2006-10-04
11^th Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon to be held on 4 March 2007
Marathon Education Programme Launched to Raise Awareness on Benefits of Running and Healthy Living

[Hong Kong, 4 October 2006]: Standard Chartered Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA) are sounding the starter's pistol on the 11th annual Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, which is scheduled on Sunday, 4 March 2007.

Marathon organizers are also introducing new measures in 2007 to raise awareness of the importance of proper preparation for safe and enjoyable running and the benefits of leading a healthy and active lifestyle. The new Marathon Education Programmes comprise a variety of grassroots initiatives to help runners at every skill level improve their preparedness for, and maximize their enjoyment of the Standard Chartered Marathon 2007.

The event was announced at a press conference held today at Standard Chartered. In attendance were Peter Sullivan, Executive Director and CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, William Ko, Chairman of the HKAAA and Chris Wardlaw, Deputy Secretary for Education and Manpower Bureau. Also attending were four members of the Hong Kong team in the Greatest Race On Earth, Tsui Winter, Choi Tat Ming, Ng Kam Tai and Lai Hok Yan.

Peter Sullivan commented on today's announcement, saying, "Standard Chartered is proud to sponsor the Hong Kong Marathon for an eleventh exciting year in 2007. Over the years, awareness of the Marathon has grown exponentially, along with a corresponding increase in participation. This year, we are launching several new initiatives to help people better prepare for the event. These measures will help us achieve one of the key goals of our sponsorship, encouraging more members of our local community to experience the benefits and joy of running and leading a healthy lifestyle."

In addition to the wide variety of training clinics and running workshops introduced by Standard Chartered and the HKAAA for past marathons, a new and exciting initiative known as "Marathon 101" will be introduced. "Marathon 101" targets the general public, the online community and local primary and secondary school students with the objective of helping people across every age group better understand the importance of engaging in healthy activities like the Standard Chartered Marathon.

A key component of "Marathon 101" is the Marathon 101 Education Programme. The programme includes ready-to-use Teacher Packs which provide lesson plans, student worksheets and extra-curricular activities to facilitate student learning both inside and outside the classroom. Developed in accordance with the Curriculum Development Council's Life-Wide Learning Policy, "Marathon 101" seeks to enrich student learning by providing authentic learning experiences for whole person development.

The Marathon 101 Education Programme is launched in association with the HKSAR Government's Education and Manpower Bureau. Teaching kits are bi-lingual and designed for Primary 4 - 6 students and Secondary 1 - 3 students. In phase 1 of the programme, 100 schools will be targeted.

In addition to curriculum learning, the Education Programme includes a Community Awareness Programme is created to provide community service trainings to Secondary 4-7 students. Upon completion, students will be qualified as volunteers at the Standard Chartered Marathon and receive certificates of achievement in March 2007.

As part of the initiative, Standard Chartered will also launch a new Marathon 101 website at www.marathon101.com.hk in November. The website will be dedicated to helping participants gear up to enjoy a safe and inspiring event in a relaxing and easy-to-understand fashion which includes a variety of training programmes, running tips and games. Additional details will be disclosed at a later stage.

In addition to its online and in-school programmes, "Marathon 101" materials will be featured in the Standard Chartered Marathon Expo and district training clinics.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return of sovereignty, HKAAA is also launching a special 10th Anniversary of the Handover Cup for all 18 District Councils. Each District Council will be entitled to enter one team comprised of 10 runners in the challenge. The teams will compete in the 10km race of the Standard Chartered Marathon 2007. The official times of each of the top five runners from the District Council teams will be cumulated to determine the winning District. Each District Council will organize their own team and invite the members to participate in special Training Clinics launched in early 2007.

The Standard Chartered Marathon 2007 will again follow its famed urban route starting at Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and finishing at Golden Bauhinia Square in front of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The total prize money for international marathon is US$65,300. Standard Chartered Hong Kong will continue to offer its special prize purse of over HK$144,000 to be shared by the top three finishers who are Hong Kong Permanent Residents in the Marathon, Half-Marathon and 10km race. A Time Bonus scheme has also been established to encourage local runners in the full marathon. Hong Kong Permanent Residents finishing the Marathon 3:00:00 or under for men and 3:30:00 or under for women will each receive HK$1,000.

The Standard Chartered Marathon 2007 again serves as the final race of Standard Chartered's global marathon sponsorship initiative, the Greatest Race On Earth. Launched in 2004, the Greatest Race On Earth sees teams of marathon runners chasing the fastest cumulative time over four Standard Chartered marathons around the world for a total prize purse exceeding US$ 1.5 million. This year's Greatest Race On Earth includes Standard Chartered marathons in Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

To ensure the ideal running conditions, the Standard Chartered Marathon 2007 is instituting new starting procedures based on time limits declared by all participants on their entry forms. The first 10km race start (for Junior, Senior and Master 1 & 2 categories) will be at 5:30am for runners who expect to finish within 1:10:00 of starting. The second 10km race start will be at 5:50 am for runners with time limits from 1:10:01 to 1:25:00. And the third 10km race start will be at 7:05am for time limits over 1:25:01 while the Half Marathon start will be at 6:10am. The Standard Chartered Marathon 2007 proper will begin at 7:40am.

Registration for this year's Marathon will commence today (4 October 2006). A special Early Bird Registration Fee will be offered to local and overseas runners ($270 and $290 respectively) who register before 31 October 2006. From 1 November through 31 December 2006, the fee will be HK$320 for local runners and $340 for overseas runners. Late entry fee for overseas runners is $440, payable in cash only. Race entry forms are available at the HKAAA office (Room 2015, Olympic House, 1 Stadium Path, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong) and all Standard Chartered Bank branches in Hong Kong. Applicants can register online at the official website at www.hkmarathon.com. For more information, please visit the official website or call the official hotline on 2577 0800.

Standard Chartered Hong Kong is in its 11th year of title sponsorship to the Hong Kong Marathon. Additional sponsors and supporting parties include: New Balance Athletic Shoes (Hong Kong) Limited, Hotel Miramar Hong Kong, Watsons Water, Citizen Watches (HK) Limited, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Information Services Department, Western Harbour Tunnel Co. Ltd and Tsing Ma Management Limited.