TransLantau by UTMB: Britain’s Tom Joly wins, with China’s Xiang Fuzhao first woman
- 247 runners complete the 129km race as its 10th anniversary edition forms part of the UTMB World Series for the first time
- Local runners Cheung Man-yee and Ng Chin-nam are second and third in the women’s category
Hong Kong had two runners on the podium at the TransLantau by UTMB trail races on Saturday night, with Cheung Man-yee second in the women’s category, followed by Ng Chin-nam in third.
Part of the UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) World Series for the first time, the event took place over 129km, beginning in Mui Wo at 10pm on Friday, with 247 runners going on to complete their races.
Cheung covered the route in 21 hours, 55 minutes and 59 seconds to finish 12th overall, while Ng was almost 2½ hours behind in 24:21:14.
Yet Cheung – who was 17th overall at the UTMB’s series finals on Mont Blanc in September – felt she had “underperformed” in the Lantau event.
An orthopaedist at a government hospital, Cheung said she had been too tired and hungry midway through and struggled to regain strength despite her consumption of energy gels.
Cheung added that having arranged a supporting crew at only one of the 13 checkpoints, she was glad to receive help from some friendly crews at other checkpoints and admitted she may not have been able to finish without their help. But she passed Ngong Ping, the seventh checkpoint, on Saturday morning and pushed on.