Here I am two weeks removed from my adventure in Hong Kong and I am missing it – the typical ultramarathoners conundrum of missing the pain of long endurance events. My body has come around now, and I have stopped having night sweats and gotten back into a more normalized routine of sleep. I have kept active, maintaining my #runstreak but with very minimal mileage. In fact, I think I have only topped out at 4.2 Mi (6.8 km) with most runs only being 2.0 miles (3.2 km) or less since the event. I truly miss the experience I had over in Hong Kong and am ever grateful I was able to make this trip and take on the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC). This bucket list event and a once-in-a-lifetime trip made for some great memories. I intend on sharing my experience of the event itself and the lessons I gained while being over in Hong Kong for you in this race report.
I have travelled overseas a couple times before, but not extensively. My plane tickets have been booked ever since October once I committed to taking on HK4TUC. The travel was not direct, as I choose the cheaper air fares. Both legs of the flight were long 10-ish hours, plus a 9 hour layover in the Frankfurt airport. Due to all of this and the uncertainty of the Covid travel protocols I had my flight booked to arrive early in the week to allow the allotted time for CV-19 testing that was going to be required for inbound visitors to Hong Kong. Eventually as the event drew closer and closer these restrictions slowly eased with the only requirement being to have a negative test to board the final flight to Hong Kong. I have to admit that all of this was an added stressors in planning, and it was nice to see them relax as the event drew closer so I didn’t have to worry as much.
Sunday afternoon my family drove me to the Houston airport which is about an hour commute for us. Here we said our goodbyes and I hugged and kissed all my girls and treasured the last moments before heading off.
Two long flights, one lengthy layover, multiple time zones, a few meals, many airplane movies, and even more podcasts before my travels finally brought me to Hong Kong. Peering out my airplane window as the plane descended, my excitement after many hours of travel was peaked when I got my first look at the 2 big peaks of Lantau Island. A quick no hassle trip through the Hong Kong visitor immigration check then grabbed my
bags, and finally walked out to meet my arranged pickup from my crew Will Hayward. It was now late on Tuesday evening in Hong Kong time zone and darkness had engulfed the region. Will was kind enough to drive me and point out a few landmark features along the commute over to Hong Kong Island where my hotel was located. It was great to see a familiar face, even though this was my first time meeting Will in person. We had chatted many times over email and couple times via zoom in the prior months leading up to this. I was dropped off at the hotel and promptly checked in. I got my running shoes and did a short 3 Mi (4.8 km) shakeout run to get the blood flowing to my legs. This also served as my #runstreak maintenance.
Wednesday morning arrived after some rest and I was eager to get out and explore. Will had given me a short portion of the Hong Kong Trail to explore and introduce me to the stairs of Hong Kong. I took him up on the suggested route.
Thursday I had a mission of actually scouting out the actual MTR ride and the transition across the bay I would be taking during HK4TUC. I also wanted to ensure that my
smart card worked. I am glad I scouted the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) transition prior to the event just to be familiar with it. It is not super complicated but being new to the area I figured it was an easy scouting mission and that being comfortable with it when I was tired would for sure be beneficial.
Thursday evening I was honored to have been invited out for dinner with Will and the event director Andre Blumberg as they are good friends. This gave me a chance to meet and chat with Andre in person prior to the event and just thank him in person for the honor of being invited to Hong Kong.
Friday arrived and I was getting anxious about laying around. This is a good thing as it usually means your legs are eager to run (i.e. the taper is working). All I did this day was watch the Bloomberg News on the hotel TV and ate food. In the afternoon my last pre-event mission was to make a short run along the water and scout out the ferry pier. I just a 5.5 Mi (8.9 km) run out and back from my hotel where I stopped and checked out Central Ferry Pier 06. This is the terminal that has the ferry over to Mui Wo which I would be taking during HK4TUC between my 3rd and 4th trails.
Andre Blumberg, the event director said he did not change the rules this year, as he is known to do year to year to ensure it gets slightly more challenging. However, he did was shift the start time from a traditional morning start to an evening 18:15 start time for the first trail. This meant we were starting just prior to sunset and would be running through 3 nights in order to Finish/Survive. So on Saturday I had a goal of staying in bed all the way until at least noon. It was my way of trying to get my body rested and ready for the evening start. Previous years of working in the oilfield I had many hitches of night shifts in and I know what it takes for my body to swap to a “night schedule” – but that doesn't make it easy.
Saturday was a long wait. I was being picked up by Will Hayward and his wife Sasha who would take me from the hotel in Wan Chain on Hong Kong Island all the way over to the terminus end of the Maclehose Trail where HK4TUC starts in Tue Mun city. As mentioned previously Hong Kong was just in the midst of relaxing their covid protocols which up until a month ago had prohibited people gathering in groups of more than 4 publicly. So to say the locals and the Hong Kong residents were excited to meet up in person was an understatement. Arriving at the inconspicuous location of the Trail end (since we run the Trails in reverse), you could feel the excitement in the atmosphere. There was already a good number of runners, photographers, volunteers, and spectators alike there awaiting the start of the event. A casual check in adjacent to a parking lot big enough for about 8 vehicles. A pre-race portrait was taken, I signed my event waiver, and got my initial tracker. I then just wandered around with Will & Sasha being introduced to many people they knew and greeting fellow HK4TUC participants. The excitement was building as the time drew near. More and more photographers seemed to arrive out of no where. I knew this event was popular in the region but it was so cool to see and be a part of the hype in person. I have not experienced that much in races in North America.
20 minutes to go the Class of HK4TUC 2023 was assembled underneath the trailhead sign for a group picture (this was the first time in 3 years they have been able to group up like this for a picture due to the covid protocols as noted).
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| The 25 participants of HK4TUC 2023. (Photo: HK4TUC, Paper Blumberg) |
15 minutes to go and Andre Blumberg got everyone’s attention. This was started by him introducing each runner and announcing their name and country to the cheer of the gathering crowd. Then a short briefing and reiteration of the rules was belted out by Andre and everyone listened intently. With those final words, I took a moment to reflect on where I was and the enormity of the journey it took just to get here literally halfway around the globe. I recall whispering to myself the mantra I had been saying for a while for this event: “I am excited, I am nervous, I am ready.”
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| Pre-race introductions and briefing by event director: Andre Blumberg. (Photo: Viola Shum and Alan Li @alanliphotogrpahy) |
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Pre-race introductions and briefing by event director: Andre Blumberg.
(Photo: Chan Tak Shing Vincent, Compose the Story, @vinvincent) |
MACLEHOSE TRAIL (100 km)
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| my STRAVA - Maclehose Trail (麥理浩徑) reverse. |
Chinese New Year’s Eve, 2023-Jan-21, Saturday, 18:15
My
STRAVA data: 62.34 Mi (100.33 km) | 17,083 ft+ (5,207 m+) | 15:48:08
3 minutes to go and I remembered that I need to start up my watch to sync my GPS…shit! I did have to walk up the trail about 100 feet for it to work since we were basically under an overpass which probably was blocking the signal. My watch GPS finally locked on with about 1 minute until the start. I sighed some relief and got back over to the start and looked for Will in the crowd. I gave him a hug and thanked him. Will gave me a last nod of confidence and said he’d see me in the morning in about 16 hours. With that we were off into the ever fast approaching sunset and the start of the Four Trails.
The group start was a bonus because we didn’t find out about that until about one week prior along with the modification of the start time to the evening timeline. Because Hong Kong had been very strict in its covid policies up until recently a group start was a big deal to all the locals. It was nice to get to run with a bunch of people directly off the start as we hiked up this steep gradual climb and chat a bit before ultimately settling in on a pace. Initially there was a group of about 6-8 of us running together right off the bat then for the first 6 Mi (10 km) or so before I found myself running with Tomokazu Ihara (Japan) & Ryan Whelan (United Kingdom). I got to talk with them as the sun light was fading fast. This made the first miles go by quickly at conversational pace. Around the 10 km mark there was a water refill station that I stopped to top up my one bottle I had been drinking from. Tomo & Ryan kept going and I did not see them again as they stayed in front. I left this station heading back off into the woods now following Karen Tse Tze Wai (Hong Kong) up a longish climb in the trees. The stairs were uneven stone type steps that winded up and around the landscape. It was a steady section of another ~6 Mi (~10 km) of climbing before emerging out across a road and on the other side was a small store open on this Chinese New Year’s Eve to help us runners. Since this event is self-supported on the trails the only luxury of extra food and drinks comes at the mercy of timing and availability of the stores that may be open (time of day dependent) on the route. Andre and his wife Paper were there along with a couple photographers snagging shots of the runners as they passed by. Andre gave me and the two other runners I was with at that point words of encouragement.
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| Night 1 on the Maclehose Trail. (Photo: Chan Tak Shing Vincent, Compose the Story, @vinvincent) |
At this point we had covered 13.2 Mi (21.2 km) and were only 2.5 hours in the journey. What lie ahead was just under 3 Mi (4.8 km) of climbing before reaching what was the highest point in the race Tai Mo Shan (~3,018 ft or 920 m elevation). The night was a little foggy and misty so the views were not spectacular. Once the peak was crested the winding service road took us down the other side of the mountain for the next while from 16 through 23.5 Mi (25.8-37.8 km). A very iconic Hong Kong climb was here, called Needle Hill. Needle Hill is located within Shing Mun Country Park. Stage 7 of the Maclehose Trail includes the summit of Needle Hill. The Shing Mun Tunnels pass through the base of Needle Hill. Going up the climb, which was only like 0.4 Mi (0.7 km) I could see headlights of 4 runners in front of me, and when turned around I could see 2 more behind me. I was running alone, but everyone was not spread out too much at this point. The Macleahose Trail continued to wind around the Shing Man Country Park and around the Shing Man Reservoir there and then turned down toward the Kowloon Reservoir sticking to the westside of it travelling down Golden Hill Rd.
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Night 1 on the Maclehose Trail.
(Photo: Viola Shum and Alan Li @alanliphotography) |
At 25.9 Mi (41.7 km) the road came up on a unique crossing on the Maclehose sections 5 & 6. Here it was bus stop on Tai Po Rd, but there were local Hong Kong critters everywhere here. Lots of monkeys and a few wild pigs were in the area as they know to hang around and feed on the scraps from people. Since it was the middle of the night they were pretty tame although they did make me feel a little nervous as I stopped to fill my bottles at the public toilet water refill station. Clearly these animals were not afraid and were very used to people.
I continued running mostly by myself at this point not seeing other participants anymore. I relied on my Tailwind single serve pouches and the odd GU Roctane gel to keep me fueled throughout the night. The misty night a low percentage chance of rain decided to bring upon a downpour which was somewhat unexpected. Having packed my light rabbit Elements rain jacket I pulled it out to help try and keep me dry and warm but the rain was so intense for about 2 hours, maybe a little longer, that everything was soaked. The Maclehose Trail was running parallel above the city of Kowloon at this point and still made for good views of the glowing city lights, even though the rain was intensifying.
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climbing out of the beaches section of the Maclehose Trail.
(Photo: Victor @utternutter28) |
Just before sunrise I arrived on the last real refill spot at 46.8 Mi (75.3 km) which was the Pak Tam Rd crossing (intersection Maclehose sections 2 & 3). The rain had stopped but I recall sending Will a message via WhatsApp at this point and requesting one thing: dry towels. A short 3 Mi (4.8 km) run and I had made it to the very East side of the New Territories area of Hong Kong. The Maclehose trail turns south at this point following the coast and traversing through small villages and passing 3 beaches along the route. After climbing out of the beach section on reaching the southernmost point of the trail you join the Sai Kung Man Yee Rd which wraps around the High Island Reservoir and continues north along the whole length of the western edge of the Reservoir before finishing the route at the Pak Tum Chung parking lot which is the end of the reverse direction. I came running down the final stretch of the road and started hearing the faint sounds of a clanging bell. It was Andre Blumberg the event director there cheering the runners in checking up on us and providing kudos and congratulations upon finishing this first leg of the challenge. Alongside Andre, Will was there and ready as he guided me over to his car not far into the parking lot.
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Crossing the reservoir dam after first night of
full running on Maclehose Trail. (Photo: Viola Shum
and Alan Li @alanliphotography) |
I stopped my watch and took off my hydration vest. Will & I agreed to quickly transition and take the car ride before fueling and doing a full crew stop. With that I plugged in my watch to charge, put on a dry towel to keep me warm and got into the front seat for some shut eye as we made the 35 minute drive towards the China-Hong Kong border and the northern terminus of the Wilson Trail in Nam Chung Village.
WILSON TRAIL (78 km) – part i
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| my STRAVA - Wilson Trail (衛奕信徑) reverse (parti). |
Chinese New Year, 2023-Jan-22, Sunday, 11:21
My STRAVA data: 44.01 Mi (70.83 km) | 12,497 ft+ (3,809 m+) | 16:20:37
My eyes jarred open as the car slowed and I realized we were parking. I had got some sleep on the car commute as I don’t recall anything about the drive. That was a good sign and exactly what I was aiming for during this trail transition. Will pulled into a small gravel parking lot, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I glanced around and noticed that like 3 other vehicles had runners being crewed out of as well at this point. Kurt Lynn (New Zealand) was one of them and Kimmy Leung Hong (Hong Kong) crew was there too and checked in on us. Will poured me some magical chicken noodle soup which was heavenly at the time. I also ate pizza, a banana, granola balls, and a nice iced coffee. My body enjoyed the extra dose of calories all at once during this crew stop. Will was busy helping me reload my hydration vest with my Tailwind & gels I had laid out previously and ensured my 4 water flasks were filled up. About 15 minutes of downtime here in the parking lot was all I needed to get in the calories I needed and change socks and shirt.
I was off again for the next, and arguably hardest, of the Four Trails. The Wilson Trail has said to be the crux of the event due to its technical nature and where it lies within the structure of the race format. I took an extra banana in my hands and headed down the countryside road that Will guided me towards. It was a gentle ~0.7 Mi run (1.1 km) before reaching the actual Wilson Trail. It was now mid-morning, and the humidity and heat was creeping up, but the skies were clear and blue as I recall.
The first 7.0 Mi (11.3 km) was all steady climbing up a long windy paved service road up and around Pat Sin Leng Country Park. The trail took a turn inland after about 4.5 Mi (7.2 km) and then ran parallel (westward) with the China-Hing Kong border for a bit. You could see the city of China city of Yantian just across the border as the views got more impressive as the trail continued to gain altitude. The top of the climb was marked by a small building up top as we travelled over and now down the other side.
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| Descending some stairs on the Wilson Trail. (Photo: Tony Ny @tony.ngsimplylife) |
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| On the Wilson Trail. (Photo: Tony Ny @tony.ngsimplylife) |
The next section from here was another 7.0 Mi (11.3 km) of net downhill all the way to Tai Po. The first 2 Mi (3.2 km) was a steep descent on the same paved service road we had climbed up on. A brief relief on the descending muscles was broken up by a 2 Mi (3.2 km) climb, which then promptly turned back downhill and continued all the way into Tai Po. This was a key marker on the Wilson Trail as there is a known 24-hr 7-11 store here for refueling. The Wilson Trail was a little more remote on the first third of the trail and so this was a critical stop for the self-supported HK4TUC runners to get what they needed at this point. There was a volunteer person cheering me on as I ran beside the creek bed following the path into Tai Po. She rang her bell and greeted me as I came up to a walking bridge. She checked on me and asked how I was doing, informing me she was just passing on information to Andre. I said I was good and feeling okay at that point but just want to know where the 7-11 was. She pointed me in the direction as it was about 500 ft off the path behind me. I trudged over there and went inside the store and grabbed a couple large waters, a big Red Bull, a cold Coke, and a small candy bar. After paying instantly using my Octopus Card I walked outside the store and sat down and took some time to get in a bunch of fluids. The heat was now creeping up there, well into the upper 20C range (~80 f) which was warmer than expected for the day. I knew this would slow my times down for sure as being used to hot humid running in Texas I know how it affects me. I filled all 4 of my soft flasks back up with water. I took the last dribble from the large bottle and poured it over my head to cool me down. Refreshing! I walked down the steps from the store and back towards to footbridge where the volunteer had greeted me. I said thank you and she wished me well as I took the bridge over the creek following the Wilson Trail through the rest of Tai Po.
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| The wildness contrasted by stairs of Hong Kong. (Photo: Lucien Chan @chan.lucien) |
I can’t recall the exact time of day, but evening was closing in for sure at this point. The second night of running was creeping up on me. Now the Wilson Trail was headed directly south down towards Kowloon. The Wilson and Maclehose Trail crisscross here in a couple of spots (refer to the main map), and so I was paying close attention to my GPS and the signage to ensure that I stayed on the correct paths. I passed over signs pointing to the Maclehose and recognized the area. The Wilson trail was guiding me down directly back to the Kowloon Reservoir where the trail flattens out (relatively) and continued gradually downhill for about 4 Mi (6.4 km) weaving around the perimeter of the giant body of water. It was a nice trail section in the trees on the Reservoir edge that offered a rare opportunity to not run on pavement or concrete. By the time I popped out of the end of the trees and the southern tip of the Reservoir I had turned on my kogalla waistlamp as night running was back. I was now just over 24 full hours into the event. Was I on a Finishers pace? Was I on schedule? Would I make the MTR on time? These were now the thoughts circling in my head as “stupid runner math” started to engulf my mind. You often think of anything and everything on these long ultras, and eventually I always seem to try and calculate my ETA based on my current pace whether I really want to know or not, it is just something my mind gravitates towards on these long ultras.
Continuing south on the Wilson I was headed back to the road crossing bus stop on Tai Po Rd, where the Maclehose ad Wilson Tails intersected again. This was the area with the monkeys and wild pigs. This time arriving there I noticed how big some of these pigs were. Living in Texas currently we have wild pigs as well and so I have seen them before, but these Hong Kong ones were like the size of small cows! Clearly, they live well off the scraps from people and tourists in the area. The monkeys I was warned not to get any food out whatsoever around them otherwise they would potentially swarm me, so I listened to that advice and had no issues.
A quick water refill at the bus stop and over the road to the next section of the Wilson Trail which was a long boring windy catchwater pathway that simply was mind-numbing. This part was parallel to what I had previously done on the Maclehose Trail but now I was on the opposite of the ridge away from Kowloon city. This late into the race and being the second night, the monotony of the flat paved trail at this point lulled me into the “sleepies”. I started to stagger as my mind drifted. I could not fight the tiredness. I had to lay down and take a brief power nap of 8 minutes to reset my mind.
The nap helped briefly as I powered forward trying to motivate myself. After the Maclehose and Wilson Trails conversed again here at Shatin Pass Rd I again recognized my surroundings from the night before. There was only about a 1 Mi (1.6 km) section of common trail before the Wilson Trail continued up on towards the eventual peak up the narrow winding Fei Ngo Shan Rd. There was quite a few vehicles that were either racing to the top, or coming back down and I had to be weary every time I heard a vehicle to ensure they would see me as the road was not that wide, and I am sure most vehicles did not expect a pedestrian runner at that time of night up on that road. It kept me alert. At the various pullouts and viewpoints up top there were many people pulled viewing the panoramic views of the glowing landscape of Kowloon city down below. I did not stop, but simply glanced over constantly as I kept moving forward hiking towards my goal. The summit was 33.2 Mi (55.4 km) into the Wilson Trail which meant I had about 10 Mi (16 km) to go to reach the MTR station at 00:00 before it closed for the evening. It was about 22:30 when I reached the summit leaving a very narrow window of 2 hours. I was definitely not moving fast enough at this point into the race to make the last train for the night. I kind of resigned to that fact at this point. Will had been sending me a few messages via WhatsApp and encouraged me to continue on best I could either to push hard and aim to make it, or simply back off and take it easy since there would be a long gap before the MTR station opened again in the morning.
I took the last few miles in wrapping down and around near the Yau Tong Industrial Area before following the road back up toward the Lan Tin MTR station. It was now close to 03:00 (Monday) by the time I had made it here. Sadly, I had missed the main goal of the MTR cutoff of the 00:55 last train. This was part of the challenge of distinguishing Finishers from Survivors, although not a definite distinction, but it certainly made the goal of being a Finisher substantially more difficult due to the 5 hour wait time in MTR trains. Will was allowed to park the car and provide a safe spot for me to sleep, although he could not crew me nor provide me anything at the MTR station. He had parked and sent me a message of the car location. I made my way there and utilized the comfort of the front seat for a 2.5 hour sleep.
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| Will being a savior and simply parking the car for my use while waiting for the MTR to reopen in Lan Tin (Photo: Will Hayward). |
WILSON TRAIL (78 km) – part ii
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| my STRAVA - Wilson Trail (衛奕信徑) reverse (part ii). |
2023-Jan-23, Monday, 05:36
My
STRAVA data: 9.46 Mi (15.22 km) | 3,619 ft+ (1,103 m+) | 3:42:43
I awoke around 05:30 and got my gear on and headed out again. I thanked Will, and off I went into the MTR station which was just opening. Will cheered me on and said “see you in 5 hours or so”. There was a photographer (@fitz.hk) there at the MTR entrance waiting for runners as a group of I think 5 of us were all “camped out” waiting for the resumption of the trains. I wandered into the subway heading down underground to catch the first train of the day: 06:05. I did not see any fellow runners.
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| (Photo: @fitz.hk) |
Crossing the bay via the MTR was uneventful since I had scouted this earlier in the week. I had no issues plus I was fresh off a nice rest. Coming out the other side of the MTR onto Hong Kong Island for the remaining 9 Mi (14.5 km) of the Wilson Trail, I stopped and grabbed water and an iced coffee to go to help fuel me. I exited onto the streets from the Tai Koo MTR station exit and headed up into the mountains traversing Hong Kong Island north to south. This section was short but had 4 major climbs to get through punctuated by Violet Hill and ending with The Twins (hiking up The Twins involves walking up a long steep set of stairs featuring more than 1,000 steps straight up). Having that 2.5 hour sleep my body felt very recovered and I was moving quite well considering. I never stopped my hiking pace going up the hills and tried to push forward on the downs (although honestly this was the hardest part of the entire event – due to the fact every step was uneven heights and it was never-ending impact on my joints from the concrete and paved stairs). I descended down the endless stairs of the Twins coming into Stanley Gap road on the far side of Tai Tam Country Park and saw Will at the bottom of the steps along with his son Max there to greet me. Words of encouragement on how well I had covered that section gave me a boost for sure. My mood was coming out of the lows of the night before.
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The panoramic views of the cities are awesome in Hong Kong from the many various mountian peaks.
(Photo: Chan Tak Shing Vincent, Compose the Story, @vinvincent) |
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| Completion, finally, of the Wilson Trail. (Photo: Will Hayward @drvertigo) |
I hoped into the front seat of the car again for the shorter of the 2 car commutes over to the Hong Kong Trail, around the Tai Tam Bay to the very east side of Hong Kong Island. It was only a 20-minute drive but again I took full advantage and closed my eyes for a nap the entire way.
HONG KONG TRAIL (46 km) + the run down from the Peak to Pier (~4 km)
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| my STRAVA - Hong Kong Trail (港島徑) reverse. |
2023-Jan-23, Monday, 10:18
My
STRAVA data: 32.18 Mi (51.79 km) | 6,831 ft+ (2,082 m+) | 9:46:32
Another helping of the magical chicken noodle soup and more pizza from Will helped refuel me yet again. I also changed into a fresh rabbit kit which felt nice. It was mid-morning again although not quite as warm (humid) as the day before. Heading off from the small Shek O Village I went down the road out of the town and started north along the coast. After about 3 Mi (4.8 km) the Hong Kong Trail enters a short section referred to as the Dragon’s Back. Most of this portion of the route is on dirt paths. The first half has very little shade, and there is also a steep 650 ft (200 m) long uphill stretch. It goes from the Shek O Road heading south towards Tei Wan Village. It was now the 2nd day of the Chinese New Year and a very nice day which meant there was a ton of people out enjoying a day of hiking. I found myself slogging along panting and sweating past tourists and locals who clearly had no idea what I was doing. Occasionally, a person would cheer my name and yell “Gayau” (Chinese: 加油, a ubiquitous Chinese expression of encouragement and support. The phrase is often described as "the hardest to translate well" to English, but has the literal meaning of to "add oil"). Being in the middle of a new country and having people recognize me from simply following along online of a small group of 25 people was quite amazing to experience. This was super humbling and lifted me up every time it happened during the event. I got to pose and take pictures as people requested them a few different times over the HK4TUC event – that was definitely one of many cool features of racing here in Hong Kong.
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| Fuel, nap, and new rabbit kit. (Photo: Will Hayward) |
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| Start of the Hong Kong Trail in Shek O Village, Hong Kong Island. (Photo: unknown) |
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| Hong Kong Trail petrol station stop (Photo: Joseph Chan @josephchanjc) |
After heading back inland a bit and crossing back westward across the Tai Tan Country Park and sharing a bit of where the Wilson Trail was the Hong Kong Trail continued to a road crossing called Wong Nai Chung Gap where a 24-hr petrol station was at 15.2 Mi (24.5 km). This was another refueling point where I took advantage at the advice from Will. My goal for the Hong Kong Trail was to make this my only required stop by simply breaking up the 50 km trail into two halves. I was met by a photographer waiting there at the road of the fuel station. He snapped a bunch of photos of me as I got myself some cold drinks and sat on the curb for a few minutes to fill up my waters, mix up some Tailwind, and get in more calories. The photographer followed me briefly out of the stop and got a few action shots of me leaving the area as I continued westward down a road called Black’s Link for about 1 Mi (1.6 km) before the trail diverged back into the trees again. The Hong Kong trail goes westward weaving back and forth all the way to the west side of Hong Kong Island, before encircling the Victoria Peak which is the highest point on the island.
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| View from the high ridges on Hong Kong Island. |
Around 27 Mi (43.5 km) the sun was beginning to set again and I had to turn back on my waistlamp as the third night was now upon me. The trail up here was crowded once again as many people were out enjoying the sights up above Hong Kong city. Once I got around the northern side of Victoria Peak the trail came out right at the tram station which is technically the end of the Hong Kong Trail here at 29 Mi (46.7 km). Previously runners were met by crew here and then transported down to the ferry pier. However, the HK4TUC guidelines changed as part of Andre’s tweaking and now we had to make our way via foot all the way to the pier. The descent was a super steep old road that had an elevation loss of ~1,300 ft (~400m) in only 1.5 Mi (2.4 km). The next challenge was a short run commute through the city to the northern side of the island where the Central Ferry Pier was. This was now the end point of this part of the run and my crew was there to meet me.
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| Boarding the ferry to Mui Wo with crew. (Photo: Lucien Chan @chan.lucien) |
I believe I arrived around 22:00 and had about 15 minutes before the departure of the next ferry across to Mui Wo on Lantau Island. I got in my usual soup that had been so clutch thus far and started eating a couple other small items before we boarded. Following Will, along with his wife and daughter, onto the ferry I swiped my Octopus card to pay and found a nice cozy seat. I put on my facemask and propped my feet up to get some rest on the commute.
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| Catching some light sleep on the bumpy ferry ride to Mui Wo. (Photo: Will Hayward) |
LANTAU TRAIL (70 km)
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| my STRAVA - Lantau Trail (鳳凰徑) reverse. |
2023-Jan-23, Monday, 22:04
My
STRAVA data: 43.25 Mi (69.60 km) | 11,437 ft+ (3,486 m+) | 15:37:13
Coming off the ferry I opted for another quick 15 minute nap at the local run shop (Lantau Base Camp – which stayed open 24-7 to support HK4TUC runners as they have done in prior years). I little bit more refueling, a nice cup of coffee, and a fresh pair of rabbit gear before I was ready for the final little tour around Lantau Island. Will led me back over to the postbox which was the start & finish of the Lantau trail. I had a little issue of my watch locking onto my GPS and loading up the route, so I stumbled for a minute just swearing at my Garmin. After a few minutes of running the course loaded fine and locked in on the GPS signal.
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| Getting crewed once off the ferry on Lantau Island. (Photo: Lucien Chan @chan.lucien) |
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| A second power nap in Lantau Base Camp store couch, prior to starting the last trail. (Photo: Lucien Chan @chan.lucien) |
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| Andre Blumberg telling me this was only a "victory lap" before heading off for the Lantau Trail. (Photo: Lucien Chan @chan.lucien) |
Heading off into my third full night the trail followed the coastline westward running through all these small remote local villages of the southern coast of Lantau Island. This trail was by far the most remote and less supported in terms of shops and refueling points. The first 26 Mi (42 km) was very flat relatively speaking. After about 11.5 Mi (18.5 km) the boringness of the flat trail and tiredness of my mind had caught up to me again. I tried to lay down for a nap, and sort of nodded off for a few minutes. Not sure how much I actually slept but I was there about 10 minutes before getting chilly in the night. I got up and without thinking I just started running in the same direction I had been travelling. This was a mistake. Randomly, and somewhat unfortunate, I had decided to nap exactly at a turn in the trail, without even realizing it (before or after). Luckily being prepared and having the course loaded on my watch it beeped at me a little way down the trail indicating I was off route. I doubled check and zoomed in on the map and then realized I should have turned right where I took my little break. I backtracked slightly and got back on the route. Another few miles down the trail I was staggering on my feet again. The wind was ripping at this point which made it quite chilly. But I opted for another attempt at a power nap, but again it did not do the trick to reset my mind.
As I continued on, the trail was on a very flat paved catchwater section that was about 6 Mi (~10 km). My mind was not agreeing with my body of wanting to continue forward. I was fighting hard to stay awake. I tried everything from sprint intervals, to slapping my face, to singing aloud to myself. Nothing was seemingly to work as my eyes slowing kept closing. I may have run a few steps sleeping on my feet at some points.
Finally, the rational portion of my brain decided I needed to lie down again and get an actual trail nap. It was about 19.4 Mi (31.2 km) into the Lantau Trail at this point. I walked over to the trees adjacent to the trail and found a cozy spot sheltered slightly behind a large downed tree to block the wind. I set my phone for 15 minute timer. I got some sleep here for sure as I was alert before my timer went off. (It is truly amazing how a little nap can help in these multiday ultras). I was gathering myself to get back up and run again and to my surprise I saw a light coming down the trail towards me….another runner.
I stumbled out of the trees probably surprising the incoming runner as I turned my waistlamp back on. I yelled out “hello” and waited for an answer back. It was Kimmy Leung Hong Kiu (Hong Kong). First thing she said to me once close enough was how tired she felt. Instantaneously we were able to bond on the common element of trying to stay awake. Now we worked together and moved slowly down the last of the catchwater part trying to keep our minds engaged by chatting. It for sure helped me, and I am sure it helped her as well.
It was only about 2 Mi (3.2 km) from when we met up that the next small village of Fen Lau Tseun on the very southwest portion of Lantau Island was. Here I recall Will mentioned there could possibly be a refueling point and a toilet if needed. But if I were not with Kimmy at the time, I never would have noticed the actual stop. She knew the stop from experience and was able to read the sign (in Chinese which has no English translation). We stopped and she walked up to this small house. She was calling out to see if we would get an answer. Soon enough an older man came to the door and answered. His name was Mr. Chen and we each ordered a bowl of noodles and a drink from him. Was this magical oasis pit stop real? Did I just order take out in the middle of a coastal village on a Hong Kong Island at like 04:00 in the morning?
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Quite possibly the most amazing meal in my life
given the circumstances. Thank you Mr. Chen! |
As Mr. Chen started assembling our order Kimmy headed over to use the washroom to our surprise she discovered that 2 other runners were there sleeping on a cot in Mr. Chen’s tiny kitchen building attempting to get relief from the wind and warm up. It was Kenneth Chan Wai Tik (Hong Kong) and Mayank Vaid (India). We said hello and chatted for a bit as we waited for our food to be cooked. They had just got up and were wrapping themselves in garbage bags used as an extra layer, before returning to the trail. It was nice to see other runners again even if briefly. After about 10 minutes our hot noodles with a fried egg and piece of sausage on it was delivered to us for consumption. I also ordered a coke to go along with my meal. Mr. Chen had just saved my race without even knowing it. I never would have made this stop in the middle of the night (nor probably the day) without running with Kimmy at the time – she also saved my race because of this. After we both ate the nice warm noodles and downed everything in front of us, we geared back up to head out. It was getting chilly just sitting there not moving. I was at the point of just moving to stay warm. Kimmy was still very tired, but the bowl of magical noodles gave me a second life for sure. I could nearly instantly feel the calories. Once we started down the trail, I led us out with Kimmy behind me. I did not really mean to drop her, but soon after leaving the village I just got into a true flow of running that was carried by my full tummy – magical noodles!
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Day 3 on Lantau Trail with fellow participants
yellow jacket- Mayank Vaid (IND)
white jacket- Kenneth Chan Wai Tik (HK) |
I kept up a decent pace running all the way up the western coast of Lantau Island heading toward Tai O which is where the trail turns inland and becomes more mountainous for the last 30 km back toward Mui Wo. I am not sure the time period that elapsed between us leaving Fen Lau Tseun after Kenneth and Mayank had left but eventually I caught up with them near Tai O. We leap frogged each other for a while as all of us were varying paces on the ups and downs depending on our strengths. Soon we collectively resigned to teaming up as a group of three and we worked and ran together all the way to Ngong Ping at 33.4 Mi (53.8 km). It was great having some company passing over the mountains as the morning wind was ripping through the country side. Some of the peaks it was an effort to stay upright due to the strength of the wind gusts.
Ngong Ping was the last stop for refueling here on the Lantau trail. As we entered the town, I headed straight for the 7-11 store and Kenneth and Mayank stopped at the public toilet first just before. I bought drinks and refilled my waters. I looked around and waited for a couple minutes but concluded that the other 2 runners must have decided to carry on without stopping at the store. (Later I found out that they did stop at 7-11 just they came from the public toilet only after I had left). Getting chilly just sitting there waiting I headed out to keep moving and stay warm.
A mere 10 Mi (~16 km) was all that lie ahead of me as I ran out of Ngong Ping and passed the iconic Big Buddha. These miles ahead though included two enormous summit climbs: Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak. I pushed on down the trail thinking that Kenneth and Mayank were just in front of me somewhere so I kept glancing up to see if I could spot either of them (again I was unaware I had left town before them). The first ascent up Lantau peak the wind was steady but the sun was now coming out and the weather began to warm up quickly, especially as I worked up the climb. The altitude was not the challenge, but the sheer steepness of the trails never eased up, even on these remote peaks. At the very top there was even a couple section of chain rails to help aid hikers if need be. Cresting over Lantau Peak I knew there was a big descent before the next climb. I carefully placed my feet as I tried to keep my momentum going down without jarring my body on the steepness of the descent. Honestly, I was very happy once the bottom had occurred, but then again, I had to look up and face one last tall peak between me and the postbox. I climbed steadily up Sunset Peak trail passing many people out hiking and being passed by many more people coming the other way. Clearly these two peaks are very popular hiking destinations. The coldness of the night had been forgotten, as the sun was warming up the air and it the wind was still strong but much warmer now.
It was just after noon I think when I reached the top of Sunset Peak. What seemed like the longest descent of my life took about an hour to travel the 4 Mi (6.4 km) from the summit all the way down to the ocean at the ferry pier. I was using the official trail markers to count down the kilometers as I continued down the mountain. I thought there was no way they were right at it seemed to go on forever (sure enough they were spot on in the end).
Emerging out of the trail I joined up with the road which took the very last 1.2 Mi (1.9 km) following S Lantau Rd down into the town. Will was there at the traffic circle where it turned into the Ferry Pier Rd for the last few hundred meters in the bus stop where the infamous green postbox sits. He was filming me and joined me in running in through the crowd of people on the street. I am sure most people were oblivious to what was going on, but then I saw Andre and heard the clanging of the cowbell. There was a large group of spectators and people gathered at the postbox whom definitely knew what was occurring. I took off my hydration vest and dropped it a few steps before embracing the postbox and soaking in the moment. I had done it. I had survived Four Trails!
VIDEO FOOTAGE (0:13:12). Courtesy of Brandon Wong @b3108 on YouTube) of my finish into the postbox including: the champagne shower, chat with Andre Blumberg (event director), & chat with Will Hayward (my crew). Thank you for capturing this for moment me.
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| Coming into the infamous green postbox in Mui Wo ferry pier. (Photo: Chan Tak Shing Vincent, Compose the Story, @vinvincent) |
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Tradition of kissing the postbox. (Photo: Chan Tak Shing Vincent, Compose the Story, @vinvincent)
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Instantly photographers of all sorts where there taking pictures and swarming the scene along with all the crews, fellow runners, past participants, and most likely the general Hong Kong trail community at large. It was so cool to realize that they were there for me at that moment to celebrate the accomplishment. What a feeling. Andre then took the stage and announced my name and official time. Following that was the customary champagne shower by Andre. I think I mentioned this in a post already, but this was “the best post race shower I’ve had in any sports event in my life thus far”.
67 hours 26 minutes 45 seconds. I had Survived the 2023 Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge.
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Ensuring I stopped my Garmin. (Photo: Lucien Chan @chan.lucien)
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| Embracing Andre Blumberg on a congratulations of Surviving. (Photo: Lucien Chan @chan.lucien) |
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| Traditional Champagne shower upon completing HK4TUC. (Photo: Will Hayward) |
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Quick call back home to my wife despite the 14-hour time difference.
(Photo: Chan Tak Shing Vincent, Compose the Story, @vinvincent) |
FINAL THOUGHTS
Hong Kong has a very loose definition of trail. Here in North America one might think of the term trail to mean soft dirt paths covered in roots or rocks. But in Hong Kong trail simply means a path to travel and is often regardless of the surface type. I knew that there was a lot of concrete and hard paths before going there for this event, but it turns out that I’d guess probably 85% of the trails were concrete and the remaining 15% on dirt paths. This led to the additional challenge of impact pounding on your feet and leg muscles throughout the duration of the run. Hong Kong is also known for its stairs which definitely lived up to the hype. A secondary aspect of everything being concrete there was very few switchbacks and every peak the stairs basically led you straight up and over down the other side. Descending on uneven step sized concrete stairs would prove to be the most difficult aspect of this event. My legs always felt like they were enduring never ending impact as I would come down the various steps never really getting into a good rhythm.
The Hong Kong Four Trails overall were a huge challenge and a lot harder than I initially thought it would be based on the statistics alone. I am super proud to have completed the Four Trails as it has been traditionally hard for people from overseas to come over and take this one without ever seen the trails of Hong Kong. My initial goal was 60 hours and to go and become a Finisher. I was humbled by the trail and the challenges that came before me, whether it was the extreme low chance of that rainstorm on the first night, or the super-hot humid day that followed, or even the large wind gusts on the third and final night and day. I did have a big low in the middle of night 2 when I waas slowly loosing grasp of that 60-hour pace, but I persevered on despite that feeling.
Even with my experience in the long distances, I am still super proud reflecting back to be able to complete the challenge as a HK4TUC Survivor. I was able to travel on foot across the entire landscape of the country of Hong Kong: west to east, then north to south, crossed the entire Hong Kong Island, with finally a full circle of Lantau Island. I got to meet 24 new trail running friends and see an entire country by taking on this challenge. What an adventure! I am glad I took the chance.
RESULTS
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x5 Finishers (under 60 hours)
x10 Survivors (under 72 hours)
source: hk4tuc.live
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DATA
This was my 97th ultramarathon run in total. I have finished 94 of these (96.91% completion rate).
- my 30th completion of 100 Mi (160 km) or more,
- my 5th completion of 190 Mi (300 km) or more.
My STRAVA data totals: 191.24 Mi (307.77 km), 51,467 ft+ (15,687 m+), 67:26:45 (8th overall)
Number of stairs= countless
Number of Hong Kong mountains peaks= a lot
Sleep:
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Trail
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Spot
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Sleep
Time
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Sleep
Cumulative
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Maclehose (end)
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car commute
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45m
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45m
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Wilson
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trail nap
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8m
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53m
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Wilson
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at
the Lam Tin MTR station, waiting for the reopen
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2h 30m
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3h 23m
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Wilson (end)
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car commute
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20m
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3h 43m
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Hong Kong (end)
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ferry
commute
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30m
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4h 13m
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Hong Kong (end)
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Lantau Base Camp store
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15m
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4h 28m
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Lantau
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attempted
trail nap
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10m
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4h 38m
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Lantau
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attempted trail nap
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10m
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4h 48m
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Lantau
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trail
nap
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15m
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5h 03m
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Thank you Andre for inviting me to this small event and allowing me to come to Hong Kong and test my limits once again in this crazy sport. You have created a huge community of trail enthusiasts around this small event on a big holiday in the region. I could not believe how much support we, the runners, received from the community at large out there. Thank you for curating this unique event and continuing to push the sport of trail and ultrarunning. My trip to Hong Kong will not be forgotten.
I could not do any of these crazy endevours with the support of my wife and my daughters. I often run late at night, or gone on the weekends for a run just to be able to train and prepare for events like this. My family is key in me being able to do any of this. Having Katie be my best friend and 100% back me as soon as I even mentioned this invitation I got is such a huge gift to have someone like that be behind me. Thank you Katie, Addison, Lily, Paisley, Hazel, and Zoey.
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