https://www.scmp.com/rss/317785/feed Mary Hui is a Hong Kong-based writer. Her work has appeared in the South China Morning Post, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CityLab. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com One of the most beautiful things about trail running is its free-form, non-standardised nature. No two racecourses are the same and different athletes excel on different terrains, from mountainous to runnable. This makes competitions, from the local to the international level, quite unpredictable – and that is where a lot of the fun lies. Still, there’s value in trying to ascribe some method to the trail madness, even if only for curiosity’s sake. Now, a team of statistics and data science... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3080673/how-researchers-are-using-data-and-statistics-predict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3080673/how-researchers-are-using-data-and-statistics-predict?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:00:05 +0000 Trail runners are a hardy bunch. We push through pain and discomfort, then have a good laugh about how much “fun” it was. Then we do it all over again the following weekend. Sometimes, however, that rugged determination morphs dangerously into misplaced stubbornness. Our dogged belief that anything is possible can blind us to risks and vulnerabilities far beyond our control. This much should be obvious: Covid-19, the disease caused by Sars-CoV-2, is a massive threat about which we still know... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3077063/coronavirus-runners-should-take-social-distancing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3077063/coronavirus-runners-should-take-social-distancing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2020 05:41:03 +0000 The next few months of Hong Kong’s competitive running calendar looks fairly empty, with multiple races cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak and the status of upcoming events uncertain. For many of us who design our training programmes around a series of races, the sudden cancellations leave a big gap to be filled. Not only that, but runners can feel a slump in motivation, losing sight of what they’re training for. Still, there are ways to structure your weekly training schedule even... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3064921/coronavirus-might-have-cancelled-most-trail-races-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3064921/coronavirus-might-have-cancelled-most-trail-races-you?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2020 05:30:11 +0000 The 2019-20 trail running season in Hong Kong has been one of the most disrupted season in recent history, with major protests and a fast-spreading epidemic upending many a runner’s racing schedule. Last November saw the cancellation of the Oxfam Trailwalker 100km race after large-scale protests and days-long sieges at multiple universities led to major traffic disruptions. While the mountain trails were serene enough, the road blockages were a logistical nightmare. Several hundred competitors... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3051366/coronavirus-crisis-and-hong-kong-protests-force?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3051366/coronavirus-crisis-and-hong-kong-protests-force?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2020 01:00:10 +0000 Feeling like you’re working too hard on a run? Listen to some fast tunes, says researchers. As trail runners, we all have different auditory preferences. One thing many of us is likely to have wondered is whether our musical choices while running are merely matters of preference, or whether they actually have a direct impact on physical performance. Some people – myself included – find listening to music while running distracting. I need to be able to listen to my own breathing and footsteps to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3049277/how-music-tempo-helps-runners-push-themselves-further?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3049277/how-music-tempo-helps-runners-push-themselves-further?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Feb 2020 03:55:23 +0000 The news last week that Hong Kong’s top trail runner, Wong Ho-chung, had lost his nomination for a Chinese sporting award because he had published “online speech harmful to the motherland’s unity” is a reminder that sport has always been, and will always be, political. According to local media reports, a recent Facebook post from Wong – in which he recounted his correspondence with the awards ceremony organiser, asking that he be introduced as a Hong Kong athlete, and ending with the phrase... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3047197/hong-kong-runner-losing-his-award-nomination-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3047197/hong-kong-runner-losing-his-award-nomination-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2020 09:55:26 +0000 It’s a new year, a new decade. And for many of us, it’s a time to set new goals or revisit old ones. My resolution: to always know why I’m running, and to be excited by that why. It could be something as simple as exploring a new city, or to clear my mind. It might be a quantifiable goal, like improving my time over a certain distance Whatever it is, I want to head out the door knowing what it is that I seek on the roads and trails. Since we all have different approaches to the sport, I wanted... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3045163/top-hong-kong-runners-new-year-resolutions-enjoying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3045163/top-hong-kong-runners-new-year-resolutions-enjoying?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jan 2020 06:52:10 +0000 When it was announced in November, two days before the race, that this year’s 100km Oxfam Trailwalker had been cancelled, the last thing I wanted to do was run. The event had been shelved because of logistical problems posed by the ongoing protests, but scores of competitors said they planned to run the race unofficially. Come race morning on Friday November 15, several dozen teams had gathered at Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung. People milled about in their team kit and some even had their race bibs... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3044064/what-was-your-most-memorable-run-2019-hongkongers-share?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3044064/what-was-your-most-memorable-run-2019-hongkongers-share?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jan 2020 02:00:14 +0000 With November's inaugural unofficial 100km Oxfam Trailwalker behind me, I’m taking a break from mountain running. . With no trail races that I’m signed up for in the immediate future, I’m in search of flatter running. After so many months of hot, slow and long training sessions – many of which have significant portions of power hiking rather than running – it’s time to rediscover the modicum of speed that I hope to have retained. I’m heading for flat terrain such as race tracks, Bowen Road, and... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3042025/better-coastal-defences-against-typhoons-and-waves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3042025/better-coastal-defences-against-typhoons-and-waves?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Dec 2019 09:39:06 +0000 The inaugural unofficial Oxfam Trailwalker now has an unofficial mixed team record, set by the Joint Dynamics – Gone Running team in a blistering time of 12 hours and 45 minutes. “I’m just so proud of the team,” said John Ellis, one of the team members. “You can’t underestimate how tough it is to bring together four elite runners and to make them run as one cohesive unit but that’s what we did. We worked together, cared for each other and then dug deep for each other at the end to get the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3038210/how-oxfam-trailwalker-unofficial-mixed-record-was-set?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3038210/how-oxfam-trailwalker-unofficial-mixed-record-was-set?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Nov 2019 07:09:22 +0000 If you had asked me last year whether and when I would compete in a 100km trail race, I would have dismissed the idea as crazy, something to be considered at least several years down the road. That time frame has sped up dramatically and unexpectedly. Next Friday, I’ll be competing alongside my Gone Running-Joint Dynamics teammates in a women’s team of four in the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker. As we count down to one of Hong Kong’s most gruelling and iconic races, here are some reflections on lessons... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3036948/oxfam-trailwalker-lessons-learned-training-my-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3036948/oxfam-trailwalker-lessons-learned-training-my-first?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Nov 2019 09:40:29 +0000 Will Hayward never expected to be the last man standing. Well, he was actually the second-last person standing. But, technically, the runner from Hong Kong jested, “I was the last man standing.” The winner of last week’s Big Dog Backyard Ultra in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, was Maggie Guterl. She was the first woman ever to win the race, which is widely considered to be the world’s hardest and most diabolical. Known by many as “the race with no end,” the event is defined by a philosophy of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3034745/dazed-and-confused-hongkonger-hayward-last-man-standing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3034745/dazed-and-confused-hongkonger-hayward-last-man-standing?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Oct 2019 07:13:30 +0000 Rosie Watson is on an extraordinary journey: running from the UK all the way to Mongolia, solo and self-supported. She is doing it to raise awareness of the climate crisis, and will meet people along the way who are dedicated to tackling environmental and sustainability issues. The self-described “fell runner, climber, wild swimmer and all-round mountain lover” set off more than two months ago, on August 17, from her home in the Lake District. At the end of last week, she was already more than... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3033525/rosie-watson-runs-uk-mongolia-climate-change-free?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3033525/rosie-watson-runs-uk-mongolia-climate-change-free?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Oct 2019 05:25:34 +0000 When Natasha Wong Tsz-yan crossed the finish line at the Berlin Marathon on September 29, she promptly broke into tears. “Finally,” she thought. “I could keep the pace and complete the race on pace.” She said training at altitude, dedicating more time to strength training and training on her own to improve her mental strength were all factors in the improvement. Wong, 24, completely shattered her personal best of two hours, 49 minutes and 54 seconds, set nearly two years ago at the Asian... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3032721/how-olympic-hopeful-wong-smashed-her-marathon-personal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3032721/how-olympic-hopeful-wong-smashed-her-marathon-personal?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Oct 2019 08:48:14 +0000 As I walked up with my teammates to the start line of the Ferei Dark 45km trail running race just before midnight on Monday, shouts rang out in the air. “Restore Hong Kong!” someone yelled in the crowd. “Revolution of our times!” came the resounding response. “Hongkongers!” someone else cried out. “Add oil!” the crowd called back, not missing a beat. It was a surreal scene. Here we were, hundreds of runners on the eve of the October 1, about to embark on a 45km overnight jaunt on the MacLehose... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3031537/hong-kong-protests-spread-trail-races-runners-chant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3031537/hong-kong-protests-spread-trail-races-runners-chant?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Oct 2019 05:33:28 +0000 If you do any running on the streets of Hong Kong, weaving in and out of crowds has become easier of late. The reason: a lot of those metal railings that line large sections of pedestrian pavements are gone, dismantled and removed by protesters. The metal fences are installed by the government all over Hong Kong’s streets, ostensibly to keep people from crossing outside pedestrian crossings, to protect pedestrians from vehicles, and possibly also to dissuade vans and trucks from unloading... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3029931/urban-running-hong-kong-just-got-lot-better-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3029931/urban-running-hong-kong-just-got-lot-better-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Sep 2019 07:00:09 +0000 Elite athletes, unfortunately, have terrible teeth. Think about all the drinks and foods you ingest over the course of a trail run or ultramarathon. Cans of soda such as Coca-Cola and Fanta. Sports drinks such as Pocari Sweat, Gatorade and Tail Wind. Energy bars, energy gels and chocolate. It all adds up to a lot of sugar – necessary for the calories and energy kicks, but perhaps not so great for our teeth. That is what researchers at the University College of London's Eastman Dental Institute... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3025992/why-elite-athletes-breath-smells-ultra-runners-love?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3025992/why-elite-athletes-breath-smells-ultra-runners-love?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2019 05:30:09 +0000 My life over the past 13 weeks has revolved around two axes: protests and running. Amid covering the protests, I try to think about how I can squeeze in my run for the day, or whether I’ll have the physical and mental energy to knock out a long run in the mountains on the weekend. And when I’m on the trails, I invariably think about the protests, turning over what’s happened and where things might go next. Hong Kong has been gripped by more than two months of protests. They began as opposition... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3024649/bruce-lees-be-water-philosophy-works-hong-kong-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3024649/bruce-lees-be-water-philosophy-works-hong-kong-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Aug 2019 07:00:14 +0000 I learned something new about myself last week: it takes way more mental energy to run than I thought. It had never occurred to me that running might be a mentally rigorous activity. I go out, put one foot in front of the other, switch my brain off and run. From time to time I admire the views, count the porcupines, look out for wild boars and snakes. Running hard takes focus, of course. But a leisurely jaunt should be mentally very easy, right? Turns out, no. All my attempts to run last week... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3024079/trying-run-when-tired-importance-sleep-and-how-overcome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3024079/trying-run-when-tired-importance-sleep-and-how-overcome?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2019 07:54:14 +0000 It’s a difficult and important lesson, and arguably a rite of passage for almost every runner: the first Did Not Finish (DNF) when a competitor fails to complete a race. As runners, we depend on our bodies to power us through our sport – our legs, our lungs, our gut. The simplicity of it is beautiful, because we’re not dependent on an external object like a tennis racquet or a bicycle. The simplicity also means our performance in the sport often becomes, for better or worse, tied to our sense of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3022704/how-deal-your-first-dnf-trail-running-and-liberation-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3022704/how-deal-your-first-dnf-trail-running-and-liberation-it?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2019 04:35:48 +0000 Here is a dilemma that many a runner in Hong Kong will have to contend with. You want to run every day, but it is raining every day. So do you wear the same pair of running shoes day in, day out, even if it means sticking your feet into soggy, increasingly pungent trainers? Or do you rotate among the several pairs that you have, inevitably getting each pair wet over the course of the week? It’s a tough call. And whichever option you choose, the perennial challenge remains: how do you get those... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3021767/how-dry-your-running-shoes-hong-kongs-humid-season-dont?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3021767/how-dry-your-running-shoes-hong-kongs-humid-season-dont?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2019 07:30:14 +0000 Runners are taking to the streets to show solidarity with protesters and to make their voices heard in a peaceful manner, by connecting 19km of Lennon Walls across the city. Almost five years ago, in October 2014, two runners in Hong Kong set off on a 102-kilometre ultramarathon around the far-flung corners of the city, tracing a route the shape of a massive umbrella. Dubbed the “umbrella ultramarathon,” it was not a race, but a journey with a message: support for the Occupy Central movement,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3020239/hong-kong-runners-join-extradition-bill-protests-lennon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3020239/hong-kong-runners-join-extradition-bill-protests-lennon?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jul 2019 00:30:04 +0000 Trail runners are generally pretty good about minimising the use of disposable plastics. We run with soft flasks, hydration packs and collapsible, reusable silicon cups – all of which help to cut down on single-use plastics. Well-organised trail running races rarely have disposable cups at checkpoints and water stations, and competitors are encouraged to bring their own cutlery for food at finish lines. Unfortunately, we're less good about our gels and bars. As much as we try to clean up after... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3019261/biodegradable-energy-gel-packets-are-new-tool-trail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3019261/biodegradable-energy-gel-packets-are-new-tool-trail?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jul 2019 04:17:04 +0000 Mark Agnew and Mary Hui talk to Nancy Jiang about how she managed to transform herself from a teenage sports enthusiast, bored with athletics, to a successful career woman who competes in Europe’s most famed competitive races in her spare time. It was while at her first job as an engineer in Auckland she became interested in distance running, moving swiftly from lunchtime jaunts around the city with colleagues to taking part in the Auckland Marathon. Find out why something as simple as kids... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3018350/adventure-trail-nancy-jiang-sprints-past-tradition-achieve-her-childhood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3018350/adventure-trail-nancy-jiang-sprints-past-tradition-achieve-her-childhood?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2019 09:20:12 +0000 Every day, week in week out, people across the world are running. Over the years, millions have participated in races of varying differences. But what exactly does the global state of running look like? Jens Jakob Andersen, founder of the website RunRepeat.com, teamed up with the International Association of Athletics Federations to crunch the numbers. They analysed nearly 108 million results from over 70,000 road running races since 1986, and published their results in a report titled “The... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3017994/asia-bucks-global-trends-road-running-young-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3017994/asia-bucks-global-trends-road-running-young-market?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jul 2019 05:35:21 +0000 I have never had a female coach in any of my sports. And, if anecdotal evidence is any guidance, chances are that you haven’t, either. Over the years, I’ve played football, badminton, golf, tennis, table tennis, Muay Thai, wushu and running in high school, university and now, but my coaches? All men. Where are all the women? And what are we, as a sporting community and also the broader society, missing out on in our sporting experiences by not having women coach us? For Kate Rutherford, who has... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3017233/why-are-there-so-few-female-sports-coaches-gender?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3017233/why-are-there-so-few-female-sports-coaches-gender?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2019 06:16:35 +0000 Samantha Chan is one of Hong Kong’s top ultra marathon runners, completing the 400km Ultra Gobi marathon in one epic, continuous run as well as the seven-day 250km Marathon des Sables across the Sahara desert. Instead of being celebrated for her achievements, she’s faced criticism for not being ‘feminine enough’. Bobbi Poulton is one of Hong Kong’s elite crossfit trainers and athletes, who is watching her sport and profession become affected by the toxic use of Instagram, the rise of... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3016668/adventure-trail-talking-social-media-purges-asian-cultural-pressure-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3016668/adventure-trail-talking-social-media-purges-asian-cultural-pressure-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jun 2019 05:40:09 +0000 Running home eastward along Bowen Road in the rain one evening this week, something caught my eye as I peered through the cracks between buildings. In the distance was a golden-orange glow. What could be lit up so brilliantly while it was pouring above my head right at that very moment? I soon realised that it was the Kowloon mountain range across the harbour, where it must not have been raining. The rolling hills there were catching the last of the day’s sunshine, and the clouds around it were... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3016098/lion-rock-spirit-animal-hong-kongs-trail-running?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3016098/lion-rock-spirit-animal-hong-kongs-trail-running?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2019 03:25:09 +0000 You have to be a little bit bananas to consider running hundreds of kilometres through the mountains fun. From the outside, trail and ultra runners look like a group of nuts. But in reality each runner is berry different from the next but the differences make them the apple of each others’ eyes. But what fruit describes you as a runner: The slow-burner: Banana Don’t underestimate this runner. They’re low key and blend into the pack, and may even sit a fair ways back at the beginning of races as... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3015198/what-fruit-best-describes-you-trail-runner-slow-burning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3015198/what-fruit-best-describes-you-trail-runner-slow-burning?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 2019 09:05:14 +0000 Adventure and extreme sports have been central to Adrian Hayes’ life since he was a young teenager, but he has noticed a shift. “What has changed is the purity since 2007, when social media came in,” he said. “Internal significance, personal goals, personal self-worth, self-respect, doing it for yourself, has been slowly taken over by that recognition.” He climbed Everest in 2006, and then summitted K2 in 2014. But Hayes even began to question his own motives, and had to take a long hard look at... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3014884/why-do-people-climb-mountains-adrian-hayes-questions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3014884/why-do-people-climb-mountains-adrian-hayes-questions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jun 2019 10:10:22 +0000 Mark Agnew and Mary Hui talk to Adrian Hayes, mountaineer, adventurer and author of One Man’s Climb: A Journey of Trauma, Tragedy, and Triumph on K2, who has climbed, not one, but two of the world’s highest mountains. After leaving school at the age of 16, Adrian Hayes spent 10 years carving out a career in the British Army, where he worked in the special forces and later with the Gurkhas in Nepal. From there, this Nepali-speaking, Sandhurst-trained army officer, who also spent time living in... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3014302/adventure-trail-adrian-hayes-talks-big-goals-perils-scaling-k2-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3014302/adventure-trail-adrian-hayes-talks-big-goals-perils-scaling-k2-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jun 2019 05:02:03 +0000 . Wong Ho-chung is no stranger to racing internationally, but the standard of competition at the Trail World Championships last weekend in Miranda do Corvo, Portgual, took him by surprise. “I knew the field would be competitive, but the level was even more competitive than I expected,” said Wong, Hong Kong’s male representative who works as a firefighter by day. Though generally satisfied with his result in the 44km race – he placed 104 out of the men’s field of 236 – the ranking was not as good... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3014160/trail-world-championships-hong-kong-duo-put-fight-cant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3014160/trail-world-championships-hong-kong-duo-put-fight-cant?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jun 2019 05:50:01 +0000 One consistent theme runs throughout all my hiking excursions with my younger brother: I am always the one who slips and falls smack on my butt at least once a hike. He, on the other hand, rarely, if ever, loses his balance. The trail can be slippery and slick with mud (especially when we were hiking in Scotland), but he floats along effortlessly. And he’s not even a trail runner. Clearly I must be doing something wrong. Or perhaps my brother is intuitively doing something right. As an avid... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3013159/how-run-downhill-hong-kongs-slippery-slopes-and-wet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3013159/how-run-downhill-hong-kongs-slippery-slopes-and-wet?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2019 04:06:44 +0000 Leung Ying-suet is counting down the days until she represents Hong Kong at the Trail World Championships, an honour she has focused on this entire running season. After qualifying at the Mizuno Hong Kong Trail Running Championships at the end of 2018, Leung practised for the race by winning a host of other races of similar distances, such as The North Face 50. “After last year’s world champs, I wanted to improve my ranking and to represent Hong Kong again. Knowing it was a shorter race I’ve put... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3013044/trail-world-championships-leung-ying-suet-loves-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3013044/trail-world-championships-leung-ying-suet-loves-life?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:09:19 +0000 There is a large contingent of runners heading from Hong Kong to Portugal for the 2019 Trail World Championships, but there are only two people officially representing the city. Leung Ying-suet is one of Hong Kong’s best female trail runners, having spent years carving a reputation on the steep hills and staircases of the city’s trails as a supremely fit and fast competitor. This year she will join Wong Ho-chung for her second shot at the title. She speaks with Mark Agnew and Mary Hui about her... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3012570/adventure-trail-leung-ying-suet-talks-trail-running-hong-kong-and-portugal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3012570/adventure-trail-leung-ying-suet-talks-trail-running-hong-kong-and-portugal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2019 05:25:12 +0000 One of the more underappreciated and underrated gems of Hong Kong’s vast trail and running system is its catchwaters. Hong Kong has a lot of these catchwaters – 45 systems in total for a combined length of about 120km, according to the Water Supplies Department. And they’re old: nearly half – about 57km – were constructed before the second world war. The catchwaters play crucial roles in Hong Kong’s water management and trace the historical development of the city’s water supply. Running... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3012227/running-along-hong-kongs-catchwaters-and-seeing-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3012227/running-along-hong-kongs-catchwaters-and-seeing-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 2019 03:26:51 +0000 Here’s a riddle for you: it is omnipresent for at least half the year in Hong Kong; it is dreaded by runners, but they also cannot stop talking about it; and dealt with properly, it may even make you a stronger runner. What is it? The unrelenting summer heat and humidity so characteristic of this city, of course. It’s like running through a bowl of hot soup. It’s awfully unpleasant. Luckily, trail runners in Hong Kong have come up with some unique tricks to keep the body cool. Here are some of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3011234/how-run-hong-kongs-hot-summers-ice-topless-running-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3011234/how-run-hong-kongs-hot-summers-ice-topless-running-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 May 2019 01:59:09 +0000 This is an in-depth, at times confronting discussion where Simon McCartney talks about his life as a world-famous ‘rockstar’ of mountain climbing in the 1970s. How a near fatal experience in Alaska altered his perspective and made him quit climbing, move to Australia and change his life. Also, how making a tragic discovery about his rockclimbing partner on an online forum inspired him to write the book, The Bond, which has since become a cult classic of non-fiction adventure. Another part of... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3010613/adventure-trail-simon-mccartney-discusses-bond-and-his-return-mountain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3010613/adventure-trail-simon-mccartney-discusses-bond-and-his-return-mountain?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2019 07:05:08 +0000 The statement I’m about to make is not based on any kind of scientific research or backed by any kind of data, and in fact even the anecdotal evidence that I do draw on is limited. But I have a good feeling that it is, at least, largely true: Hong Kong is the best city in the world for run commuting. As a newly minted post-work run commuter, I’ve been blown away by how refreshing and exhilarating the experience is. From the Quartz newsroom at the University of Hong Kong, where I work, the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3010285/hong-kong-best-city-world-run-commuting-sunsets-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3010285/hong-kong-best-city-world-run-commuting-sunsets-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 May 2019 05:56:11 +0000 On the face of it, running and painting seem to have little in common. But for Hong Kong-based Elsa Jean de Dieu, they go hand in hand. The famous runner’s high is akin to her job as a mural artist. “When I have something in mind, I say I want to do this loop, I don’t care about the time or the kilometres, I just go and do it,” she said. “At some point, you just let go of everything – the pain and the heat, and the kilometres, whatever. I like this feeling and I have the same feeling when I’m... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3009987/runners-high-and-artists-flow-find-common-ground-jean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3009987/runners-high-and-artists-flow-find-common-ground-jean?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2019 06:14:06 +0000 From time to time, I hear certain trail races being described as “local”. As in, “That race is pretty local”, or, “The race has a very local vibe”. Other times, a particular running route is described using the same word – “It passes through a really local village”, or, “It’s a very local part of Hong Kong”. What is largely left unsaid is what exactly the word local in this context means. Both speaker and listener are left to fill in the gaps, interpreting between the lines and decoding implicit... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3009303/what-does-it-mean-be-local-runner-and-what-connotation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3009303/what-does-it-mean-be-local-runner-and-what-connotation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 May 2019 04:14:42 +0000 Elsa Jean de Dieu is a French artist residing in Hong Kong who specialises in large wall murals. Some years ago she found herself with a choice of lifestyles, and discovered a passion that changed a lot more than merely how she spent her downtime. “In Hong Kong you can drink, or you can do a lot of exercise, or do both. I felt like I needed to do something. I didn’t want to spend my time in Lan Kwai Fong. I started to go around to the Hong Kong trails ..." she tells Adventure Trail hosts Mary... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3008667/adventure-trail-art-and-athleticism-trail-running-muralist-elsa-jean-de?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3008667/adventure-trail-art-and-athleticism-trail-running-muralist-elsa-jean-de?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 May 2019 04:25:08 +0000 Stretched high up above the waters between the islands of Ap Lei Chau and Ap Lei Pai on the southern coast of Hong Kong was a 195-metre long polyester line, 2.5 centimetres in width, anchored to rocks on either side. Balancing with all his concentration, arms stretched out for steadiness, core muscles and stabilisers actively engaged, was Ricardo Iriarte, an active slackliner, highliner and rock climber. Slacklining is a sport that involves walking and balancing on a suspended length of flat... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3008369/highliners-hong-kong-find-balance-they-conquer-fears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3008369/highliners-hong-kong-find-balance-they-conquer-fears?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 May 2019 02:36:37 +0000 The race that could have gone on forever finally came to an end soon before 10am on Saturday, with a single person left standing: Will Hayward. Behind him were 167.75 kilometres of running and 14 competitors who he had outlasted. The Big Boar’s Backyard Ultra consisted of a 6.7km loop along Bowen Road. Runners had an hour to complete the distance and then they had to start it again – on the hour, every hour – until only one person was still going. “It was very meditative,” Hayward said of his... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3007411/big-boars-backyard-ultra-will-hayward-last-man-standing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3007411/big-boars-backyard-ultra-will-hayward-last-man-standing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2019 02:29:42 +0000 On Friday morning, around 20 runners are expected to toe the start line on Bowen Road for a race, just as many hundreds do every weekend of the trail running season. But this race is unlike the others in one fundamental way: there is no finish line. Dubbed Big Boar’s Backyard Ultra, this new race organised by Steve Carr of Race Base Asia is not about being the first to cross the line, because no such thing exists. Rather, it is a race of attrition driven by a single question: who can keep going... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3006509/big-boars-backyard-ultra-brings-race-no-end-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3006509/big-boars-backyard-ultra-brings-race-no-end-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Apr 2019 04:44:34 +0000 Hong Kong is dense with trails criss-crossing the territory. There are the major ones, like the MacLehose, Wilson, Hong Kong, and Lantau trails, then the minor ones and their tributaries. What we may be less aware of is that many unofficially designated trails are at risk of disappearing for good. For centuries, residents of the territory have inscribed their marks onto its topography by walking the land over and over again. As the city developed, trails took shape when construction teams... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3005540/hong-kongs-trails-are-disappearing-whose-responsibility?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3005540/hong-kongs-trails-are-disappearing-whose-responsibility?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2019 07:27:50 +0000 Mark Agnew and Mary Hui talk to a woman rated one of Hong Kong's top trail runners with a fascinating story to tell of how she has developed since first lacing up her trainers and making her running debut. In 2016 Fredelyn Alberto ran in her first competitive athletics event, the Spartan Race, and discovered she was much better at running than climbing over obstacles. Alberto, a 30-year-old from Isabela province in the Philippines, lives and works in Hong Kong as a domestic helper but now finds... https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3004591/adventure-trail-fredelyn-alberto-talks-freedom-trail-running-and-filipino?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/3004591/adventure-trail-fredelyn-alberto-talks-freedom-trail-running-and-filipino?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Apr 2019 07:05:13 +0000 One of the favourites to win this year’s Barkley Marathons – the notorious 100-miler with a 60-hour limit and deemed the world’s toughest race – unexpectedly dropped out after running two of the five 20-mile loops this past weekend. “Long story short: I quit,” wrote John Kelly on Twitter. “I was good on time, felt strong, conditions were (relatively) good. But I know what 5 loops takes and realised I don’t have that motivation any more. And I was no longer having fun.” The ultramarathon trail... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3004487/barkley-marathons-no-finishers-again-race-eats-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3004487/barkley-marathons-no-finishers-again-race-eats-its?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Apr 2019 08:18:10 +0000 Dolly Vargas Salles will be running farther than she has ever in a race this weekend. In fact, more than two and a half times as far. On Saturday, the 40-year-old mother of three boys will compete in the 75-kilometre MSIG Ultra @ Tai Po, organised by Green Race. The next day, she will return to the start line to run the 44km distance, completing a total of 119km. She is one of 12 participants who will be competing in both races across the two days. The longest distance Salles has previously... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3003452/those-mountains-call-out-me-filipino-trail-runner-aims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3003452/those-mountains-call-out-me-filipino-trail-runner-aims?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Mar 2019 04:54:54 +0000 Lloyd Belcher’s journey to trail-running photography is a unique one that started with anthropology. He worked as a university lecturer for sociology and criminology and used cameras to document his subjects behaviour and their environment. But as he marked papers, his mind would drift to his other love – the great outdoors. “The principle is the same, I’m looking that narrative,” he said of his transition, adding it is about his subjects interacting with their environment, whether it is a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3002605/adventure-trail-podcast-lloyd-belcher-asias-top-trail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3002605/adventure-trail-podcast-lloyd-belcher-asias-top-trail?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Mar 2019 02:42:24 +0000