page_title: Hong Kong Marathon
section_title: 2010–present
hierarchical_section_title: Hong Kong Marathon / History / 2010–present
caption_attribution_description: English: The crowd near the finishing line in Victoria Park at the 2012 Hong Kong marathon. - more Information
context_page_description: The Hong Kong Marathon, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, is an annual marathon race held in January or February in Hong Kong. In addition to the full marathon, a 10 km run and a half marathon are also held. Around 70,000 runners take part each year across all events.
  High levels of humidity and a difficult course make finishing times for the Hong Kong Marathon comparatively slower than other large marathons. The course records were both set in 2019. Kenyan Barnabas Kiptum holds the men's record of 2:09:20 hours while Belarusian Volha Mazuronak holds the women's record of 2:26:13 hours.
  Hong Kong Marathon was first granted as IAAF Bronze Label road race by International Association of Athletics Federations in Year 2012 race, and it was upgraded as IAAF Silver Label road race in Year 2013 race, and continued to keep this rating in Year 2014 and Year 2015 race. Since 2016 race, it is upgraded to IAAF Gold Label Race.
  The Hong Kong Marathon has hosted the Asian Marathon Championship race on four occasions.
context_section_description: The 2010 race saw Cyprian Kiogara Mwobi become the first man to defend his title in Hong Kong, and only the second person to do so after Yuko Gordon won the women's races in 1983 and 1984.
  At the 2011 edition, held on 20 February, Nelson Kirwa Rotich won the men's elite race in a time of 2:16.00 hours. However, it was the women's elite race that proved to be the high point of that year's events: young Kenyan runner Janet Rono failed to gain a position within the invited foreign athletes and she chose to fund her own journey and participation for the event. The move paid off as she won the race in a new women's course record time of 2:33:42, erasing Irina Bogachova's ten-year-old mark.
  The route was modified in the 2012 race to pass through the Central Piers and the newly reclaimed areas around the Tamar site. Ethiopians set new course records for both men's and women's races: Dejere Abera for the men's record with 2:11:27 hours and Misiker Demissie for the women's record with 2:30:12 hours. The wheelchair race was resumed after 14 years of hiatus, with full marathon and 3 km courses. The second fatality in the competition's history occurred that year, when a 26-year-old male half marathon runner fell unconscious after he passed the finish line, and announced dead after he was sent to hospital.
  The 2013 edition was held on 23 February and Julius Maisei (2:14:18) and Misiker Demissie (2:30:49) won the elite races.
  The 2014 races were won by two Ethiopian athletes who self-funded to enter the race. Feyera Gemeda and Rehima Kedir won the men's and women's races in 2:15:05 and 2:34:53 hours, respectively.
  A 24-year-old male Ng Cheuk-yue from the 2015 race died of an unknown cause in a hospital after a heart attack and then head injury just one hundred metres away from the finish line. A 49-year-old male runner is currently in a hospital after falling ill at the Tsing Ma Bridge. Ethiopian runner Sentayehu Merga Ejigu won the men's race with two hours, thirteen minutes, and forty-six seconds; North Korean runner Kim Hye-gyong won the woman's race with two hours, thirty-one minutes, and forty-six seconds. Thirty more people were hospitalised: three serious, nineteen stable, and eight discharged.
  The (20th) Hong Kong Marathon (2016) had the first Official Theme Song of the race - Life And Marathon (人生馬拉松) sung by Hong Kong singer Eason Chan, being recorded on his newest album Getting Ready (準備中) released on 10 July 2015, and Eason was formally invited to participate on this race with being granted "Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon VIP Pass" by Standard Chartered Bank and Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association.
  The 2018 route did not include the Tsing Ma Bridge.
  In 2019, a new course record of 2:09:21 was set by Barnabas Kiptum.
  The 2020 edition originally scheduled in February was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Similarly, the 2021 edition of the race, originally scheduled for January, was postponed due to the pandemic.
caption: The Hong Kong Marathon in 2012,  the crowd near the finishing line in Victoria Park.
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