MSIG Lantau 50 - Asian Skyrunning Championship
Star-Studded Field Set for Hong Kong Asian Skyrunning Championships
Press Release / 20.10.2016
Hong Kong has once again been selected by the International Skyrunning Federation to host the Asian Skyrunning Championships for the second straight year, and a bumper crop of the world’s best trail runners have signed up to compete in the event in December.
Lantau, the verdant island situated in southwest Hong Kong, sets the stage for this year’s championships, which comprises of the MSIG Lantau VK (vertical kilometre) and the MSIG Lantau 50 (includes a 27km SkyRace and a 50km Ultra SkyMarathon). Tangled with technical trail and home to Lantau Peak (934 metres) and Sunset Peak (898m), the second and third highest peaks respectively in Hong Kong, Lantau Island will most definitely challenge even the highest calibre athletes.
France’s Caroline Chaverot, the reigning world Skyrunning champion and 2016 Ultra Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB) winner, along with fellow countryman Ludovic Pommeret, the 2016 UTMB men’s winner, spearhead the star-studded international field. Chaverot, who will compete in the VK and Ultra SkyMarathon, will be racing in Asia for the first time. But Pommeret is no stranger to the region, having notched wins in Japan previously.
“I have run twice in Japan, winning the 50km Kanna Mountain Run in 2015 and the 71km Hasetsune Cup in 2010. I am hoping again for a good result at the Asian Skyrunning Championships MSIG race on Lantau in December,” says Pommeret.
Other international elite runners include Julien Chorier, who was part of the winning team for the 2012 Oxfam Trailwalker 100km race in Hong Kong, fellow Frenchmen Nicolas Martin, Greg Vollet and Maud Gobert, Spain’s Cristofer Clemente (2016 Skyrunner Ultra Series champion), Jan Bartas from Czech Republic, Norwegians Eirik Haugsnes (winner of the 2014 Tromso Skyrace) and Rolf Einar Jensen (top 10 in VK), Kenya’s Haron Kiprugut Bor and American Cody Lind (runner-up in the US Skyrunning series).
Nepal’s Samir Tamang, defending Asian Skyrunning champion, headlines the pack of elite Asian runners who have confirmed participation in this year’s race. Tamang won last year’s inaugural Asian Skyrunning Championships 50km Ultra SkyMarathon held in February in Sai Kung, Hong Kong in 4 hours 58 minutes 40 seconds. Other Asian runners to look out for include Dong Li, one of the fastest female trail runners in mainland China; Jacky Leung, a top Hong Kong runner with the Salomon team; two young Taiwan runners Kuo Wan-ting (women’s champion of 2015 MSIG Taiwan Action Asia 50) and Chen Hsiu-ching (women’s champion of the 2016 Action Asia X-Trail Taiwan 17km race) and Singapore’s Lynn Woo (first local woman in the MSIG Singapore Action Asia 50km race).
The MSIG Lantau VK will take place on Friday December 2. Starting at Tong Fuk Beach, the course climbs 950m over 5km to finish on Lantau Peak. On Sunday December 4, both the 27km Skyrace (over 2,000m elevation gain) and 50km Ultra SkyMarathon (over 3,400m elevation gain) will be held concurrently, starting and ending at Tung Chung. The top three Asian-born runners in each race will be awarded championship medals.
“The course is technical for an international Skyrunning race,” says Hong Kong runner Jacky Leung. “The experience of joining Matterhorn Ultraks in Zermatt, Switzerland gave me insights about fast uphill and downhill ability along technical trails at high altitude. For the HK MSIG series, there is a mixture of terrain including soft trails, rocky trails, stairs and pavement. Athletes need to be all-rounded and skilled on running on different kinds of terrain.”
Mr. Kenneth J. Reid, MSIG’s Chief Executive Officer, says: “MSIG is honoured to host the Asian Skyrunning Championships for the second consecutive year. Hong Kong is an excellent stage for international trail running events as it has beautiful landscape, trails and scenery, not to mention the first-class facilities provided to meet the needs of international runners. In 2013, the MSIG HK50 race series was the first race series certified by the International Skyrunning Federation for two races, namely the 28km Skyrace and the 50km Ultra SkyMarathon in Hong Kong. Being the title sponsor of the 2016 Asian Skyrunning Championships, it is an honour for MSIG to partner with Action Asia Events to bring a unique running experience for HK runners to compete with world-class trail runners, and to inspire them to go above and beyond – which is also the core value of the MSIG brand.”
The event is possible due to the generous support of presenting sponsor MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong) Limited and supporting partners ActionX Store, Hoka One One, Herbalgy, OtterBox, C3fit, Oregon Scientific, Bonaqua, Key Sun Zinke, Salonsip, Del Monte, AroundDB, Skyrunner National Series China, China Skyrunning Association, OL&N, Oldham Li & Nie Lawyers, International Trail Running Association Member and Action Asia Foundation.
About Skyrunning
Since the first extreme races in 1992, the first World Championship in 1998 and the introduction of the Skyrunner World Series in 2003, Skyrunning has grown to become a globally renowned sport governed by the International Skyrunning Federation. In 2015, the Continental Championships were introduced and includes Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and Oceania. The sport is practised in more than 40 nations and counts followers from 126 countries.
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