Hong Kong Four Trails: Wong obliterates ultramarathon record, finishing 298km race in less than 2 days
- Former firefighter Wong Ho-chung races around Hong Kong in 46 hrs 55 minutes nearly 3 hours faster than previous record
- The North Face Adventure Team member is ‘redefining what is possible in terms of combining endurance with speed’
Hong Kong runner Wong Ho-chung overcame rain, hail, freezing fog and extreme fatigue to obliterate the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge record on Friday.
The former firefighter turned full-time athlete finished the 298km race in 46 hours and 55 minutes, knocking nearly three hours off Jacky Leung’s time of 49:26:15 set last year.
Wong’s achievement cemented his place among the best ultramarathon runners in the world. He is the only runner from Hong Kong to finish in the top 10 at the prestigious 170km Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in France.
“I think this was harder [than any previous challenge] because there were a lot of hard times and difficult moments, such as dizziness and hallucinations,” Wong said. “This morning in Sunset Peak I saw some trees moving and I saw a stone that looked like a cameraman. I had to slap myself in the face to wake myself up.”
But even for world-class athletes, the HK4TUC is a different beast. It requires participants to complete the MacLehose (100km), Wilson (78km), Island (50km) and Lantau (70km) trails, non-stop, in that order. At 298km, and with an eye-watering 14,500m of elevation, it is one of the hardest ultra-marathons.
This year’s edition was even harder, with all painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills banned. In addition, it was the first year runners had to run from The Peak to the Lantau Island ferry, an extra four kilometres that previous participants would use to rest.
The extreme fog and mist, sporadic rain, and at times, hail, just made matters worse.
