How Hong Kong runner John Ellis balances trailblazing with a desk job
The Hong Kong running legend tells how he juggles a desk job, a retail business, fatherhood and staying at the top of his game
When John Ellis welcomed his first child over Lunar New Year, there were undoubtedly a number of men – specifically, Ellis’ trail running rivals – who heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, they thought, the speedy Australian would slow down.
Nope. A few days after his daughter’s birth, Ellis competed in the 9 Dragons Ultra, a race with a unique format whereby competitors ran 82km on February 4, followed by 50km the next day, across the mountains of Kowloon. Ellis finished second in a total race time of 17 hours 20 minutes and 7 seconds, behind Scottish professional trail runner Casey Morgan (16:51:27).
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True to his reputation for racing almost every weekend, 13 days later Ellis was at it again, competing on February 18 in the MSIG Sai Kung 50, a technically challenging 54km trail race in Sai Kung Country Park and the third and final leg of the MSIG HK50 Series. Ellis was third in the Sai Kung race, and crowned overall series champion.
Given his other top performances in recent races (winner of the Lantau 70km and Greenpower 50km, second at The North Face 100km), some will be surprised to hear that Ellis is not a professional runner, but a desk jockey.
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Born and bred in Perth, 38-year-old Ellis had stints in London, Vancouver and Sydney before moving to Hong Kong in 2010. He works as an investment manager for a boutique fund, investing in global mining stocks. On the side, he also has a store in Wan Chai called Gone Running with business partner and local running legend JoeJoe Fan.
“For me, the running is a great counter to being desk-bound at my day job,” Ellis says.
