100km and no shortcuts: Oxfam Trailwalker to introduce spot checks to ensure fair play

For the first time, organisers of the Oxfam Trailwalker charity race will conduct spot checks to prevent competitors from taking shortcuts, following a dispute over last year's results.

The annual 100km hill race will take place between November 14 and 16 this year, on the same route which has been used since 2009.

The route takes participants over 20 hills along the MacLehose Trail and other trails within 48 hours, starting from Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung and ending at the Tai Tong Holiday Camp in Yuen Long.

Signs and checkpoints will be set up along the route for walkers to follow the designated route, as in past years. "This year we will also conduct spot checks. Anyone found to be taking shortcuts will be disqualified from the race," Oxfam's fundraising manager, Brenda Wong Yuk-han, told participants at an event briefing yesterday.

The measure follows a complaint at last year's competition. Team Nepal, which finished second, refused to accept the official result and accused the winner, Team Columbia S1, of cheating by taking a shortcut. Oxfam said it found no evidence supporting the allegation and dismissed the appeal.

Wong said yesterday that some volunteers would be sent to positions where people could detour, but the number was still to be decided. She stressed that the event was for charity and the best solution was for participants to exercise self-discipline.