Source:
https://scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2067185/four-finishers-and-five-survivors-complete-gruelling-298-kilometre Other Sport
Four finishers and five survivors complete gruelling 298 kilometre Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge
Hong Kong-based Briton Tom Robertshaw stops the clock at 53 hours, while Fanny Wu is the first Hong Kong woman to complete the course
Tom Robertshaw kisses the finishing mark of the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge. Photos: Lloyd Belcher
Hong Kong-based Briton Tom Robertshaw led home three other runners who completed the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge in under 60 hours for the first time in the events history, while Hong Kong’s Fanny Wu was only the second woman to finish the gruelling 298 kilometre course.
Robertshaw, having fallen 38 minutes short of the mark last year, stopped the clock at 53 hours for the course which is made up of the Maclehose trail (100km), Wilson trail (78km), Hong Kong trail (50km) and Lantau trail (70km) and includes an altitude gain of around 14,400 metres.
Hong Kong’s Stone Tsang Siu-Keung came home in 54:15, with Jag Lanante from the Philippines third in 57:45 and Taiwan’s Chiu Wen Hsiao the last of the quartet in 59:45.
They were the first finishers, people who complete the course in under 60 hours, in the history of the event which is in its sixth year.
Watch: Tom Robertshaw finish the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge
Of the 22 participated who started, five others completed the course within the 60 to 80 hour bracket to earn the tag of survivors.
Wu stopped the clock at 73:26 to become the first Hong Kong woman to complete the course and only the second in the events history after Singapore’s Jeri Chua last year.
Hong Kong’s Jonathan Ng, Leo Chung and Matthew Mok along with China’s Mike Xie Liansheng were the other survivors to break the 80 hour mark.
The Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge is entirely self sufficient with participants not allowed to receive any external support apart from transport between the end of the previous trail and the start of the next and they must carry all their equipment, water and food.
Hong Kong’s Fanny Wu during the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge.
There is also no additional course markings apart from the normal markers and directional signs for the trails, and the clock does not stop during transfers between trails or if the participants opt to sleep.
The event was founded by long-time Hong Kong resident and accomplished ultra marathon runner Andre Blumberg in 2012, with the non-stop format introduced in 2014.