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Outdoor & Extreme
OutdoorTrail Running

‘Shut up, run and get the job done’: Meredith Quinlan is driven by doubters and could be the first woman to break 60

The Australian is using the naysayers as motivation, and she will need all the help she can get for the notorious 298km Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge

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Meredith Quinlan is the joint record holder for the 253km Larapinta Trail – could she be the first woman to break 60? Photo: The North Face
Mark Agnew

Running 298 kilometres non-stop and unsupported will strip any athlete down and leave them in need of motivation.

For Australian runner Meredith Quinlan, it is the non-believers and naysayers that push her to complete amazing feats – and she will need all the inspiration she can get when she takes part in the Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC).

The notorious event sees runners complete the MacLehose, Wilson, Hong Kong and Lantau Trails back to back, with no help except to travel between the courses.

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Competitors who complete the task in under 60 hours are deemed to be finishers; if they finish in under 75 hours, they are survivors.

Meredith Quinlan was motivated by a group of runners who said her Larapinta Trail goal was unrealistic. Photo: Handout
Meredith Quinlan was motivated by a group of runners who said her Larapinta Trail goal was unrealistic. Photo: Handout
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Tom Robertshaw became the first person to break 60 with a time of 52 hours last year, followed closely by Hong Kong’s Stone Tsang Siu-Keung who 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.

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