Vlad Ixel victorious on new MSIG Sai Kung 50 course

Vlad Ixel, the Hong Kong-based elite Australian trail runner, conquered warm weather and a technically demanding course to be crowned overall champion of the MSIG Sai Kung 50 race in Sai Kung Country Park yesterday.

Hong Kong’s Lo Ching-ling grabbed the women’s title in the third and final leg of the MSIG HK50 series, which saw more than 1,000 participants toe the start line at Pak Tam Chung at 6.30am yesterday morning.

Another Hong Kong-based Australian, John Ellis, finished third overall to be crowned champion of the MSIG HK50 series, following stellar performances in the series’ first two legs, MSIG Hong Kong 50 and MSIG Lantau 50. Among the women, Nepalese youngster Sunmaya Budha, just 18 years of age, secured the overall MSIG HK 50 series title by finishing second in the Sai Kung leg behind Lo to follow up on her second place in the Lantau leg last December.

The MSIG Sai Kung 50 course took runners on a big loop of Sai Kung West Country Park, followed by a smaller loop of Sai Kung East Country Park, for a total of 54 kilometres with almost 3,000 metres in elevation gain. Race winner Ixel, of the North Face team, crossed the line in six hours, six minutes and 14 seconds, closely followed by Frenchman Pierre-Andre Ferriere (6:10:21), who was also second in last year’s race, and Ellis (6:18:14).

It was a hard fought win for Ixel, who said he had struggled throughout the race. “The course is beautiful and I really enjoyed it, but there were climbs and other tough stuff going on. It’s quite technical on the way down and your legs are already tired but then you still have to run down. It was definitely challenging today.”

Unusually, Ixel decided to use running poles for the race – a right move, he said. “The stick does come in handy. I wasn’t sure at first if I should use it today. It definitely slowed me down on the downhills and the flats, but in a way it kept my legs fresher and helped me recover quicker.”