HK100 - My Virgin 100km Race

On an impulsive moment, I signed up (and convinced Alber to sign up as well) for the HK100 race. It was along the MacLehose Trail in the new territories area of HK, traversing from eastern Sai Kung to western Tsuen Wan. The scenic route would take one over many rolling hills and local favourite trekking spots. ... and so the description went. We had heard that it was a tough route from previous racers. However, blinded by innocence (ie. head-strong wilfulness) and unfamiliarity, the elevation map and checkpoint descriptions made no sense or impression on me. How bad can it get? I would mentally treat it like a long long trek if the going gets tough. Or so I thought.

The start point was a hive of activity and runners greeting friends. Flag off was at 8am from Pak Tam Chung park. There were many Singaporeans and it was comforting to see familiar faces. There was a bottleneck at the initial trail section. Many people were walking right from the start. I tried to run and squeeze through the human traffic. The climbs were not so steep initially, a mix of trail and tarmac and we passed by a scenic geothermal park and dam. Alber and WH reached the first support station shortly after me. Thereafter, we ran together for the next few checkpoints.

I only started timing each checkpoint after that:

Checkpoint (Dist):  Interval time/ Total time
1st water station  (11km): ??
CP1 (21km): 3:27h/ 3:27h
CP2 (28km): 1:29h/ 4:56h
CP3 (36km): 1:27h/ 6:24h
CP4 (45km): 1:45h/ 8:09h
CP5 (52km): 2:01h/ 10:11h
CP6 (65km): 4:17h/ 14:29h
CP7 (73km): 2:59h/ 17:28h
CP8 (83km): 2:43h/ 20:11h
CP9 (90km): 2:28h/ 22:40h
CP10 (100km): 2:06h/ 24:46h

The food and support at all the CPs was ace.The volunteers were all so helpful and eager to make sure we were well-looked after, offering to refill our packs, bring us hot soups/ noodles and drinks. Although I only spotted fried rice and fried udon at CP2, all the other CPs had instant noodles, peanut butter sandwiches, swiss rolls, assorted bread buns and chocolates and snacks. I did not even have to use my own energy bars that I had packed.

At first we thought to stick to a strategy-target of sub-2h per checkpoint interval (averaging 10km). That would bring us close to a completion time of 20h. Ideally. Reality was a lot harsher. The hills were punishing, the steps were endless and the slopes were free. There was a lot more cement and tarmac to cover that I had imagined for a "trail event". The trail parts were not for running (either too steep or too rocky etc), and the parts meant for running were all paved pathways. Amidst the pain (ouch my poor knees!). I silently scolded the organisers for giving the race a misleading title. They should have called it the HK Ultra 100km Cement or something closer to the truth.

I finally whipped out my trekking pole after CP4 and experimented with running with the pole. Pretty good, it certainly helped to relieve the pressure off my knees. I regretted bringing only one stick. Note to self - will not repeat mistakes at Jeju.

After CP5, the sky darkened and we put on our headlamps and warmer clothes. Until then, I was in a micro-fleeced Nike compression long-sleeved and a thick compression pants. I layered on my shell and turned on my light. Alas, I was not one to run in the dark into bedtime. It took me a forever 4h to get through the next 13km. I almost fell asleep, was low on sugar (gobbled up a pack of Gu Chomps) and was so close to giving up. Alber was sweet enough to wait but even he was getting impatient. I felt bad slowing him down.

By the time I got to CP6, he decided to go ahead. Cool weather in the dark played to his strengths, not mine. I was two knocks down - weather and sleepiness. He was all alert and gearing to run! So we parted company. Cheryl (Philippines) had also caught up and ran ahead. I sat in the sheltered tent for the longest time (45min to be exact), sipping 3 cups of tea (for caffeine), ate more swiss rolls and bread buns (as I did at every CP), and contemplated whether to proceed or not. There was another guy in the tent dressed in only t-shirt and shorts, and he suffered from Stage 1 hypothermia. I thought by comparison, I was in much better shape. The deciding moment came when I realised that I would have to sit there for a long, long time to wait until the cut-off time for deliverance. That would have been more painful and I would totally lose all the lead time I had gained thus far. Ok, put on an additional thermal top and headed off.

My headlamp was dimming and it was hard to see. I had only that tiny diameter of light in front of every step, so even though some of the slopes were 'run-able', I could not get a clear view. The tea and sugar helped tremendously, I picked up some speed, but only to falter again after 30min. I was all alone, occasionally overtaking or being overtaken by other participants. Otherwise, it was me, myself and I on the race. It took utmost mental tenacity to stay awake and focused on the down-steps (or risk falling off by the sides!).

I got to CP7 and put on my shell pants. It was getting colder. Psychologically, it felt better that there was only 27km more to go. No more thoughts of DNF, just grit and bear with it. For a brief moment, I thought I could still go under 24h and get a bronze trophy (<16h for a gold finisher trophy, <20h silver, and <24h bronze). That target kept me going for a while.


Until the dreaded Needle Hill between CP8 - CP9. The steps were ridiculously long and forever. Never-ending took on a new definition. No wonder it was called Needle Hill. I wondered why the organisers put us through such a route, were they trying to test the runners or prove a point? I think I must have been slightly delusionary by then. A guy caught up with me and asked if there was a CP9. He was very disappointed when he realised that we had not cleared CP9 - which meant not in time for the 24h trophy cut-off.

I saw Loke and Yap at CP9. At that time, Alber called. He and WH had just finished the race. It was about 22h-odd. How nice! So I was one CP behind them. I figured I would require another 2h-ish to complete. And to top off the race, the last 10km involved a consistently upslope trail, very similar to Himalayan terrain - big boulder rocks and winding upwards. I really felt like I was trekking in the lower altitudes of Phakding towards Namche Bazaar! Pressing on...

And finally finally, I saw a directional signage that pointed downslope a winding road. It said "4km to go". For a split second, I felt cheated. It seemed like forever to clear the upslope path and it was only a paltry 6km?? On the other hand, 4km was a relatively short distance on tarmac. I could do that and run all the way back! I did. I ran with my pole, ignoring the burning sensation in my knees (ouch sayang). I overtook a couple of people who were walking. I was impressed that I still had the energy to run.

Alas, that 4km seemed forever down and down, and the end never in sight. It seemed to make a mockery of my effort, arrows pointing, teasing, but still no finishing tents to be seen. I ran past a cleaning lady who cheered me on with "only 10min away". It sounded horrid, another 10min after all that running??!? I was about to either tear or swear in frustration (could not decide which was better) when the coveted finisher tent popped up at the bottom of the slope. I made a dash for it, propelled more by anger than joy, unleashing that frustration. Alber was there at the finishing line, I was glad that it was over.

My first 100km completed! Oh golly, 24:48h of overnight trek and run. It was the longest single race we had ever done. I think the next time I should only sign up for events that end by midnight. .... Or perhaps with hindsight (I now know where I could have done better or improved my strategy), I might even contemplate a re-run next year. For now, I need to rest and sayang my poor knees.