Marathon runs politics aground

"Hong Kong" was missing at yesterday's popular Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and its associated races, which returned to the streets after a notable absence due to the pandemic.

The marathon was also the first major sports event since the implementation of the national security law on June 30 last year.

Its enrollment quota was 18,500 this year due to social distancing measures and the organizers' inability to invite overseas competitors, who numbered more than 74,000 when it was last run in February 2019.

The latest turn of events came with organizers on Thursday advising runners to refrain from using any political slogans on their attire during the marathon.

That meant a backtracking by the organizers from their announcement last Monday about it being acceptable for runners to wear the slogan "Hong Kong add oil." The phrase, which means "Keep it up," is used to express support and encouragement and featured prominently around demonstrations.

An ambigram of "Hong Kong," which can be read as "Hong Kong add oil" when turned upside down, was also banned from running attire.

Several runners wearing simply "Hong Kong" or "Hong Kong add oil" were told to change clothes or mask the phrases if they wanted to join the event.

A runner named Wong, who competed in the 42-kilometer full marathon, was initially turned away from the race after wearing black shorts carrying the words "Hong Kong."

Police constables at the Nathan Road start area told her she was wearing "clothes with political messages," she said.

"I managed to borrow another pair of shorts from my friend or I would have to give up this long-awaited marathon.

"The word had been earlier that it was okay for runners to wear 'Hong Kong add oil' on their attire, but now authorities have moved the goalposts again."

Another runner, So, who was in the 10-kilometer race, said he was stopped from joining the starters until he changed his green jersey that carried "Hong Kong add oil."

He was first intercepted by constables about his attire, but then marathon staffers intervened and demanded he remove the jersey or put on a windbreaker to mask the slogan. "They emphasized that any attire conveying a political message had been banned," So said. "I was told to follow their instructions or wear the jersey at my own peril."

Likewise, a man with the slogan tattooed on a calf faced being run out of the marathon field unless he covered it with a bandage, which he did.

At a briefing yesterday, organizing committee chairman William Ko Wai-lam repeatedly sidestepped the question of why there was a ban on runners wearing the "Hong Kong add oil" slogan.

His response: "Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is a sports event, and we do not wish to inject political elements into it.

"I have nothing to add to that."

But Ko did say he had not heard of runners being stopped before they started for wearing just "Hong Kong" on their outfits.

He declined to comment if the ban on political messages was a decision reached by the police or the organizers.

He added: "We will delve into relevant matters with the police."

Political messages and slogans aside, some runners chose to kit themselves out in costumes. Lam, in his 30s, who was running in the full marathon, wore a green prison jacket with the number "456." But that, it was pointed out, referred to main character Seong Gi Hun in the smash-hit Squid Games on Netflix. But costumes also tripped some runners during security checks before they started.

A man dressed as Spider-Man for the 10-kilometer race was told to remove his headpiece for identification verification inside a security booth.

Other special costumes, including cartoon characters such as Super Mario and Shark, also made a return this year. Others decided they should dress for the sun, including a woman in a striking bathing costume.

The police were also in high profile with 3,000 officers stationed around the marathon route and the courses for the day's other five races. They included officers from the Counter Terrorism Response Unit and the Railway Response Team, watching out for "lone-wolf" attacks.

And checking all was well was the police commissioner, Raymond Siu Chak-yee, who followed the progress of races.