Ultra Trail Running - My First 5 Years

OH WOW! It’s been 3 years since I posted an entry! During my last entry in 2016, I still had not completed any ultra trail races (those in Singapore with <1000m elevation didn’t count!) In 2015 there was a DNF in Lantau 50, in 2016 DNF in Sai Kung 50, and DNF in Lantau 50, again! 

Action Asia Lantau 50 HK, will always remember how the never-ending stairs brutally exposed my weakness in climbing.

In Search Of The Lion

Hong Kong is full of hills, low and short enough to be summited in half a day. Lion Rock is one of them, a very walkable hill about 495m high, rated as number 52 highest out of 131 hills in HK (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains,_peaks_and_hills_in_Hong_Kong).

This post is not about directions on how to get to the peak. There are already a number of blog posts on directions, one of the better ones (which I referred to) is this post by Jean-Christophe Clement: http://hikehongkong.blogspot.hk/2011/11/lion-rock.htm. It gives you a very easy to follow step-by-step guide on how to get there and back. I'll instead take you through the experiences and sights of my 4-hr trek, from Wong Tai Sin MTR Station to the peak and back.

Following the directions out of Wong Tai Sin MTR Station, we started our 1hr hike to the trail entrance. What the blog doesn't say is the hike to the trail entrance is mostly upslope. Although it was a paved road, the very warm day which we chose to hike in made it more tiring than it should be. 

Sunny day for a hike

Best day for hanging clothes out to dry

A little fishing village called Tai O

Lantau Island is an island west of Hong Kong Island and it's well known for many things. When you fly into Hong Kong, you will first arrive in Lantau, for the international airport is here. For most tourists, Ngong Ping (where the Big Buddha is) and Disneyland are a must-go. Its City Gate Mall is known to shoppers as the place with the various discounted outlets. Hikers and trail runners will love (and hate) Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak. 

Just as famous as those mentioned before is a little fishing village of Tai O. Tai O means large inlet, referring to the outlet for the waterways of Tai O creek and Tai O river. Legends say that Tai O used to be a hotbed for piracy and smuggling activities. 

My Love (and Hate) relationship with HK trails

My first HK trail race was on the 6th of December 2014, the Action Asia Lantau 50. Armed with two 50km finishes back home (Action Asia Singapore 50 and The North Face Singapore 50), and trekking/training runs along Wilson and HK trails in previous years, I was fairly confident of finishing the race. My mind was all about the roasted goose I was going to eat after the race. 

Waking up early and getting to the start line was an achievement in itself. I stayed in Mongkok and the race was in Lantau (an island away). Really thankful to the race organisers Action Asia Events for arranging buses from Prince Edward (10min walk from Mongkok) to the start line. The cold and weather.....brrrr.....so cold and comfy in bed that you must be crazy to head outside. It helps that some HK cafés are open 24hrs, thus there's hot porridge and coffee waiting for you. That was the main motivation for getting out of bed! 

Lesson: If you've no time for breakfast, get some bread/snacks to be eaten on the bus.

The bus ride took about 40mins and we were at the start line. It was still dark and chilly, almost everyone was in a jacket. The race started and we were still in jackets, but before 3km I was getting uncomfortably hot and decided to remove it. 

Lesson: Wear your jacket over your running pack so you can remove it easily. 

The start/end point. 

Lantau Trail (Sections 1 & 2) and other beauties of HK

Labour Day 2015 fell on a Friday, which made it a "long weekend" of 3 days. Just enough for a quick getaway, and it's HK yet again! 

Yes Inn @ Causeway Bay

Accomodation this time was the good ol' Yes Inn, but instead of Fortress Hill I decided to give Yes Inn@Causeway Bay a try. Located just across Causeway Bay MTR station and accessible by airport bus A11, Yes Inn is always easy to get to. 

Other than location (and free and reliable wifi), what I like most about Yes Inn is the simple yet modern deco and the relaxing atmosphere. At the main reception area there was a pantry with free coffee and tea, refrigerator (remember to label your items unless it's free for all) and even a free massage chair (limited to 15mins)! 

And the rooms. Budget accomodation in HK is always going to get you tiny rooms, but now I share this room with a dozen other travellers, men and women. It's a mixed dorm, kind of a first time experience. Each traveller still gets his/her personal space in the form of a mattress with curtains. There's also a cupboard that's electronically locked with your own access card so you can leave the room with a peace of mind. 

Triple deck bunk beds line up alongside a narrow corridor. 

I'm glad I was allocated a "ground level" mattress, no need to climb up and down the ladder. 

HK Trail - Day 4 (video included)

This has to be the hottest day of the 4, temperature and humidity about the same as in Singapore.

Before setting off I did some first aid to my only injury so far - an abrasion caused by the handle strap of the trekking pole, haha!

HK Trail - Day 3

I'm tired after 3 days of running (and 3 days of blogging), so shall keep it short and let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Section 4

Wanchai Gap - Wong Nai Chung Gap    7.5km    Easy

This is the first "easy" section so far, but every easy section also has its difficulty part. This was especially true for the last part, an uphill climb with little shade.



Don't you just love these sign posts - so wooden, so simple

HK Trail - Day 2

Day 2

Didn't wake up as early as yesterday, but early enough to have yummy breakfast! Today's menu, pig blood porridge!! This was once available in Singapore but has been removed ever since, I think due to hygiene reasons. But it's tasty! 

HK Trail - Day 1

First day of trail running! Not the best preparation, I somehow caught a cold the night before and couldn't get to sleep. Think I only managed a few stretches of 2-3 hr sleep throughout the night. Good thing for the World Cup matches to keep me entertained while I was awake.

But breakfast was good! It's a sin not to eat your breakfast in HK, not just because it's the most important meal of the day but also brekkies are so good in HK you can't afford to miss it!

My breakfast favourite rice flour with fritters and HK coffee. 炸两同热咖啡

HK Trail - Day 0

我又厘香港啦！

I'm back in Hong Kong! 

With a mission this time: To run the entire HK Trail 50km in 4 days. 

Haha I can imagine you guys may have 2 types of questions in your head, depending on your background:

1) What are you crazy, how to run 4 days in a row?! And that's more than 10km/day?!!

2) Why do you need 4 days just to complete 50km?!?! Many people do it within 10hrs!! 

Chill guys, that's just part of my itinerary apart from the usual touristy stuff. There's a possibility I could throw in a session of kayaking and climbing as well, keep fingers crossed. 

So as some of you may recall (maybe none of you), I last trekked Section 8 of HK Trail in Dec 2013, called the Dragon's Back, famed to be the most scenic trail route in HK. I also trekked the majority of Wilson Trail a few years ago and 1/3 of MacLehose Trail some years ago. This time it's different coz I'm gonna run. No more heavy backpacks and carrying lots of food, water and tent! 

The trails in HK are pretty well marked. If I'm going to get lost, it's probably from the public transport to and from the trails. That's why the preparation is important, starting from tonight. It's extremely important to have wifi in your room for this, and (again) I want to promote Oi Suen Guest House: reliable wifi, friendly staff, clean rooms, attached bathroom and toilets (for most) and in close proximity to outdoor gear shops (e.g. Chamonix and RC Outfitters) so you don't have to lug your shopping over long distances back to your room. 

希望天天都有好天气叻！

Pray for good weather everyday!

The gear I brought along, including a compass and headlamp in case I get really lost in the trail. And a Go Pro for the blog. 

I love HK - Dragon's Back Trail

What's the one thing that you must do while in HK? Eating? Shopping? Ok those too, so what are the 3 things you must do in HK besides eating and shopping? Trekking of course! HK has 4 main trails, namely Maclehose (100km), Wilson (78km), Lantau (70km) and Hong Kong (50km). Each of them is  breath-taking, relatively accessible by public transport and has their easy/difficult sections. The last time I posted on the Wilson Trail Section 7, one of my favourite. Having done parts of Wilson and Maclehose Trails (and flew over parts of Lantau Trail by cable car), I decided to tryout HK Trail this time. 

Stage	Route	Length (km)	Time (hr)	Difficulty
1	The Peak → Pok Fu Lam Reservoir	7.0	2.0
2	Pokfulam Reservoir → Peel Rise	4.5	1.5
3	Peel Rise → Wan Chai Gap	6.5	1.75
4	Wan Chai Gap → Wong Nai Chung Road	7.5	2.0
5	Wong Nai Chung Road → Mount Parker Road	4.0	1.5
6	Mount Parker Road → Tai Tam Road	4.5	1.5
7	Tai Tam Road → To Tei Wan	7.5	2.0
8	To Tei Wan → Tai Long Wan	8.5	2.75

HK Trail proper starts from The Peak all the way to Tai Long Wan. The last section, Section 8, was declared by Time's Magazine as the Best Urban Hike in Asia (22 Nov 2004 Asia issue). It was dubbed Dragon's Back as the trail path connecting Wan Cham Shan (226m) and Shek O Peak (284m). The path undulates between these hill tops, reminiscent of the shape of a dragon's backbone. 


Getting to the start point was easy. Take MTR to Shau Kei Wan on HK Island, then hop onto bus 9 at the bus terminal beside the MTR station. Alight at To Tei Wan - Shek O Rd bus stop (there's a screen at the front of the bus to tell you the next stop). Good idea to take a picture of the journey you will be taking so you know roughly when to alight. Oh you should get your food and water around the bus terminal if you haven't already done so. 

I love Hongkong - Sights, Smells and Tastes

Happy New Year! Yes it's coming to the end of 2013, which is also the 1 year anniversary of this humble blog (clap clap clap). Incidentally the 1st post in this blog was about Hongkong Wilson Trail, on 13 Dec 2012. So it's quite apt that one year later, I will also post about Hongkong, this time it's about the other aspects of HK. 

As mentioned in my previous HK post, I have a special affiliation to this former colony, from the TV programmes, movies, songs, celebrities, and having visited this place many times since I was a kid, and this being my 4th Dec in a row in HK. However this is the 1st time I didn't book a return air tic - flew to HK by Jetstar, returned by Scoot. I was advised by cheapfares.com (or was it lowfares.com?) to fly by such, and true enough the total was cheaper than any return ticket. Give it a try on your next trip.

First meal in HK was disappointing. Ordered roasted goose with rice at the airport because I was hungry. That could be the worst roasted goose rice in the whole of HK. Actually the meat was ok but the rice was too dry. Anyway it's good to start badly so all the later meals will be good in comparison. 

First meal in HK, Roasted Goose rice at Maxim Cafe at the airport. It didn't look so good without photo editing, and the rice was very dry. Just to fill the stomach.

Wilson Trail Section 7

Somehow I have this affection for Hong Kong, maybe contributed by the fact that I grew up watching cantonese TVB serials with my mum and listening to songs from Anita Mui, Alan Tam, Sam Hui....you know what I mean. I also used to spend my entire school holidays in HK when my mum was working there. And this is my 3rd consecutive December in HK.

Anyway, this post is about Wilson Trail in Hong Kong. More specifically, it's about Section 7, which is probably one of the most scenic along Wilson Trail. It starts around the Shing Mun Dam area, northwards along the beautiful Shing Mun Reservoir, through the forested Shing Mun Country Park and ends at Tai Po town. We only had a day (actually we expected half a day to complete) so yah, 1 section is probably enough.

The adventure starts the moment we exited from the MTR. The instructions we had says exit from MTR station and take minibus 82....but from where?? It wasn't from the street directly below the station. We asked a "Hongkonger-looking" passer-by and he brought us along the street, crossed a road and into another street. Wow, there you are...82 bus stop!