2XU x Salomon win Royale International Kayak n Run Race #2

Press Release (Action Asia) / 15.06.2015

Thomas Lam and Tsang Tsun Kit of team 2XU x Salomon showed their trail running ability during the run leg of the Royale International Kayak n Run at Nim Shu Wan Saturday as both came into the first 3km kayak checkpoint in 3rd place not far behind the more experienced adventure racers, but made up ground fast on the 5km hill run to get a big enough lead and hold for the final 3km kayak leg from Man Kok Tsui to Nim Shue Wan keeping their lead finishing for gold in 1 hour 24  minutes  42 seconds. With calm ocean and nice water conditions, Team Gatorade SportsWorld grabbed second in 1 hour 29 minutes 57 seconds with Team Uglow 1 hour  30 minutes 58  seconds rounding the podium.

“We had a short discussion on the race tactic and after we took a look on the race map, we came to a conclusion that we must reserve energy for the later part of the race. At first, we kept a comfortable pace during the kayak. I guess we were third when we finished the first part of the kayak. Then we started to speed up on the trail and took the lead for the rest of race. The downhill section of the course was quite technical when I tried to run fast" said Tsang after their win. "Tsun Kit and I have been teammates for years. We did numerous trail running, kayaking and outward bound races together. Wish we can participate in the next race of the Royale International series, but Tsun Kit might be away” said Lam of team 2XU x Salomon.

Just over 5 minutes later arriving at Nim Shu Wan finish came team Gatorade SportsWorld. “Thorsten and I both live in Discovery Bay so it's super convenient for both of us. Since we live very close by, we did a short training on Thursday morning in order to perform at our best today. We planned to take the lead at the beginning of the race and keep it to the very end, but team 2XU x Salomon was incredibly fast on the trail” said Lynn of team Gatorade SportsWorld. “My wife and my kids were waiting for me at the hilltop. When my son saw me he said dad looks like he is struggling, but he is pretending not to. We then ran downhill as quickly as we could and had a hard fought battle with team Uglow in the second part of the kayak trying to hold on to 2nd. We tried hard to accelerate the pace and we made it. ” said Bruce who partnered with Lynn on team Gatorade SportsWorld.

“I had a superstar Antoine to join me this time. We actually never managed to kayak together, so we decided to follow the lead during the kayak, which was a smart decision and we didn’t lose too much energy to run after that. The local team 2XU x Salomon was super-fast, bullet fast. They just passed by and nothing we could do. Antoine and I pushed hard on the downhill and we finished second on the beach before doing the second leg kayak. We went into a wrong direction and loss some time to find back the right way. Therefore, we ended up in third” said Adrien Choux of team Uglow, who finished third with his teammate Frenchman Antoine Epinette in 1 hour 30 minutes 58 seconds.   

2XU-Patagonia with Russian Olya Korzh and local Hong Kong runner Wong Wai Kin grabbed 1st in the mixed team category finishing in 1 hour 32 minutes 17 seconds. "The distance was just right. However the heat today really gave me a headache with strong sunlight off the water" said Korzh. "The sea was very calm this morning, so we needed to put extra effort on paddling” said Wong of 2XU-Patagonia

The top women’s team was team Skipton Power with Sarah Lo and Winnie Wong who finished in 1 hours 43 minutes 24 seconds. “This is my first time joining the Kayak n Run series. I have learned to kayak in my life saving training” said Wong. "I do trail running most of the time, but no official training on kayaking. Thus, Winnie has helped me a lot in the kayak. Last year was quite bad because I went into a wrong direction on the trail and ended up that I couldn’t finish the race. Therefore I learned from the past this year and spent plenty of time on reading the course map. Couldn’t believe that we made it to the women’s top!” said Lo. 

Kurt Lynn and Taiki Lynn of father and son came first in family FUN EVENT category finishing in 27 minutes 43 seconds. “This is a great location for us to race because we live in Discovery Bay. We have paddled here for a practice before as we enjoy kayaking together in our free time” said Kurt Lynn. "I enjoy playing sports with my dad so much. Today's course was longer than the last one in Deep Water Bay, but I think races with longer distance favoured us as I can have more fun together with my dad,” said Taiki Lynn.

Oscar Kwok and his daughter May came in just after the Lynn’s family with big smiles. "May did a very good job on the trail today. She really pushed herself so hard and overpassed several teams. At first I thought that she would be tired from the 1.4km kayak as she paddled the whole way without taking a rest. I asked her if she wanted to slow down when we got off the kayak to recover, but she kept pushing herself during the run against the other families. Really appreciated her great effort and her spirit" said Kwok, who finished the fun event with his daughter in 30 minutes and 23 seconds.

The 7th annual Royale International Kayak n Run series Race 2 at Discovery Bay had a full entry list with 60 adult teams and over 30 family teams with the adult race covering a 3km ocean kayak, 5km trail mountain running loop above Man Kok Tsui and 3km ocean kayak back to Nim Shue Wan, while the families had a 1.4km ocean kayak and 3.5km beach run at Nim Shue Wan. Race 3 will start at Tai Tam on July 11, 2015.

Royale International Kayak n Run – Nim Shue Wan, HK – Jun 13, 2015

Overall top 5

1st - 2XU x Salomon - Thomas LAM / Tsun Kit TSANG – Men’s Team - 01:24:42

2nd - Gatorade SportsWorld - Thorsten BRUCE / Kurt LYNN – Men’s Team - 01:29:57

3rd - Team UGLOW - Adrien CHOUX / Antoine EPINETTE – Men’s Team - 01:30:58

4th - Invaders - Jeremy BORNE / Tristan FAIRBAIRN – Men’s Team - 01:31:51

5th - 2XU-Patagonia - Olya KORZH / WONG Wai Kin - Mixed Team - 01:32:17

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