Hong Kong pair thrive in the heat as they scorch past rivals in final leg of Kayak n Run
Teaming up together for the first time, Wilson Lee and Jeremy Leung of North Face make hay of the hot weather to finish first at Tai Tam Bay
Hong Kong runners Wilson Lee and Jeremy Leung from the North Face team thrived in the heat on a scotching hot day to grab top spot in their first outing together in Saturday’s Royale International Kayak n Run at Tai Tam Bay.
The pair completed the course in one hour 45 minutes and 34 seconds, finishing one minute ahead of the field on the year’s hottest day with French Team Uglow Asia’s Adrien Choux and Antoine Epinette in second place in 1:46:57. Team Uglow Asia Biket Compet’s Mat Leng and Elsa Jeandedieu were third in 1:47:07.
“We seemed to do better in the heat today. When running up the hill to Dragons Back, we ran faster than other runners, plus we had great team work and that was where we caught the others,” said Leung.
Epinette said the hot weather made for some exciting racing although they had some difficulty in the kayak segment.
“We should be stronger, but on the half way my partner was tired and on the flat I was exhausted. And these guys caught up and then we were at the third position, but we didn’t give up and kept up with these guys,” he said.
The Hong Kong local team named Pao Shou Tang were the first women’s team home with Ng Chung-fei and Tsang Yin-hung cruising over the finishing line in 2:00:31 in their first participation in a kayak race. Tsang said: “This was a very challenging race because of the combination of kayak and running”.
The Royale International Kayak n Run series final leg at Tai Tam Bay started with a kayak start at Tai Tam Tuk for a four km ocean kayak leg out to Windy Gap and then paddling to To Tei Wan before running over different check points passing Shek O Peak 284m in elevation on Dragons Back, Shek O Country Park which for some was over five km, before the final two km ocean kayak back to Tai Tam Bay.
