Hong Kong - nothing goes Wrong but race takes Long...
Marathon Number 117 would take my marathon adventures to the Orient for the first time, with Hong Kong (China I guess?) also to be the 31 st country in which I have completed a marathon*. Thanks exclusively to Gill, our accommodation in Hong Kong – the Mandarin Oriental - was probably the most fancy pre-race hotel I have enjoyed to date. This was assisted by an unexpected upgrade to a suite with Harbour Views, which boasted significantly more floor space than our apartment in Dubai, in a city where space is notoriously at a premium. Swish… Away from the luxury of the room, our first two and a half days in Hong Kong represented far from ideal marathon preparation. On the first day we tackled the ridiculously steep walk down from the iconic Victoria Peak (after a lengthy, slightly lost, trek around the summit), which overlooks Hong Kong, which resulted in extremely sore glutes and quads for the next two days. Our efforts were put s...