Sunday, February 05, 2012

Admirable Views and Acts from the Marathon

These guys really deserve our admiration.  Firstly, of course, the vision-impaired runner, for having the stamina to run the grueling full-marathon, and for having the courage to tackle the challenge with the odds stacked against you.  And even more so, for the guides.  It was difficult enough to run the marathon by yourself.  But you have to take on the added challenge of guiding the impaired runner, and avoiding the other runners.  I salute you all.


And then this.  At first, I wasn’t sure what it was, when I saw it from the back.  Then someone exclaimed, “Look at that rhinoceros!”   I ran ahead a bit.  Lo and behold, there it was, with head and horns and all.   It was quite a challenge to take these photos.  Many times I was blocked by other runners and photographers - like me. 


The rhino was advertising for a web site www.savetherhino.org.   The young man inside must be a really good runner, to run the full marathon in such a heavy suit.  Another admirable one.


On the Tsing-Ma Bridge, I realized I could see the Noah’s Ark below - a great view. 

After the Tsing-Ma Bridge, I didn’t take many photos - I was focused on just surviving.  I was helped along the way by the many cheerleaders, particularly those from our university, the PolyU.  Thank you all.  At one point, in Wanchai, a group waving HKU flags was chanting “Hong Kong U, Hong Kong U!”  When one of their girls spotted me, however, she took pity on this poor old guy who was obviously struggling, and started chanting, “Po-ly-U, Po-ly-U!”  I was moved by this bit of chivalry, and waved at her.  Thank you, young lady.


In the end, I did survive the full marathon, with a time of roughly 4 hours and 53 minutes, an improvement of 3 minutes over last year, and my best time so far.  My ankles are swollen, and I can barely walk, but I did survive.  Thank you, my family and friends, for your prayers.



13 comments:

Unknown said...

I ran only 21K and I can barely walk

StephenC said...

Well done. Next time, you can run the full marathon.

Anonymous said...

I am so proud of you! It's not the best time that counts, but the struggle and the participation. You have done very well indeed.

I love the rhino. Bravo! For a worthy cause!

YTSL said...

Congrats on completing the marathon. I don't dare even try to run the 10km race! :O

StephenC said...

Thank you. It was grueling, particularly towards the end. I was sustained by the thought that many people were praying and rooting for me.

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