Hong Kong Four Trails: Wong obliterates ultramarathon record, finishing 298km race in less than 2 days
- Former firefighter Wong Ho-chung races around Hong Kong in 46 hrs 55 minutes nearly 3 hours faster than previous record
- The North Face Adventure Team member is ‘redefining what is possible in terms of combining endurance with speed’
Hong Kong runner Wong Ho-chung overcame rain, hail, freezing fog and extreme fatigue to obliterate the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge record on Friday.
The former firefighter turned full-time athlete finished the 298km race in 46 hours and 55 minutes, knocking nearly three hours off Jacky Leung’s time of 49:26:15 set last year.
Wong’s achievement cemented his place among the best ultramarathon runners in the world. He is the only runner from Hong Kong to finish in the top 10 at the prestigious 170km Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in France.
“I think this was harder [than any previous challenge] because there were a lot of hard times and difficult moments, such as dizziness and hallucinations,” Wong said. “This morning in Sunset Peak I saw some trees moving and I saw a stone that looked like a cameraman. I had to slap myself in the face to wake myself up.”
But even for world-class athletes, the HK4TUC is a different beast. It requires participants to complete the MacLehose (100km), Wilson (78km), Island (50km) and Lantau (70km) trails, non-stop, in that order. At 298km, and with an eye-watering 14,500m of elevation, it is one of the hardest ultra-marathons.
This year’s edition was even harder, with all painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills banned. In addition, it was the first year runners had to run from The Peak to the Lantau Island ferry, an extra four kilometres that previous participants would use to rest.
The extreme fog and mist, sporadic rain, and at times, hail, just made matters worse.
Abandoning fear of failure shapes Swiss runner’s journey to 298km HK4TUC
Wong, a member of The North Face Adventure Team, was taken aback by the blisteringly cold and wet weather rarely ever seen in Hong Kong.
“It was so cold at the top [of the mountain peaks] that there was even hail, and it was so foggy at times I could barely see,” he said. “Some of the mountains were so slippery it felt like I was running on melting chocolate.”
And while the record-breaking performance was applauded by dozens of fans as he reached the infamous HK4TUC finish line – the green postbox by Mui Wo Pier, Wong said his time was “far from perfect”.
He began at a blistering pace, finishing the MacLehose and Wilson trails in less than 27 hours, but made some sleep-deprived navigation errors during the Island trail. And, as is often the case with the HK4TUC, Lantau is when things got especially difficult.
“During the Lantau trail I started smoothly but really had to battle with lack of sleep and eventually I started to feel a lot of pain and fatigue in my legs,” Wong said. “I also had a stomach issue and threw up but knew I had to push myself in order to keep moving and to stay warm over Lantau and Sunset peaks.
“I knew I just had to be mentally stronger. I have experienced pain before and I know it can never make me stop. I just make sure I keep running.
“As painful as it was, I enjoyed all of it. The sleepiness, the muscle pain, everything.”
Ryan Blair, the director of the North Face Adventure Team, said Wong was “redefining what is possible in terms of combining endurance with speed”.
“He is head and shoulders above everyone else in Hong Kong right now and at his age he can keep doing this for another 10 years. I would be very surprised if this record ever gets broken by anyone other than him.”
