Hong Kong is one of my favourite places in the world that I travel to quite frequently so it made sense to factor in a race on my latest trip back. After asking friends about races, I settled on the Unicef Charity Run, which is one of the biggest road events on the running calendar there. You have the option of entering the Family 3K, 5K, 10K or Half Marathon. Only the 10K and Half Marathon participants are awarded medals for completing the race within the cut off time. The entry fees are described on the website as a donation, so the minimum amount guarantees you entry into the event. Anyone that raises additional money is then able to gain tickets into Disneyland and coupons for select Adidas stores (Adidas provided the tshirts for the event). Pros 1) Online registration (Chinese and English version of the website available) The website provided a lot of information regarding start times, routes, travel arrangements, race pack pick up, etc. Very comprehensive so I didn't have too many concerns in the lead up to race day. 2) If you're an overseas runner you have the option of someone else picking up your race pack for you (I had a relative help me with this). Otherwise if you miss the original pick up dates there is another opportunity (I only found this out on the website after I got mine). 3) Email updates from the organiser about workshops, race day and race pack pick ups. Also received a weather update text the day before the race. 4) The organisers arranged several special bus pick up points throughout the morning from 9 different areas in Hong Kong (3 different time slots for half marathon, 10K and 5K/3K runners to reduce congestion). You do have to pay for this service (HKD $35) but it's worth it for peace of mind getting to the venue, as public transport doesn't run that early in the day. There were some limited trains running on the Tung Chung and Disneyland Resort lines. I did a recce of my pick up point a few days before hand so I wasn't going to have a panic on the morning. They do advise on arriving early to make sure you get on the bus. There were buses also put on to return runners to certain points on Hong Kong Island and the New Terrorities. 5) I was impressed with the general organisation of the day. As the different distances were all staggered there weren't issues with queuing for the bag drop and toilets when you get to the race village. Huge emphasis on lowering the impact of the race on the environment by encouraging people to being their own reusual bottles (water refilling machine available), only providing cups at the water stations and providing collapsible cups as souvenirs. Water stations were staggered every 3km along the route, with ample amounts of water available (if you wanted something else some stations had energy drinks but otherwise it's best to bring your own race nutrition) and dustbins for the cups. Good signposting in Chinese and English available in the race village and throughout the run. I didn't realise until I went to drop my bag off that there were little logos for the your bag, water and a banana on the race bib. The volunteers used that to tick off that you had dropped your bag off, which I thought was clever. Clearing the race village was quite painless, even when it started getting busy with tourists coming in for the operating hours at Disneyland. Didn't have to wait to long getting a train at the station, as the train operators had put on a very frequent service during the race operation hours. 6) The route itself is definitely up there as one of the more scenic ones I've experienced as you look across Sunny Bay and Discovery Bay. There are points where you only see cars and go a little off road alongside the train line near Sunny Bay, but these are small in comparison. The route is . My only real gripe about the route is the last bit going up the Park Promenade as you're tired and having to weave around the permanent planters to get to the finish line. 7) I love the medal and the tshirt was true to size (sizing in Asia usually means you end up choosing a bigger size although it is the European equivalent. The website is good with providing measurements if you're not sure). 8) Loads of photographers about so remember to smile :) Cons 1) The half marathon is the first event of the day, starting at 6:10am so you have to get to the event really early. My bus pick up from Mong Kok area was 4:35am. Times varied depending how far away you were from the race village. 2) There aren't any designated start pens or pacers so you have to make a decision on where to start to begin with. Essentially you could end up with slower runners near the start because they want a better start position. The route is narrow for the first 1km so not much overtaking will happen. It narrows again later in certain parts but generally everyone knows the etiquette of staying to one side to let the faster runners pass. 3) There was a speech from people linked to Unicef. Unfortunately, if you don't understand Chinese you are a bit in the dark until the race starts. 4) The route doesn't really go through Disneyland itself more around the periphery so don't get too excited. (the race village is in the car park but there could be worser places). We did however spot Mickey Mouse in the first km. 5) Although November is generally a lot milder weather wise it can still be quite humid and warm early in the morning so make sure to train in similar conditions before hand and hydrate appropriately.