MSIG HK50 Trail run & hike
Chinese Yan Long Fei Defends Title at 2015 MSIG HK50
News Release / 09.11.2015
Today, the first race of the annual MSIG trail running series - MSIG HK50 saw more than 1000 runners from around the world compete on one of Hong Kong’s most stunning trail covering 24km and 50km distances.
The course started from the Peak and finished at Wong Nai Chung Gap in Hong Kong Island. 2015 MSIG HK50 is a Skyrunner® Series event and also a qualifying event for 2016 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®. Chinese Salomon team Yan Long Fei defended his champion title in the 50km race in 4 hours 57 minutes and 5 seconds while British Marie Mcnaughton won the female overall champion in 6 hours 25 minutes and 35 seconds.
Chinese Salomon team elite runner Yan Long Fei defended his champion title of the MSIG HK 50 – Hong Kong Island 50km race in blistering 4 hours 57 minutes and 5 seconds, 3 minute 35 seconds faster than last year’s record. “It was a great race! I think I beat my last year’s record. The 2nd runner up Haron Kiprugut Bor was 1-2 minute ahead of me until we went through the checkpoint 4 then I surpassed him. The most beautiful and the most technical part was the last bit of the race after checkpoint 5 as it was hillier and had many technical up hills. I think Hong Kong’s trail running atmosphere is still much better than Mainland China. During the race many hikers and other runners were cheering for us, it was very encouraging. Awesome race!”
Australian Compressport elite runner Vlad Ixel came second in 50km in 5 hours 8 minutes and 55 seconds. Vlad Ixel used all his strength on the course and was exhausted after the race. “The ceiling going up to the checkpoint 2 was good. I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch up with Yan on the flat, I wanted to give it a try on hills at the second half but it was not what I expected. There were some crazy up hills later. I think this was definitely a tough race because of the humidity and the amount of climbing it required at the last bit, ” said Ixel.
3 min 56 seconds later came the Kenyan 36 years old runner Haron Kiprugut Bor. He was also one of the overall top 4 runners in MSIG Singapore Action Asia 50 hold in Singapore last July. “It is my first time in Hong Kong and the city is beautiful. I loved the race a lot especially the course, as it is very different from all the other races I have done because it has a lot more ups and downs comparing to other races. Thanks AAE for organizing these fantastic race as I have also competed in Action Asia Events’ Singapore race before and I will surely come back for more,” said Bor from Kenya.
Marie Mcnaughton from Unite Kingdom grabbed the 50km overall female champion title in 6 hours 25 minutes and 35 seconds. “It was my first time winning the race. I felt tired but good. I really enjoyed the race and I think both the course and the support were great. I thought the bridge part would be a little confusing but it turned out the whole race were very well marked. It felt so good just to get out and enjoy the race without worrying about other things. The last 5km with slight up hills were the most technical because I was tired at that time so I was just hard to keep moving. I also had a race a week ago so I am just very pleased with the result and thanks to Action Asia Events’ effort. I was a great race,” said Mcnaughton.
Kenyan Rebecca Nakuwa took the female’s second place in the 50km race and crossed the finish line in 6 hours 48 minutes and 43 seconds with Japanese Sayaka Matsumoto rounding the podium after 17 minutes and 46 seconds.
“I am very happy with my result as this is my first racing in Hong Kong and the second time joining the 50km race. The course is very nice and those hills at the latter part of the course were my favorite because I’m very used to the flat at the beginning so it was not too hard for me to get to those ups and downs at the end of the race,” said Nakuwa from Kenya.
“My mom is from Hong Kong and I am living in Hong Kong now and have been doing trail running for 2-3 years now but it was my first time running in a 50km race. Thanks to this Action Asia Events’ well-organized race, it was a lot of fun. The Mt. Parker part is my favorite as it was the natural trail and it was really special and challenging for me to run in glass,” said Japanese runner Matsumoto.
As for 24km race, 34-year-old Irish runner Joint Dynamics Team Member Kevin Scallan grabbed the overall champion title of 24km in 2 hours and 43 seconds. He has been living in Hong Kong for one and half years. “It was my first time joining the MSIG race and I think the race was awesome and the course was great! Pretty fast to begin with and the hill at the end was the most challenging part of the race. I really enjoyed it. I will definitely come back again for the MSIG,” said Scallan.
British Xempower Pro Team Steve Cale came second in 2 hours 1 minute and 57 seconds followed by Sam Fletcher from United States rounding the podium 1 min and 12 seconds later.
“I competed in the 50km 2 years ago and it was my first time joining the 24km. It was a lovely trail. Contours were around and it was very runnable and pretty fast. I could feel a little of breeze but it was very humid as always. I’m very glad that I didn’t join the 50km because I found it tough for me already even though the climbs came later in the course as I preferred,” said the 24km first runner up Cale.
“I feel really tired and it was not an easy course. It was also a little warmer than expected. We (the top group of the 24km) went out pretty hard and got cut by 50km people very early so we were trying to keep up with them for as long as possible. The course was great and this is where I train usually as I live in Central. Although I’m pretty familiar with the course, I had never run this fast. I have lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and it was the first Action Asia Events race this year and it was very well organized and a great race,” said the 24km second runner up Fletcher.
British runner Anne-marie Bennett crossed the finish line in 2 hours 34 minutes and 52 seconds and grabbed the 24km female overall champion title. “I have 3 little kids and in between running and kids, I would still try my best to find some time to run. It was overall a very good race. I feel pretty good as I saved the energy for the end so I didn’t feel that tired. The course was very beautiful. I loved the beginning of the race but the last 3km was very challenging as the legs were getting sore,” said Bennett, the 24km female overall champion and also the mother of 3 kids.
Only 3 seconds later, also from UK, Justine Clark crossed finish line and came second in the 24km female category. “I really enjoyed the race. Some of the hills were really tough. It was quite grilling and I’m not good at any type of stairs. I live in Sha Tin and usually train near home on rocky trails and there are not many stairs nearby so I am not quite used to it,” said Clark.
German runner Juliane Rethfeldt took the third place in 2 hours 36 minutes and 35 seconds. “Today’s weather is nice and I paced myself well so I feel great. The upper course was always tougher yet the course was so well marked that I didn’t have to think about directions and other problems. I like the combination of the flat and technical parts of the trail. I chose this race also because I knew the course very well as I used to live in Stanley and did training here frequently,” said Rethfeldt.
In the 24-kilometer race, the route included the Hong Kong Trail all the way to Wong Nai Chung Gap and also a new addition of Mt Bennet Loop this year.
On the other hand, the whole 50-kilometer course had 5,792meters of change in elevation (2802m elevation gain & 2990m loss) and covered a climb up to the beautiful and challenging Mt. Parker.
The event could not happen without the generous support of MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong) Limited the presenting sponsor and the supporting partners ActionX Store, OtterBox, Bonaqua, Salomon, Redback Specialty Coffee, Berrytime, C3fit, Salonpas, Oregon Scientific, China Skyrunning Association, Herbalgy, Key Sun Zinke, Suunto, Kitsound, AroundDB, Skins, Oldham Li & Nie Lawyers, Delicious, Del Monte, the Qualifying Race 2016 and the Action Asia Foundation.
Race Info
Event Name MSIG HK50 - Hong Kong Island
Date Nov 8, 2015 (Sunday)
Start Time 7:00 a.m.
Start Location Peak Galleria, The Peak, Hong Kong Island
Finish Location Wong Nai Chung Gap, Hong Kong Island
Distance 24km, 50km
Category Trail Running and Hiking
SleepMonsters
