Message from the Chair

Happy Birthday AVOHK! 

2022 marks the 40th birthday of AVOHK running club, which was founded in 1982. The Big 4-0 is definitely an occasion to celebrate so we are hoping to plan some special events for later in the year. 

China Coast Marathon 

As many of you will now be aware, we had to cancel the 2022 China Coast Marathon due to the government restrictions in response to the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. It is particularly disappointing to cancel China Coast for a 2nd year as it is our flagship event. Most of the preparations for the race had been completed and our race directors are now hard at work to action refunds and send out souvenirs to all of those who had entered. Please keep up the training and come back faster than ever when we can race again! 

Social Run 

The next AVOHK Social Run would have been held on February 2nd. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, it has been tentatively rescheduled for Wednesday, February 9th. Please do check the website, or contact Frank directly on membership@avohk.org or 9423 5422 for any updates. 

Our New Website 

Committee members, Aldo and Nigel, presented our new AVOHK website at the Christmas party last month. And here it is! We do hope you enjoy the new look and feel. We’ve focused on usability and an improved experience to members and runners alike. There is lots of information about our races and activities for new members. For our long-term members, there are lots of galleries to bring back memories. 

But if you have a request or an idea, then do use the Contact area to share. We can’t promise we’ll take every suggestion but will certainly factor this into future changes. The site is for you so please enjoy your experience.

Happy running! 

Elaine Hall 
Chair

China Coast Marathon 

As 2021 draws to a close, AVOHK’s focus is firmly fixed on the upcoming 2022 China Coast Marathon on January 16th. Race opportunities were sadly limited by the pandemic in 2021 but, through the races that we have been able to organise, we have developed a good working relationship with the Home Affairs Bureau and we have been liaising with them to organise the China Coast Marathon. The 2022 event will be a full marathon only and there are still spaces available, so please visit www.avohk.org to sign up. Buses will be provided to transport runners to the Start in Sai Kung Country Park. 

Christmas Party 

It was lovely to see lots of AVOHK runners and swimmers at the recent Christmas Party at Café 8. As always, Melody and the team there did a wonderful job of hosting us. It turned into a lively night with AVOHK members joining our guitarist Keith Raymont “onstage” for a bit of a singalong at the end! 

AVOHK and HKAAA Membership 

Please don’t forget to renew your AVOHK membership if you are an Annual Member. Life Members do not need to renew. As a Club member, it is also worth considering becoming an HKAAA member as you will then become eligible for priority entry to HKAAA events, such as the Standard Chartered Marathon. HKAAA membership is handled separately through www.hkaaa.com. 

New Marathon Record 

I would like to congratulate AVOHK runner Gi Ka-man who ended the year with an incredible run at The Valencia Marathon on December 4th. Ka-man headed to Spain with hopes of breaking his previous personal best. This would be no mean feat as it was an impressive time of 2:30:27. He was not expecting to run as fast as did however, and his time of 2:19:48 is the fastest ever run by a Hong Kong Runner! It has been a great season for him as many of you will have seen him cross the line at the Standard Chartered Half Marathon in October alongside Chan Ka-ho. Their times were ultimately split by one 100th of a second, with Gi Ka-man being awarded 2nd place overall in the elite category. The marathon record is still being ratified by HKAAA, but it is obviously also a new AVOHK record. 

I hope that you all have a lovely holiday season, but keep getting those miles in for the China Coast Marathon! I am looking forward to seeing you in 2022. 

Happy running! 

Elaine Hall
Chair, AVOHK

Dear AVOHK Members

Well, there’s quite a few updates this month …

China Coast Marathon

Sunday, January 16th, is the date for the 2022 China Coast Marathon. Catherine and Dave are working closely with the Home Affairs Bureau to make sure that our race will satisfy all the current COVID-19 precautions.  We are planning for the full marathon only this year and are hoping to open registration very soon.  Please keep an eye on the avohk.org website for announcements.

Christmas Party

Our annual Christmas Party will take place on Wednesday, December 8th, at Café 8.  It’s a great way to catch up with old friends, especially since there haven’t been many races this year!  We would also love to meet and get to know any new members, so please sign up and come along.  We will have a fantastic buffet meal and drinks and there will be music from Keith Raymont.  Further details are in the newsletter.

Membership

Membership for 2022 is now open for renewal or sign up; it’s HK$150 for regular members or HK$75 for age 60+.  Life members don’t need to worry about renewal.  Membership gives you more than 12 months of Club benefits, including reduced fees for many AVOHK races and social events.  As an AVOHK member, you may also apply for HKAAA membership.  This then allows you guaranteed or priority entry into HKAAA races, including the Standard Chartered Marathon.

For any queries about membership or payment, please contact membership@avohk.org.

New Website

Committee members Aldo Kriel and Nigel Raymont have been working extremely hard over the last year to build a totally new website for the Club.  It is looking great and has a host of new features.  They will do a short presentation at the Christmas Party and you can have a chat with them about the project.  The website will go live in January.

Standard Chartered Marathon

Many of our members turned out to run in the various events last month.  I hope everyone had the race they were aiming for! Congratulations to everyone who raced and especially those who achieved PBs.  Special mention to Club members Gi Ka-man, who finished second overall in the Men’s Half Marathon in 1:08:55 (having crossed the line hand-in-hand with the winner), Rachel Sproston, who won the Women’s Master 2 10K by almost a minute faster than the runner-up in a time of 42:05, and Charlotte Hall, who finished second in the Junior Women’s 10K in 38:18 in her first attempt at the distance.

I hope to see many of you soon at the Christmas Party.

Happy Running!

Elaine Hall
Chair

Thank you to everyone who turned out at the crack of dawn to support our Wanchai Gap 5k race this month, whether you were running or volunteering. Full results and prize winners can be found on the AVOHK website and on our Facebook page. There is also a fantastic video on our Facebook page, which was produced by Henry Russell, 11, who managed to capture everyone’s finish and made it all look so easy!

Dave Smith and Catherine Leonard, our race directors, are now hard at work on our proposal for the China Coast Marathon. Sadly, we had to cancel plans for the 2021 race but we are very hopeful that it can return in January 2022. It will almost certainly be a smaller event than previous editions but we are doing everything that we can to make it happen. Details will be emailed to members and posted on our website.

Finally, good luck to everyone who is running in the Standard Chartered races at the weekend. I hope to see lots of AVOHK vests out on the course!

Happy running,

Elaine Hall
Chair, AVOHK

We finally have some positive race news! Our AVOHK Wanchai Gap 5k will take place on Sunday, 3rd October. This has been a long time in the planning and we are very excited to hold our first physical race in more than 18 months. More details here: www.avohk.org.

We had been confident of holding the race on 12th September, but last-minute notice from the Home Affairs Bureau that testing would be required for all runners caused us to reschedule to allow more time to organize this. There are now more races appearing on the race calendar and it seems that testing is becoming a standard requirement. I know that this is inconvenient for runners and may seem unnecessary but, at the moment, this is the only way that race organizers can get events approved. AVOHK is a running club and our race directors and marshals are all volunteers. We do not make a profit from our races. Most other Hong Kong races are organized by businesses. This is their livelihood and the last 2 years will undoubtedly have been challenging for them. The same goes for many of the companies which AVOHK has long-standing relationships with, timing companies, medal suppliers, etc. Many of these people have worked with the running community for years and have become friends. As running events start to come back, please consider making the extra effort to take a test and support the races, whether those are AVOHK’s or other events. If the running community can come together and show that there is a demand for these races and that they are indeed safe, we have more chance of receiving permits for more races in the coming season.

There is a comprehensive report in the newsletter on the recent Hong Kong Masters Track Meet. I would like to congratulate our Athlete of the Year, John Fowler, who won the overall title in the Men’s 80-85. John will be racing at Wanchai Gap next week.

I hope that everyone who applied was successful in securing a place in the Standard Chartered Marathon. Fifteen runners were entered through our Priority Club Enrollment and many others secured slots through elite entry, guaranteed entry and the general ballot. It will be great to see many AVOHK runners out there on the day. Good luck to all!

Happy running!

Elaine Hall

Race News

Malcolm Phillips Virtual 5k

The extreme hot weather proved to be a challenge for all the runners who headed up to Bowen Road last month for Virtual Malcolm Phillips 5k. Malcolm was a very active and popular member of the Club and he is remembered by the many friends and family members who compete in the race each year. As this year’s race was a virtual format, Malcolm’s brother and niece, Graham Phillips and Kathryn Taylor were able to complete their own 5k in England.

Congratulations to Gillian Castka of HKLRRC and AVOHK’s Thomas Wetzer who won the ladies’ and men’s categories in fantastic age-graded times of 20:52 and 17:24, respectively. 

5k and Reservoir Races

I had hoped to be able to announce the opening of registration for AVOHK’s first physical race of the season but we are still in discussion with The Home Affairs Bureau over the social distancing protocols needed in order to be granted exemption from the current COVID-19 social gathering regulations. We are hoping to hold a 5k race on 12 September, so do keep an eye on our website for information. We are working to a very tight schedule and will open registration immediately if we are granted permission. We have decided not to hold the 5k series as we normally would, but we are hoping to organize 2 independent 5k races over our traditional courses. We are also hoping to hold all 4 Reservoir Races, also as individual races rather than a series this year. This is all subject to approval being granted.

Standard Chartered Marathon

The HKAAA have worked extremely hard this year to get the Standard Chartered Marathon off the ground. You will have received the email from Vicent about priority entry for AVOHK members. Unfortunately, our quota has been cut drastically this year due to the very limited field. We are allowed to enter 15 runners through the Club (in normal years there is no upper limit). Good luck to everyone who is able to get to the start line. It has been too long since we have been able to race on the roads of Hong Kong. Let’s make the most of it and show that these events can be held safely for the benefit of Hong Kong’s running community, old and young.

Happy running!

Elaine Hall

The Malcolm Phillips Virtual Age-Graded Race is underway. There is still time to sign up and complete the course before midnight on Monday, 26th July!

Please visit https://www.avohk.org/our-races/2021-malcolm-phillips-5km/.

Things are looking a bit more positive on the racing front at last. HKAAA have announced the October 24 date for the Standard Chartered Marathon and Action Asia deserve credit for managing to organise a 12k and half marathon at Pak Tam Chung at the start of this month.

There were many social distancing measures in place at the Action Asia race but these didn’t detract in any way from the atmosphere. This season has thrown up unique challenges for race organisers. AVOHK are planning to hold 5k races and reservoir races over the coming months and are working closely with the Home
Affairs Bureau to make this happen. Dave and Catherine are also hard at work on a proposal for the China Coast Marathon to be held in January. We hope to be able to announce more details of our races in our next newsletter.

Mo Devlin
Mo was moved out of the ICU 3 weeks ago following his serious bike crash, and he has now been transferred to Union Hospital to continue his recovery. This means that he is now able to receive visitors again, which is great news.

Mo’s partner, Janine, will be undertaking a virtual indoor bike challenge on the 24th July. She will be attempting to ride the equivalent of the height of Everest to show solidarity for Mo and give him a boost in his recovery. If you would like to join in on your own bike trainer, please contact Hayley on 9438 6340 for more details.

Happy running!

Elaine Hall

After a very difficult year, last week’s AGM at Café 8 was a more cheerful affair with Club members finally able to get together. Although Colin and Phil stepped down as chairman and vice-chairman after 5 years in the roles, we are delighted that they are both still very involved with AVOHK. As the new Chair, I am extremely grateful to Colin for agreeing to serve as Vice-Chair for a year and to Phil for stepping up as Race Director of the Reservoir Series.

Malcolm Phillips Virtual Race 2021

Having skipped a year in 2020, the ever-popular Malcolm Phillips Age-Graded race will return in 2021, this time in a virtual format. Further details will be emailed to members soon and you will also be able to check out information on the AVOHK website at www.avohk.org.

Mo Devlin

Many of you will have been concerned to have heard that Mo Devlin, a very active AVOHK member, had a serious accident last week while cycling. Mo’s partner, Janine has been keeping his many friends in the running community updated on his progress. The good news is that Mo has now been transferred out of the Intensive Care Unit and is now on the High Dependency Unit. I know that everyone will be very relieved to hear of Mo’s progress and we all wish him the very best for his recovery.

The Race Situation

Due to the ever-changing COVID restrictions, last season was one of race cancellations and disappointments. With the situation stabilising we are committed to doing everything that we can to make races happen. Our priority is to get runners running again! We have recently had some constructive communication from the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) regarding the possibility of holding races in the near future. At the moment we don’t know what that might look like. It is likely that virtual races, time trial starts and limited fields may be a feature. It is also looking likely that vaccinations will be a key factor in allowing physical, as opposed to virtual, races to go ahead. If this is the case then we will also need to call on our members to volunteer at a race, whenever they can as we may have a limited pool of vaccinated volunteers to call upon. The HAB also indicated to us that permission is only likely to be granted for races to go ahead a few weeks in advance. I’m sure that you will appreciate the knock-on effect on the organisation of races. The usual souvenirs may not be in evidence this year as, again, our priority is to make races happen.

Happy running!

Elaine Hall
Chair

Dear AVOHK Members

It is good to see the Government and businesses finally putting some urgency in motivating Hong Kong residents to get vaccinated. I hope this is a pathway to allowing more races and sports events to be organized. Also well done to the government for including our good friends at RUN in the vaccination programme.

The last month has been awful for news. The 100k ultramarathon disaster in China where 21 runners out of a field of 172 perished during extreme cold weather conditions. An almost unthinkable tragedy in our sport. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends and fellow runners.

Last weekend we received the very sad news of the passing in UK of running legend and sportswear pioneer, Ron Hill MBE, at the age of 82. Ron had a special connection with AVOHK and Hong Kong in that Ron won the very first China Coast Marathon in 1981 in 2 hr 34 min. The first race was organized by Andy Blunier – an innovator in race organisation in Hong Kong in the 70’s/80’s. The marathon was eventually taken over by AVOHK a number of years later. There are some very good articles on Ron in this month’s newsletter. Also a wonderful article in the SCMP.

Official notice of the 2021 AVOHK AGM scheduled to be held at Café 8 on Thursday, 17th May 2021 was sent out last week. Details inside the newsletter. Three options this year. (1) Attend in person subject to having 2nd vaccination by 3rd June. (2) Attend virtually via Zoom. (3) Submit proxy vote. Please get your responses in soonest. Thank you.

On the subject of the AGM, Phil Booth having completed 5 years as Vice Chair will be standing down in accordance with the constitution but will be remaining on the committee. I would like to personally thank Phil for all the advice he has given me during the last 5 years and also for his long service to the Club. Many more years to come we hope. In the last newsletter, I mentioned that Elaine Hall has put her name forward to be the next AVOHK Chair. Elaine has served for many years on the committee and is an excellent candidate to be the next AVOHK Chair and will be the first female Chair for a very long time.

Well done to our AVOHK athletes (Mark Russell, Bradley Chan, Chan Siu-hin and Michelle Kwok) who competed in the recent Hong Kong Athletic Series 3 held on 24th May 2021 at Tsuen Kwan O. Results at https://hkaaa.com/en/comp_athlete_info.php?id=183.

In this month’s newsletter there is the usual acerbic contribution from “Railbird” in “Heard at the Track”. A few people have asked me recently on “WhatsApp” with “Railbird”. I said I think he is working on a different “Signal” these days. Seriously we all value “Railbirds” contribution. It often brightens our day up. Some very positive news from Ian Polson in “Swimming Matters”. There is an update on Jessica Cheng’s progress in her attempt to make the Hong Kong Olympic Team. There are also 2 links to interviews given recently by our 2 Honorary club members Dave Bedford OBE and Rod Dixon. Both fascinating interviews. Other wonderful articles on a whole range of subjects. Please take time to read.

This is my last newsletter before I step down after 5 years as AVOHK Chair. I would like to thank all those Club members and especially the committee that have supported me and given their time voluntarily to keep this wonderful Club going. AVOHK enters its 40th year in 2022 and hopefully many more successful years ahead. Finally a big thank you to Vicent, who continues to do a great job of pulling the AVOHK monthly newsletter together.

The Club Monthly Social Run will be held on Wednesday, 2nd June 2021. Meeting at 7pm outside the Hopewell Centre by HSBC. Current COVID-19 restrictions apply. For further details, contact Frank Riehm at membership@avohk.org. PLEASE DO TRY AND COME ALONG. It is fun.

I hope to see you at the AGM on the 17th June 2021. Physically or virtually.

Stay safe, fit and healthy.

Yours in Running

Colin Whittington
Chairman

Dear AVOHK Members

The COVID situation in Hong Kong continues to improve with restrictions being relaxed. Probably slower than we would like, but at least heading in the right direction. Vaccinations are the key to giving us all more protection and we are more fortunate than most other countries in that vaccinations are readily available in Hong Kong. I had my 2nd jab a few weeks ago.

The AVOHK AGM will be held on Thursday, 17th June 2021, at Café 8. Given the current level of COVID restrictions it looks like we will be able to physically meet up. Should the situation change, we will advise accordingly. Doors will open at 6.30pm and the meeting will start at 7pm. This year after 5 years in the post of AVOHK Chair I will be standing down in accordance with the AVOHK Constitution. I have some excellent news to announce and that is Elaine Hall will be putting her name forward to stand as the next AVOHK Chair at the AGM. Elaine has spent a number of years on the committee and we thank Elaine for volunteering to stand. Phil Booth also has come to the end of his 5 years as Vice Chair but will still continue to be a member of the committee. I intend to stand as Vice Chair at the AGM and assist Elaine as she transitions into the role as Chair. Official notice of the AGM will be sent out in due course and all Club officers posts do need to be voted in by our members.

AVOHK were well represented at the recent HKAAA 5K road race championships. Just getting entered and to the start line was an achievement in itself. Mark Russell had a great run leading AVOHK home and was 3rd Junior in 16 min 19 sec and 22nd overall. Relatively new member Tse Chun-kuen ran a splendid 17 min 22 sec for 51st overall. Good runs also by Wong Ka-ho, 18 min 28 sec, Vaibhav Bhoovaraham, 18 min 36 sec, and Bradley Chan (just joined last month), 19 min 20 sec. In the ladies, an outstanding run by Charlie Hall who was the first Junior lady home in 18 min 39 sec and 3rd lady overall. Good solid run by Fang Yuk-mui in 22 min 4 sec. There is a report by the athletes themselves in the newsletter giving their own experience of these championships.

The AVOHK Committee have been discussing our plans to host races in 2021/22. Our current plan is to try and put on a 5K series starting in August. What size of field and what arrangements needed is something we are still looking at. For the 2021/22 AVOHK Reservoir Series, provisionally AVOHK would like to kick off with the Aberdeen Reservoir race on Sunday, 26th September. This year after some discussion we have decided to move the Reservoir Series back to Sunday mornings. The committee feel this will be better supported by the running community. Catherine Leonard and Dave Smith have been busily submitting requests to AFCD to host the 2022 AVOHK China Coast Marathon on Sunday, 16th January 2022. Looking good so far. By the next newsletter we hope to have more information about all these Club events.

Any member requiring an AVOHK Club Vest, please contact Phil Booth at clubkit@avohk.org . Phil has plenty of stock in both Men’s and Ladies sizes. Club members are required to wear them for all HKAAA events but that look great in any race. They also make an excellent present for any occasion. A bargain at HKD150.

There is no further news on the recently postponed Hong Kong Masters Athletic Championships, but we are all hoping that Pacers find a suitable date and venue.

In this month’s newsletter, there are no shortage of interesting articles and, in particular, I would like to highlight the recent efforts by former AVOHK Member Jake Smith, who is now based in UK. Ian Polson writes in “Swimming Matters” highlighting the necessity for us all to get vaccinated. The usual contribution from “The Railbird” in “Heard at the Track” and some wonderful news on Yuko Gordon (Hong Kong Olympian) on breaking the M70 UK Marathon age record.

The Club Monthly Social Run will be held on Wednesday, 5th May 2021. Meeting at 7pm outside the Hopewell Centre by HSBC. Current COVID-19 restrictions apply. For further details, contact Frank Riehm at membership@avohk.org. PLEASE DO TRY AND COME ALONG. It is fun.

Stay safe fit and healthy.

Yours in Running

Colin Whittington
Chairman