Hong Kong running challenge that is family friendly and flexible
Zodiac Challenge is 12 monthly runs that start this week. Entrants will run a set route but you can choose when to do it over a 10-day period
Parkrun, a 5km running phenomenon founded in Britain in 2004, may not have caught on in Asia as readily as the weekly event has elsewhere in the world, but a series of runs starting this month in Hong Kong may be the closest the city has come.
The Zodiac Challenge is made up of 12 family-friendly, monthly runs spaced out over a year. Entrants will run a set route, and can start this week on Bowen Road. Instead of all the competitors gathering on the start line at once, the challenge allows you to choose when to compete during 10 designated days each month.
Themed according to the zodiac, each month represents a star sign – starting with Leo in August through to Cancer in July. The challenge is the brainchild of Peter Hopper, who runs specialist sports shop Gone Running, in Wan Chai, and launched the Gone Runners club last year.
“The idea is a bit like Parkrun but more accessible and flexible: you don’t have to be a committed runner to take part,” he says. “It won’t be a different run every time; we’ll pick a few 5km routes that aren’t difficult, like the Harbourfront.”
Solo races can feel “a bit lonely”, Hopper admits, so those who prefer a more traditional competitive format can join Gone Runners in group time trials on Tuesdays and Saturdays during the 10-day challenge periods.
Once registered online, participants who complete their run will receive a QR code, which they can present at the Gone Running store in exchange for a medal unique to that month and 20 per cent off a pair of Altra trainers. Each medal comprises a segment of a zodiac wheel, and those who complete all 12 runs will win a commemorative disc to complete the puzzle.
Why the zodiac?
“We wanted a theme that would go right through the year,” Hopper explains. “On the back of the medals is the Chinese horoscope: so this month is ‘Leo in the year of the Pig’ and it will change to a rat after Lunar New Year. If it proves popular, we’ll keep it going and find little challenges to add to it.”
The first month of the Zodiac Challenge runs until September 1. Each month requires a separate sign-up and a payment of HK$88 per runner. Access to a GPS-enabled device and the Strava app are required. For more information, visit gonerunners.com.
