TRAILME: Will you tell us a little bit about Oxfam Trailwalker?

The Trailwalker was first launched in 1981 as a military training exercise by the British, and in 1986 they invited Oxfam to transform it into a fundraising event. In 1997 the event was handed to Oxfam Hong Kong. That was the year I first joined. Since then, we’ve kept growing it, and now there are 15 Trailwalker events across the world every year. We raise funds to support Oxfam’s work, helping the disadvantaged. Here in Hong Kong, the Trailwalker is usually 100 kilometers on the MacLehose Trail within a 48-hour time limit for a team of four. This year of course, it will be very different, but with the same spirit!

TRAILME: Do you have any memories of the early years of the event. What was it like in 1997? How has it changed over the years?

I’d say in the early years, there were far fewer participants. Nowadays we have over 5000 people joining. And this year, if we host the event successfully there should be more than 13,000 people along the 100K over the course of a month. That’s a whole lot of people! I’d also say the composition of participants has changed. In 1997, there were more overseas teams, and nowadays we have so many locals and walkers from the rest of Asia joining us. The other big change — we have more professional runners, more professional walkers. The gear, the mindset, they’re pros!

TRAILME: Have you ever joined an Oxfam Trailwalker event?

The Hong Kong Trailwalker is probably the most difficult! I joined a much easier one in France. That was just two years ago. It’s still 100K, but the ascent is not as steep.

TRAILME: What’s your most memorable experience organizing the Oxfam Trailwalker over all these years?

On the day, our most important task is to ensure the safety of participants. We have to ensure every detail goes smoothly. And that everyone from the walkers to the volunteers is safe. So that’s a lot of pressure every year.

Back in 2013, we had about 1000 people on the trail and suddenly we received news that checkpoint 1 was blocked, the locals were not allowing us to enter the village because of a land issue with the government. Within 20 minutes we had to identify an alternative route, a new checkpoint where we could deploy water and volunteers in under 20 minutes. So that was quite dramatic!

TRAILME: Now this year with the pandemic, what has been your biggest challenge?

2019 and 2020 have been unusual years for Hong Kong, so we’ve had to cancel the events for the first time in our history. It was definitely a disappointment for our participants and volunteers, and our sponsors. But we’re not giving up. Now that it’s a virtual event, we have more freedom to organize it over multiple days, respecting social distancing norms. We’re trying to make it available to more people. We’re organizing this year’s Trailwalker over the course of one month so more people can join safely. If the standard physical event is impossible, we’ll make it virtual!

TRAILME: What role do you think technology has to play? How have you been adapting to the new virtual format? Was it easy to transition?

We’ve been looking at different technology options. We studied other events to see how they host virtual events and we tried to gauge which would be best for our unique circumstances. And finally, we settled on TRAILME. It offers functionality that we really needed. We’re calling this year’s event Oxfam Virtually Together. We want to create togetherness virtually. TRAILME does just that. The app allows us to track walkers on the trail and it lets friends and family follow the participants as they progress along the route. We knew TRAILME technology was what we were looking for. This feeling of participating and bringing people together even while being physically apart.

I would say the challenge for us is that it is quite new, the team and I have had to learn how to use the app on the trail, to learn how it works, to get familiar with its features.

We’re also happy and appreciate that the TRAILME team is constantly improving functionality based on our feedback. So many of TRAILME’s features are very well suited for an event like the virtual Trailwalker.

TRAILME: What advice do you have for trailwalkers and volunteers this year?

I’d say because this year’s event is solo, I’d advise people to be very safe, and respect social distancing restrictions. When walking in the mountains, in nature for long hours, and especially in the dark, I’d say please be very careful. That’s my key message, be safe, be healthy, be happy!

TRAILME: Do you have a favorite trail in Hong Kong?

I like Sections 7 and 8 on the MacLehose Trail very much, because it’s very close to my home. There’s Lead Mine Pass, Grassy Hill, Needle Hill, all on the way to Tai Mo Shan, the highest point in Hong Kong. On holidays, my husband and I like to walk there. When life is stressful, that’s where I go! A whole day just by the reservoir and the forest, I find it very restful, very healing.

TRAILME: Any parting words?

Participants of this virtual event, get to know the app, learn how it works, it is possible for others to watch your progress even on the trail. We can make “Virtually Together” a reality!  There will be online briefings on February 2 and 4, 2021. We hope participants will attend, learn to use to app and enjoy the event to the fullest.

Thank you, Brenda and the team at Oxfam Trailwalker. Stay tuned for the latest updates on the Oxfam Trailwalker Virtually Together, and be sure to follow us on social.

TRAILME: How did you get started as an organizer?

I was out running in May, and like many people, quite disappointed that races had stopped because of COVID. Got me thinking, do we have to stop trail running altogether? Is there a format that’s compliant with social distancing rules? Out on the trail near Tai Lam Chung Reservoir, I had the thought why don’t we just start people in stages and have a runner every minute. Or maybe four runners every five minutes, appropriately distanced. I guess it was just frustration sitting on the sidelines, doing nothing. I wanted to do something, so hopefully this is a way to put a smile on people’s faces again. Give them something to do.

What’s special about the Lunar Trail Challenge?

I think we’re the first to do a three hour start window. People are socially distanced, but essentially running under the same conditions. (Unless it starts raining halfway through those three hours!) The temperature and conditions should be similar for everyone, and people will still get a benchmark.

Why did you decide to make it a night challenge?

I love running at night. I wasn’t really sure when I started doing this how people would react, because it could be a little bit niche. When people are first starting to run, perhaps they do shorter runs in the day. You’ve got to be slightly crazy to do an ultra-marathon starting late at night and finishing early the next morning. But the response has been really good. So that’s a pleasant surprise.

What do you think of virtual running as a format? Do you think it’s something that will catch on post-COVID?

I do like being able to socialize with people before and after a race, and that’s hard to do in a virtual race. What I hope runners will enjoy with the Lunar Trail Challenge is that out on the trail at night, if there’s a climb a kilometer ahead, you might see a line of headlamps in the darkness, and just knowing that there are other people from the trail running community out there at the same time as you means that you’re still taking part in an event together, which for me is more interesting than a virtual race spread over a week or a month. To be honest, I think many people are looking forward to having traditional races back at some point.

What technology do you look for? What do you use?

Some people find it quite amazing that I don’t have a running watch. For me, I just want to run based on how I feel, and I think there are advantages to that. You really get to know what your body is doing and when you can push and when you need to ease back a little. But I do enjoy being able to track races, if it’s a big race or people I know are in the race. Up until now, it’s been a little bit limited, because you can either only track people at a check point or carry a bulky GPS device — and those sometimes work, sometimes don’t, based on the satellite signal. Trail running is probably the least spectator-friendly sport, because it’s hard to film a country park trail over hundreds of kilometers. So, I do like what TRAILME is doing, where you can track a runner every few hundred meters. I think that’s a good way for friends and family to follow the event. I’m looking forward to seeing more of this technology.

What’s your personal favorite trail in Hong Kong?

A few actually. Some people love very technical trails, I prefer trails that are more runnable. There are trails around Tai Lam Chung Reservoir — a little bit undulating, not technical, still runnable. And it’s far enough from home, so it still feels quite fresh whenever I do it.

How about friends at work, do they know you’re a trail runner?

My colleagues know about it. They ask me how long some of the races are and when I tell them a 100k, they can’t wrap their heads around it. People are happy for me when I put in a good result. I think trail running has given me a lot in life. I’ve learned a lot about myself, and made a lot of friends. Found it almost by accident but so glad that I did.

All the best organizing the Lunar Trail Challenge, Steve! Anything that you have to get done before then, or are you all set?

I’m working with TRAILME on a couple of details. We’re going to organize a briefing for the participants in advance, but other than that we’re ready. I’ll be organizing the second challenge in January and the third one in February. Hopefully not long after that we’ll get regular races back. Yeah, still quite a bit to do for January and February, but for December 4, we’re ready to go.

TRAILME: Why did you build the Peak Hunter Club?

Chung: In 2015, I join the UTMF trail running contest and got the 17th place despite that the weather was unpleasant that day. However, I observed that other Hong Kong participants were unfamiliar with taking part in trail running contests, leading to a poor completion rate at around 20-30% only. My initial aspiration of building this club was to share my own trail running experience with local runners and help them finish the event, especially the challenging overseas events which local runners were less familiar with. With the growing number of local trail runners, I found it hard to arrange sharing sessions for such a huge number of runners. That’s why I established the Peak Hunter in September 2016. The Peak Hunter Club adopts a voting system to ensure that decisions are made collectively in a democratic way because we want to stress that this running club is a platform for every member.

TRAILME: What is the most challenging part of running the Club?

Chung: I think it’s important to go step-by-step and bear in mind why you started. We may want to touch on other sports so that more local people can benefit from the Peak Hunter Club and our activities. For instance, we are glad to see that our club members enjoy using the high-quality products we promote to them. We want our members to truly benefit from our club and we cared for our people. 

TRAILME: How do you see the future of the club? What do you want it to achieve?

Chung: The logo of our club speaks for itself. We designed it with reference to the training chart of trail running with the ups and downs in runners’ running experience. We would like to engage more youths in our future events. Currently our club built a solid foundation in terms of our coach team which consists of 11 coaches. We also have a youth team for trail runners who are 10 to 18 years old as well. Our club aspires to establish a complete system of trail running which includes the all ages of life in this sport.

TRAILME: With the COVID-19 situation in the city, how do you feel about the cancellation of races? Does it affect the trail running community a lot?

Chung: Yes. The COVID-19 creates a huge impact on trail running. Our club stopped all classes as it is a responsibility for us to do so. We suggest our club members continue to do sports indoor.  This pandemic affected our sport a lot because runners can no longer do intense sports outdoor. Indeed, the entire ecosystem of trail running is disturbed because we need races as goals for people to continue their training and purchase on merchandise. Despite that, I believe that all of us should endure this situation patiently until the pandemic is under control. I would advise runners to regard this period of time as their off season.

TRAILME: How do you motivate your club members to train under this pandemic?

Chung: We organized a donation campaign for our Youth team. Runners from other than the Youth team also run for this campaign in order to contribute to the miles which is set as a goal. If we can achieve the goal before 31st October, the Youth team will get the $380,000 donation from the campaign which can be really useful for their development.

TRAILME: As an experienced runner who have participated in many trail running races and the founder of the Peak Hunter Club, you have deep understanding of this sport. What kind of governmental support is needed to facilitate trail running races?

Chung: I think the race organizers have already done a good job because the situation of this pandemic is too sudden too fast. Considering that they have never faced this situation before, they have already put their best effort in coordinating the cancellation and postponement of races. On the other hand, as I have some personal contacts with the race organizers, I clearly understand that the complicated the race, the harder it is for them to manage.

TRAILME: What kind of governmental support is needed to facilitate trail running races?

Chung: I believe that there is a lack of support from the government to trail running. Trail running does not receive enough recognition from the government. There is no official association registered under the government. It should be officially established as a solo sport and more facilities and training grounds are needed. We can only cultivate more talented youths with adequate support from the government. With the current pandemic in the city, trail running coaches cannot get the funding from the government as trail running has not been officially registered as a solo sport in Hong Kong. The pandemic also did a massive impact on running clubs as we do not have any profit after cancelling the classes. The government has to consider granting funding to trail running sports team. Or else, if the coaches cannot live on their thin salaries and running clubs cannot operate on their low profit, they may quit the sport. This requires a long recovery time for trail running once the talents are gone.

TRAILME: What other support is lack in the trail running community?

Chung: Overall speaking, I think the relationship and bonding among the trail running community is good. Trail runners are kind and warm. There are many mobile apps which help guarantee the safety of runners. As I recall, when I got the 6th place in the UCMB 2019, Hong Kong people were indifferent towards trail running. I really hope that Hong Kong people can learn that the relationship between people and the nature through the elements in trail running. I wish to promote the idea of having a healthy life and achieving personal growth that I learnt from trail running to fellow Hong Kong people.

TRAILME: As one of the most outstanding trail runners in the world, what are your future goals? What more do you want to achieve?

Chung: I got the 6th place in UCMB 2019 when I was 32 years old. Indeed, the average age of the elite is 30.5 years old in the UCMB. Lamentably, UCMB is cancelled this year owing to the pandemic. As I will be a 34-year-old runner when I enter the UCMB in 2021, I really hope to break my personal best and get a better ranking next year.