Hong Kong running challenge following all 10 MTR lines is mum and daughter’s love letter to the city

After running the routes of all 10 MTR lines – about 250km – Canadians Gillian Pritchard and her mum Marj are now helping other Hong Kong runners do the same

The innovative challenge fills a gap following the cancellation of a number of popular running events in the city in wake of protests and the pandemic

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Gillian Pritchard (right) and her mum Marj outside Causeway Bay MTR station in Hong Kong. After running the routes of all 10 MTR lines, they have set up a website encouraging and helping others do the same. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 5:30pm, 21 Jun 2020Updated: 5:30pm, 21 Jun 2020

Gillian Pritchard is happy she bypassed chocolates and flowers as gifts for Mother’s Day last year. Instead of giving clichés, she challenged her mum Marj to run the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Island Line route from Chai Wan to Kennedy Town. The pair completed the 16.2km (10.1 mile) route in 2 hours 25 minutes, but were left hungry for more.

That’s when the idea of a “Run the MTR” challenge was born. Fast-forward a year and the Canadians have run all 10 MTR lines covering about 250km.

“It all started when we wanted to add variety to our well-trodden Sunday runs that we were doing as part of our preparation for the 2019 Singapore Marathon,” Gillian says. “The Island Line idea came up and it sort of ballooned from there.

“For each line, we’d start at one end and run streets and trails to follow the train’s route as closely as possible until its terminus. Last week, we completed the challenge, having run over 250km to cover all the lines.”

Gillian and Marj Pritchard completed their first MTR challenge, the Island Line from Chai Wan to Kennedy Town, on Mother’s Day last year.

Now they want others to follow in their many footsteps and have set up a website (runthemtr.hk) to encourage people of all running capabilities to complete the challenge.