HK100 2013 - Race Round Up

Congratulations to Janet and Steve for the success of this year's HK100 event. I would like to have a copy of the summary of the event as it is a nice feeling being one of those who participated the event. 

Vibram ® Hong Kong 100 (2013)
 

Dear HK100 Participants and Volunteers,

Thank you for your involvement in the 3rd edition of the Vibram Hong Kong 100.  We hope that you enjoyed being part of the event. 

Event statistics

Here are some statistics from the race:

Signed up: 1227
Started: 1080
Finished: 854 (79%)
DNF: 226 (21%)
Gold Awards: 158 (14.6%)
Silver Awards: 279 (25.8%)
Bronze Awards: 255 (23.6%)

Result highlights

Some highlights of the race include the white-hot pace set by Aite Tamang, Yun YanQiao  and Ram Kumar Khatri, who were well ahead of course-record splits during the early stages.  Stone Tsang Siu Keung, Andrew Tuckey, Jeremy Ritcey, Jonathan Garnett, Marcelo Bautista and Gerald Sabal were also in the mix before a brutal dog-fight left Yun YanQiao (10:16), Stone (10:19:43) and Ram Kumar (10:19:59) in first, second and third, separated by just 3 minutes.  Meanwhile, Claire Price was cruising to victory in the women's race in 11 hours and 58 minutes, taking 20 minutes off Lizzy Hawker's course record.  Chiaki Fjelddahl (making her debut as a participant this year having been a volunteer in the last two editions) took second in 13 hours and 4 minutes, edging out Olya Korzh, who took third in 13 hours and 10 minutes. No report of the race would be complete without mention of Mani Kala Rai, on her first trip outside Nepal and in her first ever 100km event, coming 4th in 13 hours 31 minutes.  We hope to see her beaming smile at the 4th edition of the Hong Kong 100.

Old Friends and New

But the Hong Kong 100 is not just about the leaders' amazing feats of athleticism.  It is also about the friendship, camaraderie and goodwill between the runners and the volunteers, and the sheer fun of spending time together in Hong Kong's beautiful outdoors.  It's about meeting old friends and new.  We were delighted to meet up again with Ramesh's Team Nepal, and are looking forward to seeing them again at the Annapurna 100 on 9th March.  (There are still spaces available in the Annapurna 100 for anyone who would like to join us).  Likewise, it was great to meet Team Bald Runner from the Philippines and the runners and delegates from the Korean Ultra Marathon Federation as well as Reiko Miyoshi, one of the organisers of the Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji, and Yu Lei who is organising a Dalian 100km.  With almost 300 runners from China, over a hundred from Singapore, over 80 from Malaysia, over 20 from the Philippines and 50 or so from Japan, the event felt like a celebration of Asian Trail running.  Add in participants who had come from as far afield as Australia, the UK, the USA, Slovakia, Switzerland, France, Italy and the UAE, and it was a privilege for Hong Kong to be hosting a global trail runners' festival!

Volunteer highlights

Among the volunteers this year were some real highlights.  The first was Nora Senn, the winner of the 2nd edition of the Vibram Hong Kong 100, offering to be the course sweep for the first half, accompanied by her dog, Wotan.  Wotan and Nora made a lot of friends along the way, and Nora seems to have enjoyed herself even more sweeping the race than she did winning it.  The second was the involvement of volunteers from Blind Sports Hong Kong as cheering squads at Checkpoint 3 and Tai Mo Shan Road.  These cheering squads included a number of the runners who took part with great success in the Taipei Fubon Marathon in December 2012, made possible by the generosity of participants in Hong Kong 100.   The third was the Scouts, Boys Brigade and other volunteers who provided incredible, infectious enthusiasm and energy all along the route to make every runner feel like an Olympian.  It's the volunteers who make Hong Kong 100 and we're very grateful for your unceasing support.

Thanks also to everyone who has put pen to paper about the event.  Special thanks to Andre Blumberg and Lloyd Belcher for their tireless efforts to help us all get to know the elite runners a little better and to keep us informed and entertained.  And a big shout out to the St Johns Ambulance Brigade, Nicole, Chester, May, Kin Hang Hiking Club, Mandy, Michael and Mum.

Donations

Over HK$200,000 has been raised for various charities this year.  We thank you for your generosity and support.  We hope that we could continue to make use of Hong Kong 100 to generate attention and give help to different causes that we deeply care about.

Vibram sharing

Vibram our title sponsor is inviting you all to share your HK100 experience at 4pm on Sunday, 3rd February 2013 at Dance Studio, 6th Floor, Youth Square, Chai Wan.  Please mail HK100@VIBRAM.CN directly to register.

See you on the trails and, to those from overseas, see you in 2014!

Best wishes – Janet and Steve