Hong Kong Island Coastal Trail Challenge returns: walk or run is fun, and a way to ‘open your mind’ and lower risk of diabetes or high blood pressure

As the weather cools, conditions become perfect for those looking to enjoy one of Hong Kong’s favourite outdoor pastimes: hiking the city’s spectacular trails. The New Territories and the outlying islands offer many great routes, and there are several good options on Hong Kong Island. Residents and visitors can sign up for the Coastal Trail Challenge, a 65km (40-mile) route that circumnavigates Hong Kong Island. The challenge – now in its third year – is organised by environmental NGOs Designing Hong Kong and Parks & Trails, and neighbourhood guide app iDiscover, and allows people to explore parts of Hong Kong Island that may be unfamiliar to them. It also promotes the development and preservation of coastline trails. Participating may do your mind and body good. “It’s the perfect thing to do during the holidays, especially after you’ve partied and eaten a lot over Christmas,” says Ester van Steekelenburg, co-founder of iDiscover, who helped design the routes for the challenge. Nature is a great healer – so go outdoors and get a breath of fresh air Those daunted by the thought of a 65km trek need not be put off; it is broken down into eight smaller sections, each measuring between 3.5km and 12km. Each has a corresponding difficulty rating, and participants have until January 31 to complete them all. The route is also easy to get to. Unlike many of Hong Kong’s other trail systems that require hiking up mountains or navigating other challenging terrain, much of the Coastal Trail Challenge is flat and easily accessed by public transport. It also includes large swathes of the recently developed waterfront promenades in neighbourhoods such as Wan Chai and North Point. “It has a fairly low threshold, which for us when we initially organised it was super important,” Van Steekelenburg says. “After work you can just hop on the MTR and do another stage.” She says this allows people from all walks of life to take part, including families with small children, the elderly, people with mobility difficulties, and those who simply relish getting outside. Many studies have shown that walking is a great way to improve our physical and mental well-being. It’s just a good way to open your mind. Paul Zimmerman, founder of Designing Hong Kong Studies by the American Cancer Research Society suggest regular brisk walking can help lower the risk of up to seven different kinds of cancer, including breast and colorectal cancers. Walking for 30 minutes a day can prevent high blood pressure and reduce the risk of strokes by up to 27 per cent, the American Heart Association found. Other studies have shown it can also reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes. Walking has also been shown to reduce the likelihood of developing cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, while also elevating our mood and reducing stress levels. “There are also the mental health [benefits] of getting out there, especially after all the stress we’ve gone through over the last few years with Covid,” says Paul Zimmerman, a councillor for Hong Kong’s Southern district, and founder of Designing Hong Kong, who has spent years lobbying the government to develop the coastal trails. “It’s just a good way to open your mind.” Those who sign up can track their progress through the Parks & Trails-operated app TrailWatch, and are eligible for prizes collectively valued at over HK$200,000 (US$25,700), as well as other benefits such as discounts at restaurants and other businesses dotted along the trails. A scavenger hunt and weekly photo competition inject a little more fun into the challenge. Those with a competitive bent can sign up for the racing category, which is newly added this year. Instead of the eight sections in the leisure walk, this category divides the coastline into a 15km harbourfront run, a 25km hill run, and a 65km run along the whole route. Participants in the leisure challenge need to make a minimum donation of HK$150 and those entering for the racing challenge a minimum donation of HK$250. Thomas Butter, CEO and co-founder of Movaia, an AI-powered platform that helps runners improve their form and reduce their risk of injury which is a sponsor of this year’s event, will be taking part in the 65km run himself. Although the 46-year old Austrian has participated in numerous marathons, triathlons, and other outdoor events since moving to Hong Kong in 2006, this will be his first time attempting a run of this length. Setting himself the goal of running the entire route gives him the motivation to train harder and get fitter, he says. And there’s also the novelty of the event. “The idea of running around the island is inherently cool,” he says. “Even though I’ve been in Hong Kong for such a long time, there were bits of this trail that were new to me.” He encourages people who are apprehensive to start with one of the smaller sections of the trail and build their way up to the larger ones, with the ultimate goal of completing the full trail when the challenge returns next year. “But it all starts with getting off your butt and making those small steps,” he says. Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.