Hong Kong 100 ultra-marathon: from tackling stairs to avoiding monkeys, top tips for runners taking to city’s trails
- The famous race returns for its 14th year this weekend, and John Ellis has been there from the start
- Overseas runners can typically be caught out by the stairs and steep climbs, which need a very specific type of training
Do not open your sandwiches on Monkey Hill might sound like strange advice to give an elite runner, but that is one of the recommendations Hong Kong 100 veteran John Ellis is giving those tackling Saturday’s ultra-marathon.
Ellis is competing in his 14th HK100 this weekend and knows a thing or two about the challenges that lie ahead.
While the city’s stairs and steep climbs typically catch out competitors from all over the world who travel to take part, they don’t often think about the wildlife.
“I picked up a sandwich at one of the checkpoints and started eating it and then I got chased up a hill by a few monkeys,” Ellis said. “They chased me for about 100 metres, so definitely keep your food to yourself.”
The HK100 is a 103km (64-mile) trail race that starts at 8am on Saturday and will see 1,800 athletes run parts of the MacLehose Trail before climbing Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s highest peak.
A bucket-list event that attracts elite runners from around the world, this year’s race will also kick-start the inaugural World Trail Majors, a new global running series.