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Regardless of ages and abilities, everyone can enjoy the fun of running. Over 3,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities and their pair-up runners competed in the i-Run – Hong Kong Jockey Club Special Marathon 2016, the highest number in the five-year history of the event, which took place at the Central and Western District Promenade. In addition, as a further way of promoting social inclusion in the community, 290 disabled and able-bodied people joined a “Hug for Inclusion”, in which each participant in turn hugged the next person in line to show love and care for each other, setting a new Guinness World Record for the longest hug relay.

Funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust with a HK$6.82 million donation over three years, the i-Run is organised by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs).

The Club has supported the i-Run for five consecutive years. It is encouraging to see that the scale of the event gets bigger every year and it engages more and more people.

While a majority of participants were from Hong Kong, many also joined the event from Mainland China, Macau and Taiwan.  Each disabled runner was paired with a volunteer to compete in either a 3 km or 5 km challenge race.  Pre-race training sessions were organised for the pair-up partners to get to know each other better and build closer rapport.  Some 62 members of the Club’s CARE@hkjc Volunteer Team made their own personal contribution to the i-Run’s success by serving as pair-up runners or on-site helpers.

Wing-yiu, who has moderate intellectual disabilities, has run in the Special Marathon since 2011. In the early years he was paired up with a volunteer, but since 2014 his brother has become his partner. “No matter how tired my brother is, he will still carry on to the end – I think he is a marvellous guy!” Wing-yiu’s brother commented, adding that although many pairs run faster than them, they get such a warm feeling from running together.  It is like they are reliving their childhood, he says.

As part of the Club’s support, TWGHs has established the i-Runners’ Club which brings together those with intellectual disabilities and people interested in running, helping to improve their physical fitness and promote an inclusive society through participation in sport. Qualified coaching experts provide regular training for the participants in different parts of Hong Kong. For details, please visit http://i-run.tungwahcsd.org/training_en.html.