Asia Trail January / February 2016

Asia’s first trail running magazine January / February 2016

How Slow Runners Get Faster Making a Leap of Miles – 100km to 100mi

New Challenges for the New Year

Assortment of Gear to welcome the New Year

MIRA RAI

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Celebrate life in the great outdoors with Outdoor Channel and our fresh and exclusive first-run selection of fishing, off-road, adventure, extreme, motor and water sports.

This year, we feature #WhatsYourStory - a collection of life-changing experiences, impossible challenges, survival against all odds, endurance of incredible pain and amazing sacrifices.

So What’s Your Story? Share your stories with us on www.facebook.com/OutdoorChannelAsia

January / February 2016

asiatrAilmag.com COVER

58 Will this young Nepalese trail runner be the next shinning star in the trail scene?

Photo: Martina Valmassoi

08 Photo: Richard Bull

82

70

84 Photo: Alexis Berg

05 Editor’s Note 08 Race News

Oxfam Trailwalker – Hong Kong

Supplement: Team Gurkha at Trailwalker

The North Face 100 – Hong Kong

MSIG HK50 Series – Hong Kong Island

Bagan Temple Marathon - Myanmar

Manaslu Trail Race – Nepal

Nepal Action Asia Ultra Marathon – Nepal

Ultra Tour Mt. Siguniang – China

King of the Hills Mountain Marathon

Series – Hong Kong Island

The Borneo Ricky Lightfoot

Challenge – Malaysia

Moontrekker – Hong Kong

Salomon Lantau Trail 70 –

Hong Kong

Clark-Miyamit Falls Race Series,

MF42 & CM50 – The Philippines

Macau Trailhiker – Macau

Trail Run Jeju – South Korea

China Ultra 100 – China

Act-Belong-Commit Augusta

Adventure Fest – Australia

The North Face 100 – Singapore Khao Yai Trail Marathon – Thailand

56 TRIVIA

2015 Ultra-Trail World Tour Numbers At a Glance

FEATURES on cover 58 Runner profile

Mira Rai Found her Chance

62 Training

New Challenges for the New Year

Photo: Claus Rolff

Performance in Ultras

82 body mechanics

It’s Not Easy Being a Knee – New Theories and What to Do

84 geek runner

Stress and Arousal Regulation Tips

86 NUTRITION

Why Should We Eat Sprouted Foods

66 RACE

88 Race Directory

Making a Leap of Miles – 100km to 100mi

90 market

REGULARS 70 Gear

Assortment of Gear to Welcome the New Year

76 FIRST STEPS

To read Asia Trail online, visit www.asiatrailmag.com

How Slow Runners Get Faster

78 ASK THE COACH

Digital Edition

Fuelling for Optimum

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Editor’s Note

Editor: Clement Dumont

MANAGING EDITOR: Claudia Sing COPY EDITOR: Dominik Sklarzyk

CONTRIBUTORS: Andy DuBois Avtar Singh Sandhu Azlan Ithnin Clint Cherepa Doug Tahirali John Ellis Joshua Steimle Karen Lo Katia Kucher Keith Noyes Majell Backhausen Mark Brightwell Richard Bull Shane Early Tin Ferrera Victor Cheng

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Alexis Berg Claus Rolff

Illustration Artist: Kirk Wescom Graphic Designer: Miho Yawata

Publisher: Asia Sport Connection Limited 39, Tung Wan Tau, Mui Wo, Lantau Island, Hong Kong

For advertising, please contact: Sabrina Dumont +852 5193 8707 sabrina@asiasportconnection.com GENERAL inquiries: info@asiasportconnection.com SUBSCRIPTION: visit www.asiatrailmag.com Issue #14 Bimonthly ISSN 2409-5036

© 2016 Asia Trail. All rights reserved.

The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the magazine’s contents are correct.

However, we accept no responsibility for any error or omissions. All material published in Asia Trail is protected by copyright and unauthorized reproduction in part or full is prohibited.

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Returning champion Yanqiao had to DNF after getting lost on TNF100 Hong Kong.

Photo: The North Face

New challenges for the New Year is a classic theme — so what?

W

ow about getting faster? Or, does moving from 100km to 100mi sound exciting? Immerse yourself in this issue of Asia Trail to find inspiring ideas for your New Year’s resolutions.

If you think those challenges are still too typical, what about starting a 100km race 50min after everybody else? This is what happened to the two favourite teams at the Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong, this past November, after being given the wrong directions early on in the race (p.8). Those two teams — European runners from Xempower and Team Nepal — ended up back right at the start, though instead of succumbing to falling apart from desperation, they instead dug deep into their resources, trusting their abilities, and, despite this unthinkable mishap, came back to impressively cross the finish line. If you are ever in a bad mood during your race, just think about this story and keep going. Which, I admit, is easier said than done. I myself recently experienced a DNF at an ultra after getting lost for ‘only’ 25min — I was unable to get my mind back into the race after taking the wrong turn. You have to be seriously tough, mentally, to keep your mindset focused on the race, and to be able to handle unexpected stress caused by the constantly changing situation. Things change so quickly in ultras, so it is worth trying to push yourself as far as you can.

The elite runners have a good stride and a steadfast VO2 max, but what ultimately makes them win is their unconventional mental attitude. For the new, relatively inexperienced, Nepalese-star Mira Rai, year 2015 was really successful, filled with podium places and several wins at international races (p.58). And that’s only the beginning, with many new victories expected for her in 2016.

Certainly, it is because she managed to gain insights from the difficulties and challenges she was faced with earlier in her life that she is so strong today, both mentally and physically. We are always delighted to present athletes like herself, new people on the scene with incredible profiles, getting a better understanding of their background and what motivates them to take on the thrills and challenges of trail running.

We at Asia Trail enjoy following trail runners, and we hope you enjoy reading their stories and tips.

Editor: Clement Dumont

5

Columbia Unites INTRODUCTION

C

olumbia has sponsored two teams — Team Columbia AU 456 and Team Columbia HK — to participate in the Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong, the city’s biggest hikingand trail-running event of the year. Both teams put on a good show and completed as full teams in creditable sub-15h times, with Team Columbia HK finishing just 4min ahead of their counterparts, in 14h 50min.

Team Columbia AU 456 Two-time champion of the Trailwalker event in Melbourne, Trailwalker Hong Kong was the third time the current members of Team Columbia AU 456 participated together in a race.

Arriving just a couple of days before the race from Down Under, the all-men team — consisting of David Overend, David Wilson, Dion Finocchiaro, and Dan Langelaan — did not have adequate time to perform reconnaissance of the MacLehose Trail. Not knowing the terrain, the team’s plan was to start conservatively by staying around the fifth position until the 50km-mark, and then to pick up speed in the back half of the course. The team started well with the plan, but eventually found that the rocks, uneven steps, and sharp hills reduced their speed, not allowing them to get into their usual running rhythm.

Comparing the differences between the Trailwalker in Melbourne and Hong Kong, the Australian team commented on the sheer size of the event (twice as big as the Melbourne event) and the unflagging enthusiasm of the supports along the route.

In terms of competition and the

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A different Trailwalker scene for the team from Down Under. Photo: K.K Leung

terrain, there were a lot more fast teams than they were used to, the elevation profile had significantly more ascents/descents than any Australian Trailwalker, and the technicality of the trail was far more difficult than any previous Trailwalker they were previously involved in.

Reflecting on their overall experience, the team commented: “We had a fantastic time before, during, and after the event. The

course was spectacular with amazing scenery — we wished we could stop the race at times to take some photos!

We loved the support of so many spectators along the course and were very lucky to have such an incredible and efficient support crew — many thanks to Columbia for providing such amazing support that allowed us to participate! We really enjoyed the varied trail through mountaintops, valleys, beach, road, and single track, and would recommend this race to everyone!”

Columbia Unites.

Photo: Claus Rolff

Team Columbia HK always in sync.

Photo: Daniel Chung

Team Columbia HK From Hong Kong, we have a mixed team comprised of Sam Tam, Raymond Ching, Edward So, and Wong Meiyan. With the advantage of home ground, Team Columbia HK had the knowledge of the terrain at its fingertips.

The members had prepared a timetable, which they would adjust according to the weather on the day of the race.

The event day did not bring in the usual year-end cooler and dryer climate conditions. Instead, the weather was more humid than expected, resulting in the local team slowing its pace, and resetting a lower-target finishing time. With the key objective of completing the race as a full team, Team Columbia HK paced itself strategically, such that it would always run together as a group, and always be in sync with each other’s form.

Reflecting on the event and experience, they said: “This time, we had great support at every checkpoint and during the race, which saved us much time and energy, and thus let us finish the race. And also, we tried to use trekking poles more often on uphills to save our energy, so we could have more power to run through the last two checkpoints. Overall, our strategy was a success!”

7

Race News

Local Team Wins the Day

at Trailwalker

Oxfam Trailwalker – Hong Kong www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.hk

By John Ellis, GoneRunning.hk

F

or the first time since 2009, the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker had a local champion, with Team 2XU UFO’s Tsang Chunkit (Ying Ying), Law Chorkin, Lam Shingyip, and Tang Sunkam taking home the crown in a winning time of 11h 58min.

The result, however, was rather unexpected given a strong field that included Compressport’s team of European ultra superstars Julien Chorier, Pau Capell, Yeray Durán, and Casey Morgan. Team AWOO Nepal also looked strong, although admittedly somewhat weaker than last year’s Trailwalker-winning team. Most expected the Hong Kong flag to be flown by Champion Systems, led by Stone Tsang and Wong Hochung, who had both transferred from last year’s third-placed Fire Services Department team, and were looking to go one better than their nail-bitingly-close second place at the 2011 race.

The teams started out in slightly warmer, humid conditions, with AWOO Nepal and Compressport setting a frenetic pace from the gun. However, less than 3km into the race, disaster struck as both teams took a wrong turn off the main road onto Sheung Yiu Country Trail (reverse first stage of the Vibram Hong Kong 100), where “a policeman and a race official directed us off the main road and onto a trail… they assured us that the trail was the way to go,” according to Compressport’s Morgan.

Buffaloes are common companions of trail runners in Hong Kong.

Photo: Daniel Chung

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Race News Unaware of their missing the turn, and following the similar-looking course markings of the 8km Oxfam Trailwalker ‘Leaders Against Poverty Walk’ route, both teams eventually wound up back at the start line with an extra 9km and 50min on the clock. Morgan continued, “It’s fair to say that we were pretty furious and our heads were all over the place for a few minutes, but we got it together again really quickly and decided to just go for it anyway.”

Meanwhile, out front, 2XU UFO and Champion Systems both sensed a massive opportunity, although 2XU UFO’s captain Ying Ying later remarked that the news “did not impact on our strategy nor pacing… we never set winning as our target and focused on the sub-12h pacing that we had set.”

With the lead continually changing hands and never more than a couple of minutes between them, both teams continued to duke it out until Needle Hill, where some massive abdominal and knee issues started to hurt the brave Champion Systems team. 2XU UFO opened up an 8min gap, which was whittled down to 5min at Tai Lam Chung Dam. As Champion Systems’ captain, Ryan Blair, reflected: “We both fought really hard in the race with Stone and Chung towing and pushing the team to stay close, but that was it. Piers and I just hung on slowly to finish.”

Sensing history in the making, 2XU UFO stretched out over the last section around Tai Lam Chung Reservoir, and their winning time of 11h 58min was a new record for an all-Hong Kong Chinese team.

Speaking after the race, Ying Ying reflected on the win: “It is hard to tell what it means but what we want to convey is that there are some athletes out there in Hong Kong who are very passionate about trail running, who love the unique wilderness in this metropolitan city, and who appreciate the efforts of Oxfam in organising the Trailwalker event with a good cause of helping the underprivileged.”

Not far back, Champion Systems held on for a comfortable 2nd, clocking in at 12h 21min — well ahead of Compressport team, which finished in 12h 52min — battling heroically through the field and managing to hold off a fast-finishing Convoy Cosmoboys team in 13h 2min.

The highly competitive mixed-teams category witnessed an all-day see-sawing battle, as four teams vied for line honours. Joint Dynamics-Gone Running pulled ahead on the final stage to seemingly take the win, before the Hong Kong Trail Runners team of Jeremy Ritcey, Valerie Lagarde, Michael Skobierski, and Vince Natteri — with their later 9:30 a.m. start — broke the tape in 14h 18min for the win.

Amazingly, Trailwalker was Lagarde’s first 100km race and her race goal was just to finish, but it turned into a hugely memorable day: “I reached my goal, and we did better than our target time by 12min! And the mixed-team win was the cherry on top of an already very good cake.” Also, speaking about the 9:30 a.m. start, she didn’t see it as a big disadvantage as “we raced under the radar the whole day.”

In the female category, the 2XU UFO ladies’ team of Ida Lee, Nicole Leung, Nicole Lau, and Wyan Chow lived up to their pre-race favouritism with an easy start-to-finish win in 15h 3min. Tailing them in for 2nd were the gutsy LGT Team Green 2, in 16h 11min.

9

Race News

Team Gurkha

By Shaun Chandler

O

n November 20, 2015, Team Gurkha took their place on the starting line of the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker. The team — based in Brunei Darussalam as part of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Gurkha Rifles — had been selected to represent the British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas following the successful defence of their title at the Oxfam Trailwalker UK in July.

HKTW is the original Trailwalker event, and, having started originally as a Gurkha military training event, its history is inextricably linked to the history of the Gurkhas.

Over time, with the British departure from Hong Kong and the event’s adoption by Oxfam, the event itself — and Trailwalker as a brand in its own right — has grown dramatically to become a worldwide phenomenon of 16 races spanning 11 countries. Among the international races, the Hong Kong event remains the most significant and demanding of them all.

The race largely follows the MacLehose Trail, covering 100km with a cumulative altitude gain of over 4,500m.

Being unique among ultra running events — in that it is attempted as a four-person team — the event serves to attract the best ultra runners in the world sponsored by well-known sporting brands. Team Nepal, the current record holders, were also in attendance and looking to better their course record of 10h 58min. Added to this mix was, of course, Team Gurkha, which consisted of major Shaun Chandler and riflemen Bhimbahadur Thapa Magar, Ritesh Rai, Pritam Gurung, and Neshum Tamang.

This year is the 200th anniversary of Gurkha’s service to the UK, and, within a commemorative program of events spanning the year, the long-awaited return to Hong Kong stood out as one of the highlights. Famed for their unwavering loyalty, robustness, and cheerfulness under adversity, the 13 Nepalese have been awarded UK’s highest military honour for gallantry: the Victoria Cross.

Competition for entry, and, therefore the standard, remains extremely high. For example, it is not unusual for thousands to be in competition for less than 150 places a year. The final selection includes the famous doko race, which sees the potential Gurkhas run 2mi up a near vertical hill whilst carrying a doko (Nepalese basket) filled with 35kg of rocks.

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Training for a mountainous race is challenging for the Brunei-based Team Gurkha as the country’s population is concentrated along a flat coast with a remote interior shrouded in the jungle.

Photo: Daniel Chung

Race News Much as Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run” (2010) served to introduce us to the legendary Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s copper canyons, the ultra running, and, in particular, sky running communities are beginning to see just how capable Nepali runners are. Nepal itself has seen an exponential increase in the number of events taking place, and despite Nepal’s significant poverty, athletes are getting noticed and sponsored to run in some of the world’s leading teams. Mira Rai is an obvious example. One could go so far as to say that sky running may be on the cusp of seeing Nepali domination akin to that of the Kenyan domination of middle- and long-distance running. Race organisers and managers like Richard Bull (creator of the Trail Running Nepal website, Girls Running Fund, and organiser of, among others, the Manaslu Circuit Race) and Ramesh Bhattachan (Annapurna 100km organiser and Team Nepal manager), himself an ex-Gurkha, are playing a leading role in getting Nepalis onto the international circuit. In time, the Nepali prowess in ultra running may come to rival that of Nepali Sherpas in mountaineering.

The tragic earthquake of 2015 has, of course, hampered progress in Nepal, but, one thing is for certain, the indomitable spirit of Nepal will prevail; particularly when aided by her many friends. The Gurkha Welfare Trust is the official charity of the Brigade and provides significant country-wide support to the villages of the predominantly rural Nepal. In the aftermath of this year’s earthquake, the role of the GWT has never been of more importance, and the charity has taken a leading role in delivering aid to coordinate the activities of the main agencies.

Training for Team Gurkha is challenging. Brunei’s population is concentrated along a flat coast with a remote interior shrouded in the jungle — evidently, training for mountainous races requires some imagination. Early-morning starts, beginning with a drive, for an hour or so, into the interior became the norm, and several isolated trails and roads were found which allowed some hill training. Chief among these is the team’s infamous Reservoir Road: An 8km stretch of rolling sunbaked tarmac, which cuts through the Labi jungle and is perfect for out-and-back laps. The team tends to follow a three-month training cycle for each race, which is challenging as running can only ever be in addition to, rather than in place of, the team’s primary military duties. Still, the endurance, self-discipline, administration, navigation, and determination that ultra running requires makes the sport highly compatible with a militaristic lifestyle.

Add to this Trailwalker’s characteristic aspect of teamwork, and you have a neat fit.

The team’s preparations cumulate in our (infamous two-day race simulation: Day one consists of two 30km+ runs, split between the morning and afternoon; day two consists of a morning 20km dose of hill reps.

The aim of the simulation is to imitate the fatigue of the latter stages of a race without the cost of longterm burnout or injury. The approach has served the team well with back-to-back UK Trailwalker sub10h winning finishes in 2014 and 2015, and podium positions at the Annapurna 100km.

The HKTW route being unfamiliar, and the support arrangements being far more complex than those of the UK version of the race, a week pre-race was spent getting to know the route and leveraging some significant local support that had been offered to the team. Standard Chartered Bank and Cathay Pacific were the main supporters, and together provided the funding for race entrance, food, transport, and, of course, flights. The support was, however, much wider than even this, with some of the individuals rallying to the call for support including Dan Bould (Crisis Management Aon Risk Solutions), who kindly

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Race News

HKTW represented a significant step in the Gurkha Team’s running education, and also an opportunity to forge lasting friendships.

Photo: Daniel Chung

met the team upon their arrival in Hong Kong, Robbie McRobbie (Hong Kong Football Club), who arranged accommodations in a superbly located hostel called the Mahjong in Kowloon, Chris Lambe (Marsh Hong Kong Limited), who provided the support vehicles for the race itself, and James Pearson and Claire Price — experienced runners in their own right, both having run and won events including HKTW — who provided vital advice in the crafting of our race plan. Racing The Planet, owned

by Mary and Alasdair Gadams, provided vital race nutrition and equipment, and came out to provide spot support on the course. In short, a team has seldom, if ever, been better supported.

The race itself was a challenge. We started conservatively in the initial rolling sections, and this paid off, as, upon reaching the more technical uphill sections, we quickly closed with the top-three teams.

However, one of our team members was struggling with a serious knee problem, and the team was held at a steady pace for the first 30km. By the time we were approaching 40km we were moving no faster than a walk as the injury became worse. Once it became clear that the injury would prevent completion of the 100km, and could even result in long-lasting damage, the team withdrew its injured member and proceeded as a three-person group. The team then picked up its pace and compensated a great deal of the lost time and places, but, now being among the most demanding sections of the race, was ultimately unable to make it back up to the higher rankings. The team was spurred on through the checkpoints by the bagpipes of rifleman Nimeshkumar Gurung and a support crew that was

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headed by sergeant Dhiraj Gurung, and included colonel James Robinson, Mark Dowie (Standard Chartered Bank), major Chandrabahdur Pun, and Sabrina Dumont (who trailed a successful GPS-tracking beacon). As the team closed towards the finish, James Pearson and Claire Price took the lead and pushed us over the final 20km into the finish. Pressing hard they extolled the team to try and dip under the 15h mark — it was close.

Along the way, we passed Team Nepal, who also had the misfortune of being sent the wrong way and having had lost a team member. Exchanging words of encouragement we had the honour of running alongside one of the best teams in the world. In the end, we finished in a solid time of 15h 2min — a creditable result for what ended up being an admittedly tough race for all the top-seeded teams. First across the line was a local Chinese team, 2XU UFO — the deserved winners in 11h 58min. The race involved more than 1,250 teams, and over 4,000 of the original 5,000 athletes completed the event.

For the Gurkha Team, HKTW represented a significant step in the team’s running education. Most importantly, it was an opportunity, and a well-taken one, to forge lasting friendships; glued together through the thrill of competition. For the Gurkha’s, celebrating their 200th year since their inauguration, the race represented a chance to connect with our recent past and show our quality when faced with adversity. The team will now look forward to a successful campaign in 2016, which will include the defence of the UKTW title, and, hopefully, a chance to return to finish the job in Hong Kong.

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Race News

Hometown Heroes Vlad Ixel and Marie McNaughton

Bring Home the Gold The North Face 100 – Hong Kong www.thenorthface100.com

By John Ellis, GoneRunning.hk

D

espite a stacked field of international elites, and having had raced the MSIG Lantau 50 only six days earlier, it was two hometown heroes, Vlad Ixel and Marie McNaughton, who took line honours at the 2015 edition of The North Face 100 Hong Kong.

The pre-race buzz, however, had focused on returning-champion Yun Yanqiao from China, plus France’s Sebastien Chaigneau, who cruised to victory at the Shizuoka to Yamanashi event in Japan earlier in the year. Japan’s Kazufumi Oose and Sota Ogawa were also tipped for podium positions.

In the women’s race, last year’s runner-up McNaughton was expected to duke it out with Champion Systems’ adventure-racer Baby Marites Bitbit, plus Xing Ruling and Sek Hin Sau from China, reigning champions of The North Face Beijing and Taiwan, respectively.

Runners kicked off at 8 a.m. in slightly warm but muggy conditions, with 20°C temperatures and 85% humidity, and ahead of them lay one of Hong Kong’s most difficult 100km courses, with 6,000m D+ of climbing and some relentless technical sections, a specialty of race director Keith Noyes.

Hong Kong-based Australian Ixel stretched the field early through the Wu Kau Tang checkpoints, and was joined by Yun, Chaigneau, last year’s fourth-place-getter Safrey Sumping, plus the two Japanese favourites, in a small lead pack. However, it was Yun who started to pull away, building a

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15min cushion over the chasing group by the halfway point at Fanling.

With his trademark toothy grin, Yun continued to stretch his lead until disaster struck on the final approach to checkpoint 7, at Tai Mo Shan, taking a wrong left turn back up to the top of Hong Kong’s highest peak and losing over 1.5h. Sensing an opportunity with Yun, and with Sumping starting to struggle, Ixel turned on the jets, extending his 8min lead at Tai Mo Shan to over an hour by the finish, breaking the tape in 13h 5min. Second was another Australian, fast-finishing John Ellis in 14h 12min, with Sumping holding onto 3rd in 14h 30min.

Speaking after the race, Ixel put his big win down to dealing with the conditions better: “There were many runners that were with me in the first 40km that really struggled in the second half of the race… One big advantage I have is that I can take the heat and humidity a bit better. Those summer runs sometimes pay off !”

In the women’s race, Bibit whipped through the first four checkpoints in near-record time, before being overtaken at the halfway mark by Ma Yin Sing from China, fresh from her win at last month’s Dali 100 Ultra Endurance Race. Behind her, compatriot Sek was only a handful of minutes behind, but starting to struggle. Further back, McNaughton was starting to push through the field after rounding out the first checkpoint in 54th position overall, and fighting a swarm of stinging bees on the run coming in to the second checkpoint.

Race News

However, it was only the eighth stage when McNaughton made her decisive move, turning a 14min deficit at Tai Mo Shan into a 19min lead by Tai Po. She would eventually run out a comfortable winner (and 7th overall), in 15h 44min, well ahead of runner-up Ma in 16h 33min, with Sek narrowly holding off Nia Cooper for 3rd in 17h 56min.

Reflecting on the win, McNaughton commented: “It’s a bit surreal winning a big race, but, in a race like that, it’s just nice to finish, to be honest… I had my race wobbles early on and it was deceptively humid, which meant it was easy to get dehydrated, but I had a great support crew and things went more smoothly after checkpoint 6.”

In the 50km race, Nepalese speedster Bed Sunuwar cruised to an easy win, crushing the course record by 10min, to finish in 5h 30min. In the race for the other podium places, Anders Kartik Jensen took an unfortunate wrong turn, with less than a kilometre to go, and was outpaced by Champion Systems’ Stone Tsang in the final sprint for 2nd, less than a minute separating the pair.

For the women, 2013 winner Wyan Chow made it two in three, with a comfortable victory in 6h 58min, ahead of Nicole Lau in 7h 18min and Emily Woodland in 7h 37min.

Vlad Ixel on his way to victory.

Photo: Sunny Lee

15

Race News

Yan Long Fei Defended Champion Title

MSIG HK50 Series – Hong Kong Island www.actionasiaevents.com

Yan Long Fei flew through the course and won the race, 11min ahead of 1st runner-up Vlad Ixel. Photo: Martijn Doekes/Berrytime.com

I

n the first of the three races of the MSIG Hong Kong 50 series, which was held on Hong Kong Island, the men’s top spot in the 50km category fell to Chinese Yan Long Fei — defending his 2014 title, finishing in 4h 57min 5s, and shaving off more than 3min from his 2014 time.

Reflecting on his race experience, Yan commented: “It was a great race! I think I beat my last year’s record. The 2nd runner-up Haron Kiprugut Bor was 1-2min ahead of me until we went through checkpoint 4, then I surpassed him. The most beautiful and the most technical part was the last bit of the race, after checkpoint 5, as it was hillier and had many technical uphills. I think Hong Kong’s trail-running atmosphere is still much better than Mainland China’s. During the race many hikers and other runners were cheering for us, it was very encouraging. Awesome race!”

The 2nd place went to Hong Kong-based Australian Vlad Ixel, who finished in 5h 8min 55s, while 36-yearold Kenyan runner Haron Kiprugut Bor, who arrive in

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fourth at the 2015 MSIG Singapore 50, took 3rd place here. Local runners performed well, too, with Ng Kok Lun and Cheung Fat rounding up the top five in 5h 30min 15s and 5h 38min 51s, respectively.

In the women’s category, Hong Kong-based Queen of the Hills Marie McNaughton won the race in 6h 25min 35s, close to 23min faster than first runner-up Kenyan Rebecca Nakuwa, while Japanese Sayaka Matsumoto rounded the podium. Local Lee Wai Chu came in 5th, in 7h 26min 13s.

In the shorter 24km race, 34-year-old Irish runner Kevin Scallan grabbed the overall champion title in 2h 41s, followed by British Steve Cale, and American Sam Fletcher, who came in less than 2min and 3min later. For the women’s, British Anne-Marie Bennett won the race in 2h 34min 52s, that’s 3s faster than compatriot Justine Clark. Juliane Rethfeldt from Germany rounded up the podium in 2h 36min 35s.

Race News

Lantau Trail Sizzles Despite the Cold Weather MSIG HK50 Series – Lantau Island www.actionasiaevents.com

The French elite lives up to his reputation with a comfortable win in the 50km race.

Photo: Action Asia Events

W

ith a first-place prize of HKD 8,500, for both the men and the women, and a total prize pool of over HKD 50,000, it’s not surprising that Action Asia Events’ MSIG HK50 series of 50km races in Hong Kong is attracting some heavyweight international elites.

The series’ Lantau 50 race was no exception, with a dream foreign contingent that included previous UltraTrail du Mont-Blanc and Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji winner François D’Haene from France, Eirik Haugsnes who recently won Norway’s first skyrace at Tromso (43km; 4,400m D+), Vibram Hong Kong 100’s runner-up Bed Sunuwar from Nepal, and British fell-running specialist Orlando Edwards, not to mention a crew of Kenyan marathon road runners who were in town and wanted to try their luck.

In the women’s field, previous IAU World Trail Champion Maud Gobert from France, 2:45-marathoner Rebecca Nakuwa from Kenya, plus young Bishnu Maya Budha, fresh off her win at the previous day’s Lantau Vertical, headed an exciting field of international talent.

Ahead of them lay a revised 54km, 3,500m D+, brute of a course, with last year’s rock scramble up Dog’s Tooth Ridge replaced by a different vertical kilometre route, stretching from Shek Pik Reservoir to Lantau Peak via Ngong Ping (the Lantau Vertical race), plus an added rolling downhill section to Pak Mong, and then back along the roadside trail to Tung Chung.

Despite the previous day’s atrocious weather, the MSIG Lantau 50 kicked off in close-to-perfect running conditions, in cloudy, 15°C temperatures — and the elite international runners duly obliged with some scintillating times.

As expected, the race started at a frenetic pace, with Sunuwar knocking off the first 24km to the Keung Shan catchwater in 2h 17min, a couple of minutes ahead of D’Haene and Haugsnes. Shortly afterwards, D’Haene made his move, squeezing to the front just before Shek Pik and never looking back. He would ultimately run out an easy winner in 5h 42min 40s, well ahead of Haugsnes (5h 56min 33s) and Sunuwar (5h 59min 12s).

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Race News After the race, D’Haene commented: “The trail was well-designed with technical requirements and typical Hong Kong scenery, especially the stairs and the harbour. It’s nice, and, yes, correct saying 54km, as that’s what my Suunto watch indicated — exactly 54km with 3,500m of elevation gain. Very cool on the top of that small trail overlooking the ocean views near Keung Shan, and then challenging the amazing Lantau and Sunset peaks near the end of the race.”

Despite a nasty fall on the climb up from Shek Pik, the women’s race saw a dominant start-to-finish performance by Gobert, who cruised to victory in 7h 8min 42s. Behind her, Hong Kong-based New Zealander Marie McNaughton passed through the first checkpoint at Ngong Ping in sixth position, before gradually reeling in her competition and taking the runners-up’s purse in 7h 29min 47s, ahead of Nakuwa in 7h 42min 56s.

“The 50km race is very tough especially when climbing to the peak of Lantau Mountain. I fell three times during the race,” said Gobert. Lantau 50 race was very special for Gobert because it was the first time that she brought the whole family to the race. “It is very important for me as I can show my children the trails

in Hong Kong’s beautiful green environment. The bonus cash prize helps a lot with my family travel.”

The 27km race (1,700m D+) was a masterclass in hill running, with American runner Joe Gray blitzing the first uphill boardwalk section to Ngong Ping in 56min 47s, before Salomon France runner Greg Vollet crushed the downhill trail from Sunset Peak to take the win in 2h 43min 50s, over 10min ahead of Gray. Sweden’s Anders Kleist rounded up the podium in 3h 5min 58s, with local-speedsters Kevin Scanlan and Anders Kartik Jensen hot on his heels.

For the women, the 27km distance turned into a twohorse race, with Xempower’s Zein Williams never more than a few minutes ahead of Else Jeandedieu. Williams headed into the final checkpoint at Pak Mong only 19s ahead, but held on to win by 26s, in 3h 46min 31s, with another local runner, Nicole Lau, racking up yet another podium, securing 3rd place in 3h 54min 44s.

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Race News

Trail-Running Opportunities

Opened Up in Myanmar Bagan Temple Marathon – Myanmar www.bagan-temple-marathon.com

O

n November 28, the third edition of the Bagan Temple Marathon in Myanmar took place. Over 200 runners from 29 nations were at the start line at the Htilominlo Temple on the plains of Bagan, Burma, ready to embark on a running adventure among 2,000 temples.

This year, we were honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand to our race. She competed in the newly established 10km distance, and finished 5th overall, and 2nd in the women’s race.

A new record saw the light of day at the women’s half-marathon distance when Jocelyn Bradley from Australia completed the race in 1h 39min 33s. Alexander Basits from the USA took 1st place at the men’s half-marathon, in a time of 1h 38min 44s. In the men’s marathon event, Lesueur Romain of France came in 1st, in a time of 3h 33min 3s, while the women’s marathon was won by UK’s Sarah Easton, in 3h 52min 13s.

Despite a temperature of 32°C by noon, all runners completed the race, and, thankfully, our medical team did not need to treat any serious injuries.

Myanmar may be the next up-and-coming destination for trail runners.

Photo: Klaus Sletting

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Race News

Immerse in

the beauty of Manaslu Manaslu Trail Race - Nepal www.manaslutrailrace.org

By Mark Brightwell

S

oti Khola, Nepal, November 2015. It’s a pretty gloomy place to start the Manaslu Trail Race, the area flanked by the roaring waters of the Budi Gandaki. Majestic mountains apparently await, up near the source of this river, where we’ll have run to in four or five days. But now, just grey mist and the relentless noise of the river. Within a couple of kilometres, we climb up away from the river, out of the mist, through scattered villages, and into glorious sunshine. The Himalayas become visible.

A vertical kilometre of trail below us, our path started to traverse, taking us first through typical villages of Lapu and Lapsibot, where a flattened heap of rubble remains of a oncestanding school. The Nepali landscape was almost its normal glorious self, but fresh landslides scarred the hillsides, one of which our route teetered across, terrifying the one vertigo sufferer. The epicentre of the April 25 earthquake was just a few kilometres from here; the race wrapped around it in a 155km horseshoe, climbing 11km along the way at heights, with only 65% effective amounts of oxygen.

After sweeping down an airy ridgeline, the sandy trail descended through pine forests all the way back to the banks of the Budi Gandaki. The final distance to Khorlabesi was flat, rocky, and hot, but salvation was at hand: Cups of hot, sweet lemon juice at the finish line, and, better yet, the cold refreshing pools of the river in which to bathe.

The stage winner, Dipendra Bam, from the remote town of Jumla, running in a lemon-colour vest and shiny green shorts, reminiscent of 1980s road racers, covered the distance in a few hours. A couple of people at the back of the pack were ready to go home, wondering if every day would be like this.

It’s not, but it doesn’t feel much easier. The second stage is described as ‘Nepali flat,’ an obnoxious term for trails that rise and fall so much that by the end of a 32km stage the total ascent is still comfortably running to four figures.

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

The majestic mountains of Nepal will always bring a smile to the face of even the most tired runner.

Photo: Richard Bull

Race News

Each day is a transition. Today we left jungle hillsides and paddy fields behind, and, crisscrossing the mighty river, climbed steadily into an alpine wonderland.

At a fork in the trail, we left the main valley and climbed hard towards Hinang Gomba, a Buddhist monastery, where we received a warm welcome and had our first taste of thukpa, a thick Tibetan noodle soup.

The fourth stage started with a rare 2km descent. Back in the main valley we reached Lho village. Again deviating up a side valley, we climbed a rough moraine trail and arrived at a huge plateau under Manaslu’s face, where lay the checkpoint and a tiny monastery, guarded by a monk in sunglasses.

We stayed two nights in Sama, the biggest village in the area, which meant no bag packing and a precious extra hour in bed. Stage 6 took a trail to Manaslu base camp, making one of the world’s highest vertical kilometre races, reaching 4,780m.

At Sama, the race organisers linked up with the local school to hold a 1km trail race. Apparently immune to the effects of the 3,500m altitude, the 48 children tore through the village to the finish line.

Their sunlit faces portrayed a mixture of excitement and bemusement at the runners’ clothing — t-shirts

and reading books were given out as prizes. The first three winners, all girls, ran wearing welling boots.

For the next three days, the running lessened though calories kept burning: a 9km ‘sprint,’ with only a 300m climb, followed by a 20km acclimatisation walk to the Tibetan border at 4,990m above sea level, then a long connecting hike over a 5,160m pass. After all of this, a final downhill stage — thankfully — with the air getting thicker with each stride, right to the finish of the final stage.

For some it was their first taste of Nepal, or their first experience of a multi-day event. For the three young Nepali runners invited to run, it was the first chance not only to race in an international field but also to spend time among foreigners, practice their English, and learn something of the world beyond Nepal’s borders.

For my part, what stood out most was the sheer beauty, not only of being able to travel through such spectacular mountains — sometimes running, sometimes walking, sometimes stopping to take a breath, a photograph, or a moment’s reflection — but also of being able to do this in the company of such a wonderful, diverse, and friendly group of fellow athletes.

Results Men 1.

Dipendra Bam (Nepal)

3.

Dave Graham (Australia)

2.

Hiroto Shrestha (Nepal)

Women 1.

Bishnu Maya Budha (Nepal)

3.

Tite Togni (Italy)

2.

Natalia Roman Lopez (Spain)

Note: Finishing times are not available.

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Race News

Return to the Hills of Nepal

Nepal Action Asia Ultra Marathon - Nepal www.actionasiaevents.com

A

rrived, finally: Kathmandu, Nepal, for Action Asia Events’ three-day ultra marathon.

It’s not everyday you like to brag about a country, but what made this experience so different was the fact that after months of negative publicity, involving major broadcasters living off of slamming Nepal into the ground, making it sound like every house on every hill across Nepal had been demolished, however, despite having been infused with all of this negative information, after arriving at the airport we discovered that in fact things are far from what’s been reported.

Driving through Kathmandu, our heads were constantly turning looking for images we’d seen on CNN and BBC, but kept struggling to spot something familiar.

Yes, we were near the airport and quickly into the hills 8h away, but even on the long drive we kept looking out the windows and asking ourselves where the damage was, or else, how did they miraculously rebuild everything so fast? Then over the eight days before the race, we were surveying the Lamjung region for damage, and we mean intensely, and yet couldn’t find anything. We’re not lying.

We were walking through numerous villages along the 100km course, and other extra areas, and couldn’t find any damage.

Most villagers said it was a different region that got hit by the quake, which is the

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

main purpose of this, besides Action Asia Events’ report to let everyone know that Nepal is safe to travel to. It’s not entirely fair that although a quake hit just one area, the media nonetheless has been spending so much time disseminating negative news about all of Nepal, hurting its tourism, which affects everyone from local villagers to guides to businesses, deepening the damage and extending recovery time. And then there’s the fuel shortage (or, should we say, fuel strike) that happened less than two weeks before the event, adding more inconveniences — but then as a tourist you can still pay to get around, as when it comes to tourism, the Nepalese are some of the friendliest people on the planet, and will go out of their way to show generous hospitality to visitors, as they know how important tourism is to their economy.

Deservedly, the race had a big international crowd. Flying Swiss national Pascal Marmier smoked the 100km in a stunning time of 12h 33min, winning the 100km overall, over the three-day period, while British Emily Brosnan took the women’s title in 17h 9min. Speaking after the race, Marmier commented: “The Nepalese are so kind as always welcoming us. Great course design. Loved the hills.”

In the 60km race, Frenchman Guillaume Besson and Hongkonger Joannie Ho won the overall in 8h 3min and 9h 11min, respectively.

Race news

Results - 100km Men Pascal Marmier (Switzerland)

12:33:18

Pierre Penicaud (France)

13:19:52

Rollo Gwyn-Jones (UK) Women

13:16:30

Emily Brosnan (UK)

17:09:44

Phoebe Seers (UK)

22:07:18

Charlotte Jefferies (UK)

Results - 60km

19:44:17

Men Guillaume Besson (France)

08:03:06

Pierre Villa (France)

08:17:33

Matthew Skeggs (UK) Women

Help the Nepalese economy by returning to the wonderful trails in the country.

Photo: Kirk Kenny studiozag.com

08:13:14

Ho Chung Yee Joannie (Hong Kong)

09:11:44

Ma Ying Ying Connie (Hong Kong)

13:09:44

Alexandra Da Roza (Hong Kong)

11:40:23

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Race News

Altitude Challenge at Mount Siguniang

Ultra Tour Mt. Siguniang – China www.utms.com.cn

W

ith an average altitude of over 4,000m, and the highest peak of the event reaching 5,038m, Ultra Tour Mt. Siguniang is a race that is more about conquering the elevation than the distance.

The first edition of UTMS is set in Mount Siguniang (in Chinese, literally ‘Four Girls Mountain’) located in the Sichuan province of China. The region is known for its ethereal views of its four peaks, standing between 5,038m to 6,250m, and enjoys the reputation of being the ‘Alps of the Oriental.’ Its inaugural edition welcomed more than 200 altitude challengers from 11 countries in its three race distances of 60km, 42km, and 50km (team of two).

In the 60km race, only six — all men — out of the 50 participants managed to finish the entire distance, with Tibetan mountain guide Qiu Zu winning the race in 11h 49min. Chinese Ruqiao Ren and American Justin Andrews came in 2nd and 3rd, in 12h 44min and 13h 58min, respectively.

Reflecting after the race, Andrews commented: “The allure of the Four Sisters Range is what drew me to the race, but mid-race I started pondering, ‘What was I thinking when I signed up for this one?!’ This race provides it all — high-altitude big mountains, well-worn horse tracks, and trackless scree slopes dotted with snowfields, solitude, local culture, and enough challenges to make you really look forward to the finish line!”

Andrews added: “Though I’ve only raced 50km and 60km ultra trail distances before, this was — without comparison — the most difficult race I’ve ever done. I wanted to take a shortcut (though there was none), drop out, or just sleep on the mountainside many times in the back half (8h worth!), but the fact that I was in third, had trained hard for this race, and so many of friends were there volunteering, I pushed on to the end and was able to enjoy running the last 8km!”

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

UTMS is a race that is more about conquering the elevation than the distance.

Photo: Harem Ali Hassan

Race News

Results - 42km Men Yegesiji (China)

06:14:20

Emanuele Fornale (Italy)

07:45:07

Tang Zhengliang (China) Women

07:26:57

Zheng Dan (China)

10:25:47

Hongyu Lai (China)

11:26:23

Cao Pin (China)

11:02:45

Results - 50km Chen Lijia/Hong Wenxun (China)

09:51:47

Tang Wei/Ye Ziyun (China)

12:18:32

Wang Xiaobo/Bao Mingsheng (China)

10:53:27

25

100KM 50KM 25KM PARTICIPANTS FROM 50 NATIONALITIES & 31 COUNTRIES IN 2015

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Race News

Veterans Jeremy Ritcey and Claire Price Rollicked Home

King of the Hills Mountain Marathon Series – Hong Kong Island www.seyonasia.com

By Keith Noyes

An alternative route makes comparison with historical records nearly impossible.

Photo: Sophia Tam

F

or the first time in the history of the Hong Kong Island King of the Hills Mountain Marathon course, the organiser had to use an alternative route.

This has come about due to a new policy by the city’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, forcing trail races onto the major trails of Hong Kong and off of some of the more obscure and rougher trails that everyone loves. This makes comparison with historical records nearly impossible, though most people agree that the new course is somewhere between 5-10min faster than the old course.

In the full-marathon category, veterans Jeremy Ritcey and Claire Price rollicked home. Ritcey has returned to Hong Kong and seems finally to be rounding into the form he showed when he departed a year and a half ago. Running boldly from the start of the Violet Hill climb, Ritcey romped home in 3h 4min 4s. Price returned to KOTH’s full-marathon for the first time in several years and dominated the ladies’ race with a time of 3h 21min 56s.

John Ellis showed great speed on the latter part of the race, slowly picking off those ahead of him, and finally catching Stefano Del Favero just before the final

descent to Repulse Bay, finishing in a well-deserved 2nd overall, in 3h 11min 21s. Less than a minute behind, Del Favero arrive in 3rd.

At the same time, the ladies were having some interesting battles behind Price. Valerie Lagarde was one of the winners on the mixed-team category at the Oxfam Trailwalker last week, and was afraid that she would be too tired to race today. This fatigue did not stop her from being the 2nd lady across the line, in 3h 44min 6s. Nia Cooper chased valiantly, but had to be content with 3rd female overall.

In the half-marathon, Steve Cale, Jeffrey Falconer, and Sam Fletcher had gained a bit of separation, and then held exactly this order for the rest of the race, with Cale winning in 1h 40min 32s.

Road demon Iwona Gancarz is fairly new to the Hong Kong scene, but is adapting quickly to the trails. She won the ladies’ race with a finishing time of 2h 1min 8s, and notably on her first attempt. Zein Williams was 2nd overall, in 2h 4min 38s, followed by South China Morning Post’s columnist and hiking mom Jeannette Wang.

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Race News

Beating the Jungle

The Borneo Ricky Lightfoot Challenge – Malaysia www.borneoultra.com/rlf

By Avtar Singh Sandhu

A dip in the invitingly looking river would have helped the runners to overcome the heat and humidity during the race.

Photo: Lloyd Belcher

T

he Borneo Ricky Lightfoot Challenge saw 280 competitors competing in the Ranau district, with British-national trail-runner and ambassador for the Salomon brand, Ricky Lightfoot, on a 65km and 30km race course through jungle, plantations, across rivers, and through some of the most beautiful villages of the region.

With the event kicking off at Sabah Tea Gardens, runners took on river crossings, jungle and village trails, before ascending above the Lohan Valley and into the Poring Hot Springs area, which served as the finish point for this event.

Lightfoot finished the race, as expected, in 1st place, in an amazing finish time of 7h 9min 18s, some 2h ahead of local duo Sapirin Sumping and Mohammad Zulqarnain Bin Majukin, who finished the 65km course — with 2,200m of total ascent — in a very respectable time of 9h 19min 13s and 9h 30min 44s.

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According to Lightfoot after the race: “I tested my body and also my mental state in a way I’ve never experienced before, because of the heat and humidity in the race, especially in the second half where the trails became a little more technical and the temperature increased. My head toyed with how I was going to finish, ‘if ’ I was going to finish, and on a number of occasions I had to lie down in the river to bring my core temperature down, I’ve never raced in heat and humidity like that. A tough race through the jungle made tougher by the heat. I covered 69km (I went slightly wrong as I missed a marker) and 2,200m of ascent.”

In the women’s category, local lass Jassica Pado won the race, in 11h 19min 28s, whilst Adelinah Lintanga and Linda Poong, also from Sabah, finished just behind Lintanga in 11h 46min 27s and 12h 17min 19s, respectively.

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Race News

Chasing the Moon on Lantau

Moontrekker – Hong Kong www.barclaysmoontrekker.com

By John Ellis, GoneRunning.hk

T

he Barclays Moontrekker challenges competitors to ‘beat the sun’ to the finish line, but Friday night’s race was admittedly all about beating members of Champion Systems Adventure.

Hong Kong, and with Asia Trail’s Clement Dumont in 3rd, in 4h 40min 40s. The warm, humid conditions would ultimately play a big role, with cramps and stomach issues affecting many of the runners.

This year’s field was the strongest in recent memory, including Jeremy Ritcey, Clement Dumont, and John Ellis, the past three Moontrekker champions, plus local hero Stone Tsang, Piers Touzel (who recently arrived from Beijing), and Sabah’s Daved Simpat, all from Champion Systems, along with Australian 100km representative Darren Benson.

The women’s lineup also promised a competitive race, although Marie McNaughton, the reigning Queen of the Hills, was the clear favourite. She lived up to that billing with a dominant run, finishing over half an hour ahead of the next finisher, and in 7th place overall, however, called herself out for missing a tricky left turn on the last stage. That left fit-again, recent-mother Jeannette Wang to claim race honours with a time of 5h 44min 19s, narrowly ahead of Ferei’s Sherrin Loh in 5h 50min 5s, and Japanese Sayaka Matsumoto rounding out the podium in 6h 1min 45s.

The 2015 course followed the same longer route as 2014, starting in Mui Wo and finishing in Pui O, for the famous after-race party. The shorter Moonlit 30km (1,900m D+) course starts with the last section of the Lantau Trail in reverse, before detouring north up to Nam Shan, up and around the Sunset contour to Pak Kung Au, then a loop around Ngong Ping (including Lantau Peak), and a final downhill road section. The longer Sunrise 43km (2,400m D+) follows the same route but adds an extra circuit of Chi Ma Wan peninsula in a longer 18km first stage.

However, aside from the first stage, in which Ritcey skipped out to an early lead, whizzing through the Chi Ma Wan stage at 13.3 km/h, it was all Champion Systems. Tsang and Touzel would swap the lead a number of times, before Tsang finally made his decisive move on the downhill from Lantau Peak, ultimately blitzing the course record by over 12min, to finish in 4h 16min 56s.

Less than 3min back — in 4h 19min 27s — was Touzel in a seriously impressive first-up trail race in

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Speaking after the race, Tsang reflected: “Moontrekker is one of my favourite races. I like the race course, the beautiful contour single trail, and I enjoy running at nighttime so much. This time, I was quite surprised with my performance as I didn’t feel good because of hamstring- and anklerelated injuries after the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.”

In terms of the duel with his teammate, Tsang commented: “It was so much fun to run with Touzel.

Actually, I didn’t feel I had to battle with him and we just ran like a team. He was joking that he never let me go just because he didn’t want to get lost in the race!”

In the Moonlit 30km, Ryan Whelan cruised to a start-to-finish victory in 3h 26min 5s, ahead of Nicolas Maes in 3h 52min 7s, and Sam Fletcher in 3h 57min 42s. Teresa Laqua won the women’s race in 5h 4min 1s, with Jannene Atkin-Day 2nd, in 5h 14min 54s, and Lisanne Elfring taking bronze, in 5h 25min 25s.

Race News

Stone Tsang broke the course record of Moontrekker by over 12min.

Photo: Claus Rolff

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Race News

Fast Finishes on Halloween

Salomon Lantau Trail 70 - Hong Kong www.lantaubasecamp.com

By Shane Early

T

hirty-three relay teams of four, and 420 solo runners, signed up for the 70km race which followed the entire Lantau Trail in Hong Kong.

Start time, 8:30 a.m., out of China Bear pub in Mui Wo, Lantau Island. Partly cloudy start turned to sunshine later when runners were out near Tai O. Afternoon conditions quickly became hot.

Watermelons and ice buckets at the checkpoints were popular, along with Tailwind Nutrition.

Five of the men’s relay teams set out a fast pace, followed by the top four men. Wong Kawai, from the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, took the lead in the solo race and never looked back. He crossed the line in 8h 35min for the overall win, followed by Jacky Leung in 8h 41min, with Vince Natteri rounding up the men’s podium in 9h 7min. Speaking to Natteri after the race, he commented: “Lantau Trail 70 was truly an enjoyable course, and running on the trails of Lantau is pure pleasure. I want to thank Lantau Base Camp for the fabulous organisation.”

The women’s solo race was close throughout.

Leaving checkpoint 4, there were a few minutes separating the top three women. Ultimately, Marie McNaughton took the win in 9h 54min, while Valerie Lagarde and Nia Cooper tied for 2nd, in 10h 6min.

Men’s relay team LBC The Green Race took the win with a fast time of 7h. Michael Skobierski and Etienne Rodriguez contributed to the team’s impressive finish. Members of d.BeFit — consisting of Katia Kucher, Amy Bramlet, Jemima Callaghan, and Maria Gomez — won the women’s relay. The ladies from Lantau Island blew away the competition in their category.

Running in relay always increases the fun element of a race.

Photo: Claus Rolff

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Runners and supporters enjoyed a fun finish line outside China Bear late into the evening. Many of the local businesses fed hungry runners after the race.

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Race News

Majestic Miyamit Falls once again welcomes the runners

Clark-Miyamit Falls Race Series, MF42 & CM50 The Philippines www.mf42.strikingly.com | www.cm50ultra.com

By Tin Ferrera

Koi Grey smashes course record by 22min at MF42

S

unday, October 4, marked the third staging of the Miyamit Falls Trail Marathon. The MF42 presented an elevation gain of 2,114m for the full-marathon category, and an equally hard though shorter 26km category at 1,172m of climbing. Both events took runners to the majestic Miyamit Falls, which was in full force on that day. The 42km runners had to tackle a climb on a single track trail ascending to the peak.

Clear skies, hot weather, and cheerful volunteers greeted the runners this year, conditions which were far from the stormy skies which persisted for the whole week before the event, though these still made themselves evident with some muddy and slippery portions along the route.

These conditions didn’t hinder the male champion Koi Grey from beating the course record by 22min, finishing at 4h 48min, while Jeff Suazo came in at 5h 8min, also beating the course record. American Kristian Jorgensen came in at 5h 19min to round up the overall winners. The race had been a neck-and-neck battle among the top 10 overall. After the halfway mark, and coming out from the Miyamit Falls turnaround, the top winners built the gap.

The women’s division was won by Joanna Plumbley, from England. Plumbley, who got into trail running for fun, said she loves the challenges it brings, allowing her to explore new places in the Philippines. She finished at the 6h 15min mark, followed by Maricar Hiponia coming in at 6h 32min, and Sharon Torres at 7h 16min.

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For the 26km distance category, Retzel Orquiza topped the podium at 3h 33min, followed by Alen S. Bautista in 3h 44min, and Miko Santos at 3h 52min. On the women’s side, Sharone Mclaire Estevez-Rodriguez won in 4h 13min, with Ana Marissa Remigio, arriving in 4h 16min, and Charisse Anne Bello, in 4h 33min, as runners-up. | ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Refreshing dip in the Miyamit Falls is always a highlight of the race.

Photo: Marvin de Guia

Race News

Results - 50mi Men Manolito Divina (Philippines)

09:22:52

James Tellias (Philippines)

10:22:04

Jan Nilsen (Norway) Women

09:50:32

Maria Josephine Liao (Philippines)

12:37:01

Joanne Plumbley (UK)

13:18:29

Silamie Apolistar (Philippines)

12:49:53

Majo Liao hit a new personal record of 12h 37min, faster by almost 2h.

Photo: Marvin de Guia

Divina and Majo Victorious for Two Consecutive Years

M

anolito Divina and Maria Josephine ‘Majo’ Liao each walked away with their second consecutive win at the 2015 Clark-Miyamit Falls 50 Mile Race.

Divina has set a new course record, at 9h 22min — beating the previous one, which he himself established in 2014. Majo’s finish marked her fourth CM50 participation, and she too hit a new personal record of 12h 37min, faster by almost 2h.

In the shorter category, American elite runner Meredith Edwards dominated the distance and finished ahead of competitors, including her male counterparts.

Al Tellias took home the male championship, finishing 15min after Edwards.

At 1 a.m., on November 21, 193 runners went off to traverse their way to Miyamit. In the dark, they took the route passing through Sacobia River, some short steep ascents and descents through hills, flat lahar pathways, Aeta villages, and sugarcane plantations, a course which ended with another crossing of Pasig-Potrero River.

The steep ascents towards the peak started at Sapang Uwak, the third aid station. Runners began arriving here already at 3:08 a.m. With 3,120m of elevation gain, even the lead runners had to resort to fast hiking. The scorching heat of the sun challenged the runners on their way back and no one was spared.

The sun started setting after the 60km cut-off was declared, and 8% did not make it within the time barrier.

With less than an hour remaining until the cutoff time at 7 p.m., everyone started lining up around the track oval leading to the finish line, waiting and cheering for the remaining 50mi runners. At the 17h mark, almost 40% of participants had yet to cross the finish line. The crowd grew ecstatic every time a headlamp appeared showing signs that another CM50 Bad Ass would make it before the cut-off time.

With 5min left before the race would be officially over, runner Richard Lim could be seen around 400m away from the finish line. Out of concern, race director Jon Lacanlale ran to him and paced and pushed him to run faster, and with less than 2min before the 18h time barrier, Lim barely made it to the finish line. The crowd went hysterical. “I am honoured and thankful to be paced by the race director. Mabuhay kayong lahat!

[Cheers.] Thanks to the rest of the CM50 crew for an extremely organised race. It was very tough, heartpumping, and lung-busting,” Lim shared.

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Race News

Busy Trails on Macau

Sands China Macau Eco TrailHiker - Macau www.macautrailhiker.com

T

he beautiful trails on the Coloane Peninsula attracted a record of 2,000 runners, in 500 teams, exploring the greener side of Macau. Straight from the doors of the Venetian casino, participants sprinted out for 2km to the entrance of Coloane, where they could immediately start enjoying the undulating and diverse trails.

Humid weather slowed down the teams running through A-Ma Temple, crossing the bridge of Kah Ho reservoir, roller coasting across the rocky shore and Choc Van beach, before entering onto the peaceful Coloane village. Team Asia Trail took the lead early on, with the local captain-runner Pedro Ribeiro and his three teammates from Hong Kong, to finish the 30km course in 2h 40min. On the 10km course, two teams crossed the finish line together, setting a new course record.

The fantastic post-race buffet certainly is a well-deserved award that keeps the participants at the finish area, the celebratory mood further animated by a DJ.

Results - 30km Team Asia Trail

02:40:29

Team Uglow

02:59:12

风雷体育会

The undulating and diverse trails of Coloane Peninsula attracted a record of 2,000 runners.

Photo: Asia Trail

Results - 10km 珠海K神軍团 爱华跑步 Wynn Macau Mount Everest

02:55:07

00:44:45 00:44:45 00:48:07

37

Race News

Racing on Jeju Island

Largest Volcanic Island in South Korea Trail Run Jeju – South Korea www.trjeju.com

T

he largest trail-running event in South Korea, Trail Run Jeju boasted a turnout of 1,200 runners, of 25 nationalities, participating in race distances of 10km, 20km, and 100km. The 100km flagship event, spanning three days, took the runners on a scenic route passing landmarks such as Halla Mountain and an oreum (refers to a tiny volcanic zone that contains a volcanic cone, on Jeju Island).

Results - 100km Men Shin Soonchul (Australia)

09:57:33

Min Kabho (South Korea)

11:27:51

Park Seungryul (South Korea) Women

11:10:36

Lee Sunghee (South Korea)

12:15:14

Lee Yujin (South Korea)

13:25:46

Jang Bo Young (South Korea)

12:42:00

Popular as a vacation spot, Jeju Island also has scenic trails for you to explore. Photo: www.trjeju.com

39

Race News

Winter Run

in Picturesque Hangzhou China Ultra 100 - China chs.chinaultra100.com

By Victor Cheng

U

ltra China 100 was inaugurated on November 14, in Hangzhou, China, with 100 competitors — 32 for the 100km (5,270m D+) and 68 for the 50km (2,329m D+) — arriving at the start line at 7 a.m., outside Xixi Wetland Park.

The runners had the chance to run through and appreciate the early winter views of some of Hangzhou’s famed landmarks, including lush green forests, vast tea fields, and the stately mountains around the scenic West Lake. The weather was cloudy after persistent rain during the night before, but it had made it more beautiful to run in the mist, though at the same time the wet, muddy, and slippery course was significantly more challenging.

A highlight of the race was the sumptuous spread at the checkpoints, which included local delights such as steamed dumplings and chicken soup with noodles, and international dishes such as Mexican tacos and Thai chicken fried rice.

Results Men - 100km Xie Zhangrong (China)

15:44:06

Shan Hanjun (China)

16:58:15

Lv Deshu (China)

Women - 100km

Zhou Haiya (China)

20:47:40

Tao Junfang (China)

23:19:15

Wang Jiejun (China) Men - 50km

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

22:07:12

Wu Weibo (China)

08:33:09

Paul Taylor (UK)

09:33:18

Shen Aichen (China) Women - 50km

Long flights of concrete stairs are part and parcel of the race. Photo: Eric Li

15:44:11

09:33:03

Wang Huailing (China)

09:48:35

Samantha Fanshawe (UK)

10:20:28

Yuan Yuan (China)

09:48:38

Race News

Dong Li (Left) took a brief hiatus in ultra trail running, and paired up with compatriot Wei Jun (Right) in an adventure race in Australia.

Photos: Supersport Images

Another Side of Dong Li Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Fest – Australia www.rapidascent.com.au/augustaadventurefest

D

ong Li — #2 in the Ultra-Trail World Tour women’s rankings — took a brief hiatus in ultra trail running and competed in the largest adventure race in the world, the Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Fest in Australia.

The adventure race consists of three off-road races, taking place across the weekend, and this year more than 3,400 competitors took part in the event, this being the 10th anniversary edition of the competition. Chinese Dong, teamed up with compatriot Wei Jun, entered as a relay team in the 56km premier event, taking on a 12.5km coastal run, 1.9km ocean swim, 13km ocean paddle, 26km mountain-biking stretch, and a 2.5km beach run to the finish.

The start line for the adventure race was truly spectacular, with Dong and the other competitors lining up underneath the imposing Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse — positioned at the most south-westerly point of Australia — to take on the challenging coastal run course. The

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

12.5km run included many technical rocky and sandy sections, and Dong was the 23rd female to finish, in a time of 1h 7min.

Dong then handed over to Wei for the ocean and the paddle legs. Wei completed the 1.9km ocean swim in 45min, and the challenging 13km ocean paddle in just under 2h. Dong then headed out on the 26km mountainbike leg through the coastal bushland, which included several tough uphill sections as well as some smooth flowing single tracks. She finished the ride in just over 2h.

Both athletes completed the final 2.5km race section together, running along the beach at Augusta and into the finish chute, to the cheers of hundreds of spectators.

They finished the race in a total time of 6h 10min — in 372nd position overall. Dong commented after the race: “There were many hills in the mountain bike and I had to walk at times, but I had fun, it was very beautiful.

All the competitors and supporters were very friendly throughout the whole race.”

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Race News

Haze does not deter the

determined runners The North Face 100 - Singapore www.thenorthface100.com.sg

By Azlan Ithnin

It was the heat and humidity that proved to be the decisive factor for the leaders of the race.

Photo: Pink Apple Pte Ltd

T

rail running was back in action in October, as more than 1,300 trail runners turned up for the seventh edition of The North Face 100 Singapore.

A mainstay race in the Singapore trail-running calendar, which could have been cancelled or reduced in distance due to the haze that had engulfed Singapore for the past month, forcing races to be cancelled and trail runners to train indoors. In spite of the uncertainty, the skies cleared that Saturday morning and trail runners were relieved to be able to take part in the sixth event of the Asia Pacific Series by The North Face. This edition saw the omission of the flagship 100km category, leaving only the 50km, 25km, and 13km distances on offer.

The absence of the 100km category did not dampened the spirits of the elite athletes in attendance.

Elder statesman of Asian trail running, Tsuyoshi Kaburaki, Hong Kong 100 women’s champion, Wyan Chow, and last years TNF’s 100km champion, Vlad Ixel, all competed in the 50km individual category.

With the haze all but cleared, it was the heat and humidity that proved to be the decisive factor for the leaders of the race. In the 50km men’s category, Monolito Divina, from the Philippines, ran a blistering pace, coming in 1st, in 3h 55min 17s. Local runner Ullas Narayana edged out Vlad Ixel with only 2s between them, to take 2nd place on the podium. Tsuyoshi Kaburaki finished in a very respectable 4th in his first race in Singapore.

The race was equally tight in the 50km women’s category, with 1st place Sakiko Matsumoto finishing in 4h 23min 54s, just 1min ahead of Emilie Tan, who arrived in 4h 24min 43s. Wyan Chow secured a 3rd

placed finish in her first race in Singapore, in a time of 4h 31min 31s.

Results Men - 50km

Monolito Divina (Philippines)

03:55:17

Vlad Ixel (Australia)

Women - 50km

03:58:20

Sakiko Matsumoto (Japan)

04:23:54

Wyan Chow Pui Yan (Hong Kong)

04:31:31

Ullas Narayana (Singapore)

Emilie Tan (Canada)

03:58:18

04:24:43

Men - 25km Kim Jisub (Korea)

01:58:13

Prasant Kannoth (Singapore)

Women - 25km

02:12:44

Vanja Cnops (Belgium)

02:29:16

Isabelle Claisse (France)

02:54:41

Jagat Magar (Nepal)

Marie Petterson (Sweden)

02:03:54

02:37:17

45

Race News

Running at the UNESCO World Heritage Site

Khao Yai Trail Marathon – Thailand www.race-hunter.com

A

lmost 1,600 runners from 25 countries ran along the course of the Khao Yai forest for the second edition of the Khao Yai Trail Marathon. This beginner-friendly trail marathon was held 190km northeast of Bangkok, at the foothills of Khao Yai National Park. Khao Yai — part of the UNESCO World Heritage site, in the name of the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai forest complex — incorporates one of the largest intact monsoon forests remaining in Asia.

Results Men - 42km Sanya Kanchai (Thailand)

03:22:34

Christopher Bell (UK)

03:50:14

Jaume Bartes (Spain) Women - 42km

03:40:08

Amporn Roberts (Thailand)

05:02:08

Kanlaya Srinantawong (Thailand)

05:16:00

Chitchanok Purijittrawong (Thailand)

05:04:02

No big ‘monster’ hills in the race, but the course was still nice to run on with its its undulating terrain.

Photo: Race Hunter Thailand

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Khao Yai Trail Marathon comprises four race distances: 42km, 21km, 10km, and a fun-race option, with the 42km category being the main race. There were no ‘monster’ hills in any of the distances, but the course was still undulating under forest cover, and the trails were muddy and slippery after the heavy downpour of the past few days.

Marathon des Sables, finish line. A week in the desert is both very long and very short. Photo: Alexis Berg

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

GRAND

TRAIL

GRAND TRAIL is the first ‘exquisite book’ of photographs and texts dedicated to trail running. This is a book crafted by two brothers who began their journey in 2015 to explore the world’s most beautiful ultra trails. It is also a book of emotionally potent stories, portraying the champions of this sport.

“This book is not the encyclopedia of a sport. It is not the great truth, a neutral view. We have woven together our experiences as we met people, given a voice to our friends and to others who crossed our paths. We have met the champions and the unknowns among these passengers of the dream, striding out along their trails. We wanted to convey this invisible thing that unites trailers, share some intense emotions, describe and illustrate how they go beyond what they thought possible, understand their motivations, sometimes private, or metaphysical or whatever. In short, contrive to convey the beauty of this unique sport in words and pictures,” Alexis and Frédéric Berg.

Order online at www.grandtrail.info. 324 pages.

Bilingual French / English. €49.50. Shipping expenses included.

51

Cyril Cointre, Ultra-Trail Australia. A beautifully harmonious mirage, a corner of heaven perched on the side of the Blue Mountains.

Iker Karrera, Colorado. A foggy morning in the wild mountains of Colorado, before Hardrock 100.

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Marathon des Sables. Each morning, 1,300 runners would start their journey and then eventually come together, like ants trying to find their way.

Photos: Alexis Berg/Grand Trail

53

The volcano is very much part of the scenery of La Diagonale des Fous.

The vertical beauty of the Alps — a few kilometres from the apartment which Emelie Forsberg shares with Kílian Jornet.

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Photos: Alexis Berg/Grand Trail

TRIVIA

2015 Ultra-Trail World Tour Numbers

at a Glance

The second year of the Ultra-Trail World Tour has ended with French Antoine Guillon and Spanish Núria Picas being crowned the overall winners for 2015. Let’s look at some of the key numbers relating to the 2015 circuit.

N UMB ERS

Total of

13,566 82 11

C H AMPIO N S

MEN runners

9,447 30%

from

countries

Antoine Guillon (France) (5 races/3 podium finishes)

finishers, and

competed in

races.

DNF

WOMEN Núria Picas (Spain) (3 races/3 podium finishes)

POPULAR RAC E S AMO N G T H E L E AD ERS Most popular race among the leaders:

Transgrancanaria

.

9 of top 10 men and 8 of top 10 women competed in Transgrancanaria.

UTMF is the downfall

Transgrancanaria

is not easy either with a DNF of 50%. Again, the tough weather conditions — cold temperatures followed by strong winds and calima (hot, oppressing dust & sand-laden, southerly to southeasterly wind in the Canary Islands region).

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

of many runners — a DNF of 58%.

The persistent downpour with the steep and technical trails resulted in the severe dropout rate.

4% & 7%

On the other hand, only of the participants of Tarawera Ultra Marathon and Marathon des Sables did not complete the races.

2015 Ultra-Trail World Tour Numbers at a Glance

AROU N D T H E WORLD

TRIVIA

A s i a n s i n To p 20

6 men took part in 5 out of the 11 races in 2015 UTWT.

Antoine Guillon (1st) Cyril Cointre (5th) Jordi Gamito-Baus (6th) Sange Sherpa (7th) Christophe Le Saux (8th) Among the women, the maximum number of races done per person is 4.

Swiss Andrea Huser (5th) and Denis Zimmermann (9th) PRI Z E S

Men

7 : Sange Sherpa Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc, UltraTrail Mt. Fuji, Eiger Ultra-Trail, The North Face Lavaredo UltraTrail and La Diagonale des Fous th

Women

2 : Dong Li Vibram Hong Kong 100, Transgrancanaria and The North Face 100 Australia nd

17th: Wyan Chow HK100 and TNF Australia

10 : Stone Tsang UTMB, UTMF, and HK100 th

RANKING 1 2 3 4 5

US$ 5,000 2,500 1,500 1,000 500

13th: Kazufumi Oose UTMB, UTMF, HK100, and TNF 100 Australia 15th: Yan Long Fei HK100 and TNF 100 Australia

CO N C EPT To be included in the ranking, an athlete must complete at least 2 UTWT races.

With the goal of bringing together top athletes, a limited number of races are labelled ‘UltraTrail Series’, and these races are allocated more points.

Only the top-3 results should be taken in consideration, with a maximum of 2 Ultra-Trail Series.

20 1 6 UTWT S c hed u l e

RACE

DATE

LOCATION

Vibram Hong Kong 100

January 23

Tarawera Ultramarathon

February 6th

Transgrancanaria HG*

March 4 to 6

Spain

Marathon des Sables*

April 8th to 18th

Morocco

Madeira Island Ultra-Trail

April 23

Madeira Island, Portugal

Ultra-Trail Australia*

May 11th to 15th

Australia

The North Face Lavaredo Ultra-Trail

June 24

Italy

Hong Kong, China

rd

th

New Zealand th

rd

th

The Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run June 25 & 26 th

USA

th

Eiger Ultra-Trail

July 16th & 17th

Switzerland

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc*

August 26

France, Italy, Switzerland

Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji

September

La Diagonale des Fous*

October 20 to 23

*Ultra-Trail Series

th

Japan th

rd

Réunion Island, France

57

PROFILE

Mira Rai Found Her Chance

Mira Rai Found Her Chance

By Richard Bull

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

PROFILE

“E

verything is bonus here! Free flight, free bus — everything free!” reported Mira Rai by phone from her home district of Bhojpur in eastern Nepal. “Now I am a little bit up here! Wow!” She was referring to her newly elevated status as a hero of her district, complete with VIP treatment. “Here, network a little bit problem.

OK, bye-bye time. Ciao ciao!” and she continued on the twoday journey to her village.

Rai’s spoken English has its own system of grammar, in which ‘Wow’ and ‘Ha ha’ serve as punctuation, but it also conveys happy disbelief in her still-unfolding fairytale, a zero-to-hero story with a fastpaced plot line.

In the fall of 2013, Rai was prepared to go to Malaysia to work in a factory, but at

the last minute, her former karate instructor invited her to come to Kathmandu and train for track and road racing.

Bearing in mind her strength and endurance, he suggested 10,000m might be her best event.

The venture was not entirely successful. Unable to afford the small fee to train at the stadium, Rai phoned a coach for training plans, and was often prescribed a counter-productive slog along the heavily polluted ring road around Kathmandu.

She improved this regimen by running up a hill to a scenic viewpoint most mornings.

She’d never heard of trail running, or “hilly up-down running,” as she called it.

By March 2014, with just 20 rupees left, Rai was ready to quit Kathmandu for

The trajectory of Rai’s trail-running career has been as steep as some of the trails she runs on. Photo: Martina Valmassoi

home, when, on her viewpoint morning run, she met two other runners who invited her to a ‘game,’ a race, that Saturday morning. She showed up for the tough Himalayan Outdoor Festival 50km in a cotton t-shirt, tracksuit pants, and $3 running shoes.

Nine hours, a hailstorm, and a washed-out trail later, Rai was the first and only female finisher. She accepted prizes of $80 and a pair of Salomon shoes, and her trail-running career was born.

Fifteen months later, Rai won the prestigious MontBlanc 80km in Italy, breaking Emelie Forsberg’s course record. The finish-line photo showed Rai, beaming, holding the Nepali flag above her head.

“I was thinking if I could win that race, while my country was crying [due to

59

PROFILE

Mira Rai Found Her Chance

when she was 14 years old, and the Maoist army came recruiting towards the end of their 10-year insurgency.

Fully aware of the limitations of village life, Rai was always on the lookout for opportunities, and was driven to make those opportunities work. The Maoist rebels represented an opportunity, a chance to do something different and disprove “the feeling that I am inferior to other people.” Telling her mother she’d be back in a week, she joined the Maoist rebels for two years.

Rai’s story has inspired people from all walks of life. Photo: Martina Valmassoi the earthquake], I could bring a small bit of happiness. I believe the timing was important,” she said. She was right: Rai made the front page of the national daily newspapers, pushing tedious politics aside. “She did something good for Nepal,” said a shop owner in Kathmandu. “It is very good.”

“After my birthday, this is the best day of my life,” she said of the Mont Blanc race, her longest effort yet. “I was running with Hillary [Allen], just staying behind.

I took it a bit easily. Really enjoyed.

Wow, checkpoints they have fruit, everything, to eat,” she said, making a mouth-filling motion with both hands. “You can drink so much you have to spit it out! Near every checkpoint — ‘Allez allez,’ ‘Dai dai,’ cow bells tung tung tung.

I am ‘Hello, hi everybody,’” she laughed. “At 65km, I said, ‘Let’s go, Hillary,’ and started a little bit fast.

First sister [Anna Comet Pascua of Spain] was walking hands on legs. I am just walking normally, and passed her. I met Greg [Vollet, of team Salomon] at 70km. ‘Wow Mira, you are very strong,’ Greg said. OK, I will try. Bye-bye Greg brother, then I am going, and I ran hard.”

Tite Togni, a trail runner who hosted Rai in Italy the past two summers, said this about her

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

sponge-like aptitude: “She’s a fast learner, adapting very quickly to situations, which I bet comes from her practical schooling (agriculture) — not too much theory. In Italy, every morning before training she watched Kíllian [Jornet] videos to learn.”

The trajectory of her trailrunning career has been as steep as some of the trails. Just over 12 months from her first competitive race found her challenging reigning champion Emelie Forsberg for the Skyrunning World Championships at the 109km Ultra Pirineu in Spain. Rai finished in second place, just 4min back. “I started the competition too soon,” she said at dinner a few hours after the finish.

She passed Núria Picas, caught up to Forsberg, and took the lead too early in the race, which gave Forsberg a chance to recover and launch her next attack. “Next time, I will do it better,” she said.

Rai is small — 48kg, 160cm — and strong, built for endurance, but the key to her success is not merely physical. She uses the word chance frequently, as in, “Wow, good chance I have.” Her climbing friend gave her comment context, describing the life of a woman in a remote village as “enduringly monotonous.” Rai’s first chance to escape this bleak future came

Her climbing instructor, Niraj Karki, noted another advantageous attribute: “Mira doesn’t overthink things.” She has Rai logic. Prerace nerves? “No,” she said, “I have training. If I had not done it, then I would be nervous. If I run according to my training, then it’s OK. No need to be nervous.” Is she upset if she comes second? “No, the other guy was stronger. Now I know what I need to do next time.” Is she usually happy? “Yes, of course. Every day I am happy, why not? It’s important!”

She’s also bold in new situations.

Often out of her comfort zone in new places with new people and limited language skills, she forges ahead with sunny optimism. Giving an interview on Spanish television? “No problem, I will try.”

Rai is a role model for young people in Nepal. Her story has been featured widely in national dailies, on the BBC world service, on websites like OutsideOnline.com, and even a 500,000 circulation women’s fashion magazine. She’s depicted in murals in several cities, has 14,561 likes on her Facebook page, and is the subject of a documentary film, to be released in early December. The impact of her success has been felt in the worldwide trail-running community, and close to home: Rai reported that the schoolteacher in her home village organised a 4km trail race, including her parents’ house as a checkpoint along the course.

PROFILE

Often out of her comfort zone in new places with new people and limited language skills, Rai forges ahead with sunny optimism. Photo: Martina Valmassoi “My hope is to help sisters and to influence Nepali women, to say that we have power as well, and we can do anything. I want them to know that,” Rai said.

With money from prizes, sponsors, and fundraisers from proud Nepali organisations, she’s become one of the few athletes able to survive on sports income alone. But she realises that she must prepare for the future, like other young Nepalis who look up to her, and continues to pursue her education, as well as training.

Rai plans to spend the remaining months of 2015 resting before gearing up for next year’s demanding race schedule.

She’s been invited to the very competitive Zegama trail race in

Spain, and is considering races in China where the prize money is attractive. If it looks like a good chance, she will try and make it work.

It’s been said that champions will find a way to be successful, no matter what. Rai demonstrates that determination: “If I’d not found running I would have done something; I wouldn’t just be idle.

I would be searching for other chances.” She’s found her chance, and has started to change the world a little for others.

Richard lives and runs in Kathmandu, Nepal. He organises stage races in the Himalayas and a few ultras in the hills around the Kathmandu Valley.

Essential Stats Name: Age: Nationality: Sponsor:

Mira Rai 27

Nepalese Salomon

Running résumé:

1st in MSIG HK50 Sai Kung (Asia Skyrunning Championship), 1st in Mont Blanc 80km, 2nd in Tromsø Skyrace, 2nd in Ultra Pirineu. Rank No. 2 in 2015 Ultra Skymarathon Series.

Typical training day:

Starts with 1-2h of stretching and running before breakfast, followed by another 2h in the afternoon. For longer training sessions, she will run 3h in the morning and 3h in the afternoon.

Rai also studies English at a language centre for 6h a day.

61

TRAINING

New Challenges for the New Year

By Clint Cherepa

C

hallenge defined: “To arouse or stimulate, especially by presenting with difficulties.”

Trail runners are driven by challenges. No doubt, you have often been asked, ‘Why do you run?’ Could the simple answer be that we want to be challenged?

Our love of trail running all started with a challenge, whether it was running around the block as a child or playing tag, we ran to be challenged.

The challenge continued in school, running the 100m as fast as we could, or as an adult, when we challenged ourselves to get off the couch and go run a kilometre. These challenges become addictive. Could I run 10km, then a marathon, or, finally, an ultra marathon?

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Matt Fitzgerald is a running coach and the author of “How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle.” I asked him about the value of challenges in building mental toughness. He responded: “The mind of a runner needs to be challenged for the same reason that the body of a runner needs to be challenged. The challenge of training stimulates physical adaptations that increase fitness. Likewise, the challenging experiences that runners encounter stimulate psychological adaptations that increase mental fitness.”

No matter what our goals, mental and physical challenges are the building blocks to success. Each challenge we accomplish lays the foundation for the next.

Read on to find out how to continue challenging yourself during the New Year.

1. The Goal: Run a Personal Record Everyone wants to run a personal record during a trail race. We want to start strong and finish fast. Running a race faster than you ever ran it before takes solid training, consistence, and the inevitable speed work. Sapirin Sumping, from Borneo, is no stranger to setting personal records. Sumping won the 2015 The Most Beautiful Thing 50km race. He is a firm believer in challenging himself with weekly speed sessions.

The Challenge: Do Speed Work Twice a Week Sumping makes speed work a priority each and every week. He likes

New Challenges for the New Year No matter what our goals, mental and physical challenges are the building blocks to success. Photo: Alexis Berg to do an uphill sprint session and an 8-10km time trial. Follow his example by challenging yourself to consistently run two speed work sessions a week.

The Way to Success Ease in to speed work, starting with just one session. A good start would be to do strides of 30-60s. Slowly build up to having two fixed days for your speed work. Be sure that they are spaced with rest or easy days in between.

“Every trail runner must have a goal so that they can challenge themselves,” says Sumping.

2. The Goal: Go Epic Olly Woolrych, from Australia, recently focused on the challenge of doing a charity run, which would take him from Mexico City to Panama City, a 6,000km solo and unassisted run.

Woolrych pulled a cart — his portable aid station — that weighed between 16-18kg.

“I decided to do this run to both push myself out of my comfort zone to prove that I was far more capable than I had previously thought. And, to show other young people who are suffering from mental health issues that you can one day achieve amazing things, as long as you can find your passion and allow it to grow,” says Woolrych.

The Challenge: Self-Supported Really Long Run Running longer than you have ever run before will be a challenge. Do you remember the thrill of finishing your first 10km, 50km, or 100km run?

Positive proof that the challenge and accomplishment of an epically long run is well worth the effort. Challenge yourself to run at least one extra-long run every month.

The Way to Success Challenging yourself to leave your comfort zone and run an epic distance starts with choosing an extra-long race and then marking the date in your

calendar. It can be a three-day 200km trail run, or a trek across China. Train specifically for the distance while slowly building up to it.

3. The Goal: Eat Better for Your Health Refining one’s diet is an ongoing challenge for the average endurance athlete. Eating better has helped trail runners lose weight, run longer, run faster, and feel healthier. The danger of running long distances is that it allows trail runners with calorie-burning furnaces to eat whatever they like without seeing the lasting effects. In time, this can catch up with you though, either by weight gain as you get older or unseen health issues within your body.

Of course, eating whatever we want is part of the fun, but eating cleaner is a challenge worth tackling.

The Challenge: Eat Clean What does it mean to eat clean?

Eating clean is simply the practice of avoiding processed and refined foods and basing your diet on whole foods.

Junk food is hiding behind every corner, and it takes conscientious thought to avoid it. Challenge yourself to avoid all processed foods, refined sugars, and try to cook all your own food.

The Way to Success Instead of making a list of all the foods you need to avoid, try making a list of all the foods that you can eat.

This will help you see that eating clean doesn’t mean self-denial. In fact, eating clean will help you be more adventurous with your nutrition.

4. The Goal: Run More Tacking on kilometres or hours is the backbone of stronger trail running.

The natural progression to trail-running success is running more volume — weekly, monthly, and yearly. Have you found it a challenge to run more?

Running more starts with running more days during the week.

The Challenge: Running Streak Most training plans allow for days off during the week. This is not the case with a run-streak training plan.

TRAINING

In the world of running, streaking is quite common. The official definition of a running streak, as adopted by the United States Running Streak Association, is “to run at least one continuous mile within each calendar day under one’s own body power.”

If you want a fresh approach to your running, and are up for a challenge, consider a running streak.

The Way to Success Before starting a streak, counting the costs will prove valuable. For one, jumping into a streak with no running history could be a quick way to get injured.

On USRSA’s website there is an article published by the association’s founder, John Strumsky. He says: “With enough background and experience, streak runners can build in ongoing rest breaks into their running schedule without giving up their streaks. They can do this by running a slower pace or shorter distance at least once or twice each week.”

Start out with small running-streak goals. For example, begin with a week or two, and see how you feel.

5. The Goal: Give Back It’s no secret that running can be a self-centred endeavour. Runners focus on races, events, and getting the recognition of a big finish. However, every race, to be pulled off successfully, depends on volunteers, crew members, aid-station helpers, and pacers. Being on the other side of the aid-station table can help you grow as a person.

“A runner can see and learn about all the tiny details and unexpected difficulties of an event organisation, which he as a participant normally never notices when running.

Volunteering therefore helps runners to see the other side, the last-minute hassles, and to consider a different perspective of why, for instance, the race follows this trail and not that more scenic one on the same hill,” says Kris Van de Velde, founder and manager of the Asia Trail Master series.

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TRAINING

New Challenges for the New Year

The Challenge: Crew or Volunteer at Least One Race Choose a race that you would love to support and contact the race director to see how you can help. For every race you run, try to crew a friend, or volunteer at a race, in return.

The Way to Success Van de Velde feels that “a volunteer can help himself by being proactive and read up on the event via the website.” Doing this will help you come up with questions that you can address during the briefing ahead of time.

It always feels better conquering a challenge than being conquered. Remember the wise words of Fitzgerald as you create your own challenges: “It is important to set yourself up for success and to avoid setting yourself up for failure. A challenging experience will do more harm than good if it ends in failure.”

Clint is currently in Nicaragua engaged in volunteer work, writing, and ultra training. He plans on returning to the USA this summer to run a “local 100”.

He can also be found inspiring runners of all levels at strongerrunners.net.

Fundamental Trail-Running Challenges These four basic trail-running challenges will help any runner get stronger during 2016.

Daily: Think Like a Trail Runner

Trail runners love the trails they run on. View your trail running and training as one of the glues that binds your life together.

Weekly: Do Strength Work

You can never be too strong. Notice your weaknesses and focus on correcting them with strength work. One or two strength sessions a week will greatly impact your running.

Monthly: Evaluate

Keep a running log, whether online or an actual logbook, so that you can look back and see your progress and evaluate what you want to keep doing and what you should change.

Yearly: Run More Miles/Hours

Growth is the name of the game. Running more feels good and aids in faster and stronger races. And, why wouldn’t we want to spend more time doing what we love?

RACE

Making a Leap of Miles – 100km to 100mi

By Majell Backhausen

M

aking the step up from a 100km event to a 100mi event can be a little daunting — but only if you do not prepare properly! Before we get into the details, keep in mind that you are making this big step because you enjoy running, or, even more so, eating on the run. So remain excited, embrace the challenge, and welcome the highs and lows.

Racing Longer Doesn’t Require Training Longer Just because you are going to increase your event distance by an additional 60%, it does not mean you need to increase your training mileage in equal proportion.

Instead of hitting weekly targets of 200mi+, focus on what will make you comfortable and keep you smiling during your first 100-miler. Training for

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a 100mi event has a lot more to do with nutrition, race pacing, equipment/kit, event planning, and mental toughness.

Physically, preparing yourself for a 100km event compared to a 100-miler is very similar. Even Mike Wardian, recent winner of Eastern States 100, says: “I haven’t really changed my training that much.”

Understand what distance change will translate to in terms of the following: time on your feet, fuel/calories you will consume, new equipment needed, and mental resilience required. This will allow you to tailor your training specifically to the event, which will greatly increase enjoyment and success.

A formula used by ultra running coach Robbie Britton is: Every 1,000m

of elevation gain is equivalent to an additional 10km on a flat course.

This should be considered if you are preparing for a particularly mountainous event.

For the 2015 edition of the UltraTrail du Mont-Blanc, training for the downhill pounding of 10,000m decent was equally as important as training for the 10,000m of climbing. Identifying this allowed adjustments to be made in training to include sessions such as continuous hill reps, conditioning the legs through hard downhill and uphill efforts.

Train on terrain specific to your event. This will make you more efficient moving forward and provide you with mental confidence. Having self-assurance in your ability to cover technical terrain can be a huge boost

Making a Leap of Miles – 100km to 100mi Get out there and embrace the challenge of making the step up from a 100km event to a 100mi one.

Photo: Alexis Berg at the 95mi mark of a 100mi race, conversely, it could provide a huge problem with tired legs on the home stretch of the longest race in your running career.

So prepare for it! Heck, if there is a river crossing, get in there on a training run!

A 100mi event is most likely going to have a section of night running, or even a whole night out running under the stars. If you do not plan on depending on the moonlight to brighten your trail, it is critical that you are comfortable with your night running gear, which will include a good head torch and also warmer clothing. This is something I neglected for my first 100mi event, which resulted in me running through the night with a head torch packed with flat batteries.

Long-distance running requires you to own

a strong body, inside and out. If you are going to ask your body to do something it has never done before — i.e., something silly like running 100mi — make sure it is ready to perform in a state of the unknown.

During your training, ensure you have a diet that is nutritionally dense.

This will aid your training recovery and keep you free of any illnesses.

Supplementing your diet with products such as Amazonia Raw blends is a great way to keep your body’s pH levels in balance, and provide a nutritional boost to your diet.

Consider including 1-2 core stability/strength sessions in your weekly training. Having an all-round strong body can be a huge benefit in a 100mi event. When your main moving muscles get tired, additional supporting muscles are recruited to help keep you moving forward.

As such, having a good full-body work out can help build full-body strength.

Mental Ambitions Require Mental Toughness If you find it mentally tough to wake up in the morning and go for a fasted run, then this is exactly the session you should do in preparation for your event.

Such sessions provide both the needed physical and mental adaptations and strength.

Firstly, doing this teaches your body to utilise fat stores for energy as opposed to carbohydrates, which is an important physiological function for long-distance running. Secondly, running 100mi is mentally tough!

Build your mental toughness by doing sessions that require you to overcome a mental barrier. You can look back to these arduous sessions for the confidence that you can keep going.

Similarly, if you will be facing a 1,000m climb at the 100km point of your 100mi event, just like I did during my first 100-miler, then prepare for it mentally! Finish your longer runs with some big hills or anything that creates a mental barrier needing to be conquered.

Dylan Bowman has placed third at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, and is the 2015 champion of the 100km Tarawera Ultra Marathon and the Ultra-Trail Australia. Bowman believes that “the only major jump that occurs between 100km and 100mi is a mental one. If you’ve made it through 100km, your body is clearly physically fit and capable of handling the 100mi

RACE

distance. From there, it’s just a matter of mentally embracing the extra mileage and additional challenge of the distance. With that in mind, you have to be genuinely excited about that challenge. If you lack enthusiasm, it will be a lot easier to find excuses to quit.

Passion and determination to finish are more important the longer your race.”

Positive Thoughts Encourage Forward Movement Surprisingly enough, no matter what distance you embark on, whether it’s 100km or 100mi, there is always a moment of negative thought after the gun goes off. Learn how to quickly replace negative thoughts with positive ones!

Write something motivating on your arm, such as, ‘Seize the day,’ or, ‘You have red jelly babies at the next aid station — keep moving!’ Find positive reinforcement and confidence in your preparation and remember you signed up to this because you are out there to enjoy it.

Hanny Allston, from Find Your Feet, points out that “negative thoughts can be symptomatic of low glucose levels in the brain, combat this by taking on instant glucose and an electrolyte with high sodium concentration.” It is also important to put a smile on your face and keep moving forward!

Apply the Golden Rule Never try anything new on race day!

Train in all the kit you intend to use during your event, but remember to wash it all as well. A small issue in a long race can become a game-ending issue. It is also a good idea to do a couple of training runs with a full bag of mandatory kit, in order to get used to the weight.

Use Aid Stations to Aid Your Success – Simple!

At 100km, do not think, ‘Oh no, I have to run an extra 60km.’ Break the distance down into smaller, manageable distances, such as aid station to aid station, or one ascent, one descent.

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RACE

Making a Leap of Miles – 100km to 100mi

The more time you put into your race preparation, the more benefit you will get back in the race.

Most 100mi events will likely have more aid stations than a 100km. Having well-stocked and organised drop bags allows you to have productive, efficient, and quick aid-station stops. This can take hours off your total time during a 100mi event.

Preparing for the unexpected can save you a lot of race-time stress, and could even save you from a DNF. In your drop bags, make sure you include items such as fresh clothing, anti-chaffing aids (Body Glide), spare shoelaces, tape for your toes or ankles, waterproof clothing, additional head torches, and a food item which could help with a turned stomach. You don’t need to bring the kitchen sink, but be smart and practice in your drop bag choices.

Using small motivational items or tools can provide a huge positive impact. Drop bags are a great opportunity to pick up trail motivation, such as a photo or note from loved ones, a music player, or even a pacing buddy.

Check the weather close to the event. If the weather is going to be extreme, with high temperatures, or a lot of rain, then use aid-station drop bags as an opportunity to change clothes or shoes. This can renew the motivation in any soaked, swearing, sad, or crying runner.

Be aware that different shoes will have different hot spots and wear points. So be comfortable in both, or use the same model.

A simple checklist is also a great tool to use. Have one at each aid station and make sure you run through it before you rush out of there. In a 100mi event it can be very easy to forget what you need for the next section of your race. So, before you eagerly burst through an aid station, use a checklist to make sure you leave with your race food, full water bottles, poles, shoes, and your favourite motivational item — this can save time, a lot of emotional stress, or even backtracking the course.

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Be cautious of sitting at aid stations, a quick 5min can easily lead to an unplanned 20min of lounging around.

Again, use your checklist — get in, get sorted, and get moving!

Pacing Is the Easy Part It is very important to have a good pacing strategy for 100km and 100mi events. My advice: Start easy — very easy.

With both events, it is important to hit 75% of the total distance feeling good and ready to complete the race.

This means 75km for 100km, and 75mi for 100mi. Yes, aim to hit these distances and then be ready to actually start your ‘race.’

This is why it is critical to start very easy! Run your own race at your own comfortable pace. Don’t be influenced by the pace of other runners, it is not a 10km event, that is, of course, until you hit the final 400m — then sprint!

Eat More to Run More, and ViceVersa Practicing your race nutrition is vital when moving to the 100mi distance — by this, I mean eating more on the run, not during your rest days.

Upping your race distance will most likely mean an increase in race time, and therefore calories required.

Wardian sums it up by advising “that each athlete needs to have a plethora of options to consume and try to stay on top of calories. If you get behind it becomes super challenging to have the race you want.”

Eating early, and often, will likely set you up for success later. Real food is my preferred calorie source, but, at some point in a long-distance race, the delicious rice cakes, fruit bread, nuts, or pasta can become unpalatable, so it is important to have a second, third, and fourth option for calories. Experiment with different types of calories. If you seize putting in the energy (calories) you will also seize in your forward movement!

Options such as Tailwind, fruits, gels, candy, or soda are a great way to consume easily digestible calories on the move.

As Britton would say: “See eating and taking on nutrition as part of the challenge.”

The same goes with hydration: Look at the distance between water points in your race and during your training runs, and practice moving with the right amount of hydration for these distances.

If you use a bladder, soft flasks, or hard bottles, practice filling them, and, if applicable, mixing your calories.

Weather also plays a part in your race-day picnic. Time and time again runners are surprised that their favourite food item becomes inedible after 15h of running in the heat! Being prepared for these scenarios during a 100mi event compared to a 100km can make a significant difference.

Get Out There On a final note:

Educate yourself from the front line of a 100mi event. Crew for a friend, volunteer, or spectate at a 100mi event, this way you can see the good, the bad, and the ugly, and use what you see to benefit your own success when increasing the distance.

Majell is a member of the Australian International Ultra Trail Running Team. An advocate for the simplicity and enjoyment of trail running and outdoor pursuits. Training and guiding people from all corners of the global, in all areas of health and wellbeing. Always available with a smile at majellb@ gmail.com or @majellb.

GEAR

Assortment of gear

to welcome the New Year

H

appy New Year! Start the New Year by trying out some of the gear that the Asia Trail team has selected for you.

Ultimate Performance Ultimate Elastic Laces Ultimate-Performance.co.uk | HKD 69

Are you perhaps a lover of Salomon’s speed-lacing system, and find yourself frustrated with laces of other shoe brands constantly coming undone? Ever had your feet swell up and struggled to put on, or take off, your shoes in the middle of a long race? If so, these laces are your answer.

Equipped with elastic cords and a spring-loaded lock, they are easy to use and adjust. This reviewer tried them out on a pair of shoes that were a bit too wide, and notes that they improved the fit significantly, reducing discomfort around the ankles.

Lurbel Bmax Desafio Lurbel.net | USD 19.50

Reviewer finds the socks very comfortable to wear due to the various targetpadded areas on the socks, intended to reduce the pressure in areas of highest load concentration on the foot during running. Bmax Desafio is designed specifically for trail running — notably, the sock is woven with three layers of yarn to improve breathability performance. The reviewer — who admits perspiring abundantly during her runs — definitely found Bmax Desafio to be less damp as compared to socks by other brands.

BCAA XTRA

Clarity Smart Energy

BCAA XTRA is a dietary supplement that contains a concentrated source of branchedchain amino acids — these help to rebuild damaged proteins resulting from your frequent and strenuous physical activities. Lightly carbonated and sugar-free, the orange-flavoured drink refreshes and quenches your thirst, especially when consumed chilled.

An excellent addition to your refrigerator’s array of recovery drinks.

If you’re looking for a drink able to deliver a natural energy boost, definitely try Clarity Smart Energy. The drink is filled with natural ingredients, is rich in antioxidants, essential amino acids, and vitamins. It also contains naturally derived caffeine from coffee beans, green tea, and guarana extracts — a concoction which will kick-start and rejuvenate your day, naturally.

Packaged in small single-serving bottles, it is convenient for consumption virtually anywhere.

Comes in two flavours: Acai Berry as well as Lemon and Lime.

BCAAxtra.com | HKD 25

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Clarity-SmartEnergy.com | HKD 39 per bottle

GEAR

RAD Rod and RAD Helix

RADroller.com | RAD Rod HKD 360, RAD Helix HKD 470

Easy to use and compact enough to be brought with you anywhere, the RAD Rod and Helix massage tools let you exercise controlled movements and relieve tension on various parts of your tensed and stressed body.

Reviewer found the device especially useful in loosening her tight calf muscles by rolling the RAD Rod up and down her calves. Both massagers will prove handy and effective in relieving trigger points during races.

Polar M400

Polar.com | HKD 1,680 (HKD 2,080 with H7 heart-rate sensor)

Designed mainly as a GPS-equipped running watch, this smart device can also track daily activities like your steps, calories burnt, and hours slept.

As a running watch, it offers essential running metrics, along with a useful fitness test using your heart rate. The reviewer likes the soft strap, which makes the watch very comfortable to wear. Another special feature it has is that the back of the watch includes a micro-USB port for charging, which keeps things more compact than using a proprietary docking connector.

Overall, for its price, it’s a good running watch to invest in.

Brooks Cascadia 10

BrooksRunning.com | HKD 920

Cascadia 10 continues to be one of the more versatile trail shoes on the market. It’s cushioned and stable enough for long distances, and provides great traction, especially on dry, gritty, technical terrain. Great upper protection through the weldedon synthetic overlays — giving extra stability — and the rubber toe bumper. The reviewer, who also used the previous two versions, felt that the 10s are a tad narrower, resulting in more pressure on the last bone at the outside of the foot.

aLOKSAK Bags

LokSak.com | HKD 98

The bag is light, but sturdy enough to hold an iPhone 6s, even if the smartphone is encapsulated in a phone cover.

Reviewer tested aLOKSAK storage bag by submerging it with an iPhone into a basin full of water for 10min. Eureka!

Not a drop of water in the bag!

The user-friendly bag does not hinder you from using your touchscreen phone, or even making and receiving calls. It is convenient to carry one of these watertight, airtight, and odour-proof bags on the trails. Each package comes with two bags.

Uglow U-Rain 3.1

UglowSport.com | HKD 990

A super-light rain jacket that you can easily pack away and bring with you everywhere. The reviewer likes how the two pockets (located on the chest and at the back) can be easily closed with the small, covered-up magnets that are attached to the jacket — sparing the user from needing to fumble with zips. The hood is fitted with an elastic band that secures around the forehead, ensuring that it stays in place at all times.

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FIRST STEPS

How Slow Runners Get Faster

By Joshua Steimle

I

recently ran my first 70km race in the mountains of Lantau Island, Hong Kong, in a total time of 14h. I have a friend who ran the same race in 9h, but who confided to me that the first time he ran it, it also took him 14h. How does one go about cutting a whole 5h off a 14h race? That’s the question I set out to answer. Here’s what I found out about how a slow runner like me can shave time off a race or training run.

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Limit distractions and breaks: Many of us are drawn to trail running because of the beauties of nature we see while out and about. I’m often tempted to pull out my phone and start Instagramming what I see. Then I see an email or Twitter notification, I start responding, and half an hour later, I’m still standing in the same place, getting work done, but not much running. I can resist this temptation while racing,

but even during a race it can be easy to spend too long at an aid station, or stop for a quick breather that turns into a long one. If you spend 5min at each aid station, and there are six aid stations within your race, that’s already 30min of standing around. Cut that time in half by eating and drinking a little faster, and you gain an easy 15min.

FIRST STEPS In an endurance and sport, you can’t go fast if you can’t go far, you can’t go far unless you practice doing it.

Photo: Assaf de Courcy Arbiser Start slow: Trainer and ultra trail runner Jim Freim says starting out too fast is the #1 mistake trail runners make. Instead, aim for a negative split, or for completing the second half of your run, or race, faster than the first half. If you’re worried about being stuck behind a line of slowpokes on a single trail track during a race, start out at the front of the pack — but don’t start off in a sprint, or you’ll end your race with a crawl.

Focus on uphills more than downhills: Yes, you can improve your descents through various exercises and training, but unless you’re aiming for a podium finish in a race with a lot more downhills than uphills, this shouldn’t be your main area of focus. If it takes the fastest trail runner 15min to descend 1,000m, and it takes you 30min, even

doubling your speed (not an easy feat, and potentially dangerous) will save you a mere 15min. My problem is how slow I climb hills, so a moderate improvement in that ability could, by itself, shave hours off my 70km time.

Don’t ignore road running: As a beginner, I made the mistake of training for my 70km primarily on trails, with very little flat-road running. I naively assumed that since it’s harder to run up a mountain than on a flat road, that this itself would make road running easy. But different muscles are used for climbing and descending as opposed to when one is running straight ahead.

When I got onto the flat areas and roads, I felt like a weakling, far below where I was when I used to perform running on roads.

Get scientific: The best runners tend to be scientific about their training.

They read training methodology books, and follow established training

principles. Hong Kong runner Nic Tinworth says nutrition and hydration strategies helped him knock 5h off his personal record at the Vibram Hong Kong 100: “I also followed a rigid training plan that included speed and tempo work on the track.” If you’ve been taking trail running casually, perhaps now is the time to start reading books and articles on how to run better.

You don’t have to become an expert overnight, just start with a single book, or a few articles, with simple but specific exercises, and watch your speed and endurance improve.

Invest the time: While exercises and technique are certainly important, there’s something to be said for simply putting in the time on the trails. In an endurance sport, you can’t go fast if you can’t go far, and you can’t go far unless you practice doing it.

Joshua is the CEO of MWI (mwi.hk), a digital marketing agency, and a writer for various business publications including Forbes and Entrepreneur. He lives and runs in Hong Kong. You can contact him @joshsteimle or josh@mwi.hk.

GRAND 174 km 7700 D+

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9th edition

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13 | 14 | 15 october

CARCASSONNE - FRANCE

t 2 0 16 26 27 2 8 a u g u s

INFOS & SUSCRIBE

grandraid-cathares.fr

Crédits photos : photossports.com / Illustrations : Grand Raid des Cathares

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INFORMATIONS & REGISTRATION

www.GRANdRAIdpyRENEES.cOM Tour des Lacs - 80 km - 5000m d+ Tour des Cirques - 120 km - 7000m d+ Ultra - 160 km - 10 000m d+

Start Vielle-Aure Start Piau Start Vielle-Aure

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| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

ASK THE COACH

Fuelling for Optimum Performance in Ultras

By Andy DuBois

N

ausea and vomiting is one of the main reasons for a DNF during an ultra. Among finishers of the Western States Endurance Run, up to 40% of them experience nausea and vomiting.

Visibly, it is critical that you have an effective strategy going into a big race.

1.

How Much Should I Eat?

The answer depends on how much energy you can absorb, rather than how much you burn. The difference between the two comes from stored muscle glycogen and body fat.

How many calories can we absorb? This figure depends on the types of calories, but the general recommendation is 60g of glucose and 30g of fructose. I recommend a strategy of eating the least amount possible.

Consuming less fuel means you must be well adapted to tapping into existing fuel sources, i.e., fat stores in the body.

This does need to be practised as fat oxidation uses a different metabolic pathway.

Factors affecting absorption: The concentration of the carbohydrates in your stomach affects absorption.

Simple carbohydrates are absorbed fastest in a 5-8% solution, whereas complex carbs can be absorbed in concentrations as high as 15-18%. This means that simple carbohydrates (e.g., glucose, sucrose) need more water to be absorbed than complex carbohydrates (e.g., maltodextrin). That’s why sports Illustration: Kirk Wescom

drinks containing simple sugars are always 6-8% in concentration, which is not to say that one is better than the other.

Factors affecting calories needed: The lighter you are, and the slower you go, the less you’ll need.

Pace, or intensity, is definitely a huge determinator of calorie requirements, because most people are able to rely on ‘fat burning’ when exercising at a lower heart rate. However, it is very important to note here that aerobic baseline can be improved and we can work on fat oxidation at higher heart rates through training and nutrition strategies. This may be advantageous to those runners struggling with not throwing up their race fuel during endurance events.

Experimenting in long training runs is the best way to learn what your energy requirements are.

How can you increase your fat-burning ability? This is about training your body to exercise without additional carbohydrates. Long runs performed with no breakfast, and no additional carbohydrates, are great for starters. It is possible to run 4h+ on nothing but water. However, training for race nutrition is also necessary. I recommend building your long runs to

4h with no calories, and then runs over 4h to practise race nutrition.

Your requirements will depend on your fat metabolism, and they will even fluctuate throughout a race as the intensity varies — i.e., many athletes will go faster in the first half of an ultra than the second, so you will need to consume more fuel in the first half with a heavier reliance on stored body fat in the second.

Where to start? Experimenting in long training runs is the best way to learn what your energy requirements are. Start with approximately 30-40g of carbs per hour, erring on the side of less rather than more.

Why less rather than more? If you have too many calories, you have to slow down to allow more time for them to be digested before the muscles can get the calories they need. In addition, training with less will help build a strong aerobic baseline and assist the body in getting used to tapping into stored fat as energy.

2.

What Should I Eat?

The range of calories consumed during races is huge. From sports nutrition products, like Tailwind and Hammer, to real food like nuts and dried fruit, and then processed products like chocolate or Coke. There are a few factors that will influence your choices.

Practical considerations: Can you transport the food easily in your pack? Bananas might be squashed after

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ASK THE COACH a few hours, and chocolate bars may turn into an unpalatable mess in the heat.

Taste: If it doesn’t taste good, then you will struggle to consume it during an ultra. What tastes good 2h into an ultra may be unpalatable after 10h+. A good strategy is to mix up the food choices hourly, so that you don’t succumb to flavour fatigue. Given that most nutrition products are sweet, mixing them up with something salty can extend how long you can tolerate the product for. For instance, you can combine a sports drink with some slices of boiled, salted potato every couple of hours.

Fibre, fat, and protein: These will all slow down absorption — which may or may not be a bad thing, depending on if you need quick energy, or slow-release energy. But, be aware, if you are having a low spot and you have a high-fibre sandwich with butter and chicken in it, it is going to take a while for your body to process all that and get the glycogen it needs.

We don’t need to add fat, as we have plenty of fat to burn. Even a 55kg male with 5% body fat will have 2.75kg of fat on him, which equates to 24,750 potential calories!

Protein is burnt to a small degree in ultra races, but there is no consensus on whether consuming small amounts of protein will spare the body breaking down its own muscle tissue.

Absorption: Different carbohydrates are absorbed at different rates depending on the concentration.

You need to ensure sufficient water is taken to enable optimal absorption.

Pre-made drinks are easy since you can mix them to the desired concentration, but real food gets a lot trickier. For example, how much water do you need to quickly absorb a few potato wedges?

Whilst it may be possible to calculate that on its own, when you factor in what is already in the stomach, it’s basically impossible and comes down to trial and error in your training runs.

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3.

When Should I Eat?

Regularly, and in small quantities, is key. A large intake every 2h is going to be much harder to digest than a small amount every 20-30min. In a long race, you need a strategy to ensure you don’t fall behind. For example, you can set a periodical beeper on your watch, or mark your water bottle to remind yourself to consume fuel.

Sounds ridiculous, but after many hours on your feet, you will struggle to remember these details.

Do not believe everything you read the theory, and even the ‘science,’ behind many commercial fuelling options and suggestions may be great, but if you cannot stomach it, then it’s a total waste of money.

—

4. What to Do If Something Goes Wrong?

Prevention is always better than the cure — but if things do go wrong then you only have a few options, and choosing the right option is key.

Stomach fine, energy levels low: The simple solution is consume more calories. If you are feeling very low, then something like Coke to pick you up fast may be needed, but be aware, there will be a crash in the near future if you don’t get some other calories into your system.

Energy levels low, stomach feels full: You need to decide whether or not to drink more water. Think back to how much food you have had and how much you’ve had to drink — if you consumed more food than drink,

then by drinking more water you will decrease the concentration of carbs in your stomach, making it easier for them to be absorbed.

Bloated and nauseous: You need to slow down and allow more blood to flow to the stomach to aid absorption, which may take hours.

One solution is a carbohydrate mouth rinse. It tricks the brain into thinking there is fuel in the muscles, and as such gives you enough energy to keep you going until your stomach can absorb what you have put into it. Depending on your pace, you can probably get by for no more than an hour, or two, just by rinsing.

People have reported that ginger tablets, or ginger beer, may help nausea in a race, while I personally have found that Coke helps settle a dodgy stomach, as it promotes burping.

Flavour fatigue: If your taste buds are rebelling at the thought of consuming any more of your planned food, then try something different — maybe some salted food (not because it has sodium, but because saltiness is the opposite of sweet-tasting snacks).

Coping with the heat: Heat will affect the stomach, as more blood is drawn to the skin to be cooled and therefore less blood is available for the stomach’s operation. Keeping the body cooled is more important than staying hydrated — if you keep the body cool, then you don’t need to drink as much to begin with.

In addition, do not believe everything you read. The theory, and even the ‘science,’ behind many commercial fuelling options and suggestions may be great, but if you cannot stomach it, then it’s a total waste of money.

Andy is an award-winning personal trainer and elite endurance athlete specialising in ultra running. You can find more useful info on his ultra running coach website (www. mile27.com.au).

BODY MECHANICS

For runners, knee pain is usually an overuse injury — you hit that tipping point that is just too much and pain sets in. Photo: Claus Rolff

It’s Not Easy Being a Knee – New Theories and What to Do

By Doug Tahirali

I

n our last issue, we discussed the conventional wisdom of PFPS (patello-femoral pain syndrome) and PFTS (patello-femoral tracking syndrome), more commonly known as runner’s knee. For causative effects, we looked at weakness in the quadriceps (in particular vastus medialis oblique), large Q-angles, and patellar issues, but studies have shown that these are not the root causes of PFPS and PFTS.

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There are currently a few ideas that could involve all these issues — a kind of ‘theory of everything for PFPS and PFTS.’ Blood flow: This theory postulates that repeated flexion can cause poor circulation to the kneecap.

The inadequate circulation leads to muscle weakness, poor running style, and PFPS. However, at this point,

not enough research has been done showing any causal relationships between circulation and PFPS.

Pain: With running, one builds up to the point where the knee synovium gets inflamed. The synovium is the big pouch containing the knee and its lubricating fluids. This inflammation can be created by the small articular cartilage breakdown. This is clearly an

It’s Not Easy Being a Knee – New Theories and What to Do

overuse injury — you hit that tipping point that is just too much and pain sets in. Once irritated, the knee pain becomes persistent and can be longlasting at various degrees of pain.

Frankly, this is the result of the relentless pressure of being a knee.

Pain will cause muscle weakness leading to imbalances and alignment issues. Pain can also perpetuate itself over time, and you’ll effectively need less irritation to incur more pain!

Overall, this leads to a chronic pain situation, which then becomes more neurological than physical. The newest treatment approach used for this more neurological condition is called ‘central sensitisation,’ and is used in conjunction with other chronic pain methods.

What has shown some success in PFPS treatment is helping to increase leg control by increasing hip strength, particularly the gluteals — your butt.

The theory seems to be that when loaded, the knee collapses inwards into a knock-kneed position due to hip weakness. Instead of the patella being

pulled laterally in the patellar groove by muscular imbalances at the knee, it is the femur with weak hip musculature that rotates medially under the kneecap, helping worsen the issues, causing small breakdowns along with inflammation and pain.

However, studies have also shown that the weakness in the leg musculature could not anticipate, and thus be the cause of, PFPS. Sounds a lot like the chicken or the egg argument: Did the weakness, misalignment, and other structural or functional problems come first, or did the overuse-related pain cause those issues? Logically, more impact equates to more irritation of the patello-femoral joint, causing pain and inflammation. As usual, the existing research is poor.

What to do? Rest and avoid pain as much as possible. Avoidance of any aggravating activity for a minimum of a few weeks should seem obvious.

Feet up, icing, and straight leg strength exercises, if even those are tolerable.

BODY MECHANICS

The science seems to support the strengthening of the quadriceps, hamstrings, and hip musculature — get on your squats and clams. Also, after exercise, the body goes into repair mode, which can likewise be helpful.

Even with a more chronic neurological problem, muscle building seems essential. Furthermore, regularly tweak your running — change routes, avoid over-striding, keep your centre of gravity under you, and try to run ‘soft.’

Make sure to note early signs of patellar pain, and back off. Many can go away with conventional treatment if caught early. Build up is slow and can take months, not weeks, and may require complete lifestyle changes.

Surgery seems a last option and has generally poor results.

Plain and simple: It is not easy being a knee, and PFPS is the price you pay for overdoing it!

Doug has been a physiotherapist for 26 years and currently practices at Jardine House Sports and Spinal Clinic (www. physiohk.com). This column aims to explain how body parts work and how you can care for and fix them.

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GEEK RUNNER

Stress and Arousal Regulation Tips

By Karen Lo, Inner Edge Limited

W

hether it’s before exams, tryouts, races, or auditions, at least once in a while we all experience heart palpitations, sweaty palms, and butterflies in our stomach.

Athletes tend to label these phenomena as ‘stress’ or ‘anxiety.’ When sport psychologists are presented with such issues, they will commonly check to see if athletes are able to understand the causes of their stress, make psychosomatic links of the symptoms they experience, and reflect on them.

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To a sport psychologist, it’s always important to make sense of where the athletes’ negative emotions stem from, before knowing how to manage them.

The Stress Process Technically, stress is defined as “a substantial imbalance between demand and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet that demand has important consequences.”1 Stress is usually experienced and responded to in these four steps:

1.

An individual faces a demand.

3.

The physical and psychological responses to the demand.

2.

4.

The individual’s perception of the demand.

The outcome or behaviour.

Knowing these, let’s put ourselves into an athlete’s shoes: Maya has never run an ultra marathon before, and her coach is now inviting her to run the ultra 100km. The demand that is

Stress and Arousal Regulation Tips It is important to recognise signs of stress and anxiety and then find approaches to cope with them. Photo: Alexis Berg being placed on Maya is the invitation.

Now, this demand influences Maya’s perception of running the ultra. If Maya is the sort of person who embraces challenges, she will not see this demand as a major threat. Her reactions to the demand may be minimal, which may not affect her stress levels as much.

However, if Maya feels threatened to have to meet this demand, her level of stress will increase, impacting her physical and psychological response, which may influence her performance.

Why Do We Feel Stressed and Anxious?

1. Situational Forces

of your optimal arousal level, and use coping strategies to optimise stress and anxiety so that peak performances can occur more often. (Tips on how to find your optimal arousal level are coming in the next issue.)

Recognising Signs of Stress and Anxiety Every athlete’s signs or patterns of stress may differ. During stress, one person may experience headaches and have difficulty concentrating, while another may feel the need to urinate frequently. However, the symptoms themselves don’t matter so much — the key is to notice when they happen, the change in these variables during high- and low-stress environments, and subsequent coping approaches.1

Coping Strategies to Relieve Event importance: Some people Anxiety are only stressed during important 1. Problem-focused coping: The situations.2 If there was only one time efforts to alter or manage trial for qualifying to run in an important the problem that is causing race, one might perceive this situation as the stress. This coping skill stressful. is usually used when one deals with the environmental Uncertainty: It has been found demand through performing an that the greater the uncertainty, the action, such as seeking support higher the stress level.2 Some of the from others, reducing negative uncertainties of a race include not being thoughts, having better time able to fully see the course or trail, and management, etc. For instance, thus be unable to plan ahead, or not waking up late and having to knowing what to expect while having to rush to the start line causes run through an injury, etc. Importantly, unwanted stress. However, uncertainties that create stress are poor time management is usually out of one’s control. something within control and can be avoided altogether. One 2. Trait Anxiety coping strategy is to set 2-3 While some are more stressed in alarm clocks to allow yourself certain situations and less so in others, ample time for traffic, or to stress and anxiety can also be trait-like. pack your race gear the night This is an anxiety disposition that causes before the event. a person to view competition as more 1 or less threatening. People with higher 2. Emotion-focused coping: The trait anxiety will tend to pick out more efforts to regulate emotional threat-related information than their responses to the problem less-anxious counterparts. that is causing the stress. This coping skill is usually used Finding Your Optimal Arousal when the individual’s stress Level is out of control. Unexpected Back in 1997, Russian sports events, like bad weather and psychologist Yuri Hanin discovered that race delays, cause stress but athletes have an optimal zone for anxiety are uncontrollable. Coping in which best performance occurs.1 strategies like relaxation or Therefore, he suggested that one of the meditation are employed to most effective ways to achieve peak bring stress levels down. performance in sport is to be more aware

GEEK RUNNER

Anecdotal Tips for Runners 1. Stay focused on the present moment: Many athletes like to focus on ‘winning’ — but the letters W.I.N. can also stand for ‘What’s Important Now.’ This idea is key in helping you minimise self-doubt and focus on what’s really important for performing well. This is seen as a problem-focused coping strategy, wherein you stop negative thoughts and replace them with things that truly matter.

2.

Deep breathing: Many athletes stress.3 Make sure that your stomach expands out when you breathe in, and in when you breathe out. This is a type of relaxation technique (i.e., emotion-focused coping) called ‘rhythmic breathing,’ and it can be practiced regularly, anywhere, even onsite right before a race.

The key is to breathe in a 1:2 inhale-to-exhale ratio. Inhale slowly for 5s, and then exhale for 10s, over time increasing the duration of your inhale and exhale.

Arousal-Inducing Strategies There are times when you might feel ‘under-activated,’ or simply not ‘ready’ to race — and before you feel prepared again, you’re already halfway through the course. Psyching-up strategies to get athletes to optimal arousal states at the very beginning of each race may include: acting energised, through jogging around to increase heart rate, which can be an effective way to get those ‘butterflies’ out; listening to music (this will be discussed in the next issue) and using positive selftalk phrases such as ‘Let’s go!’ are also ways to warm up the mind and body.

References: 1.

Weinberg, R.S., and Gould, D. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Human Kinetics. Champaign, IL (2011).

2.

Hanin, Y.L. “Emotions and Athletic Performance: Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning.” European Yearbook of Sport Psychology 1 (1997): 29-72.

3.

Williams, J.M. Applied Sport Psychology: Personal Growth to Peak Performance. McGraw Hill. New York, NY (2010).

Karen is the first Certified Consultant of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology in the greater China area. Follow her facebook page on where she trains people on mental toughness: www.facebook.com/inneredgehk.

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NUTRITION

Why Should We Eat Sprouted Foods?

By Katia Kucher

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NUTRITION

T

he sprouted food industry is growing fast. You can easily find sprouted breads, nuts, beans, seeds, flax seeds, Chia seeds, crackers, cereals, and granola. As an athlete, the biggest advantage of eating sprouted foods is the energy that these grains, nuts, and seeds provide.

Sprouted foods offer great amounts of nutritional benefits.

Whole grains are simple seeds, which have not yet germinated, and which are covered in a protective layer called a husk. When grains are intact, they contain a series of growth inhibiting compounds. When the seeds start to germinate, the husk cracks open and the growth inhibitors are deactivated. By deactivating anti-growth enzymes, a greater amount of vitamin C, folate, and minerals like iron and zinc, are made available. The sprouting process lowers carbohydrates, increases protein, and also lowers the levels of gluten while increasing the amounts of soluble fibre (whose rates are up three times higher than in nonsprouted grains).

When sprouting, grains consume some of their own starches, altering the food’s nutritional content. The proportion of protein and fibre becomes higher, as well as the level of vitamins and minerals. Eating sprouted grains triggers a lower blood sugar response (lower glycemic index) and increases the level of glucagon-like peptide-1 (a satietyrelated hormone). When grains, beans, legumes, or nuts are sprouted, their enzyme levels effectively increase, making it much easier for the body to digest and absorb all their various nutrients.

Soaking whole grains and legumes also reduces an antinutrient called raffinose, a carbohydrate that produces gas in the lower intestines. As such, eating sprouted grains and beans is a lot easier on the digestive system. Soaking and sprouting grains partially reduces another counterproductive anti-nutrient called phytic acid. Phytic acid can prevent the absorption of some essential minerals, including iron and zinc. That’s why eating sprouted foods can be very beneficial for athletes and vegetarians.

Sprouted foods are more complete and nutritional than their non-sprouted versions. Sprouts are full of healthy vitamins, minerals, proteins, and enzymes. More nutrients are able to reach the blood with sprouts. Sprouts are living foods, even after they are refrigerated they still continue to slowly grow, and their vitamin content will actually increase.

However, with cooking, many vitamins can be lost, especially vitamins A, D, E, B1, B5, B12, C, and folate. Also important, sprouting enhances the availability of zinc, iron, and calcium.

As mentioned earlier, when grains, beans, legumes, or nuts are sprouted their enzyme levels increase as well, making it much easier for your body to digest and absorb all the nutrients. Sprouts are foods in a pre-digested form that is already activated by enzymes and so is digested more easily by our bodies. During sprouting, much of the starch is broken down into simple sugars like glucose and sucrose; proteins are converted into amino acids and amides; and fats and oils are converted into simple fatty acids.

Sprouting does however come with some safety issues.

When exposed to higher temperature and humidity, sprouting can potentially increase the levels of bad bacteria. If you are doing your own sprouting at home, make sure you pay close attention to the entire process. When buying sprouted foods from a store, make sure you buy from a reliable supplier, and that the food is fresh and well packaged.

Eating sprouted foods will provide your body with extra nutrients, vitamins, and lots of good enzymes, helping to keep your digestive system and entire body healthy and strong.

Katia, owner of d.BeFit (www.dbefit.com), is a NASM certified personal trainer, a NASM Sports Nutrition Specialist, as well is a TRX certified trainer.

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Race Directory

Where To Race In Asia DATE

RACE

DISTANCE

LOCATION

WEBSITE

1-Jan-16

New Year N.E. Mountain Race

20km and 28km

Hong Kong

xterace.com

1-Jan-16

Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge

298km

Hong Kong

facebook.com/ events/355099071348569

1-Jan-16

2-Jan-16 3-Jan-16 3-Jan-16 9-Jan-16

10-Jan-16 10-Jan-16 10-Jan-16 16-Jan-16 17-Jan-16 22-Jan-16 23-Jan-16 23-Jan-16 23-Jan-16 24-Jan-16 30-Jan-16 30-Jan-16 31-Jan-16 31-Jan-16 31-Jan-16

10-Feb-16 13-Feb-16

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Ultra Trail Tai Mo Shan

The North Face Kathmandu Ultra King of the Hills Marathon Series – Lantau Island

Compressport Trails Challenge Batase Trail Race

Adventure Terra Race

Ngong Ping Charity Walk Tarak Ridge Trail Run

The Great Relay – Kuala Lumpur

Tahura Trail Running Race Oxfam Trailwalker India Ikoma Trail Run

Vibram Hong Kong 100 Ultra Trail Ultra Trail Angkor

Senba Coastal Cliff Trail Running Race

The North Face Thailand Green Power Hike

Conquer the Trails – Kiara

King of the Hills Marathon Series – Tai Po

Sagada Mountain Marathon CNY Grand 3 Tour

Sentul Ultra Marathon

| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

52km, 110km and 161km 11km, 27km, 50km and 80km 14km and 30km 6km and 12km

10km, 20km and 30km 15km

10km, 17km and 23km 25km

Relay: 50km or 100km

6km, 10km, 17km and 21km 100km

20km and 30km 100km 128km

13km and 34km

50km and 100km 10km, 25km and 50km 14km

14.8km and 36km 21km and 42km 28km

18km, 30km and 45km

Hong Kong

Nepal

Hong Kong Malaysia Nepal

Hong Kong Hong Kong

Philippines Malaysia

Indonesia India

Japan

Hong Kong Cambodia Japan

Thailand

Hong Kong Malaysia

Hong Kong

Philippines Hong Kong Indonesia

ultratrailmt.com

ultratrailkathmandu.com seyonasia.com

liv3ly.com/registration/event/ccc2016 trailrunningnepal.org/trail-races/ batase-trail-race xterace.com

npcw.yha.org.hk

conquertrailadventure.wordpress.com tgrkl.com

trailrun-tahura.com

trailwalker.oxfamIndia.org/bengaluru actrep-sports.com

vibramhk100.com

ultratrail-angkor.com

courant-marin.jp/senba

thenorthfaceThailand.com greenpower.org.hk

heyevent.com/event/2ia2oe7k7f4p6a/ conquer-the-trails-kiara seyonasia.com

facebook.com/ events/529606767205731 xterace.com

sentulultramarathon.com

Race Directory

DATE

RACE

DISTANCE

LOCATION

WEBSITE

13-Feb-16

Thai Ultra Trail

140km

Thailand

thai-ultrarace.com

14-Feb-16

LBC Valentine’s Day Race

14km

Hong Kong

events.lantaubasecamp.com

14-Feb-16 14-Feb-16 19-Feb-16 19-Feb-16 20-Feb-16 20-Feb-16 21-Feb-16 27-Feb-16 28-Feb-16 28-Feb-16 6-Mar-16 6-Mar-16 6-Mar-16

RacingThePlanet: Sri Lanka 2016

250km

OSJ Amami Jungle Trail

20km and 50km

Run the Rann

21km, 42km, 101km and 161km

Ultra Trail Hong Kong

92km and 178km

MSIG HK50 Series – Sai Kung

13km, 26km and 50km

Garhwal Runs

Mount Ugo Trail Marathon

25km and 76km

Ultra & Trail Unseen Koh Chang King of the Hills Marathon Series – Sai Kung

Beach Bunch Trail Challenge

Yakushima Beach & Trail Run The Wild Elephant Trail Beaufort 60K

The splendour of Sri Lanka — showcased during RacingThePlanet, Sri Lanka.

Photo: www.4deserts.com

21km and 42km

10km, 35km and 66km 19km and 37km 21km and 42km 32km and 38km 210km

30km and 60km

Sri Lanka Japan India

Hong Kong Hong Kong India

Philippines Thailand

Hong Kong Brunei Japan

Sri Lanka Malaysia

4deserts.com/beyond/srilanka powersports.co.jp/osjtrail runtherann.com

ultratrailhk.com.hk

actionasiaevents.com

laultra.in/events/garhwal-runs kotmtrailrun.com/mount-ugomarathon

runThailand.com/race/ultra-trailunseen-koh-chang-2016 seyonasia.com

beachbunch.net

actrep-sports.com global-limits.com borneoultra.com

If you wish to add your race to our race calendar, please send us an email at sabrina@asiasportconnection.com.

Please refer to the Race Calendar at www.asiatrailmag.com for the list of comprehensive year-round trail races in Asia.

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Market place

ACTION X www.actionxstore.com

Causeway Bay Flat A, 1/F, Po Foo Building, 84-94 Percival Street, Causeway Bay

Discovery Bay North Plaza, Shop G16AG16C, G/F, 92 Siena Avenue, Discovery Bay Sheung Wan G/F, 28 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan T: +852 3102 2977 Daily: 11:00 - 20:00

ROUND THE WORLD www.roundtheworld.hk

Shop A, 51 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan T: +852 2745 6988 Mon-Sat: 11:00 - 20:00 Sun: 10:30 - 19:30

STARLIGHT Sports Shatin Shop 284, Level 2, Ma On Shan Plaza, Ma On Shan, Shatin, N.T. T: +852 2613 8995

Tseung Kwan O

LANTAU BASE CAMP www.lantaubasecamp.com Shop J, Sea View Building, Mui Wo, Lantau Island T: +852 5463 6060

Mon-Fri: 8:30 -19:30 Sat-Sun & PH: 8:00 - 19:30 Closed on Tuesday

Shop B05, Level 1, Nan Fung Plaza, Tseung Kwan O, N.T. T: +852 2410 9096 Mon-Sat: 11:30 - 21:30

PRo Runner Shop L1A, Fitfort, North Point T: +852 2327 0488 Mon-Sat: 12:00- 21:00

GONE RUNNING

www.gonerunning.hk

Unit 8B, Trust Tower 68 Johnston Road, Wanchai T: +852 3461 9792 Mon-Fri: 12:00 - 15:30, 17:30 - 20:30 Sat-Sun: 12:00 - 18:00

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ALL WEATHER www.allweather.hk

13 1/F Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon T: +852 2384 8890 Mon-Sat: 15:00 - 21:00

| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

OVERLANDER www.overlander.com.hk Base Camp@ Causeway Bay 3/F Gold Swan Commercial Building, 438–444 Hennessy Rd, Causeway Bay T: +852 3695 0871

Base Camp@Mongkok Rm 12-23, 12/F, Hollywood Plaza, 610 Nathan Rd, Mongkok T: +852 2117 1810 Packcity (Mongkok) Shop 229, Level 2, Trendy Zone, 580A-F Nathan Rd, Mongkok T: +852 2116 2707

GigaSports Unit 1, Level 8, Megabox, 38 Wang Chiu Rd., Kowloon Bay T: +852 2629 5009 Shatin Shop 536, Level 5, New Town Plaza, Phase 1, Shatin T: +852 3427 9626 Tseung Kwan O Shop 1129, Level 1, Phase II Metro City Plaza, Tseung Kwan O T: +852 2628 9902

Tsuen Wan Shop UG57, Citywalk, Tsuen Wan T: +852 2117 1720

Mon-Sat: 11:00 - 21:30 Sun: 11:00 - 21:00

PATAGONIA www.facebook.com/ patagoniahk Tsim Sha Tsui G/F 25 Ashley Road.

T: + 852 3622 2373

Mon-Sun: 11:00 – 21:30 Shop OT224, Level 2 Ocean Terminal T: +852 3188 2400

Mon-Sun: 10:30 – 21:30 Kowloon Tong Shop L2-06, Level 2 Festival Walk Tel: +852 3105 1223

Mon-Sun: 11:00 – 21:30 Causeway Bay Shop 730, Level 7 Times Square T: +852 2506 0677

Mon-Sun: 11:00 – 21:30 Central Shop 2, 46 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central.

T: +852 2155 9567

Mon-Sun: 10:00 – 20:00 Shatin Shop 516, Level 5, New Town Plaza Phase 1 T: +852 3188 8138

Mon-Sun: 11:00 - 21:30

PASSION RUN 2160 Rama4 Rd., Klongtoei Klongtoei Bangkok, Thailand 10110

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