Kremer And Yan Clinch The MSIG Lantau 50k

News Release / 08.12.2014

The MSIG Lantau 50 started at Man Tung Road Park in Tung Chung with cool temperatures welcoming runners on the 7th of December. The newly added 88k race started at midnight, followed by the 50k race at 7am and followed by the13k and 25k at 8am.

The winner of the Skyrunning championship Stevie Kremer won the women's 50k race in 6hours 6minutes 51seconds. “I think it's super technical. This is my first 50k so I can't compare this to others. Very challenging, it's a mixture of running and hiking. Would definitely recommend Action Asia Events races to my running partners and would love to come to Hong Kong again.”Said Kremer.

Yan Longfei from China sponsored by Salomon and Red Bull came 1st in the 50 km race, finishing in 5hours 24minutes and 13seconds. “Being able to compete with strong runners is one of the most exciting things to do in my life. We have elite runners coming from Australia, the United States, Nepal etc. competing in the MSIG 50k on Lantau making it a great race. The section between Shek Pik and Pak Kung Au is the most technical part. I used my hands to balance myself throughout the trail. There was a fierce competition with Joe Gray along the race and I was lucky enough to take over him in Shek Pik. It's such a coincidence that today is also my birthday, so this trophy definitely is my best birthday gift.” said Yan.

A 23 years old Nepalese runner Mira Rai, who broke the Women's MSIG Lantau VK record in 48 minutes 32 seconds placed second in women's MSIG Lantau 50 50k race. “Thank you Michael, thank you Action Asia Events. The course was well marked. The view up there was fantastic. The uphill session was really technical. Thank you for organizing such a great race.” Said Rai, who finished in 6 hours 14minutes 25 seconds.

Another Chinese runner You Peiquan placed second in men's 50k race doing China proud. “The second half is very technical, I was running out of energy bars. Physically I wasn’t the best today. Will definitely be more prepared next time to break my personal record.” You Peiquan finished the course in 6 hours 5 minutes and 42 seconds.

The third female runner went to Ruth Croft. “The last 20km was the toughest. Just put one foot in front of the other. The scenery up there was so beautiful but I was too tired to enjoy it. For the first 10k I was pretty slow, there were lots of hilly terrains which I didn't expect.” Croft finished the race in 6 hours 40 minutes and 30 seconds.

The third place in the Men’s 50km went to John Ellis, finishing in 6 hours 30 minutes and 19 seconds. “The most difficult 50k that I have done. I didn't expect to have a vertical kilometer trail in the race. That was extremely energy consuming.”' Said Ellis.

Dong Li who finished 2nd at the MSIG VK race on Friday night went one better clinching the title in 14hours 5minutes and 47seconds and came first overall in the 88k race. “This is my first time joining a trail running race that started at midnight. I didn't have enough sleep last night due to lack of experience and I threw up a few times during the race. It was really, really dark up on the hill at first and I couldn't see much. Was following another runner at the beginning and ran pass her at sunrise”, Said Li.

The winner in the Men’s 25km goes to Daniel Perez Fernandez from Spain, who finished in 3hours 11minutes and 19 seconds. “I work in Shenzhen and so I trained mostly in Shenzhen. However I often sign up trail running races in Hong Kong. I raced in the Lantau 2 peaks before. The course is was very tough today. The weather made it very very slippery. The last downhill was very technical.” Said Fernandez.

Grabiing the overall champion in the 25km women’s was Joanne Brown from Canada. “The course today was challenging, especially running through sunset peak. Brown finished the course in 4 hours 10 minutes and 26 seconds.

Hungarian Levente Koczka just had his first trail running race today and grabbed the overall champion in the 13k race, finishing in 1hour 36 minutes 58 seconds. “Came here last weekend and did a pre-race myself. So I have an idea of what the course was like. The scenery out there was beautiful, I was able to see Tung Chung and the other side of the island.' Said Koczka.

Annabel Arthur finished in 1hour 54minutes and 47seconds grabbed the champion in women's 13k category. 'The weather was lovely, wasn't too hot. The view was gorgeous. Downhill had a lot of steps which was a bit dangerous as it’s so slippery.”' Said Arthur.

The MSIG Lantau VK could not have happened without the support of MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong) Limited, the ActionX Store, OtterBox, Bonaqua, Salomon, Key Sun Zinke, Skins, Herbalgy, Salonpas, Oregon Scientific, Oldham Li & Nie Lawyers, the China Skyrunning Association, Pearl’s, AroundDB, the Qualifying Race 2014 and the Action Asia Foundation.

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