words chris ress

Among the starters for the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2008, Patrick Poon shows us anyone can run, no excuses necessary.

At 166 Hennessy Road, in the Citic Ka Wah Bank, Customer Service Manager Patrick Poon has been clocked in since 6am and he won’t be getting home until 9-10pm where, he has a wife and 14-year-old son. But despite all that, since his first 10 years ago, Patrick has participated in over 15 marathons (he forgets the exact figure) and has a personal best of 3 hours and 17 minutes for the 26 mile 385 yard distance. “I have to run at night, when else?” he responds to my question as to when he finds the time rather matter-of-factly. Here, clearly, is a man who will make the time.

“I don’t have very much free time at all so I run when I go home, at about 10pm. This year has been harder for me because of my personal commitments,” he confesses. “Now it is about three times a week. Each time I run about 10km – I try to do about 40km a week. Last year and before, I was doing 60-80km a week. Sometimes 100km a week.” Technically, I could point out that the 43-year-old is slacking but, really, who would we be kidding?

Some years back, Patrick explains, “my colleagues invited me to run with them after work – to relieve stress.” He discovered a natural penchant for the sport and it wasn’t long before he was pounding the earth seriously. “My first real race was the King of the Road 10km on Bowen Road in… 1990? I don’t remember exactly. I wasn’t very successful, it took me 50 minutes but I really enjoyed it and began training more often, two to three times a week.” Fast forward to 1997 and the Tsuen Ma Bridge marathon, before which he had never run the 42.195km fully in one go - having only ever reached 34km during his late night training sessions. “When I got to 30km, it got very painful. Any racer will tell you that the 30-35km part is the hardest, after that it gets numb and you can push on easier. But for me that day, it was very difficult to push through.” But he did.

For the first few years (’97-early ’00s), “I averaged one marathon per year.” That has gone up to two a year, on top of two cross-country races that “are more hilly and challenging”. Which leads the conversation on to the most obvious question – why? “Ha! I don’t know. Maybe because I like the pain! I see it as a challenge. I know that a lot of people feel the pain and stop immediately, they cannot go on. I fight through the pain, it is a great challenge for me, I like that aspect of it.”

He tells me about a race on December 30, an annual event that he has always participated in but is not feeling up to this year. I graciously forgive him for his “laziness” (his words, not mine) and ask about his next race. “The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. A lot of people like this, but I actually prefer the China Coast race at Sai Kung. That one has less people, about 1,000, and it is more hilly – more challenging – and the sights are so much better.”

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2008 takes place February 17. The quota of 8,000 runners for the marathon has been filled but supporters are more than welcome to watch the start at 7:45am outside Hotel Miramar on Nathan Road, and the finish in Victoria Park.