View From The Edge | Oxfam Trailwalker denied crowd exemption, showing the government is apathetic or ignorant of Hong Kong’s trail running potential

Just days after the Hong Kong Marathon, the government deny the Oxfam Trailwalker’s crowd exemption

Hong Kong is going from strength-to-strength in terms of attracting and producing world class athletes, despite the government’s indifference

Reading Time:3 minutes

The Oxfam Trailwalker has been denied its exemption for crowd gatherings just three weeks before the event. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 7:00am, 3 Nov 2021

Imagine a sporting event where the participants start in waves to spread them out, the entire event is outdoors, the winners finish in 12 hours and the last people finish almost two days later and everyone else is spread out over 100 kilometres in between. It sounds like an event that has been designed to perfectly suit the Covid-19 restricted world.

But this is not an imaginary event. This is how the Oxfam Trailwalker has been operating for years. And yet, it has been denied its exemption from the ban on crowd gatherings, in place due to Covid-19, just three weeks before the event kicks off on November 19. The news is particularly hard to take given that it comes a week after the successful conclusion of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, which was allowed to go ahead with over three times the number of participants and has stories of runners bottlenecking in a tunnel.

It shows the government still does not value trail running, despite Hong Kong being the hub for trail racing in Asia. Its growth from a niche to a mainstream sport is a success story with the health benefits of getting outside and the potential for Hong Kong to compete on a world stage in world class events and athletes a particular success.

The Oxfam Trailwalker is a 100km race, which begins in Sai Kung. It follows the MacLehose Trail, and finishes near Tai Tong in the west. Participants run in teams of four and there were 4,600 runners signed up to the 2021 event. The final cut off to finish is 48 hours after the start. It was cancelled in 2019 due to the protests and in 2020 due to associated Covid-19 risks.

The Trailwalker starts in waves, so runners quickly spread out over tens of kilometres. Photo: Dickson Lee

It is the largest trail event in Hong Kong, and it introduces hundreds, if not thousands, of new runners to the great outdoors in Hong Kong. It is an incredible showcase of the other side of the city, away from the urban jungle.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}View From The Edge | Oxfam Trailwalker denied crowd exemption, showing the government is apathetic or ignorant of Hong Kong’s trail running potential

View From The Edge | Oxfam Trailwalker denied crowd exemption, showing the government is apathetic or ignorant of Hong Kong’s trail running potential