Hong Kong athletics officials have announced the first-ever Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Half Marathon, slated for November. They hope the event can eventually grow into an annual race on the 34-mile-long bridge, which opened in 2018.
The race, which will be confined to the Hong Kong section of the bridge, will allow competitors access to a space where pedestrians are typically banned when it launches on November 19.
After checking their IDs, runners will be taken beyond the Hong Kong Port border checkpoint, where the race starts and finishes. After around 6.5 miles—when runners reach the end of Hong Kong Link Road, which connects to the bridge’s central section—they will turn around for the home stretch.
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The event will attract athletes worldwide, offering local athletes the chance to compete against top-level contenders. More than 5,000 amateur runners will also be participating, with the elite men’s and women’s race winners each taking home a $10,000 prize.
“We are anticipating large demand to participate in this unique event, which gives runners an opportunity to run on territory that is normally completely closed to the public on foot,” Simon Yeung, chairman of the half marathon organizing committee, said at the launch event last week.
“The breathtaking nature of the course will attract runners from the city and overseas, and when people see the first edition, we are certain the appetite for participation will significantly climb beyond our initial 8,000 figure and eventually create a notable annual event,” Yeung said.
The event will also double as the inaugural East Asia Half Marathon Championships for competitors from that region.
“Athletes need to find the best competition, and normally Hong Kong runners have to travel abroad for this,” Hong Kong half marathon runner Marcus Cheng said at the launch. “The new race is a great opportunity to compete in our own city and enjoy local conditions.”
The half marathon will include 8,000 participants, 2,500 of which will be elite runners divided into four separate age categories.
The remaining 5,500 spots can be claimed by race hopefuls with priority entry between July 28 and August 6 for runners with a fast enough 10K or half marathon time. The remaining slots will be available to the general public on August 14.
Hong Kong, China Association of Athletics Affiliates chairman Kwan Kee said at the launch event that they welcome the difficulties that putting on a race like this presents. “Organizing the race in this new venue brings lots of challenges for us, but like all athletes, we love challenges,” Kee said.
Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Condé Nast Traveler and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
