No slowing Frank Pilkington as he competes in Action Sprint Trail Series

Most people tend to slow down in old age, but not Frank Pilkington. At 75 years of age, the Irish grandfather is training for trail running more seriously than he’s ever had. Sunday morning, he was the eldest participant at the C3fit Bonaqua Action Sprint Trail Series race at Discovery Bay on Lantau Island, finishing the 13-kilometre mixed-terrain race in two hours, 19 minutes and five seconds.

Pilkington may have crossed the line about 50 minutes behind race winner Seth Fischer (1:29:10) and about 30 minutes behind women’s champion Joyce Edmondson (1:48:16), but it was still an awesome performance from the elderly gentleman considering most of us at 75 would be happy to just be healthy and pain-free.

Remarkably, Pilkington, a long-time resident of Hong Kong, only started to get serious about trail running in recent years.

“I started running in 1983 and did my first marathon in Macau in 1985. I started to train more seriously when I was 70, and now I don’t know when I’m going to stop,” he said. “Trail running for me is just the sheer joy of being up in the mountain and being able to feel the freedom, the air and the green bushes and trees, even the birds. Hong Kong has a lot of birds and so full of wild lives. You would not notice them unless you are in the mountains.”

Though he has raced in different countries, Pilkington is especially fond of Hong Kong trails. “I don’t think I would have started trail running if I wasn’t in Hong Kong,” he said. “Hong Kong is so full of fantastic trails and once you find them, you always want to go back. You will never want to stop trail running in Hong Kong – especially when you reach the finish line and you have a few beers and a few laughs and jokes with your friends.”