Hong Kong Disneyland Resort 10K Weekend 2018 Breaks Record

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort hosted the third annual “10K Weekend 2018 – Presented by AIA Vitality” on Nov 3-4, 2018, setting a new record with more than 13,000 registered participants, 25% more than last year. The number of runners from Taiwan, Thailand, mainland China and Japan, have also increased compared to the last two years, accounting for 14% of the total registered participants. With the event theme of Disney•Pixar, the races were bigger than ever at “The Incredibles 10K,” “Monsters University 5K,” “Toy Story 3K,” and “Mickey & Friends Kids Races.” Some runners dressed up in Disney• Pixar themes for an unforgettable race experience at HKDL.

A number of professional athletes in Hong Kong participated in the race, including cycling legend Wong Kam-po, snooker star Marco Fu, long distance runners Chan Ka-ho, Yiu Kit-ching and Gi Ka-man.

More than 100 Disney•Pixar pals from beloved films such as “Toy Story,” “Monsters University” and “The Incredibles,” joined Disney friends and performers to cheer runners on as they raced across the park. Runners posed for one-of-a-kind photos along different race routes, making this a special Disney race experience.

The “Hong Kong Disneyland Leadership 3K” race continued tobring together leaders from various sectors from travel to NGOs as a way to encourage healthy living. Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, JP, officiated the event and presented awards to winning runners.

The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan said, “I wish to express my thanks to Hong Kong Disneyland for making this 10K Weekend run a caring and meaningful event by generously donating part of the proceeds to Tung Wah Group of Hospitals’ Ho Yuk Ching Educational Psychology Service Centre for providing a 2-year training program for children and youth with special education needs.”

Also officiating the event were Michael Colglazier, president, Disney Parks Eastern Region & managing director, Asia Pacific and Samuel Lau, managing director of HKDL. “The beautiful Disney environment at HKDL and Disney•Pixar theme made the race a one-of-a-kind experience allowing families and friends across generations to enjoy the fun of running,” said Lau.

Continued dedication to community efforts

Lau added that as a major theme park in Hong Kong, HKDL was devoted to bring positive energy to local youth, particularly those with special educational needs and from minority groups, and invited professional runners to train with them in preparation for the races. The training boosted their confidence and created new opportunities for them in life through running.

This year, HKDL was giving back to the community by donating part of the proceeds from the races and 1,100 park tickets to the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals’ Ho Yuk Ching Educational Psychology Service Centre, which was dedicated to children and youth with special educational needs. The Centre would make use of the donation for a two-year social skill training program for adolescents with special educational needs, as well as counseling and training sessions for both the adolescents and their parents. Lower income families would be given priority to the service.

At the same time, HKDL collaborated with “SF&OC SPORTS LEGACY COMPANY LIMITED” (Sports Legacy) to launch two running training programs to train up and boost confidence in students with special educational needs and teenagers from minorities. The first group was about 20 students from the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals’ Ho Yuk Ching Educational Psychology Service Centre. They joined “Monsters University 5K,” and all succeeded in finishing the race proudly and excitedly.

HKDL also invited AIA Foundation in sponsoring a training program run by Sports Legacy for students from Tai O Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College. Under this program, famous local running athlete Chan Ka-ho trained up about 20 students from the college, some of whom from minority groups, to join this year’s “Monsters University 5K” race.

Partnering with NGOs for a sustainable event

Moreover, HKDL partnered with a number of NGOs including Green Earth to launch a series of green initiatives for “10K Weekend” this year. For example, recyclable cups were introduced in some races for the first time and the number of reusable cups was increased to reduce the use of paper cups this year. Runners could also take part in an on-site recycling program for plastic water bottles, paper packaging and other recyclable items. Water dispensers were provided on site, and runners were encouraged to bring their own bottles. These NGO collaborations also included plans to offset event-related greenhouse gas emissions, toward the goal for a carbon-neutral event.

“AIA Vitality” returns for the third consecutive year as presenting sponsor

Samuel Lau offered special thanks to event sponsors and participating NGOs for making this year’s race event even more meaningful and impactful. Among those was “AIA Vitality” which returned as the presenting sponsor for the third consecutive year.

Peter Crewe, chief executive officer of AIA Hong Kong & Macau said: “We are thrilled to present this race event at Hong Kong Disneyland in the name of AIA Vitality for the third year running. This year, on the invitation of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, we sponsored, through AIA Foundation, running training sessions for a number of secondary school students. This initiative makes the event even more meaningful and further strengthens the corporate alliance between Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and AIA Hong Kong.”

“This fun-filled event celebrates the positive connection between health and happiness and ensures both child and adult participants experience the joy that exercise can bring to their lives. Going forward, we will continue to join hands with Hong Kong Disneyland Resort to help people live healthier, longer, better lives,” he added.

A premier, comprehensive resort destination for special events

“10K Weekend” is growing bigger each year thanks to HKDL’s world-class theme park and uniquely themed resort hotels, making it a perfect destination for events of any scale in the region. The resort boasts a superior range of venue choices for MICE events, catering, wedding and even concerts. In May, HKDL hosted its first-ever large-scale outdoor concert with popular Taiwan-based rock group Mayday, accommodating up to 20,000 audience per show. As an ideal event location, the resort continues to strengthen regionally and internationally, reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as the event capital of Asia.