The organiser of the annual Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has proposed for the route to be extended to Mong Kok in the race in January next year.
The Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association, organiser of the Hong Kong Marathon, submitted a proposal to the Yau Tsim Mong District Council that suggested rerouting next year’s race, which takes place on January 17. The proposed route will take participants through Mong Kok for the first time in the marathon’s history.
The Hong Kong Marathon’s current route, which has been in place since 2001, begins outside The Mira in Tsim Sha Tsui. It turns west onto Austin Road and Canton Road, then continues on the West Kowloon Highway through to Tsing Yi.
The proposal said that the rerouting comes “as the competition continues to grow.” Parts of Austin Road and West Kowloon Highway only have one-lane roads, the proposal stated.
The proposed route had already garnered support from the police and the Transport Department, said the Amateur Athletic Association in the document.
The proposal will be discussed at a district council meeting in September.
The Hong Kong Marathon is an annual event that began in 1997. In 2015, the marathon attracted 73,000 runners.
