The Sunhing Millennium “King of the Hills”
Mountain Marathon & Half Marathon Series ‘03-‘04
Title Sponsor: Sunhing Millennium
Prizes sponsor: Protrek Travel & Outdoor Gear, Science in Sport, Fitness First
Official drinks: Swire Coca-Cola HK Ltd.
Organizer: Seyon Asia Limited
Press release: The Season Ahead-Sizing up the Competition
The King of the Hills series returns this season for its 6th season in its current format and 18th since its inception in 1984. This year, a new age category for 45-54 year old males has been added, reflecting the great volume of male veteran talent out there competing.
Also, Fitness First and Science in Sport are adding their support to the series this season so participants can look forward to prizes and give aways from these 2 sports fitness focused organizations.
Last season’s races saw the stunning emergence of fireman Choi Kau as the undisputed King of the Hills. Prior to last season, 45-year old Mr. Choi had not raced competitively for over a decade. Yet in his first season competing in the series, he smashed 3 out of the five full marathon course records and relegated two time King of the Hills champion Alex Morgan to second place.
The challenge for those trying to beat Mr. Choi this season is that he has no apparent weaknesses. He’s consistent in all weather conditions, fast on smooth or rough trails, good downhill and has the ability to attack up hills and leave competitors gasping. Most impressive of all, he gets stronger as the race goes along and always runs the fastest split of everyone in the field in the last section of each race. At the recent Soweters Wilson Trail Race, Choi Kau through the gauntlet down, winning by close to 45 minutes and showing that he is in top form and the man to beat.
The most likely challengers appear to be Alex Morgan and Rob Parks who have stepped up their training this season and Lau Yu Chun who has the talent and fitness base, but has not developed the attacking instincts of a champion yet. Others who may also figure in the final medal standings include Chan Kwok Keung, Peter Lee, Ho Hon Ming and Peter Winn while Lam Ngok Wah and Bob Whitehead are likely to resume their battle in the 55+ age category.
One other intriguing possibility would be if Neil Tait moved up from the half marathons to the full marathons. Neil completely dominated the half marathon series, setting 4 course records and winning each race by a huge margin. Matched up against road running ace Mark Williams in the HK Island half marathon, Neil’s rough trail and up hill running capacity allowed him to open a 3 minute lead on Mark by the halfway point and win easily. Neil Tait versus Choi Kau would be a classic battle of raw speed versus superior endurance and we can only hope for the privilege of viewing such a contest.
On the ladies’ side, Kawasaki Chisato emerged as the Queen of the Hills following several hard fought battles with the likes of Claire Price, Fan Sui Ping, Rachel Sproston and Chiaki Fjelddahl. Ms. Kawasaki appears to be in better shape than ever this year, but should expect to be challenged again by the same rivals, all of whom have been training diligently for this year’s Trailwalker. Add in the possibility of Barbara Stockman returning to form after giving birth to her second child and this could be the most competitive year in Hong Kong women’s trail running history.
Almost all of the age group categories have also become very competitive and entertaining over the past couple of year but no one has ever managed to win every race in the series in his/her category in a single season. This is the challenge for the likes of Wong Ip Chor, Babs Bukunola, Michael Cooke, and Ross Dawson this season.
The King of the Hills race schedule this season is set out below. For further information on any and all of the race courses, please refer to
SaiKungMountainMarathon23 November 2003
TaipoMountainMarathon14 December 2003
LantauMountainMarathon4 January 2004
HK Mountain Marathon25 January 2004
ShamTsengMountainMarathon29 February 2004
Happy trails!
Keith Noyes
Seyon Asia Limited