ACP (IS) Peter Halliday with fellow runners at the start

In the words of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Information Systems) Peter Halliday, Police Athletics Club chairman Stuart McDouall had a 'WAGI'- what a good idea.

It was a running competition seeing the Force and the Public Security Bureau square off at scenic West Lake in Hangzhou, near Shanghai.

And the April 1 event went off without a hitch seeing a fun run dominated by Police who took out the top seven places in the men's division while Zhejiang PSB won the ladies' crown.

With Mr McDouall organising, the four-day trip saw a select Force team of eight male and four female runners along with an additional 20 fun runners. The teams flew out of Chek Lap Kok on March 31, led by Mr Halliday and Sau Mau Ping Deputy District Commander Leung Fu. The whole party of 52, including officers and families, were smoothly shepherded by Detective Senior Police Constable Lam Kong-sek and his excellent organisation.

The party was met by Zhejiang Provincial PSB officers and tour guides, pointing out some of the sights along the drive to the Zhejiang "Xizi" Guest House in spectacular grounds bordering the Lake. Zhejiang PSB Foreign Affairs Office director Meng Xiangchu welcomed the runners at a dinner that evening.

Race day had a chilly misty feel to it and at about 8.15 am the run was set with the male teams first, the ladies next and the fun runners lined up behind. No one had seen the course and had little idea of its distance.

Lined up, it was evident the Hong Kong Police team looked stronger than their opponents, but for the ladies it seemed an evenly-matched race. From the start the male team raced out front and didn't look back. Police Constable Ching Ying-wai came in first, with PC Chan Man-for second and PC Cheung Chi-hung third. They headed the first seven male places which all went to the Police with the fastest time clocking in at 39 minutes.

The ladies race was much closer. Woman Police Constable Jessica Chung Pui-shan took the lead and despite having three ladies from the PSB chasing hard, managed to keep it to claim first prize. Following her were Woman Sergeant Wong Yin-yee who overtook one of the PSB ladies to finish fourth, while WPC Tam Wai-yi came in sixth.

After the trophy presentations, the teams kicked off their running shoes for a little sight seeing, touring the lake and islands by pleasure craft before an evening with the Zhejiang PSB at the best restaurant in Hangzhou.