Tuen Mun Community Run: Listening to the Clean Air by the Sea
The last Road to Clean Air Day event, “Symphony of air quality: Tuen Mun Community Run”, was held on 27 October. Led by a coach from Pegasus Athletics Club, participants ran between Butterfly Beach and “Beyond the Dream Bridge”, covering a total distance of 5 kilometres, where they could listen to the sea breeze and reflect on the connections between air and sports.
Breathing has a direct impact on athletic performance. A study has found that air quality is related to noise levels in urban settings – the noisier the area, the more polluted the air. Therefore, choosing to exercise in a quieter location far away from roads, such as the running route of this event, can reduce exposure to pollutants.
The event also collaborated with FOODSPORT to donate food equivalent to the calories burned by the participants to the FOODSPORT Foundation, St. James’ Settlement and FOOD-CO, contributing to the building of a healthy society.
Regular runners Catherine and Wai said that before joining the event, they thought air pollution only affects the elderly or people with respiratory diseases. They learnt about the relationship between air and sports during the event and realised the huge influence of air quality on us. They believe the government should raise public awareness, for example, by installing air quality monitoring devices at parks or running trails to display real-time data.
(Left to right) Wai and Catherine