Oman by UTMB: Hong Kong trail runner Samantha Chan meets her match in mountains of Oman
- Despite the technical and exposed course, she still finishes as the sixth fastest woman and 29th overall
Organisers of the first Oman by UTMB ultra race warned the elite group of runners that the course would be difficult – and different – but it still caught Hong Kong ultrarunner Samantha Chan by surprise.
“I could never have imagined a racecourse could be like this,” Chan said. “I understand my weaknesses better now. I am an urban trail runner, too urban – this course was very difficult for me. I need to work more on technical trails.”
The 137-kilometre journey across the Al Hajar mountain range bearing a 7,800-metre vertical gain quickly became even more technical and exposed – with ancient trails edged into steep cliffs, one section so exposed that runners had to put on climbing harnesses and clip into a fixed safety line.
“I was so surprised, I thought it would be just sand but Oman has big mountains with gorgeous scenery, and clean and beautiful water with three or four layers of blue in the sea,” said Chan, who still finished as the sixth female and 29th overall in a field of 415 runners.
“At the beginning I felt strong, but then the course became very difficult – very rocky flats and steep ups and downs and I was becoming frustrated. I could not run any of it smoothly,” said Chan, a former track runner who prefers runnable trails.