Hike in Hong Kong!

My half-marathon debut plus Sunset Peak, Lantau Peak, Ngong Ping and Tung Chung

Sold on a road run
No denying that I am an addict. A trail running addict that is. So, when my friend Martijn sent me a message that read “want to do a race for free?”, I pounced at the opportunity! It’s like asking a marijuana addict if he wants free marijuana!

But, two details came slightly later. First was that he was referring to a “road run” and not a trail run. And the second “minor” detail came just 2 days before the event. The race was to begin at 6.15am on a Sunday in Disneyland Resort!! 6.15am on a Sunday? Hello?

As a trail running evangelist, I look upon road running disdainfully. How can a boring tar surface even compare to the beauty of a soft, muddy trail? Since when does traffic become a substitute for the gorgeous greenery you find on a trail?

Nonetheless, you can’t diss something without having tried it. And so, I went on the Unicef half-marathon, proudly wearing Martijn’s race bib. (Great to wear someone else’s bib! It gives you the opportunity to screw up big time!)

Rise and shine! It’s 4.30am on a Sunday morning
After a mere couple of hours of sleep, my alarm rang nice and early at 4.30am. I woke up and told myself that I’d have my revenge on Martijn by walking the race at a snail’s pace! I got on my motorbike at 4.45am and rode straight to Tung Chung. I then took the MTR to Disneyland and I was surprised at what I saw. Instead of Mickey, Minnie and Goofy, there were scores of runners wearing the ubiquitous “UNICEF” tee shirt. I was asking myself how SO MANY Hong Kongers were interested in waking up at 4.30am on a Sunday morning for a road race!

Sharon’s half-marathon 101 lesson
As I was looking all around at the growing crowd of runners in utter disbelief, a fresh-looking Sharon nudged me and said “I thought you wouldn’t come!” I told her that I wouldn’t have dared to miss out on this unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of getting up at 4.30am on a Sunday morning for anything in the world! She then gave me a Road Run 101 lesson. Basically this:

(1) There’s no need to carry a hydration pack for a road race. (Heeding her advice, I left mine at the luggage drop off point)
(2) You’ve got to wear some kind of timing chip by tying it to the shoelace. Pretty cool stuff. I initially thought it was some cheap useless souvenir
(3) You have to run like there’s no tomorrow!

Sounded simple enough. So, at precisely 6.15am, the race started but we were stuck way behind; we were boxed in somewhere in the middle of a LARGE pack of runners. It took us about 2 minutes just to get to the starting point!

On your mark, get-set and RUN!
I have to say — there were certain wild aspects of road running that I did enjoy today. Overtaking, for one! On my motorbike, being the punk that I am, I flash my headlight at a slow moving vehicle in front of me, then I hit the right indicator and go full throttle to overtake the vehicle in a gung-ho “I-am-a-pro” manner. Soon as I am in front of the vehicle, I hit the left indicator and get in the path of the vehicle! Big adrenalin rush I tell ya!

Today, I donned the same motorbiking attitude but instead of flashing the headlight, I used my trademark steam engine noise right from the beginning to overtake the slow moving runners. It was great fun! So much so, that I *want* to start at the back of races in the future!

The kilometers kept ticking as I kept overtaking and overtaking. The first 12km passed by in no time! I didn’t stop anywhere. I didn’t even drink water or Pokari. I just kept running. Oh yes, I certainly didn’t want to be “chicked” (being overtaken by a girl). So, each time I saw a girl ahead of me, the steam engine found more coal to burn.

Towards the end it started to rain. At around the 16th kilometer, the runners doing the 10km version of the race merged with the half-marathoners. Because of the influx of new runners, I suddenly lost track of whom I had to overtake so I kept my pace pretty consistent.

At the 20th kilometer, I saw a girl who I thought I had overtaken a while back. She clearly wanted to give me a run for my money (or rather, for Martijn’s money), so she turned on her turbo mode! My answer to that was some heavy metal music and a full blast of reserve energy (I call this my nitro boost). It lasted about 15 seconds and I was ahead again! But, unfortunately, I had mistimed my nitro boost as there was still 200-300m to go! This girl then came back at me in full force during the last 100m! Then Rule 1 of my Rules of Engagement kicked in. Rule 1 clearly states that “You shall NEVER go faster than the pre-set limits of the leg”. I didn’t want to redline my engines, so I backed off. Besides, being the chivalrous gentleman that I am, I can’t overtake a girl during the last 50m. (Read: I lost to a girl).

And, the result..
1 hour 27 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised and thought Martijn would be too! (He wanted me to go sub 90 minutes). I then saw the girl who overtook me. She was stretching her legs while still huffing and puffing. I said “well done” but she still hadn’t caught her breath to give me a response! (I felt glad that I gave her a run for her money).

And so.. the verdict
What’s cool about road runs?

1) Overtaking
2) Sounding like a steam engine and overtaking
3) Listening to heavy metal music and overtaking

What’s not cool about road runs?

1) Waking up at 4.30am on a Sunday morning
2) No greenery! Cars and buses are not a substitute for greenery
3) No real challenge! Where are the technical turns? The downhill stretches? The undulating terrain?
4) Missing the love of nature! Where’s the wind on the summit that caresses your face as you run by? Where’s the fragrance of fresh grass that stimulates the senses? Where’s the mist at the top of a hill that kisses you as you pass by?

Garmin.

The stats

Next on the menu … is a trail run!
And so, after my half-marathon I aptly concluded that I was in dire need of a trail run! I needed my identity back!

Wong Lung Hang Trail, Sunset Peak, Lantau Peak, Ngong Ping and Tung Chung
I warmed myself up at McDonalds in Tung Chung after the pouring rain. Then I went back to my first love — trail running! Near the top of Sunset Peak, I felt the mist of the mountain kissing me and the heavy wind made me feel truly alive! I then “flew” down to Pak Kung Au smelling the fragrance of the trail every step of the way. Then I went back upto 950m in elevation by climbing Lantau Peak before descending to Ngong Ping village. The stunning views of a mist-shrouded Shek Pik Reservoir and the statue of the Big Buddha kept appearing intermittently as the trail meandered towards Ngong Ping village.

From Ngong Ping I ran straight down to Tung Chung via a Buddhist farmhouse where they were planting vegetables in their organic garden. The freshness of the soil and purity of the air cleansed me as I gently ran past.

I concluded the 20km trail run in 3 hours 29 minutes. I acknowledged to myself that running has many beautiful forms — the most beautiful one being Trail Running!

Garmin.

The stats

Double ‘O’ – Mui Wo to Tai O and back! 55kms, 4000m+ elevation!

One of legendary trail runner KK Chan’s killer training runs is a tough run from Mui Wo to Ngong Ping and back! i.e. “The Lantau 4 Peaks”. And that involves climbing each of Hong Kong’s two highest peaks two times! As if that wasn’t enough, Vic wanted to further improvise on this run. Knowing his fondness for torturing himself (and us), he decided to add a little extension post Ngong Ping – a 12km undulating trail from Ngong Ping to Tai O featuring 3 more high hills! That’s Mui Wo -> Sunset Peak -> Lantau Peak -> Ngong Ping -> Lantau Stage 4 -> Man Cheung Po -> Tai O. Then you do an “about turn”, and guess what! You’ll have to do the same thing backwards! 55kms, 4000+ elevation! To put this in perspective, the entire 100km Oxfam Trailwalker course features about 4500m in elevation. In about half the distance, Vic’s improvised course covers an almost equal amount in total elevation. Insane guy.

In anticipation of this run, I bought a brand new pair of shoes to replace my old worn-out dilapidated ones. And, just as I was going to break them in on this run, the day started off with massive thunderstorms. (Nature seemed intent on messing with my new pair of shoes). I didn’t want my shiny new pair of shoes to look like they had been through hell and back so I was reluctant to wear them. But, my old ones were already in the dustbin so I had no choice. I then told myself a dirty joke and wore them, knowing very well that they would look several months older by the end of the day. Ok, I can read your mind – you want to know what the dirty joke is, right? Well, here goes: a lady is confused and asks her friend what she should wear on her honeymoon. She has too many choices of clothes to wear. Her friend finally replies – “it doesn’t matter what you wear because either way you’re going to get screwed!”

The thunderstorms didn’t seem to do much to intimidate the runners. We almost had full attendance. Martin showed up sporting a scruffy, unshaven look to intimidate the mountains while the rest of us showed up looking all gung-ho, ready for some trail torture.

Steven Sparksman, my Trailwalker teammate for several years, once ruled that all runs that begin from Mui Wo have to begin at the Mui Wo postbox right beside the ferry pier. Knowing very well that he’d be tracking our start and performance the same way NASA tracks Curiosity, we made sure that we took our group photo right by the postbox.

The formidable group by our beloved green postbox

Continue reading about the Trail Torture experience

Securing bragging rights by bagging 4 peaks in Lantau

Legendary trail runner KK Chan has several secrets to his success. One of them is a killer 31km training run in Lantau. It goes like this – Mui Wo->Nam Shan->Sunset Peak->Pak Kung Au->Lantau Peak->Ngong Ping->some itty bitty part of the Lantau Trail … AND BACK! We’re talking about something like 2,500m of elevation gain in 31kms. Now you know why they’re such a fit bunch!

We “borrowed” this page from KK’s training book and organized a similar run. 17 runners showed up for this unique opportunity to bag 4 peaks. We assembled nice and early at 7.30am by the postbox in Mui Wo ferry pier. I was about to deliver a prepared keynote speech on Lantau’s rich cultural heritage but I got booed down even before I could begin. What the group found far more interesting was a discussion on how to best wear a Heart Rate Monitor. And, Alice’s revelation on Heart Rate Monitors sparked an immediate widespread interest. She stated an incredible fact which has the potential of delivering a fatal blow to the Vaseline industry while propelling the makers of Heart Rate Monitors to a whole new level. Additionally, it also has the benefit of saving several thousand liters of male blood. Ok, in the interest of complete fairness and unbiased reporting, I have to say that I am not in any way affiliated to either the Vaseline industry or the makers of Heart Rate Monitors. Anyway, enough of this suspense, what she said was -get this – male trail runners can wear their HRM monitors around their nipples to prevent that dreadful chaffing! No more discomfort, no more blood loss, just satisfaction (and an accurate heart rate reading).

Detailed discussion on how to wear a Heart Rate Monitor

Prior to our run, I made the Two Commandments of HKTR Trail Running crystal clear to everyone.
Continue reading about how we bagged 4 peaks

Running the full Lantau Trail … well, until Shek Pik

The 68km Lantau Trail and I share a love-hate relationship. Well, more of love now but back in 2009, there was plenty of hate. That’s because every single time I was determined to complete running the whole trail or even large chunks of it, I’d invariably end up being cooked by the sun. I still remember hiking up Man Cheung Po (Stage 4) in the summer of 2009. The sun was so strong that by the time I reached the peak of a hill just before Tai O, I was walking in a zigzag path like a drunk man. I was forced to nap by the peak under the shade of some shrubs to recover from a heatstroke. The sun has been responsible for terminating many of my runs prematurely.

Today, as part of Steven’s “farewell” runs, we decided to run the whole of the Lantau Trail. We were pretty determined to complete the run despite a strong, looming threat from the sun. 9 runners showed up to rise to the challenge and we were off to a relatively easy start at 8.20am.

As we were running up the concrete trail from Mui Wo to Nam Shan, ace runner Jeremy Ritcey came speeding at us from the opposite direction. I high-fived him as he ran past us, creating a strong waft of breeze. We deliberately kept the pace rather easy in anticipation of a few bazookas from the sun. However, the Gods of nature had a different kind of bazooka for us, the thunder bazooka! The skies burst open for a few minutes resulting in a heavy downpour that transformed all visible trails into flowing streams. There was no point in trying to save my semi-new pair of shoes from a total immersion in water. In fact, even Michael Jackson, with all his moonwalking prowess, couldn’t have avoided getting his feet wet. So, I switched to Plan B – jumping up and down in puddles of water and splashing it everywhere, much like a small kid in a bathtub. Awesome fun! Although, probably not so great for my shoes. Nature owes me a new pair of shoes.

The deluge was a welcome gift from nature as the breeze and relatively cool weather saved us from being cooked by the sun. But, unfortunately, as the famous Axl Rose has declared, “nothing lasts forever even cold November rain”. Well, Axl wrongly thinks that rain + cold weather is actually a bad thing but I bet he has never gone trail running in Hong Kong during May. Anyway, we reached Pak Kung Au in about 2 hours, with all 9 runners still going strong. Much to our surprise, we saw Jeremy again, this time with two of his teammates, and they were now running in the same direction as us! I should have asked him but it looked like he was running parts of this course twice! His team overtook us on the climb to Lantau Peak.

3 hours later, we were close to Ngong Ping where we had a deja vu. It was Jeremy again! This time he was again running backwards, probably all the way back to Mui Wo, to keep an appointment with his wife! We derived some inspiration from his abundant energy and continued to keep running. Soon, we reached the touristy 7-11 in Disney Buddha (Ngong Ping). As usual, there were scores of tourists all over the place, invariably carrying massive cameras and taking pictures of anything and everything under the sun. Buddha seemed to have been transformed into a Disney character from a spiritual guru. But, on the positive side, the place did attract a lot of hot girls. Not sure what Buddha’s view on that is. But, as I was explaining this to teammate Romain, he agreed with my view on “hot girls” but warned that some “hot training” was also coming up next.

He wasn’t kidding. Just like The Terminator “will be back”, so will the sun! And, boy was it hot! Stage 4 of the Lantau Trail (Man Cheung Po) is probably the best part of the whole Lantau Trail but unfortunately, it’s totally exposed. This is why I invariably get cooked on this stage. But, all these years of training have made me a wiser man. I now know how to regulate body temperature better. But, this stage did take two runners away from us. Lawrence had to leave at Tai O with a knee problem and Olivia twisted her ankle.

Romain, Vic and I continued at the front while Pig and his friends decided to stop in Tai O briefly for lunch. We had done close to 40km of running and it clearly looked like the accomplishment of completing the whole of the Lantau Trail was well within reach, especially since the sun had again shown mercy and hid above a new cover of clouds.

But, after a boring reservoir run to Shek Pik, I had to make an executive decision. I had to decide between completing the whole trail with Romain and Vic or taking a bus back to Tung Chung at Shek Pik. The former option meant I’d get back home only by 9.30pm while the latter option meant a pizza + spaghetti in Tung Chung. My stomach made the decision. Romain and Vic were more disciplined and, at the time of writing this, they are probably somewhere close to Mui Wo!

Summary:
Roughly 42km, no Garmin record unfortunately.
Garmin ran out of power in the middle of the run as I made a rookie mistake and forgot to charge it. (I guess sometimes even monkeys fall from trees..)

Having seen enough of Sai Kung and Tai Po in the recent past, I decided to take the fun to good old Lantau. So, pulled out the oldest run in the book.

Mui Wo -> Sunset Peak -> Lantau Peak -> Ngong Ping -> Tung Chung (via the road)

Quiet morning and plenty of schoolkids were out on the trails carrying heavy backpacks and probably going out camping for the first time. Several of them wore big frowns on their faces. They didn’t quite seem the I-have-fallen-in-love-with-nature kind!

I saw Keith (winner of Sydney Trailwalker) near Sunset peak and ran with him all the way to Tung Chung.

Stats:
Mui Wo to Nam Shan: 13 mins 42 secs
Nam Shan to Sunset Peak to Saddle: 1 hour 8 mins
(Mui Wo to Sunset to Saddle: 1 hour 21 mins)
Saddle to Lantau Peak: 44 mins 52 secs
Lantau Peak to Ngong Ping: 13 mins 50 secs
Ngong Ping to Tung Chung MTR: 38 mins 28 secs

(some breaks here and there waiting for Keith)

Total: 3 hours 10 mins; 20.29km

Garmin.

GPX.

Another super hot 33 degrees day. Had to control speed and reduce power to ease breathing. Heavy breathing causes dry and hot air to enter the system which has a detrimental effect on the body.

Was choosing between Plover Cove, Sai Kung and Pat Sin Leng in the morning but ended up going to Lantau! Target was to do Mui Wo->Sunset->Lantau->Ngong Ping->Tung Chung (road) in 3 hrs 30 minutes.

Start:
0955 at Mui Wo Ferry Pier
Mui Wo Ferry Pier to Nam Shan: 15 mins 4 secs
Nam Shan to the turnoff on the way to Sunset Peak to Lin Fa Shan: 38 mins 47 secs
(Mui Wo to turnoff: 53 mins [kind of slow])
Turnoff to Pak Kung Au (saddle): 31 mins 13 secs
(Mui Wo->Nam Shan->Sunset->Pak kung Au: 1 hour 24 mins)
Pak Kung Au to Lantau Peak: 52 mins 47 secs
Lantau Peak to Ngong Ping (Wisdom sticks): 15 mins 1 sec
Wisdom Sticks to Tea Garden Cafe + refueling: 10 mins 8 secs
Tea Garden Cafe to Tung Chung MTR station: 44 min 31 secs

Overall
Time: 03:27:35
Distance: 20.54 km
Elevation Gain: 1,439 m

Ferry cost 21 bucks (ordinary ferry) – talk about inflation!
Got ripped off as usual in Ngong Ping: 9 bucks for water and 9 bucks for coke
Saw a bunch of cyclists carrying their mountain bikes to Sunset Peak from Pak Kung Au! Not easy! Saw them again when I finished in Tung Chung!

Garmin.

GPX.

There are some who might think that a 70km trail run on a Sunday is a little extreme. Fortunately, we are not one of those people.

Idea was to give the whole 70km a go. Temperature seemed alright. 25 degrees, cloudy weather but very high humidity. We caught the ferry from Central at 0700 in the morning and started running at about 0805.

No significant issues until we reached Fan Lau. I had chaffing issues and a teeny weeny sprain on my left leg (I think I twisted it slightly on one of the rocks). But, that was too minor to pose a threat. What did pose a threat thought was some super duper, ultra strong thunderstorm which got us 100% wet and sent visibility to a new low. Trails were dark and it was hard to see. So, insisted of persisting, which would have put us in the dark without torches, we abandoned at close to 50km!

Overall
Time: 07:42:05
Distance: 49.16 km
Elevation Gain: 2,377 m
Calories: 3,148 C

Garmin.

GPX.

First hot Saturday for the year! Temperature was about 23-25 degrees.

The Star Ferry pier has so much “in-your-face” Citibank advertisements! You can’t get away from it. They seem to have one heck of a humongous marketing budget.

Anyway, started running from Mui Wo at 0927. Sunset Peak was more like sunny peak and the hot weather took its toll on me. Speed went down quite a bit compared to the usual times.

Start time: 0927
Mui Wo -> Nam Shaan (road): 13 minutes 44 seconds
Nam Shaan -> Sunset Peak -> Pak Kung Au: 1 hour 18 minutes [had to stop for a minute on the trail for power]
Pak Kung Au -> Lantau Peak: 47 minutes 43 secs
Lantau Peak -> Ngong Ping: 17 minutes 42 secs
(making calls to rendezvous with fellow lunch goers/hikers): 6 minutes 27 secs
Ngong Ping -> Stage 3 -> Ngong Ping: 25 minutes 54 secs

Ngong Ping -> Tung Chung: 44 minutes

Garmin.

GPX.

Idea was to do the entire 70km of the Lantau Trail. Mui Wo -> Sunset Peak -> Lantau Peak -> Ngong Ping -> Lantau Trail to Ngong Ping City -> Man Cheung Po -> Tai O -> Fan Lau -> Shui Hao -> Pui O -> Mui Wo.

Ferry to Mui Wo was to depart from Central at 0710. Like a VIP, I made it to Central Ferry Pier exactly at 0708 (actually, VIPs are supposed to be late. But, being a VIP today meant missing the ferry, so was almost a VIP today). Met Vic and Romain there. Ferry reached Mui Wo at 0740.

First on the agenda for the day was to reduce liquid content in the bladder. Some people call this peeing. So, followed Vic to the public toilet. He headed straight into the female toilet. I paused for a second. Realized that THAT wasn’t on the agenda for the day, so rightly headed next door to the male toilet. Vic soon followed claiming to have made a mistake although Romain and I had our suspicions.

Next on the agenda for the day was to protect myself from any radiation fallout from Japan. Hong Kongers and mainland China guys cleverly consume and hoard salt for this purpose. Actually, Hong Kongers are hoarding and selling the salt to mainlanders for a good profit. (Profits always come before safety here in Hong Kong). However, being the smart guy that I am, I realized that salt was useless for this purpose. Instead, I wore this anti-radiation suit today.

7-11 “anti-radiation” poncho

As an added bonus, it also serves as a raincoat/windbreaker, especially useful for rainy days like today when no one else seemed to venture out for a hike.

The run started at 0750. Very good pace. Ngong Ping was especially fascinating. There were several moments where we were running into the oncoming cool mist. It’s the sort of feeling you get when you know that you have had an excellent return from nature for daring to get up at 0600 in the morning and venturing out in the rain. The beauty of nature!

After a meal at Ngong Ping, we were on our way to Man Cheung Po. Trails there were especially beautiful. Rain adds more embellishment to nature. Brings out a natural fragrance from the soil and when the mist clears up at times, it provides a crisp, pollution-free view from the top. After absorbing more of this natural beauty, we eventually reached Tai O where Vic was to buy water.

When it came time to pay for the water, Vic appeared anxious. He realized much to his frustration that he had lost his wallet! After a few frantic and futile searches, we had a change in the agenda for the day. It changed from completing the 70km Lantau trail to finding Vic’s wallet! We headed back to Ngong Ping (by bus, of course!) and searched in 7-11. When that proved unsuccessful, we jogged to the Man Cheung Po trail and went about 25 minutes into the trail again. Falling short of luck, Vic had to write off 800 bucks and cancel all his credit cards! So, this attempted run has been dubbed “Vic’s 800 bucker hike”.

Penultimate on the agenda for the day, we took a bus back to Mui Wo and took our group picture!

Jubilation over finishing (by bus)

And ultimately on the agenda for the day was some much needed good. Excellent Chow Main with Tou Fu.

Food for an empty stomach brings a smile on the face!

Stats:
Time: 04:45:18
Distance: 28.28 km
Elevation Gain: 1,793 m

Garmin.

GPX.

Plan was to do Mui Wo -> Sunset -> Lantau Peak -> Tung Chung in 3 hours 30 minutes. Took the slow ferry from Central at 0900 (20 minutes slower than the fast ferry but almost half the price!) Besides, you get fresh sea breeze as an added bonus instead of being stuck in some smelly air conditioned cabin.

Start time: 0958 HKT

From Mui Wo (public toilet neat the ferry terminal) to Nam Shan: 13 minutes 26 seconds
From Nam Shan to the part where you take a right to Tung Chung on the Sunset trail: 41 mins 56 secs
From that right turn to Pak Kung Au: 23 mins 25 secs

(From Mui Wo -> Sunset -> Pak Kung Au): About 1 hour 16 minutes

From Pak Kung Au to Lantau Peak Summit: 44 mins 21 seconds
From Lantau Peak to Wisdom Sticks (Ngong Ping): 16 mins 14 secs

(From Pak Kung Au -> Lantau Peak -> Ngong Ping) : 1 hour

From Ngong Ping to Tung Chung MTR station (just took the road trail near Wisdom Sticks): 46 mins 13 secs
(including a break for Coke/Water)

Total: Mui Wo -> Sunset Peak -> Lantau Peak -> Tung Chung: 20.35km (3 hours 5 minutes)
Elevation gain: 1,417 m