HK Marathon - race organisers screw up (again)

Yesterday I took part in the Hong Kong Marathon. Even at the slower end of the field, it's a good challenge and something that I hope to be able to continue for a good many year yet.

In spite of the challenges of the course, the race organisers have made a few improvements over the years - including adequate water stops and a more interesting course (although still suffering from lack of crowd support on most of the route).

This year, they managed to get a couple of things badly wrong. The first (and lesser) issue was to drastically reduce the number of portable toilets on Hankow Road. The combination of more runners and fewer facilities produced the predictable result of a lot of needlessly long queues and a number of people relieving themselves in nearby alleys.

The more significant issue was the timing of the 8:30 half marathon start. This guaranteed that the fat part of the bell curve of full marathon runners ran into the back of the half marathon field at around the 28 km mark and had to spend much of the rest of the race ducking and weaving through much slower runners (and many walkers). At times I was forced to walk because I couldn't find a gap.

An obvious blunder that any competent race organiser should have avoided.

No wonder the race has such a bad reputation.

Oxfam Trailwalker 2012

I took part in this year's Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker - a 100 km hike accross Hong Kong's rather hilly New Territories. We started with very pleasant hiking conditions during the day. The night was a different story. Being caught on some of Hong Kong's more exposed hills (Needle Hill, Grassy Hill and Tai Mo Shan) for much of the night with only a t-shirt and a disposable plastic raincoat was a very unfun way to learn about windchill. Still, we finished within half an hour of our (not very quick) target time and I'm already thinking of how to get around the course a bit quicker next year. With retirement on the horizon, I should have time to train a bit harder.

In need of a new camera

It looks like my trusty but aging EOS 5D may be nearing the end of its useful life. I've had the camera for about seven years now and it is starting to malfunction with auto focus and flash sync both failing to work properly. I'll take it over to the Canon shop to see if it can be repaired, but strongly suspect that it will not be worth the cost.

If I do need a new camera, I am inclined to stick with a Canon full frame sensor - either the ID X or 5D III. While the Nikon D800 looks wonderful (and the built in flash has its attractions), given my existing Canon lenses and flash, I don't think it is worth shifting to another brand. Put differently, if I am happy with the 5D, then the 5D III will still be a meaningful step up.

Hong Kong trailwalker 2011

Nothing to do with personal finance, but my team took part in this year's 100 km Oxfam Hong Kong Trailwalker. Warm and very humid weather combined with a muddy and very slippery trail to put us a few hours behind target, but the whole team made it to the finish line with no serious injuries (only the usual collection of blisters).

Apart from the benefits of raising a modest amount of money for Oxfam, completing an event which is a considerable step up from running a marathon provides a great sense of achievement.

Foster parents to a kitten

We recently acted as foster parents for a two month old kitten rescued by the SPCA. While our own cat (adopted from the SPCA in 2008) did not take kindly to the presence of the intruder or being denied access to part of our apartment, the experience was a good one. As expected, he spent most of his time hiding (either behind our bed or under a cabinet) and would bolt for cover whenever anyone came into the room. At night we could hear him running around, scratching furniture, unravelling the toilet paper, knocking things over and generally having fun. By the end of his stay it took very little effort to coax him out from hiding to play. I was tempted to keep him, but decided that it will take more work to get our own cat used to the idea of sharing her territory.

Yesterday I received a call from the SPCA to say that he had been adopted. Yeah!

Definitely an experience that was enjoyable and will be repeated.