Suited executives sweat it out for charity in Hong Kong 'Rat Race'

Oct 15, 2006, 11:24 GMT

Hong Kong - Hundreds of executives in suits sweated their way across an urban obstacle course in the centre of Hong Kong Sunday in the city's inaugural 'Rat Race' charity event.

Forty three teams of eight crawled under barbed wire fences, dug for 'cheese' and tore from one checkpoint to another in the event based upon similar annual races in New York, Sydney and Toronto.

The event, which turned a section of Hong Kong's Central into a 2.5 kilometre obstacle course, raised more than 2 million Hong Kong dollars (256,000 US dollars) for the mental health charity Mindset.

It also gave office workers the chance to see their bosses spend their day off sweating profusely in their suits, using briefcases as batons in humid 27 degrees celsius temperatures.

Nicholas Sallnow-Smith, chief executive of event organizer Honkong Land, said he hoped the Rat Race would 'remind busy executives that winning is not only about climbing to the top but also maintaining a balanced life'.

Mindset chairman Anthony Nightingale, whose charity helps mentally handicapped people in Hong Kong and mainland China, said: 'I'm pleased this fun event has given executives a healthy twist from their stressful lives while supporting a good cause.'

The Hong Kong event, which involved both expatriate and Hong Kong Chinese executives, is expected to become an annual fundraising event in the city of 6.8 million.