Vibram HK100 2013 (Day 5)

Today was just food and food. :)

Wanton hor fun from a wet market near TST MTR behind ISquare.

This dessert shop was near my hotel. Saw it during my visit to HK in Oct 2012 but had no chance to try it. How could I miss it this time? :)

Bird's nest. Woo lah lah .. :)

Riceballs with sesame in ginger soup.

Honeycomb sponge cake at Starbucks.

On flight meal back home.

Vibram HK100 2013 (Day 4)

Oct 2012

Daytime view.

Shortly after coming out from CP6, we hit the road where we were able to catch night view of the city.

Oct 2012

Daytime view.

The view from here at night was simply fantastic.

Oct 2012

Daytime view.

We passed by the Lion's Pavilion (狮子亭) which was also at the place where Bernie introduced me to the tasty 豆腐花. Too bad it was midnight and the shop was closed.

We continued down the road until we came to a staircase which went up to Lion's Hill (狮子山). We would not go up Lion's Hill but go straight to Beacon Hill (笔架山)

I met Pei Sunn and Alber here. Alber was accompanying Pei Sunn who came back to take the bronze trophy. Alber and I chatted for a while. He told me he had also done the Raleigh Challenge at Wilson Trail in October 2012. He said the terrain at Wilson Trail was much tougher than Maclehose Trail. I could not imagine how tough it could be.




CP7 Beacon Hill (笔架山)
Distance: 73km
Time: 16:02:59

I ran into Terence, Janelle and Osbert at CP7. They were ready to move out as I arrived so I asked them to go ahead.

My impression of CP7 was that it was decorated by a lot of cyalume sticks and bands, starting from a distance leading towards the CP. Certainly gave a welcoming feeling to me.

The next CP was 10km away. I still roughly recognised the route. We would follow the trail until we came to Tai Po Road. That would be the end of the route which Bernie brought me to run last October. For the route further on, Jennifer had brought me for a test run last February. I still remembered the hills vividly. I overtook Terence, Janelle and Osbert as I descended Beacon Hill and continued my power hike. To me, it was some sort of familiar terrain. I knew what was coming up next.

I arrived at Tai Po Road not long after. We had to use the overhead bridge a short distance down the road instead of jaywalking. :p

We cut into Golden Hill Road. We were entering the area with several reservoirs. I remembered as I was walking along, I observed the person some 30 - 40m ahead of me was not walking straight but in a diagonal manner. He would go to the edge of the road, hit the edge, continue ahead for a few steps before walking diagonally again in a zig zag manner. I looked for a while longer until I realised that he was sleep walking. Fortunately, there were no cars on the road. This was also the area where there were a lot of monkeys. So many of them that sometimes when they come out of the vegetation and stay on the road, the whole road would be blocked. Hundreds of them. Apparently, the government was too late in controlling their numbers and they has overpopulated. Luckily, there were none tonight. Or at least when I was passing through.

Feb 2012

Day time view.

We passed by this on the way to CP8. The night view was very beautiful.













CP8 Shing Mun Dam (城门水塘)
Distance: 83km
Time: 18:12:48

Feb 2012

Day time view.

Shing Mun Dam.

From here till the finish point, stands three hills. Needle Hill (针山) (532m), Grassy Hill (草山) (647m) and Tai Mo Shan (大帽山) (957m). The tallest of the hills among the whole HK100 course. CP8 was at around 200m altitude.

17km to go. Three hills.

Here we go.











Running in the night could be very beautiful at times, when you see the trail of headlights dotting the way in front and behind you. In another way, the sight could be frightening too. Here we were, just about to leave CP8, on our right in a short distance away, we could see the dark silhouette of a conical hill against the night sky and a stream of headlights moving up. That .. would be the highest peak of Needle Hill.

Feb 2012

Day time view.

Going up the steps of Needle Hill. Its famous for its many many steps.

Feb 2012

Day time view.

Shing Mun Dam in the background,

Feb 2012

Day time view.

The highest peak (532m) of Needle Hill in the background. You could see the steps leading up.

The tip was covered by fog back then.

The signboard at the top of Needle Hill. Finally got to the top after cursing and swearing every step up. :p

Feb 2012

Day time view.

The route after Needle Hill heading to Grassy Hill. It was on asphalt road but it did not make it any easier.

I knew what was coming ahead since I had gone through this stretch before so I just trod along. Besides looking at where I am stepping, my sight were fixed on the moving headlights ahead of me.

When we reached Grassy Hill, we had to go down a steep and long flight of steps (descending 200m in elevation!) before reaching CP9. My legs were hurting like hell from all the continuous pounding. My foot trembled with each downward step I took. I could see the CP just at the valley below. There was another stream of headlights moving upslope away from the CP. That's Tai Mo Shan.

CP9 Leadmine Pass (铅矿坳)
Distance: 90km
Time: 20:18:02

10km to finish.

一鼓作气.

Lets go!















Tai Mo Shan was the highest hill in Hong Kong. It was a long steep climb up. At some stretch of Tai Mo Shan, the path was not clear. It was just a pile of rocks on the ground. You could see the next route marker flipping in the strong wind, reflecting your headlight a distance ahead. You knew you had to go that direction to reach the route marker, you just had to figure out by yourself how to get across the rocks. The next runner was a distance in front of me. I tried to take note of the way he took so I could follow. Sometime I could not notice so I had to manoeuve over the rocks myself. The fog was getting thicker as we got higher and higher until I had to switch my headlight to full power. At some locations, I would look back and look at the trail of headlights behind me and tell myself "Wow! You were there a moment ago. Now keep moving!"

We came to a point where the trail ended and we moved onto the asphalt road. However, we were still going upslope! The fog was really thick so we could not really see far ahead. I was slowly walking up together with another local. It was his first time coming up to Tai Mo Shan.

We just need to get to the weather station at the top of the hill. We may not be able to see it clearly in the fog but passing it meant the remaining stretch would be downslope. Luckily, there was not much fog surrounding the weather station. As I started going downslope, I slowly broke into a slow run. I was surprised I could still run at this moment. The finish line was just 5km away and its all downslope!

The way down was winding. We turned corners after corners. Gradually I got low enough for the fog to disperse. The view was clearer now. It was near dawn now. There were some locals who had hiked up the opposite direction for their morning exercise. I kept asking them how far ahead was the Rotary Club Park where the finish line was located. Soon there were volunteers cheering for us. It must be just in front. When I could see the finish line, I joyfully sprinted towards it.

Gun Time: 22:44:36
Net Time: 22:42:34

I came in before 24hrs so got myself a bronze trophy!

Yippee!!

Lesson learnt from HK100:

- I need to relook at my nutrition strategy. I seems to be having too much different types of stuff to eat. Some are distance based. Some are time based. When there is too much of both mixed together it becomes messy. I may need to remove the Anti-Fatigue pills and the Endurolyte.

- Bread may not be suitable as a solid food in cold weather races. It turns cold and is not really appetising.

- I stayed longer than I needed at the CPs causing my body to start cooling down.

- Learn to relax when going downslope. When you are feeling relaxed, its easier to go downslope. Its easier to "dance" on the trails.

Vibram HK100 2013 (Day 3)

The race starts at 0800Hr. I did not manage to sleep well. Anxious? Maybe. Archer's snoring did not help either.

Gearing up and going through the items for one last time.

We checked out of the chalet at around 0700Hr.

Participants arriving at Pak Tam Chung from other parts of Hong Kong.

Depositing the finish point bag.

Depositing the drop bag.

Start line.

Sarina and Chui Lan. We always met each other when training at MR. This was their maiden 100km.

Found Bernie!!!

Met Seow Kong again. Also finally met Lee Lee for the first time.

I got to know Jeremy during STY. We would be going back to Fuji again this year!

I was searching everywhere for them! Suki and Grass!

This was Nora. She was the HK100 female champion for 2012. This year, she volunteered to sweep the first half of the course. The dog, Wotan, would follow her all the way!

I met Nora at Fuji last year. She was also the UTMF female #3.

The race started at 0800Hr.

The 2 persons holding the mics were Steve and Janet, the joint race directors of the race. This year, Janet invited her mother to flag off the race.

Our 100km journey begins now.

Within 1km into the race, as we turned into the trail, a serious bottleneck began to develop.

Everybody was moving slowly so it was very difficult to overtake.

Directional signs used for the race. On the left was a reflective ribbon.

Coming to the end of the trail going onto the service road.

We exited the trail at around 4 - 5 km.

It was at this point that the bottleneck disappeared and the whole field began to spread out.

With Kim Lai.

Lee Lee.

High Island Reservoir.

Saw Suki and Shing Shing!

The field spreads thinner and thinner.

Water Sports Centre.

A very beautiful reservoir.

The Eastern Dam (东坝) was on the right of the background. The support station at 11km was at the end of the dam.















Support Point Eastern Dam (东坝)
Distance: 11km
Time: 01:49:16





There were so much stuff at the aid station. Biscuits, chcolates, snicker bars, bananas, oranges, water, isotonic drinks .. and coke!

The next aid station is 10km away. We would pass through the first hill of the race route. Sai Wan Shan (西弯山).

A sign that we would keep passing by in the race route.

Going towards Long Ke Wan. 浪茄弯.

By now, the field was beginning to thin out.

The first beach that we would pass by.

Ascending Sai Wan Shan (西弯山).

Descending the hill.

Beautiful view.

We would go down the hill and up the other hill in the background. Those around me steadily ran down while I was trying to overcome the fear of falling down going downslope.

Looking back, the terrain was not that difficult. Yet, I just could not muster the courage to run down.

 I was on the other hill in the background just now, looking towards this direction.

The second beach of the route we would pass through.

The third beach at Ham Tin Wan (咸田弯).

CP 1 Ham Tin Wan (咸田弯).

CP1 Ham Tin Wan (咸田弯)
Distance: 21km

Bumped into Lee Lee again who was enjoying her fried noodles.

Setting off.

Passing through another beautiful beach.

Cows suntanning at the side, oblivious to us running pass them.













The next aid station was only 7km away so we reached it fairly quickly.


CP2 Wong Shek (黄石)
Distance: 28km
Time: 04:58:59

They used this air pump for runner to fill their water. More efficient compared to pouring them from bottles.

Leaving CP3.

Up till now, I was feeling the effect of not having a well rest the night before. I stayed at CP3 for a while longer to finish my bread. Normally, I would just eat on the go.

The exit of CP3.

The CP was actually next to a jetty.

As it was the countryside, cows like this were free to roam about freely. I remember there was one part of narrow trail where I was running and suddenly a cow just appeared in front of me coming towards my direction. I panic and was just about to step to the side for it to cross when it cut into the vegetation at the side. Phew .. :p

There were a lot of places we ran through which were covered with such big rocks, making running across them difficult.

The next aid station had the most posters pasted around by the volunteers.

They were honest too. "Only" 2/3 to go!

CP3 Hoi Ha (海下)
Distance: 36km
Time: 06:39:55

Volunteers pasting more posters along the way where we would pass through.

Before the race, I had hoped that I would reach Ma On Shan before sun set. Now I know that it was impossible.

The shadow of Ma On Shan looms in the background.

A closer view of Ma On Shan.















CP4 Yung Shue O (榕树澳)
Distance: 45km

The next CP would be at Kei Ling Ha. It would be where our drop bags were located. I hoped to reach it before nightfall. In between me and the CP stands another hill. Kei Kung Shan (鸡公山).

We had to cross another hill before coming to Kei Kung Shan.

This was the beginning of the steps up Kei Kung Shan (鸡公山).

CP5 Kei Ling Ha (企岭下)
Distane: 52km
Time: 09:58:25

There was a long flight of steps leading down to CP5. I was trying to go down fast yet mindful of tripping over. I reached CP5 just before 1800Hr when the sky was just about to turn dark.

I met Terence and Archer at CP5 who arrived some time before me. I quickly located my drop bag and joined them at one of the BBQ pits around the area. Jasmine and Alex were also around. Alex seem to have trouble finding his drop bag. The volunteers also could not locate it. It may have been misplaced among the many many drop bags. They left CP5 without finding Alex's drop bag. This meant he may not have replenished his supplies.

I found my bread meant for CP5 in the drop bag and tried to eat it. It had turned a little cold from the weather and was not very appetising. Terence helped me collected a bowl of cup noodles. While waiting for the noodles to be cooked in the cup (the water was not really hot), I packed and replenished my supplies. Knowing the bread I had kept in the drop bag meant for around 70km would also be cold, I did only took half of them as I guessed most probably I would not have appetite to eat them. I also connected my Garmin 310 to the power bank as the remaining power would not last me through the night.

The noodle was definitely more tasty than my cold bread. I finished almost all the noodles and drank some soup for the salt in it. I quickly putting on my waterproof jacket and wore my two headlights. One on the forehead to shine far, one attached to the shoulder strap of my hydration bag and turned to wide beam to shine on the ground directly in front of me.

Terence had already left. I told Archer to go ahead and not to wait for me. I stayed at CP5 for around 30 mins. Its time to move. The distance from CP5 to CP6 would be the longest compared to the others. The second half of the race was also packed with hills after hills. It would be a long night.

The first hill that we had to conquer was Ma On Shan (马鞍山).

Oct 2012

This was the daytime view towards Ma On Shan. From CP5 onwards, I guessed most of it would be covered in power hiking as there were a lot of hills.

Oct 2012

This was the start of the climb up Ma On Shan. Daytime view.

Oct 2012

Daytime view of the climb up Ma On Shan.

It was a long climb up. As we climbed, we could see the trail of headlights dotting the way up the hill, slowly inching forward. Luckily I had came in October last year to test the route so I knew what was coming at us. I was already prepared mentally. There were still curses and swears though.

I met Jasmine and Alex while going up. I am not sure what happened but Alex seems to be struggling and Jasmine was keeping her eyes on him.

We were supposed to go up to the middle of the"horse saddle" of the hill. 马鞍 means horse saddle. By the time I reached, my garmin was already fully charged.

Oct 2012

Daytime view.

We would continue our way along the top of those small hills.


I saw several firefighters on around the area. One of the runners asked them if there was a bush fire and they replied yes.







After crossing the small hills, I began to get fed up of myself. "This cannot carry on!", I told myself. "I need to move faster!" With that, I broke into a fast power hike. Slowly, I began to overtake other runners, who had reduced to a slow walk.

Oct 2012

Daytime view.

I remembered passing this section. Bernie had told me before the locals called this section the Great Wall as it was laid out in huge rocks and resembled the Great Wall of China.

The route wound through the hills. Any wrong footing and we could possibly fall of the slope on our left. I was all alone now, having overtake quite a number of runners. As I continued my fast march, I was wondering where were the other runners? Had I really pull off away that far from them? I turned back to look and saw there was a trail of headlights moving along another hill where I had passed through some time ago. Alright, they were still there and moving along slowly. I carried on my fast march ahead.

The terrain was still roughly familiar to me as I just did the test run on October last year. The distance from CP5 to CP6 was 13km but I knew I had done it before with each step I took.

Some distance before reaching CP6, I met Archer. He was looking good.

CP6 Gil Well Camp (基维 尔训练营)
Distance: 65km
Time: 13:53:03

I fill up a cup of Coke, drank it and took another cream roll and ate it as I left the aid station. I did not wish to stay there for too long.

The catch was to keep moving.

Keep moving.

35km to go.