The China Coast Marathon and Half Marathon races are AVOHK ‘s flagship event. The marathon was the first AIMS certified road marathon in Hong Kong. It was first held in 1981 and won by Ron Hill in a time of 2:34:35. Ron described it as the toughest marathon he had run and although the course has changed over the years, it is still a tough challenge. It is not a race at which personal bests are set, but it offers very good racing against some of Hong Kong’s hardiest runners and through some of Hong Kong’s most stunning scenery. Being held in February gives the best chance of good running weather. The current course record is 2:38:44 set by Kevin Ball in 1989 which reflects the difficulty of the terrain.
The races are a good alternative to the Standard Chartered Marathon. The China Coast races are organized by runners for runners and AVOHK endeavour to ensure that all the participants feel welcome and looked after.
The courses start and finish at Pak Tam Chung, Sai Kung and are run on the roads around High Island Reservoir within the Sai Kung Country Park part of the UNESCO World Heritage Geopark. The marathon course is AIMS certified.
In keeping with AVOHK’s mission of promoting veteran athletics, the marathon and half marathon races have 5 year age groups.
The races are held alongside the Hong Kong Community Chest Corporate Challenge half marathon and 10K races. These are team races and the purpose is to raise funds for HK Charities. For information about these please contact the HK Community Chest directly. Please note AVOHK do not organise a 10K for AVOHK runners.