Could Phairat Varasin be Hong Kong Four Trails’ first double finisher on the 298km ultramarathon?
- Phairat Varasin is one of a select few who have reached the Mui Wo postbox in under 60 hours and he is back for more
Finishing the 298km Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC) is a once in a lifetime achievement for most, but not for Phairat Varasin. Having completed the event in 2018, he is back for more, and could become the first HK4TUC double finisher. Hsiao Chiu-wen, a 2017 finisher, returned but did not complete the course last year.
The HK4TUC links all of the city’s major trails – MacLehose, Wilson, Hong Kong and Lantau Trails – in reverse. It started on Saturday at 9am. No support is allowed on the course, but runners can have help between the trails. There are no checkpoints. If you reach the end, marked by a postbox in Mui Wo, in under 60 hours you are deemed a “finisher”. If you reach the end in under 72 hours you are deemed a “survivor”.
“I loved the good feelings of the people around me in this event,” Varasin said of his return. “When I saw other runners doing the HK4TUC I saw a reflection of myself. I knew what they had been through and what they had to come.”
Varasin, 37, from Thailand, finished in 57 hours and 54 minutes in 2018.