How years of ballet training gave Hong Kong-based trail runner Emilie Saint-Pe an edge
The French designer studied ballet from the age of four, and decided to run her first race – a 50km effort – on a whim in 2008, but it was her severely disabled brother who taught her the meaning of life
It is easy to imagine the tiny but taut trail runner Emilie Saint-Pe, a fixture on race podiums in Hong Kong, as the ballerina she once was. The strength and agility she developed over years of training in ballet slippers now carry her easily over long, hard runs.
She is lithe physically – and mentally: thoughts pirouetting through her mind materialise as creative ideas for new enterprises that extend beyond her career in art and design. She follows her whims with passion and courage, wherever they may lead.
It was just such a whim that uncovered her capacity for trail running. In 2008, she spontaneously took part in an annual 50-kilometre race without registering for it, or telling anyone.
“The day of the race, Green Power 50k, I went to the start line and said to myself, ‘Go as far as you can!’ I did not have a bib. I let everyone go first, and then started running. I finished in 5½ hours. Friends said I would have been 11th overall.”
Saint-Pe’s unconventional, go-with-the-flow approach to life stems from her family background: “I come from a typical French family – four people, one dog, one house, two cars, but with one big exception – my brother Rafael.” He was born severely brain damaged and lived out his life in a completely unresponsive state, she explains, with the family caring for his needs.