Hong Kong Marathon may ban cellphones, 'selfies'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Feb. 24, 2013: Participants run on the Eastern Corridor expressway during a 10-kilometer race as part of the Hong Kong Marathon. (Reuters)
The organizers of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon are considering a move to ban cellphones during the race next February, after this year's runners took too many pictures of themselves, causing a logjam that resulted in injuries to other runners.
According to the South China Morning Post, the bank's chief executive, Benjamin Hung-Pi-cheng, called on organizers to stop the trend and claimed that it caused accidents during the race, with runners crossing the finish line bloodied and bruised.
"The problem was that a number of runners were trying to take self-portrait pictures using their smartphones," Hung said. "What we are trying to do is to encourage people not to do that. It not only endangers themselves, but endangers a lot of people running behind them."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The executive said it is up to the organizers to consider whether to ban taking photos or banning cellphones completely during the race, the South China Morning Post reported.