While the roadies pounded the pavement and enjoyed harbor tunnel air in the Standard Chartered Marathon, a devoted group of 75 trail lovers participated in the Hong Kong Mountain Marathon, the 4th race in the Brooke King of the Hills Series. Conditions were very humid, but relatively cool and overcast.

Continuing his run of good form, Alex Morgan won convincingly in 3:18:20 and has clinched the series with his third win in a row. Sam Ribet came in second and clinched second place in the series, while Jimmy Thompson made an impressive third place debut in his inaugural full marathon.

Hui Hok Fong won in the v-40 category in 3:49:24. His second half pace put him well ahead of Bob Whitehead (2nd) and Ian Roper (3rd). Hui Hok Fong along with Mak Ping Yin, Bob Whitehead and Ho Hon Ming all have a chance of winning the series at the final race.

Meanwhile, John Fowler left no doubt of his supremacy in the v-55 category this year. His Hong Kong win was his third and gives him the series title. Jenny Roper also clinched the ladies full marathon series with a steady win.

The half marathon was won by new comer John Power who managed to get well clear of the rest of the field by sticking with Alex Morgan until the full/half split. Veteran Dean Lewis finished second and first in the v-40 category. The potential is there for an intriguing final race as both Dean and Andy Pickles each have 2 series victories. Benny Hagberg placed second in the race and along with Philippe Guillo is also in the hunt for hardware at the awards dinner.

In the v-55 category, Peter Widmer outpaced Mike Cooke by 2 minutes and has given himself the chance to dethrone the seemingly unbeatable Cookie in the final race. John Tanner, meanwhile, missed a chance to clinch a final series place, ignoring no fewer than 6 turn arrows to go off course and be disqualified.

(Clearly most runners follow other runners rather than the course directions. As they get tired they also become less and less alert and perhaps subconsciously hope that the course is not going up the next hill. This is one of the extra dimensions that trail racing offers that is not present in road racing.)

Marie-Helen Arnauld proved that her Lantau Half Marathon victory was no fluke. She once again outpaced all the other women while setting a new v-40 course record of 2:13:14 and just missing Chiaki Fjeldhal's overall course record. Rachel Sproston finished 4 minutes behind and clinched the ladies half marathon open title.