Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra runner Tanya Bennett says her 298km swan song of suffering will be a ‘love letter’ to the city
- Tanya Bennett is leaving Hong Kong next month after a decade, and plans one final goodbye on the notorious 298km Four Trails
- The epic run links all four of Hong Kong’s most famous trails with no support or checkpoints
The Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC) is taking on special significance for Tanya Bennett.
Having lived in the city for over a decade, Bennett plans to move to Vietnam next month, and wants one final lap of honour.
“So this is my last chance saloon,” she said. “It’s like I’m going on one final, really long, really hard love letter to Hong Kong.
“I’ll be waltzing along Tai Mo Shan one moment, then thinking see you later on Needle Hill the next. It’s going to be as emotionally hard as physically hard, but that’s the point.”
The HK4TUC links all four of Hong Kong’s major trails. Participants run the MacLehose, Wilson, Hong Kong and Lantau Trails in reverse. There are no checkpoints or support allowed on the trails, though runners are allowed help travelling between the trails. This year, they also have to run from the end of the Hong Kong Trail to the Lantau Ferry.
If they reach the end – marked by a green postbox in Mui Wo – in under 60 hours they are a “finisher”. If they reach the end in under 72 hours, they are a “survivor”.