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Leopold Chen

About a quarter of the runners for the coming Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon are from outside the city, a record for the annual race, the organiser has said.
Authorities also warned that road closures for Sunday’s marathon will affect services along 269 bus and 40 minibus routes, and called on residents to plan their trips in advance.
The Hong Kong, China Association of Athletics Affiliates, which organises the event, said on Monday that among the 74,000 people set to take part this year, about 25 per cent would be non-locals - a new record.
Such runners had come from around 110 countries and regions, it added.
“The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is an internationally acclaimed event, capturing a significant place in the global long-haul running community, and therefore many international runners have wished to come to Hong Kong to participate in the mega-event,” association executive director Dennis Ng Yu-ho said.
Last year, about 20 per cent of the runners, or 15,000, were non-locals.
The organiser had earlier vowed to enhance overseas promotion of this year’s event in a bid to attract more non-local runners.
The overall number of participants this year is also comparable with that of the 2025 event.
In October, the association said more than 120,000 people had signed up for a ballot for the quotas this year, representing a record high.
The 2025 event also saw the disqualification of four runners, who were found to be wearing other people’s bibs when they crossed the finish line.
Ng said on Monday that the incidents were caused by the runners’ manager mixing up the bibs, instead of any intentional swapping.
“We call on runners to verify information on their bibs, and if they find out the bibs do not belong to them, they should reach out to ask as soon as possible for rectification,” he said.

Sunday’s event will consist of a full marathon, a half marathon, a 10km (6.2-mile) run and a 10km wheelchair race.
The race for wheelchair users will be the first batch to start, leaving Wan Chai Sports Ground at 5.10am.
After that, competitors for the 10km and half-marathon will go next, with the first batches of runners heading off at 5.30am from the Island Eastern Corridor and Tsim Sha Tsui, respectively.
The first batch of marathon runners will depart at 6am from Tsim Sha Tsui.
All races will finish at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.
In response to the race, some major roads on both sides of the Victoria Harbour, including Nathan Road, Central Kowloon Bypass, Island Eastern Corridor, the western and eastern harbour crossings, will be closed or partially shut down in phases.
As a result of the road closures, services along 269 bus routes – 220 daytime ones and 49 overnight ones – will be affected.
The event will also affect 40 minibus routes, comprising 34 daytime and six overnight ones.
Services along eight MTR lines will also start earlier on Sunday to allow runners to reach their starting points, while bus operators have arranged 28 special routes for participants.
The first trains for the Tuen Ma line and the Admiralty-bound East Rail line will depart at 3.25am.
“Overall, due to the influence of large-scale road closures, the road traffic and public transport services across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories will be subject to significant changes, and we also anticipate more congested traffic in main junctions than an average Sunday,” said Ann Wong On-yu, a senior transport officer of the Transport Department.
Wong called on commuters to plan their trips ahead and make the best of public transport on that day, especially the railway services.
Drivers could get more information from the department’s website and the “HKeMobility” mobile app, she added.


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Authorities warn road closures for Sunday’s marathon will affect services along 269 bus and 40 minibus routes, urge public to plan ahead


Authorities warn road closures for Sunday’s marathon will affect services along 269 bus and 40 minibus routes, urge public to plan ahead.


Hong Kong marathon sets record with 1 in 4 of 74,000 runners from outside city

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Authorities warn road closures for Sunday’s marathon will affect services along 269 bus and 40 minibus routes, urge public to plan ahead

Authorities warn road closures for Sunday’s marathon will affect services along 269 bus and 40 minibus routes, urge public to plan ahead