Since then, Carman has participated in numerous local and overseas races across regions such as Korea, the US and Australia. This year, for the third time, she completed the full marathon race of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon (SCHKM) under 3 hours 30 minutes. According to the tradition of SCHKM, local female runners who cross the finish line under 3 hours 30 minutes will each be presented an incentive prize money of $1,000 and thus are commonly known as “Ms Thousand” (the threshold for men runners is 3 hours).
As SCHKM celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, the prize money was raised to $10,000. However, Carman’s aim was not to win the “Ms Super Thousand” title, but to use the local race as a warm-up for the Tokyo Marathon held three weeks later. In the end, her strategy worked, and she successfully finished the run in Japan with a personal best time of 2 hours 59 minutes.
Photo courtesy of Carman Tam
"When I run alone, I find myself detached from the external world and immersed in solitude. I can only hear my own breathing and the pitter-patter of my footsteps. It is like a healing experience."
