[2026.01.19] CHOW YUN FAT "SWITCHES JOB" TO TEACH RUNNING; LEADS "HUNDRED YEAR OLD RUNNING GROUP" IN 10K RACE

Chow Yun Fat jokes that he has to keep recruiting students to make a big pile off tuition every month

After turning running into a habit, Priscilla Wong improves physically and drags her husband Edwin Siu to run with her

Roxanne Ho and Nicholas Yuen stretch and warm up together before the race
courtesy of on.cc

Chow Yun Fat leads Nina Paw, Kent Cheng and Lau Kong to challenge the 10K, and encourages seniors to exercise more

Chow Yun Fat waves to the crowd so much that he jokes that his arms are tired

Edwin Siu feels crossing the finish line with his wife Priscilla Wong is very romantic

Terence Lam finishes his first half marathon at 2 hours and 13 minutes and is pleased with the result

Alton Wong reveals that he cannot sleep before the race

Old flames Nicholas Yuen and Roxanne Ho

Carlos Chan and Shiga Lin compete despite illness
courtesy of mingpao.com

The 70-year-old Chow Yun Fat led more than 20 people yesterday, including 76-year-old Nina Paw Hee Ching, 74-year-old Kent Cheng Juk Si, 79-year-old Lau Kong, Edwin Siu Ching Nam and his wife Priscilla Wong Chui Yu, etc. to participate in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2026. Last year running a half marathon, he switched to a 10km race to start with his running friends. The group rushed to the finish line and received cheers from the audience. Chow Yun Fat praised a group of "students" for being in good condition, and said with a smile that he and his "old" runners were several hundred years old together. He hoped to encourage the elderly to exercise more. Paw Hee Ching said that all thanks to the good master Chow Yun Fat to lead them to health, and revealed that Cheng Juk Si jumped the most grades, invited to challenge 10 kilometers after joining the "Running Club" for 9 months.

With silver hair and sunglasses, when Chow Yun Fat crossed the finish line everyone cheered. He took about two hours to complete the 10km, jokingly saying that compared to last year's half-marathon in more than two hours the result was good. He revealed that this time more than 20 people ran together, which was the most so far. "I switched from half marathon to running 10km to start the run with friends, it was the biggest group ever". Was it a gathering of three generations? He joked that Wong Chui Yu was the most "green", then pointed to Paw Hee Ching. He revealed that she has completed 17 kilometers in Japan earlier. Paw Hee Ching publicly thanked Chow Yun Fat, "He 'saved' us with running and led the step towards health. Cheng Juk Si has jumped the most grades. He has only joined the 'Running Club' for 9 months, and Fat Gor (Chow Yun Fat) has already invited him to challenge 10 kilometers." Cheng Juk Si said: "From 0 to 10, all thanks to Fat Gor the good master. I don't feel that I don't have much fitter, after the run I feel very rough, but it is so enjoyable." Lau Kong revealed that he ran into Chow Yun Fat once on Tai Mo Shan and joined the running club; Chow Yun Fat laughed and said that Lau Kong wanted to withdraw from the club after running this time. Together they were several hundreds years old, he hoped to encourage the elderly to exercise more and maintain physical and mental health.

Chow Yun Fat once said that he wanted to run to the age of 80, but now he hoped to run to the age of 120. He said humorously, "The best would be admitting more and more students, I will charge a membership fee of 20,000 per person per month. There are more than 20 on this day, so the number adds more. I can't be without pocket money." Why not drag Lo Hoi Pang (Brother Pang) to run together? He joked, "I can't accept poor people like Brother Pang, they can't afford it. He has made so much money but won't give me any. The richest (future) is Wong Chui Yu, who has two spots with her husband. Brother Kent (Cheng Juk Si) is the richest, his family of five runs together." He greeted countless people along the race with a smile and joked that his arms were tired from waving. He was happy to take this opportunity to meet everyone every year, which was very rare.

The Hong Kong film industry is in the cold winter period, and Paw Hee Ching believed that spring would come after winter. Would Chow Yun Fat "out of the mountain" to save the film industry? Chow Yun Fat said that relying on him alone could not save much. Has he been charging too much? He said, "If no one asked me to make movies, how do you know that I charge too much? Now I have changed my career to teach running." Regarding the 44th Hong Kong Film Awards candidate list that left off 4 eligible films without specifying the reason, Chow Yun Fat said, "I haven't seen it, I will answer you after seeing it."

Siu Ching Nam participated in the marathon for the first time, and felt very romantic when crossing the finish line with his wife Priscilla Wong Chui Yu. Wong Chui Yu laughed at herself as an old and weak soldier. She was too weak when she was a child, so she had a doctor's certificate to exempt her from physical education class. Since running with Chow Yun Fat for 4 and a half years, her health has improved significantly and she happily completed 10 kilometers. Would she consider having another child since her health has improved? Wong Chui Yu said that she was too old and would not consider it. The husband and wife were happy to run with their seniors. Wong Chui Yu said that Lau Kong would be almost 80 years old this year, and he ran faster yesterday. Many people along the road greeted him, as if wishing Lau Kong a happy 80th birthday.

The marathon has always been popular with artists and yesterday many familiar faces were seen at the race. They included Calvin Choy Yat Chi, Catherine Chau Ka Yee, Raymond Wong Ho Yin, Inez Leong Lok In, Jackie Li Jinkai, James Ng Yip Kwan and others. Terence Lam Ka Him immediately challenged the half marathon for his first race and finished around 2 hours and 13 minutes, a result he was pleased with. He revealed that last year for his Hong Kong Coliseum concerts, he ran to train his breathing with a coach and realized he could run pretty well. So he kept training and he boasted that he had a little potential. "This time friends and clients invited me. I have always liked to jump grades for challenges, and completed something 'outrageous' that I really wanted to do. I don't want to switch to the athletic type yet, my legs still lack muscles and strength. I am interested in keep running, I would worry about whether I would challenge the full marathon later." Would he run with his friend Tyson Yoshi? "I don't know how he is with long distance running. Explosive type like him should be better with short distance." When he reached the finish line, because he realized that his shorts were loose he turned around quickly and tied the ropes again. He then picked up a medal for photos, but it was a 10K medal.

MIRROR member Alton Wong Chi Tak finished the 10K around 49 minutes. He estimated that he would finish within 50 minutes so the result was decent. He revealed that before the race he was so anxious he could not sleep. Originally several MIRROR brothers would run with him, but they could not make the time. In the end only he persisted. His group mate Keung To's contract was rumored to have come to term and would sign with another record company after. He said, "He was rumored to be switching clubs? I wouldn't switch jobs to running, as I still enjoy this job very well. I would respond like AK (Kong Yip Sun), I don't have an understanding on the matter. Sometimes, it would be good for some things to have discussion value."

Nicholas Yuen Ho Chung and Roxanne Ho Pui Ga last year competed as a rumored couple, this year they have been said to have broken up but they still ran the 10K together. Also present was Maggie Wong Mei Ki. Yuen Ho Chung after the race waited for Ho Pui Ga to return to the finish line for photos. This was the third year Ho Pui Ga ran the race. Last year she was running sick, and this year she ran again. After the race she was very excited to get photos with Chow Yun Fat and Lam Ka Him. Yuen Ho Chung said that two nights ago he watched the English Premier League soccer match and did not sleep until 11 PM, but he felt that he was in decent condition. He also pointed out that running could burn up energy, so the past few days he deliberately ate more. Ho Pui Ga said that she did not have breakfast and hoped to run on an empty stomach to burn fat.

Another young TVB artist Jessica Liu Wai Yee completed her first half marathon in 2 hours 11 minutes. Although she has been exercising, she admitted that the run was rough. "I really have done my best, when I crossed the finish line I almost threw up. Normally when I drove the Western tunnel I didn't realize that it was so long and steep! After crossing the finishing line I sat on the street and didn't want to move......luckily my back didn't act up today, it no longer hurt a lot!" Honey Ho Wing Cheuk also ran the half and revealed that in March she would run the Shizuoka marathon in Japan, so yesterday "safety was the most important" in order to avoid affecting the performances in the races later.

Shiga Lin and Carlos Chan Ka Lok ran the 10K and crossed together. She also wiped the sweats off her husband. Chan Ka Lok was absent due to illness last year. This year they ran as a couple as they wished. They revealed that he got sick a week ago and relied on medication to keep it under control. Later his wife got sick but still insisted on running. They looked forward to challenging the half marathon next year.