Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship
Oversea Elites Create a Star-Studded Line-Up at the 2018 Lantau 50 – Asian Skyrunning Championships
Press Release / 29.11.2018
Two Singaporeans, Feng Wei, 49 and Lim Jun Zhen, 46, will be among the region’s best athletes battling for the Asian Skyrunning Championship titles. Both first-timers to the race earned their slots by being the top Singaporeans of the 50km event at the MSIG Singapore Action Asia 50 in September.
Feng, who started trail running nearly three years ago, is delighted to have the opportunity to race in Hong Kong thanks to the generous sponsorship by MSIG Singapore. Both him and Lim also won a three-month training programme with fitness performance & retail hub TripleFit, which has helped them get into tip-top condition for the Asian Skyrunning race.
Feng said: “My goal is to finish the race in eight hours. It would be great if I could come close to seven hours. Nevertheless, I’d enjoy running in the mountains. Although the climbs are much higher and harder in Hong Kong comparing to Singapore, the weather would be much more pleasant to run in.”
Lim, who did her first trail race in 2015, thanked MSIG for the chance to race in Hong Kong. She believes training in Singapore has made her a stronger athlete mentally.
She explained: “You can train in different mountains in Hong Kong and enjoy different scenery. Although trail runners in Singapore have fewer trails to train in, I believe we are just as psyched mentally for the race.”
A strong mind will be as important as a strong body for the race. The Lantau 50, with a total of 3,500m of elevation gain over technical terrain, is one of a handful of races in the world that is an International Skyrunning Federation-qualified race under the Ultra category.
The 54km course will flag off from Man Tung Road Park in Tung Chung and head up to Ngong Ping, go along the Keung Shan ridge down to the Shek Pik area, back over Lantau and Sunset Peaks, then contouring around and down to Pak Mong before heading back to Tung Chung.
Lim’s is relishing the opportunity to experience Lantau’s pristine trails. Her love for the mountains is so great that even an injury can’t keep her away.
She said: “I am fascinated by the charming scenery and smell of nature on the trails and fell in love with trail running after my first trail running event, which was UTMB - OCC in 2015. At this point in time, I just hope to finish the race as I had an accident a month ago and have been suffering from an annulus tear on four of my spine discs and have been resting for recovery.”
For Feng, his love for the mountains requires a careful juggle of family, work and training time.
He said: “I have a family with two young kids, and I have a full-time job which prevents me from running for long hours during weekdays. Normally I wake up at 5am to train, and during weekends I do a bit longer runs because my kids won’t wake up until after 8am. This has been working well for me so far.”
Doubling as the Asian Skyrunning Championships, the prestigious race has attracted a deep international field, including:
Men
· Francesco CUCCO, Italy – 1st Salomon Gore-Tex Maxi-Race 2018, 5th Le Grand Raid De La Réunion 2018 - La Diagonale Des Fous, 10th The North Face Lavaredo Ultra Trail 2018
· Attila TOTH, Germany – 1st Sachsen Trail Ultrarun 2018, 5th Innsbruck Alpine Trail Run Festival 2018, 9th Grossglockner Ultra-Trail 2018
· Josep MORALES, Spain – 6th Ultra Pirineu 2018 - Mitja Marathon
· Yuichi MIURA, Japan – 1st Hasetsune 2018, 10th Salomon Skyline Scotland 2018 - Ben Nevis Ultra, 1st Kitatanzawa 12Th Adventure Race 2018 - 44Km, 2nd MSIG Lantau 50 - 2017
· Tomohiro MACHIDA, Japan – 1st Sky View Trail Yamada Noboru 2018 – 70, 1st Osj Amani Jungle Trail 2018 - 50 Km, 1st Spa Trail 2018 - Ktk 38K, 2nd Osj Okukuji Trail 2018 - 30 Km, 3rd Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji 2018 – STY, 10th MSIG Lantau 50 - 2017
· FENG Wei, Singapore – National champion of MSIG Singapore Action Asia 50, 16th Ultra-Trail® Ninghai 2018, 5th Greenrace Forest Ultra 2017
· CHOU Ching, Taiwan – 1st MSIG Taiwan Action Asia 50 - 2018, 2nd MSIG HK50 - 2017
Women
· Kelly YOUNG, USA – 5th Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Run 2018
· Maja DORFSCHMID, Switzerland – 1st Salmon Alpen X 100 2016, 8th Ultra Tour Monte Rosa 2017 - 4 Stage Race 170 Km, 14th Eiger Ultra-Trail 2017
· Shelly SCHENK, Switzerland – 2nd Salomon Gore-Tex short race 2018
· LIM Jun Zhen, Singapore – National champion of MSIG Singapore Action Asia 50, 8th Cameron Ultra-Trail 2017
· SUNG Li-chun, Taiwan – 3rd MSIG Taiwan Action Asia 50 - 2018
The Lantau 50 will also offer two shorter distances: a 16km course contouring the ridge from Sunset Peak to Pak Mong, and a 27km Skyrace course going over Lantau and Sunset Peaks down to Pak Mong and following the 54km route to the finish.
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