Hong Kong Four Trails: looking back on a historic ultramarathon, 298km where ‘sooner or later you pay’
- Hyun Chang Chung reflects on his second 298km ultramarathon finish, arcing from promising never to return to thinking about another run
- The Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge links the MacLehose, Wilson, Lantau and Hong Kong trails in one unsupported run
As the temperatures in Hong Kong soar, it is easy to forget that just months ago the city played host to one of the most incredible ultramarathons in the world – the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge.
One of the historic two-time finishers, Hyun Chang Chung, a Hong Kong-based Korean banker, looks back on his experience in a recent Adventure Trail podcast, part two of a Four Trails series. Over the course of the conversation, which includes clips from him on the course, he transforms from vowing to never do it again, to considering the circumstances of his next Four Trails run.
The Four Trails is 298km. It links the 100km MacLehose, 78km Wilson, 50km Hong Kong and 70km Lantau Trails. Runners do them in reverse, with no support or checkpoints, only having help as they travel between each of the trails. If they reach the end in under 60 hours they are deemed a “finisher”, and if they reach the end in under 72 hours they are deemed a “survivor”. The end is marked by the green postbox in Mui Wo.
The run, which takes place over Lunar New Year, marked its 10th edition in 2021 by only inviting back former finishers and survivors. Some runners had survived twice, some had survived then finished. Some finishers had returned to survive, but no one had ever finished twice.
Chung finished in 2020 with the narrowest of any margin ever – just 14 minutes. He was determined to come back and do better.
