KOTH - Sham Tseng Mountain Marathon 37k

Pre-race

I will say that I really don't like being late for races. Especially when it can be really unavoided. I was suppose to meet two other runners at Kowloon Station, and one more at Tsuen Wan West. Two of them bailed at the last moment and Vince would meet me at 8:00AM. I was running just a little late, but once I arrived; Vince was no where to be found. I told him to meet at exit A2.

When I called him and he said, "I'm here". To make a long story short, he was at the wrong station, Tsuen Wan (10 minutes away). This is a guy who has lived in Hong Kong for over 12 years. Enough said about that so now by the time he and the cab driver figured out my location, it was already 8:30AM. Now, finding an English speaking taxi cab outside of Hong Kong Island/Kowloon station is *VERY* difficult. So, we had to hop into and out of many cabs and tell them the place, our Cantonese is terrible and it took another 5 minutes to find a guy who said he knew the place. But, he didn't!

He just wanted to look like he did. Finally, he called someone who knew a little English and then we were heading sorta in the right direction. I saw the map before I left, so I knew the proximity. Luckily, my sense of location prevented us from almost missing the turn which prevented a very terrible race start altogether. We even gave a native Hong Kong runner a free lift to the starting line.

With only 4 minutes left, I registered, placed the race number on my shirt and literally with 3 minutes left, the race began. Unfortunatly, I didn't scan my heartbeat monitor or get a lock on the GPX... So, no map. But, at least I did get the Garmin 405CX start on time for splits and cadence. The moral of the story is don't count on anyone knowing the place without knowing yourself. Doing research before the race can really make the run a lot smoother.

I want to give proper credit that most of the following below is a turn by turn direction of the KOTH STM from their website. I've just modified it to make a little more sense as if I wrote it ;( And all this effort, why event the wheel) and added my own comments with pictures for future runners interested in participating in this race. Do yourself a favor and grab a gpx file from garmin connect. Look at the pictures provided here carefully to prevent the same mistakes that other runners had during this race. I believe there is quite a few DNF who looks like a no show on the race results. I guess they have to mark it up as a training run...

Race Start

Start of race

Group of runns waiting for the starting horn

The paved road was quite narrow at the start, especially with the vehicles parked in the way. As usual, I started the race pretty fast and not on "pace".

Low grade incline right off the bat

I whizzed by the running crowd to notice another trailrunner wearing Vibram Five Fingers. We did the quick brotherhood nod and I moved on. He finished the Half Marathon course. Good show mate!

Ranger Post

From the start, the first kilometer had gradual low grade inclines of hills and dips throughout on a paved road heading northward a few kilometers east of Tai Lam Chung Reservoir. Staying on this road, we continued past the ranger post and slightly down hill.

Small Bridge

After about 1 km, we went across a small bridge,

Drainage Ditch

then along a flat road beside a drainage ditch.

Tsing Yi and Ma Wan

For the mortals like me, We had an abrupt change from a run to a hike because of a single narrow lane up some steep stairs overlooking backwards of the Tsing Ma Bridge stretching from Tsing Yi Isle to Ma Wan. I'm sure Michael Maddess from Action Asia Events ran up this with no sweat.

Dirt Trail

After continuing up, it becomes runnable again through a woody dirt trail entering into an open field.

Temple with chinese

We then headed right toward a temple-like building and back to the woods on a single paved track.

Entering Road

Everyone went right past the temple to a road

Field

Then we turn left up the road to another field on

the left.

Get your walking sticks

Taking a paved trail to the left at the upper end of the field by a service shack,

Where the sidewalk ends

 it eventually turns to dirt

Trails

and comes to a sign-posted intersection with the pipeline trail. Then we turn right on the pipeline trail  and

Steeplechase

continue all the way jumping over a low wooden railing

More tarmac :)

to a paved road.

Another trail? Yikes... I thought this was a road race!

Turning left up the road for several hundred meters, and ignoring the trail off to the right, we met up at a road junction marked by a warden post.

Stairs and dead leaves

This keeps on continuing past the post and down some stairs to an intersection of several trails.

Twist and Turn

By taking the right-hand trail

Bam! Boo!

 which soon enters a bamboo grove;

Undulating trails

we soon continue along this undulating contour trail for several kilometers.

Steep descent

By staying on the main trail and ignore all turns until a stepped descent to Tai Lam Chung Reservoir by Kat Hing Bridge,





Step into the road

 we would then turn right when hitting the road



Elderly walkers

and continue to the intersection of sections 9 and 10 of the Maclehose.

Aqua Senior

Water Stop.

VFF KSO and 2XU Compression Tights

At this point, the pace was very fast for me. Except for some minor elevation and the small hike, the course was smooth on the feet with Vibram's Five Fingers KSO. Concrete or packed dirt trails work well with Vibram FFV KSO, but as you will notice my times exponentially get worse with the terrain. I will say that Vibram Five Fingers KSO work well under conditions which have flat, cleared trails and paved roads around 10km. For those who are new to using them, you might want to ramp up slowly and stick with the track because it still takes time to develop a toe-heel strike versus heel-toe. I would say for any trail running, try Vibram Five Fingers KSO Trek as it has more cushioning on the feet to help absorb the rocky pebbles which should help you prevent from slowing down to a snail's pace. I would also suggest picking up some great pair of 2XU compression tights. Really awesome for overgrown bushes and keeping the calves in good blood circulating condition! If you are in Hong Kong, grab a pair over at Escapade Sports; their service is exceptional. Tell them that JoggerJoel sent you... It'll be your way to give back for my free race report :)

On with the race directions, we continue through this intersection on the road toward Ho Pui. After about 1 km on this road,

 the route went right down some stairs,

across a bridge

 and then left and up the hillside.

Continuing to the intersection above Ho Pui Reservoir and then descending to Ho Pui Reservoir. 

Once we crossed the main dam

and turn immediately left up the mountain biking trail, we would gain another contour trail. I had a splash on the trail, most likely stubbling over a tree root. The fall seemed coordinated as I didn't scrape any skin. It could be the fact that I have been falling a lot and I don't have any more skin. Once I got up, I finally trekked left and continue for several kilometers to a marked turn to the right that climbs consistently to intersect with the Maclehose.

At the first water stop, there was no need to stop since I only drank half of the water in my camel back.

Then the descent took us directly down the other side to a clearing.

The arrows pointed us to turn left down a short hill and then bear right on the trail down to Chuen Long.

After cross Route Twisk carefully and continue up the road to the turn off to Chuen Long by the minibus stop, I had my first and only leg spasm. I took a dose of salt pills and kept on moving.

Entering right through the village,

crossing a bridge and turning left toward some homes on the hillside, a few of us had our first moments of being lost.

This is definately not part of the course!

The event coordinator did his best to mark the trail, but sometimes it was very difficult to notice and without keeping a good eye on things and dealing with the run, it is *VERY* highly likely to find yourself being off course. I think it would be best to have a volunteer or pay someone who doesn't know the course to mark roads which aren't part of the race with a big X-STM-X. I think there are just a few locations where it isn't so obvious. This being one of them.


Once we found our bearings, we continue up a concrete path past the village homes and after a couple of twists and turns, bear left steeply up a dirt path. Being heavily marked, I continued up this path across one road and turn right along the road at the second crossing.

At the first bend in the road, I followed the arrows pointing left through a gap in the vegetation and then turn steeply left up hill.

The next climb would require bush wacking as we went up hill on the overgrown weed-fest, ignoring the major trail that breaks off to the right. I managed to get a lot of thorns and scratches in this area. So, gloves would be recommended for the next vegetation run.

After a very steep bit,









passing the Tai Mo Shan Fire Lookout

and bear left slightly down hill to a major trail intersection,

the water stop was near.

This part of the path was quite difficult for me because the vegetation was high and the rocks (sharp and little) were all over the place. I had several occurences of stubbing my pinky toe. As I followed the less defined trail diagonally off to the right across a very small stream, it continued along this undulating trail down to another stream and then pay particular attention to the correct route through a series of alpine meadows. Each time the trail appears to split, the correct route was to the left.

Eventually the climb proved to be a worthwhile sight of a prominent rock formation. The view was amazing. Once I begin to descend steeply down the southern flank of Tai Mo Shan, I slipped a few times.

The Five Fingers KSO doesn't have enough grip for dry loose dirt, so I tried to be very careful of not slipping which slowed my travel time immensely. (note, if you see my arm in a picture; it's not a good sign). By the way this image has been rotated 90 degrees.

Once I crossed over a major contour trail and continued over a small rise before descending down, it became even more keep heading downhill.

Eventually the major trail intersects, as we turn right the trail went over a couple of streams and hills and eventually join a paved road.



We're so lost. This guy orange shirt surely DNF
(Did Not Finish)



The sign for this turn was amazingly out of place, and once again we became lost. 2 runners headed down the trail and another 2 searched around. Finally we backtracked and was able to find the sign to turn right up hill for a short distance and then left downhill eventually passing an Agriculture and Fisheries Deptartment camp. I managed to get lost once again and had to backtrack,



If you see this garage/dog,
you are no longer participating in the race.


With another runner's help we went left down a road which curved around to the right.

Finally bearing left again on a dirt trail, we past a village house and eventually came to another paved path. A right turn to Chuen Long, left us at the edge of the main village.

There was some big rocks we had to hop over along a stream through agriculture, eventually crossing the stream to the right and joining a more significant trail.







(Where's the rest of the pictures - battery ran out!)
This continued down the trail past a village on the left and eventually along a yellow railing to Route Twisk. Again, crossing the road carefully, we would find our water stop. After the break, I joined up with the catchwater trail heading west. After a couple of kilometers, ignoring the first couple of trails off to the right, we eventually turn right along a stream and then left steeply up hill toward Ha Fa Shan. This would join a major trail with great views of the airport and pass below and to the left of Shek Lung Kung mountain which is recognizable by the radio antennas on its summit. We continue down a partially paved path to a grassy area with a signpost to Sheung Tong to the right and straight ahead to Tsing Fai Tong. Straight ahead on the pipeline trail toward Tsing Fai Tong, it finally rejoined the half marathon course. After cresting a couple of hills, I blindly look for a not-obvious left turn (marked with ribbons) onto an overgrown trail by luck. Then continued through the shiggy for about 30 meters and coming out on a main trail. Turning left, I followed this trail around a hill and down to the base of a very steep hill directly in front. I then turned right just beyond a large, fallen tree down to Tsing Fai Tong.

As I continued along the edge of the field to the small row of houses, I reached another water stop. . Actually by this point, the volunteer at the water stop was clapping A LOT (It was a nice gesture).. I thought it can't be far. It was only 5km away.

I continued bearing left around the edge of the field out of the village, past a thicket of bamboo and up a slight rise to another trail signpost. But, then followed a paved road leading downward. I realized after 2km that I took the wrong turn, then decided to walk back up to where I started. Finally, I found the correct turn which led to the pipeline trail and shortly afterward turn left along the hiking trail (Marked by a danger steep cliffs sign). This trail was the most difficult because the cement wasn't smooth and exposed a lot of sharp rocks making up the broken concrete. It prevent me from running and I had to carefully cross slowly. This trail went on for a couple of kilometers to another sign-posted intersection. With a turn sharply left, I continued up the stairs to a height of land. This continued down the other side on the main trail. Soon, I could hear voice from afar as I descended all the way to Sham Tseng Reservoir, crossing a small bridge and climb the stairs on the other side to the road. Finally the last turn right with 100 meters left to the finish.

I gulped down 2 beers and walked down to Castle Peak Road with Vince who waited over 2 hours for me. Everything from the drive in this morning was forgotten! After a rough race, it's nice to have someone that is willing to wait around.

I have more pictures of this race with lots of individual photos of the runners that day. If you see somebody you know, make sure you tag them. They could win a free pair of VFF's

Phuket Thailand Ironman 70.3

Pre Race
December 4th was registration and checkin. The flight left around 8:00AM HKT bound for Phuket Thailand. Prior to departure, I bought 4-500ml water and drank almost all of it. I want to avoid cramping as much as possible. My bikebox is also quite large and going foward, the airplane carrier - DragonAir will assess a $500HKD fee for transporation :(.

The plane landed 3 and half hours later, I had some initial issues with the hotel transportation. I totally forgot that I should have inquired about a van instead of a car. At first the driver wasn't going to take us and suggested spending another 800Baht for the box, but eventually he found some rope and was able to tie down the trunk carrying my bikebox.

An hour later, we I arrived at Banyan Tree Hotel. Once the luggage came, I quickly (or thought I could quickly) setup my bike and tri gear. It took much longer than anticipated, but without any issues. Our suite is right next to the run course at marker 9/19km. So, I should be able to get some good pictures for my lovely photographer and wife!

Finally, I left at 2:21 with my new blue seventy tri-bag and my Cervelo tri-bike. It's only 1-2km down the road. I saw quite a few people practicing with their bikes getting their last spin in. I met up with another person who help lead me to the registration. After getting my pre-race packet, I entered the bike mechanic depot. I asked them to look at my tires and crank. The guy did some tuning and I thought I was good to go. My fellow training buddy, Danny, came over from the 800m algae infested pond and noticed that I had a tire on the back of my water bottle cage but no inner tube. So, off I went to purchase an inner tube inside. When I came back, he was looking a my shifting cable that goes inside down tube and noticed it being frayed. I had another bike mechanic who appeared to be more experienced replace the cables.

Race Preparation


The dynamics of a triathlon is so more exciting than just a run from point A - point B. Anything can happen and usually it's a "bad" thing. I woke up several times that night just from excitement jitters. I finally rose out of bed at 4:00AM. This is normal for me since this is my usual time throughout the year. My usual routine is to have some oatmeal before a race and hydrate the body. I walked to the lobby and took the free bus to the transition area. Once arriving, the volunteers were marking up numbers for the participants. Then into the transition area, I met Danny who was prepping his bicycle which is right next to mine. After double checking the kit, we headed by boat over the lagoon to the starting line at 5:25AM, 1 hour and 45 minutes before the start of the race. At the beach, everyone was standing around waiting for the start. There were only a very few athletes at this point was warming up. Once the morning light came through, it proved that today would be a very cloudy and humid. Danny and I jumped into the water at 6:06AM to do a few strokes and get the jitters out. The salt water sea had a glassy metallic look to it with an occasional tidal wave splashing onto the beach. The warm water visibility wasn't crystal clear, yet you could easily see your toes. Less than 15 minute warmup, we were back on land with about another 15 minutes to go behind the ironman gate to form up behind the chip mat. Right at 7:00, the professionals started the race. With 30 seconds left to go for age groups 18-39 male, I pressed the garmin watch realizing that the race hadn't quite started. I tried to put it into multi-mode, but somehow it didn't happen and I wouldn't be able to record the swim course.

Swim Course 1.9km: 52:22


As the bull horn sounded off, the small jog to the water was the beginning of my first Ironman 70.3. After 30 seconds of jogging and moving upright in the sea until the water reached my hips, the swimming (plus many arms and legs thrashing) began. After a minute and a half, I would say there were only around a dozen breast strokers behind me. It seemed that with every stroke I took, there was multiple smacks to someone's leg or back. 15 minutes later and 600m at the first buoy turn, the water turned more clear to witness jellyfish in the distance underneath. Being slow has its benefits since all the other swimmers move them out of the way. Now the pink caps are approaching with a few yellow breast strokers behind me. It took another 5 and half minutes for the next bouy which is 200m away. Hitting the shoreline was somewhat uncoordinated since I felt I wasn't moving quite straight. I also thought I was closer to the bottom then I realized and tried to stand up where there was no support. Finally then, 1300m and 35 minutes later, I completed the Andaman Sea swim. The color caps mainly were pink and green with one other yellow cap in view behind me. It took a minute and 12 seconds after standing upright to get out onto the beach. It took around 30 seconds to climb the small dune, passing the chip mat and then running down into the algae infested lagoon. Very close to the finish of the lagoon swim, I started getting cramps in my left leg. I'm not sure why this is continuing to happen since I took my minerals and drank plenty of water. Another issue I had was I was about 5 meters off to the right. This forced me to pull on the rope which help me get out onto the ramp but cost me 45 seconds. Luckily, I was able to beat the last 2 yellow caps out which means I've never was in last place yet on the swim... 

Transition 1 (T1): 2:57
After struggling out of the water, I jogged into the transition area to grab my bike bag from the rack. I pulled out my race belt and then headed toward the changing room. I entered into the room wondering why am I here. So, I race back out with the bag. After 5 meters of realizing I still have the race bag, I ran back and threw it into the tent. Realizing I was pretty much close to last place, I had some major work on the bike section. The bike racks were completely empty except for a scattered of bikes here and there. I took the bike off the rack and put the helmet onto my head. Before exiting the transition area, I didn't tie my strap and had to stop. That took me 7 seconds to secure and it seemed forever.


Bike: 3:15:25


I will have to say it's amazing how much time you can make up in the transition area. I believe I figured out how to get onto the bike quickly with only 3 seconds before I was pedalling. I think the key is don't put your feet into the shoes until you have bike speed. Standing there at the line is a waste of time and even if you have some of your feet into the clip, you are moving forward vs standing still. There was a guy who was fiddling with his clip for a good 10 seconds. Within 2 minutes on the bike riding on a paved bumpy road out of Laguna Beach Resort, I was able to overtake Seow Eng Ong#587 Wai Mun Kok#294 both from Singapore and Arthur Tan Chu#566 and Arthur Go Ifurung #528 both from Philippines. My initial speed was around 35kph but the roads were very bumpy. I past school children who would be yelling and clapping. I felt like I was back in Laos for a second. It really provided a good morale boost after a slow swim. In the first 11 minutes, I was able to pass all 22 cyclist but two riders:

(OT) - Overtaken
#312 Jeroen Van Cauwenberghe - Dubai,
#668 Kathryn Rymarz - Thailand,
#740 Monique Strange - Dubai,
#528(OT) Arthur Go Ifurung,
#575 , Craig Ros - Jakarta
#294(OT) Wai Mun Kok,
#312(OT) Jeroen Van Cauwenberghe - Dubai,
#130 Ivan Saltano Kiagoes - Indonesia,
#560 Bradley William Segal - Vietnam,
#312 Jeroen Van Cauwenberghe,
#284 Tommy Yau Heng Ho Yau - Singapore,
#362 Eng Boon Tan - Singapore,
#447 Wee-Haur Pek - Singapore ,
#450 Alexander Geiss - Germany,
#121 David Mayes - Phuket Thailand,
#624 Garry Browne - Australia,
#651 Steve Brown - Australia,
#737 Iphigenia Dawn Johnson - Thailand,
#722 Suzanne Newton - Dubai,
#723 Nicola Hoey - Australia,
#90 John Richard Wolf - USA

Then around 7km there was an extreme left turn, I veered into the right lane and unfortunately I was going too fast. My mind is shouting at me to get back onto the left side but there were a lot of cyclists and a tri-bike isn't the easiest to make quick turns. As I mentioned before, the road was very bumpy and I thought turning would be better than hitting the breaks hard. I was wrong and I was side-swiped by a moped coming right at me. At this moment, I'm thinking to myself - why the hell is there traffic on this course? My bike and I went down hard leaning towards the right! I was sprawled onto the road and within seconds, I quickly got back onto my feet. I assessed the situation first: my body was bleeding on my right ankle and right elbow. I scurried to collect all my crap that fell off: water bottle, inner tube, camera. I assumed the bike in general was fine checking the frame and wheels. It felt forever trying to put back the camera onto the bike, I just couldn't leave it there and it had to be secured properly or otherwise it would just fall off later. A women that I passed earlier either Suzzane or Nicole shouted out, 'Are you OK?' as she whizzed past. After, collecting all my personal gear and brushing off the dirt, I hopped back onto the bike to determine if I would be able to continue 83km more. In a normal situation, I probably would feel the pain on the right side of my extremedies, but I was focused now to just finish and call it a day. Through my checklist of movable parts on the bike, I realized that the bike was infact damaged. It included the aerobar which loosened, and the front derailer prevented the gears to use the big chainring. I wasn't about to spend any effort in fixing it and I knew that going up the hills would be very difficult especially with some places over 14% grade. I lost about 3 and half minutes, but luckily I knew I could finish the race. Overall the crash definately impacted my concentration and the big climbs.

The second dismount was intentionally and required by the course to go up a ramp and over an expressway and back down. I knew it was coming, but wasn't quite sure when. Unfortunately, as I saw the official to turn to the left, the stop came quick. I didn't have time to remove my feet from the shoes, so I had one shoe on and one shoe off going up the ramp. I knew when coming back I would fix this problem and I would make sure my transition would be smoother and faster. Exiting the ramp provided everyone refreshments and another long stretch of road passing rubber trees before the big climb.

At 42K, I started the first major climb of the course.  I knew from studying the elevation profile that it was short in duration so I had no intention to go easy.  I downshifted completely in my one and only gear but it didn't work so well, my shoe came off and that was it for the uphill ascent on my bike. I felt cheated by myself knowing that I can easily ride up this grade with no issue even sitting down with the training I have been doing on Tai Mo Shan (0-->930m altitude). It was really saddening because almost everyone was dismounting to walk their bikes up the climb. There were few riders at my position who completed the climb in the saddle and unfortunately I wasn't one of them. Well, no need to cry a river; back on the bike with the descent back down.  Being in the small gear gave me more issues with my legs, they would start cramping up which I was forced to stop pedalling and coast while I stretched them.

Back to the overpass and this time I got it right. I was out of my shoes before the dismount and had my right leg near the left pedal. It went extremely smooth and I was able to pass 2 guys on the 'jog', but quickly had to stop while there was a bunch of guys slowly descending the ramp.

At around 75 km, my aerobar became even more unstable and whenever there was a bump, it would push down towards the front wheel making it my ride unpleasant and quite scary as I was afraid I would fall again. I would have to pull the aerobar up towards me and lean back whenever I saw a bump ahead. All together my final time on the bike was 3:15:25. I won't use 'could have, should have'. In the sport of triathlon, anything can happen and it's all part of the race.

Transition 2 (T2) 2:11
I was so happy to have dismounted the bike and run into the transition area. I quickly grabbed my stuff from the run bag and left the bag on the rack. From dealing with the bags in the morning, I realized it would be foolish to tie them, so I just left it open and attached it to the hook. I think this was a great idea since it help saved time using Danny as a reference point. I was able to trim 31 seconds on T2 compared to Danny. I have so much more technology crap to deal with so I am pleased with my transition.

Run: 2:05:46


My run was such a disappointment. I started off and ran the first km under 5 minutes. The next 4 were also around 5 minutes, but after I got a few cold icy sponges and drank some coke (maybe 2) to cool me off, I started to walk the water stations. It was heaven in disguise. I just didn't have the energy or motivation to continue at a fast pace and mid 5 minute/low 6. After 7km, the last 14km was at a slow 6-6:30 minute/km. Once I saw Danny at the point, I did my math and realized that with the heat, humid and cramps - I will have to revise my training tactics to rebuild a stronger athlete.

Post Race: 6:18:41
This is life in the triathlon world. You learn to deal with last minute issues and unexpected happenings. I actually enjoyed this race for all its issues. I will be looking for a much better time in March when I compete in the Singapore Ironman 70.3. After getting my medal and congratulating Danny, I headed over to the medic tent to get cleaned up from my war wounds and then over for a quick massage. I will see by next week if this event made me stronger. I just hope I can figure out how to get strong after the run. I was told it has to do with bike fitness... btw, after going to my bike shop, it also appears that my seat post was down more than 1 inch.

LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
TOTAL SWIM	1.9 km (52:22)	2:44/100m	556	85
BIKE SPLIT 1: 43.5 km	43.5 km (1:34:39)	12.17 km/h
BIKE SPLIT 2: 90 km	46.5 km (4:10:44)	11.13 km/h
TOTAL BIKE	90 km (3:15:25)	27.63 km/h	457	76
RUN SPLIT 1: 1.7 km	1.7 km (7:47)	4:34 km/h
RUN SPLIT 2: 3.2 km	1.5 km (9:01)	6:00 km/h
RUN SPLIT 3: 6.3 km	3.1 km (17:46)	5:43 km/h
RUN SPLIT 4: 10.55 km	4.25 km (25:45)	6:03 km/h
RUN SPLIT 5: 12.25 km	1.7 km (9:32)	5:36 km/h
RUN SPLIT 6: 13.75 km	1.5 km (10:27)	6:58 km/h
RUN SPLIT 7: 16.85 km	3.1 km (20:01)	6:27 km/h
RUN SPLIT 8: 21.1 km	4.25 km (25:27)	5:59 km/h
TOTAL RUN	21.1km (2:05:46)	5:59/km	365	59
TRANSITION				TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE				2:57
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN				2:11

Media
Keep in touch with the latest updates via twitter or facebook. I will have more pictures and video in the weeks to come!

Maclehose Trailwalker 2010 100km

Date	Time	Race	Pics	Vid	Garmin
10/11/19	23:01:22	Oxfam Trailwalker 100km	Y	N	Start_CP8 CP8_CP10

Team Background

Hong Kong is a small place and the running crowd is even smaller. The formation of our team was a trek of its own. I met my first teammate, Michael, from my second ever race ran in Hong Kong - AVOK Tai Tam 5k. We would meet up once more on a training run in Kam Sheung 3 months later through a trainer I paid to help coach me for the HKSCM 42.2km. And then once again 3 months later in Taiwan for the Salomon Suunto X Trail 17k race.

Now to my second teammate, Dwyfor. We met at Tolo Harbour 10k (Dec 2009) and Mizuno Shek Mun 10k (March 2010). After racing, we realized that we lived in the same neighborhood. After many conversations with him, the topic of Trailwalker came up and he said he did it with his colleages last year. I said I was interested and figured that finding two more runners shouldn't be too difficult.

I did some internet research and found a club in Hong Kong on meetup.com. A group of them are quite fast so I joined a few meetups. I was introduced to a team but their timing didn't really work for me. We kept in touch and there was a point where Dwyfor and I were close to being part of their team when Dwyfor realized joining under State Street (Principal Sponsor) would be more beneficial allowing us to start at 9:00AM. The timing of this was very close to when I met Michael, so all we needed was one more person.

Then our last and final member joined us through a referral from Speeto (Meetup.com Organizer). Chris is a pretty fast runner, so it was a no-brainer.

In terms of team running, we only met up twice. Once on a mid June weekend training around 20k similar to that of Lantau2Peaks trail and then again for the actual Lantau2Peak race in October. It's not much training as a group but for the most part - all of us were training throughout the summer. Dealing with the chemistry would be a challenge, but hey - this type of thing always is.

Early Morning of Race
Dwyfor was flying back (red-eye) on a work related trip from Sydney and would be landing in Hong Kong 2-3 hours of the start of the race (foreshadowing?). I would wait for him and we would go together via cab.

The other guys live on the island and they would take a cab from there. I met Dwfor at the W as planned - he was all prepared and ready to go. We called the other guys - luck would have it that their cab was right in front of us.

Arrival
Once we arrived traffic backed up 500m from the entrance and a lot of energy was present in the air. We registered, photographed and headed to the starting line. Unfortunately, through the paparazzi and fanfare confusion we lost Chris.. in a picture from another photographer, he is all alone amongst the crowd. With cell phone techology we were able to locate him and he was around 10m from the start - so we crept up passing many waiting runners. With less than 5 minutes to go, all the members were geared up and ready.

(I stoled these pictures from http://hongkong-hiking.blogspot.com/ but since there isn't any copyright, I'm just taking back what is rightfully mine?)

Starting Line
The weather and visibility was nice. Although, we knew that it would start getting hotter. Going off too fast like a bullet is what I usually do, but as a team - I sticked with the designated pace runner (Michael). The pace was quite slow (My heartbeat barely reached 170bps) to what I was use to - but, I was pretty happy and talking a lot of bull. Except for running out of the shoot, our min/km was around a 6:30. The first 10km is on the paved road called Tai Mong Tsai Road then turning right into Sai Kung Man Yee Rd. Don't let it fool you, the beginning starts flat for about 3km and then the rolling hills elevate up around 100m and back down. I've ran this for the very first time in practice and thought I would go hard; and was completely out of breath - finally walking. Thaiquan road race uses the beginning course as well for the first 5km. So, certainly try that race if you want to get some initial feel of the course. But, since this is 100km, 98% of the competitors decided walking is a better choice for the uphill. The High Island Resevoir is always a nice welcoming view to greet after the rolling tarmac. We met up with Speeto from Meetup.com who looked ever so strong. He's an inspiration based on the fact that his pace is very steady for his age. Early on, we also met up with the Meetup Express group, had some jokes, laughs, sipped water and beer and stuck together for most of stage 1/2 (25k). Once we finished Dam #2, around the 10km; this is the point of no return. Forget hailing a cab until 14.5 km later. The elevation runs up 300m for about 1.5km and this is your introduction to concrete 'stairs'. Once you hit the top, you have hit Maclehose Stage 1, but for logistic reasons, CP1 is at the bottom near the first beach. It's a real site going up this bump once the ocean is in view. Certainly an oasis on a hot humid day craving you to cool off near the beach. A lot of campers like this area as well.

CP1


I've personally trained on this course section 2-3 times and even at night. Have a look at my 3:00AM video.. The exposed sun and humidity can drain you silly feeling lethargic - so, I feel we were really lucky to have the comfortable weather with the low humidity and "winter" sun. Although, there was a lot of sweating still going on. We checked in at 11:02, 2 hours and 16.1km later. We were 14 minutes faster than expected. We refueled the liquids and regrouped for about 2 minutes. Back to the hills and beaches. This section of the course has 2 tiny hills around 100m altitude. Once you hit the top, you run right back down bringing you to Tai Long Wan - the best fine grain sandy beach in Hong Kong. But once you get to around 21km, the inclines becomes a little steeper and takes us up around 300m in altitude. There is a rest stop at the peak with volunteers giving out 'fresh' lemon. I stuffed the lemon into my camel pack bladder, added pocari, GU packet and ran downhill for a shaken fresh lemonade. Perfect idea for anyone selling lemonade at the top of nowhere for 100HKD. This would be my last time to be in the 170bpm. Now onto CP2 and the first exit to get a cab and call it a day!

CP2


We arrived at CP2 17 minutes prior to our estimated time at 12:32PM. Spectators like this spot since it is only a 10 minute bus ride from the starting line. There were lots of people to welcome us with a few claps - so I energized the crowd by yelling "HANDS UP! WE'RE HERE! We are here - hands up. YAHHH." We stayed ~7 minutes at this CP by crossing the road to grab food such as bananas, peanut butter and jam sandwich, cold water, instant soup and hot water (very hot especially for the sun being full out). The entry leads into a wooded trail with lots of exposed roots and then lots of steps. By walking/hiking, you'll be in the shade for 5 minutes only to find yourself exposed to the blistering sun. The stunning view is perfect for a panoramic photo of Tolo Harbour to the north and Sai Kung to the south. The hike will definately increase your heartrate even if you walk slow. Altitude from the road is 230m in a quick 1km. No time to rest at the top... 5k of rolling hilltop descent on a narrow trail track. There are some tricky parts and it is easy to fall flat on your back. Luckily the mud was bone dry to provide stability; this is probably one of the few areas where there isn't a lot of stairs helping your descent making this part quite technical. There are literally parts of this section where I am jumping down from one rock to another. But just as you caught your breath, another steep 200m incline within 9km of stairmasters. It's this type of climbing that you wish were home watching trailwalker 2010 on joggerjoel.com. CP3 has wide swings of inclines and descents compared to the first 2. It will tire you out if you haven't trained for it; or even if you have. After hitting the trough, within 3 minutes of steep uphill and 30km into the race, the words which all teams fear, "Let's take a break..."; our teammate Dwyfor started his first of many leg spasms. Instead of describing it in words, I think a spreadsheet breakdown would put things more into perspective. Btw, on a very humid summer day in Hong Kong, a fresh run could finish in 1 hour and 30 minutes or less; possibly a worn out run previously running CP1+2, should finish in 2 hours max. Today, this course took us: 2 hours 38 minutes and 48 seconds including 40 minutes of breaks.

Starting at the base of the last hill and backdown, Kai Kung Shan. Time is formatted in Minutes:Seconds:Milliseconds. (HOW GEEKY IS THAT?)

Break Time	Move Time	Reason
0:42:54	-	Dwyfor Left Leg Spasm
-	7:10:07	Hike it off
0:41:12	-	Break 2
-	1:03:35	Move up hill
0:26:23	-	Break 3
-	2:16:48	Move up hill
0:42:49	-	Break 4
-	4:42:16	Move up hill
4:13:06	-	Dwyfor Right Leg Spasm
-	5:44:53	Move up hill
3:04:23	-	Break 5
-	13:45:37	Run on flats
-	11:52:22	Run down hill
1:22:06	-	Michael trips and falls, serious ankle sprain
-	4:46:32	Walking down hill to CP4

Total Break Time	Total Move Time
30:13:28	40:07:12

CP3



After checking in with the officials, we refilled our camelpacks and it took ~6 minutes to located our State Street volunteer support staff. They were right at the beginning of the trail entrance. It was certainly a joy to see them. They had our drop off bags so both Dwyfor and Michael could attend to wounds and freshen up a bit. There was also hot food available including pasteries, fried rice, chicken, broccoli, and cold soda. No beer though; with all the pain our teammates went through, it would probably have helped greatly.

Considering the injuries we went through, we all were ready to go in 15.5 minutes. Bringing the total rest time to 22 minutes. The groups spirit seemed to be replenished with this break. Even though with two of our members limping, the race finish as a group was still within our reach, although the time finish was severely influenced. We were aiming for 2.5 hours including breaks. The first 5km is straight up ~465m with a lesser grade then the start of CP3 then back down 200m decline, with a roller coaster up and down of 150m for a total of 12.5km. The initial beginning primarly consists of dirt rooted single track surrounded on each side by forest trees with concrete steps every so 50-100m. Within a few minutes, the trail ends and it becomes pavement again. This part is quite steep in places and only the extremely fit are able to run the total uphill road. Dwyfor and Michael was moving forward well for their condition. We were actually passing a team organized by the Grand Hyatt; so confidence and morale was increasing. One of the participant came all the way from Sweden. Columbia had their tents displayed out as well before marker 71 (35.5km). This area gives a little down hill which is still pavement, but a much steeper climb then the beginning of CP3. There is also a transition from pavement veering left onto single dirt tracks with concrete steps approached us for the big climb. It seemed that things were going really well and we even passed #5031 (ECHO) who used bamboo as walking sticks and #0150 (Kong Fok Church) using store boughten sticks. FYI, the store boughten stick team beat the bamboo stick team by 1 hour. With 1km left to go to reach the peak, there was a 164m incline. So far so good; then Dwyfor has a small seizure which he is able to control. The concrete slabs at times are 2 steps before the next one. It's tiring but, bearable. Also at this point there were a lot of individual walkers without a full team. We were very close to the top and Dwyfor had another seizure. He's a trooper. Anyone that has had muscle spasms in their large quadraceps know how hard it is to climb major altitude. Once at the top we were able to hear the wind whistling and birds chirping. Actually, the climb up isn't so demanding as the run down. The amount of force put on your legs was really incredible. Unfortunately, I don't have any medical knowledge to comment further. Once at the top, there is a short ridge line which allows for speed and thus basically is runnable for 6km with little climbing involved. But, the downhill finally brought on the wrath to Dwyfor's legs with big loud wail, "OHhhh woohwooo woo wooo". As I said immediately, "Oh no, that doesn't sound good". Dwyfor exclaims, "@#%*'n DAGGER INSIDE... @#%* @#%* @#%*". The running stops and we walk for 2 minutes. Altogether, a 3 minute rest. Dwyfor kept on pushing like "The Engine That Could".. By this time, the red sun was signaling a good night piercing through the ridge horizon. As we entered Mau Ping ~43km (A point that is a crossroads of ancient trails bringing goods from Sha Tin to Clearwater Bay, Sai Kung to Kowloon), an open field right after exiting the shaded trees, some guy was handing out "chinese" candy. All I can say is that it wasn't sweet and wasn't tasty. I threw it right into the garbage bin! YUCK.

With a hard left turn, we went back to the trails eventually bringing us on a ridge into CP4 near Gilwell Campsite. Most of this section is quite rolling and requires a fair amount of hiking up and down more stone steps. Again providing the right grade to cause more cramps for Dwyfor.. With the sunset to the west, Kowloon to the south, the trail has a ridge section providing a quicker pace on a cement single track path, but then back into the wooded section with more climbing to finish off CP4 (47.5km). As we entered the campsite, there was a sign for immigration. Did we run that far off course? Luckily, I had my HKID card to go through the express line. Our target was in sight. We were only 16 minutes off arriving at 5:29PM. Once inside the CP, there was 10 different drinks to choose from. Ginger, green tea, coffee, you name it. So good, when you try to crunch down 1 powerbar for over 25 minutes. The time at this stop was 8 minutes and two minutes walking afterwards...

CP4
Leaving the CP, we were calculating our situation. Being only 8 minutes behind schedule, and an estimated time of 2 hours.. it would be possible.
The initial section is paved and downhill allowing us to reach speeds up to 6:30/km - 5:00/km. This would be even faster than when we started. Although night fall is upon us, anything could and would happen. During the daytime on clear skies, you can consume great views of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon metropolis. Somewhere on this section, I rolled my foot over a fist sized rock. It didn't seem to bother me; just a slight pain. On the other hand, Beacon Hill footprint proved to be more than what he could handle. Dwyfor spasms were back in force and to top it off, he fell hard and lost a contact. It appeared that anything that required more than 100m ascent climb was out to get us and it did. This would be the last small climb before seriously gaining altitude to the top of Tai Po Shan, a ~750 ascent. Once we arrived at CP5, Dwyfor called it in by retiring the race leaving the three of us to carry the torch (headlamp).

CP5
Even with our problems, we hit the proposed time outside of 2 minutes. We spent 9 minutes at this stop. This area is wonderful at night. To the right you can witness the lights of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon City. If you are into night runs, this segment is a worthy run! Once we crossed Tai Po Rd, Michael's family was waiting for us. They brought cookies, brownies and pocari. Very nice! Thanks again for that one. We spent maybe less than 4 minutes to wave their family goodbye in the dark.

CP6
This passage is the shortest of all. It's a mere 6.1km, but it's not easy after so much distance. We had some issues here with our baggage. It appears that the help from State Street was no where to be found. We browsed around for about 5 minutes and decided it wasn't worth the effort and better to cut down on some time. Beacon Hill all the way to Kam Shan is monkey territory. There are so many of them that you'd think you weren't even close to Hong Kong. The initial route is paved and monkey's love to be in the trees waiting for a park-n-shop bag to ravagely tear it apart. We were moving swiftly up through Upper Shing Mun Resevoir where the real climb started to begin. A 300m altitude climb 2km called Needle Hill after 60+ km would make anyone feel tired and it certainly slowed us to a crawl. After this hill, it's another repeat of 250m altitude climb with a significant descent grade back down. This area; I believe, is where my ankle became severely swollen and the roll I experienced around 1/2 marathon prior was putting loads of strain on my ankle.

CP7
The rest time at checkpoint 7 was way too long. We stopped for over 35 minutes. Michael was attending to his ankle and I was attending to the soup section eating anything and everything they had including mushroom, tomato, potato and even chinese ramen. I even took off my shoes because my feet and ankle were now hurting. With another 465m altitude climb to go, and now almost 16 hours on the feet, everyone wasn't looking forward to this climb. The only thing looking up at this point besides the peak was the fact that my very best friend Danny was going to meet us at CP8. He was a big super duper support trooper since it's basically right before midnight and he'll be our pacer to help us finish into the glorious crowded coliseum of
cheering fans.. Oh, right! That's not this race.. Delusion sets in place around this time as well. Once we hit a little downhill, Chris volunteered to speed off into the darkness and meet up with my friend who he has never ever met before. Both Michael and I were stumbling along by this point. Once we got out of the heavy littered bouldered trail, low and behold; my marathon-turned-triathlete friend and pacer would help carry us individually to the finish line (LITERALLY). Whoo hoo.. We met him where the cows crap all over the place and where the trail is now pavement for 25km. He was a tad shivering without a jumper so, he decided to run up to the top of Tai Mo Shan and back down the other side. He knows this area well because we took our tri-bikes out for a spin up here the week before. It's absolutely all downhill from here until we hit Tai Lam Chung Reservoir. It started out well, the group was recharged and the pace increased. We were going at 6:30-7:00/km pace with the assistance of gravity. Not bad mangled up men who ran for 73km..

CP8
Taking out the break after CP7, it took us about an hour and fifty minutes. This place is the last bag pickup to gather items that we didn't want to carry. Unfortunately, we had some logistical issues finding the place and we went on a goose chase wasting 30 minutes at this stop since it was right at the check-in. I didn't have anything to pick up and actually was getting cold in the legs. Also, by this time with the force of the downhill; my right ankle seemed to be getting worse. Except for a very small hill here and there, this part of the course is all downhill. I tried to run it out in the beginning, but my tender ligaments weren't working. I suppose my race ended at CP8, since I had no more motivation to run. Danny provided emotional support for the really long walk. He didn't have to come out and yet here he was, never complained once about my snail pace. Michael and I definately didn't have much left but to finish. Chris volunteered to speed off into the darkness and keep a warm seat at a bench for us inside CP9.

CP9
Golly gee. Will we make the proposed time? Once we hobbled into camp, it was 4:27AM in the morning. We met up with Chris, had a few words spending 25 minutes for everyone to move forward and to finish the race that we started as a team and/or minus one. Walking takes two and half times as long as jogging. We proved that morning! Well over 2.5 hours for a little less than 10km. Off we went to finish the race... With no desire to make my ankle worse, Danny and I walked the rest of the way. Michael and Chris volunteered to speed off into the darkness and keep a warm seat on the bus. I just remember many runners passing us again and again. This trail is weird because the new ending has posts going down instead of up making it difficult to know when the HELL will we finish? The temperature around the Reservoir began to drop. It was down right chilly but warmed up after 7AM! I eventually came in 3 hours later arriving at 8:00:03AM in the morning.

FINISH
Tired and drowsey.. I completed the Trailwalker 100km. Some reason there were no fireworks when I arrived. Well, now to the next adventure: 1/2 Ironman in Phuket Thailand on November 5, 2010. Danny and I will grind it out for 5-7 hours! Wish us luck and come back again to read/watch more multi-sport adventure racing from a below average athlete not really having any goal but to 'jog'.

Recovery
Race + Day0:
Limped around, slept soundly and ate 16oz medium well steak

Race + Day1:
Limped around even more, ate Buffet

Race + Day2:
Hobbit right foot. Still very swollen

Race + Day3:
Swam 8 minutes. Wooden leg hobble. Went to chiropractor and acupuncture on same day

Race + Day4:
Limp and tender

Race + Day5:
Swam 30 minutes. Just went to acupuncture. Walking well and but still feel sore.

Race + Day6:
Rode bicycle for 60km, swam 200m. Seems like I'm back to recovery! Thanks for all your support.

THE END! I hope you enjoyed the read.



Danny paced with me from the start of Tai Mo Shan to the finish line.

Bay2Bay 2km

I was pretty bummed out with my swim performance on 10/24. Since I only have around 2 training weeks left to train for my 1/2 Ironman; I needed some uplifting news on how I can swim 1.9km without getting a DNF. With a speed of 50minutes on a 1.5km swim, I would be cutting it within 5 minutes of DNF.

Well, Sunday race was 2km and it would be a stamp of what to expect. The morning had a certain chill in the air. At times underneath the shade and definately when I tested the water, my hair stuck straight out. I was even shivering at times... Everyone migrated to the end of the pier and we all waited like penguins. As the time reached 8:28, I figured it was time to jump in. Thankfully, the water was much warmer than the air; and so, after treading water for around 3 minutes, the siren went off.

I think I started too fast - my speed raced to 3.4mph and gradually slowed down to 2.2mph. I keep a metronome inside my swimming cap (among other things). But, I unfortunately never really pay attention to it... but I should.

Throughout the race, I felt like there was a pack of 3-4 of us swimming together. Once in a while, my arm would thrash someone's leg! Of course, it was a breast stroker :( After doing the video, I was reminded of how many times I was thrashed by other swimmers.. Even very close to the end! I guess this is a good thing~

I'm not sure if there was a current to help me go faster. After 10 minutes, I did seem to get into a rhythm. But as I was nearing the finish line, I apparently did a lot of zig-zagging. I need to work on the following:

1. Spit in goggles before race. Lots of fogging!
2. Keep popping Magnesium/Vitamin B/Banana/Salt before the race to prevent cramping
3. Stop going off course; look up on ever 6th stroke.
4. Relax and don't turn head every right stroke (really slows me down)

Overall: 207
Category - 4th from the bottom :(
Overall - 16th from the bottom :(

Winner: Fred Clatworthy (35-39) - 24:05 (what stuff was he on?)