 33℃ in the afternoon both days. I had to pour water on the track so I could put my hands down in the starting blocks. The benefit is that you didn’t spend much time warming up. You felt fully ready after just a few easy runs.
The meet was at Singapore’s Home of Athletics with electronic timing. It’s a very sunny venue, but the organisers provided tents and chairs at trackside. The Home of Athletics is near the Stadium MRT station, which makes it easily accessible from the hotel of your choice. There is also a very nice shopping mall nearby with more than enough restaurants offering different cuisines at reasonable prices. The setup is similar to what is planned for Kai Tak. The Home of Athletics is a simple track right next to a major football stadium with a big seating capacity. The organiser explained that booking the main stadium would cost at least S$200,000. The situation will probably be similar at Kai Tak except that the simple track probably won’t be reserved for athletics. In Hong Kong, football will always get priority.
The track was very soft in the heat. Great for distance runners; not so great for sprinters. But it was easy on the legs. Mick says it cost him half a second on his 200m time.
So how did we do? The Hong Kong team was Mick Wong, Shirley Wong, Jacky Chan, Charles Ng and Alice Tai. Everyone came home with at least one medal. There were 5 golds:
Mick in the M50 100, 200 and 400 Alice in the W55 javelin Myself in the W40 100.
Then there were 4 silvers: Jacky in the M45 800 Charles in the M40 200 Myself in the W40 200 and 400.
The meet was a huge success simply because the organisers paid attention to details. There was unlimited iced sports drink and water available, and beer and cakes after the last event. That’s the best service I’ve seen. The free cakes and drinks showed that they understood the needs of the athletes. They respected each of us and always spoke politely to everyone. Everyone spoke good English, and the entry fee was quite reasonable. The time management and planning went very well with everything correctly organised. Best of all, the changing rooms were very clean!
The Singapore athletes were all very friendly and helpful, making sure we knew where to get the cold water and sports drinks, where best to warm up and about the call room times. The announcers were always encouraging and kind—very professional and generous with their compliments. It made for a very harmonious sporting environment.
A few members spent the afternoon of Tuen Ng Festival at the Victoria AC’s veterans’ meet at Wanchai. The turnout overall was limited, as the Victoria club is not well known among vets and the meet was not well publicised. But it turns out that the Victoria club has been running track meets for very young children (kindergarten age) for a couple of decades. This, though, was their first veterans’ meet. Their rug rat experience stood them in good stead, as the meet ran smoothly despite all the age group complications.
Glory and Aldo amply justified their AOY status with a couple of easy wins, but the star of the show for AVOHK was Mick Wong. He dominated both the 200 and the 400 (an event he dislikes). As he powered around the bend in the 200 (see the photo) the spectators let out a collective gasp.
Everyone attending agreed it was a great to see hordes of little kids running, jumping and winning big, shiny trophies. It’s the future of our sport.
The 2023 AVOHK 5K Series Online Entry has been launched with the first race being held at Bowen Road at 8am on Saturday, 9th September 2023. This series has the full age range with Masters categories in 5-year age group from 35 years up to 80 years+. For the youngsters, you must be at least 12 years of age to enter. The series is sponsored by Watsons Water. Race Director is Freeman Lee. Enter now!!
Preparations for the 2024 China Coast Marathon and Half Marathon are progressing. This event will be held on Sunday, 4th February 2024. This is AVOHK’s biggest event of the year and the Club looks forward to having a large group of AVOHK members competing. For the Marathon, there is the special John Lane trophy for Club members to compete for. John Lane was one of the original founding members of AVOHK in 1982. We will let you know once online entry is available.
2023 Asia Masters Athletics Championships will take place at Clark City in the Philippines from 7th to 12th November. Historically, Hong Kong have always had a large team for this event. There are no qualifying times/distance. This is “Sport for All”. Entries close on 8th September 2023. An email went out recently with details. If anyone is interested in taking part, please email me at chair@avohk.org.
Date for your diary.
The 2023 Hong Kong Masters Athletics Championships are due to take place at the Wan Chai Sports Ground from 28th to 29th October 2023. We are waiting for the organisers to send out entry details.
The 2023 China National Masters Athletics Championships will be held in Quzhou City, Zheijang Province, on 26th September 2023. No further details at present. Bill Purves is trying to find out more information.
Newsletter
If you are travelling and competing overseas, do think about writing an article for the AVOHK Newsletter about the event and your experience. Maybe with a few pictures. Contributions to AVOHK Newsletter Chief Editor Vicent at vicentavohk@gmail.com.
Do take time to read the July AVOHK Newsletter. There are some wonderful and informative articles. Note: The Railbird has come in from the cold.
Committee
The next AVOHK Commi5ee Mee7ng will take place on Monday, 31st July 2023, at 7pm.
