Race Media

2018/19 HK50 Series

Oct 20, 2018 — Hong Kong 50

Dec 2, 2018 — Lantau 50 — Asian Skyrunning Championships

Feb 23, 2019 — Sai Kung 50

Mar 23, 2019 — HK50 WEST

Konareff and Leung top HK50 West as inaugural race wins high praise for course design and organisation 

HONG KONG, Saturday, March 23, 2019 – The first-ever HK50 West, the final leg of the 2018-19 HK50 Series organised by Action Asia Events, was successfully held this morning with participants giving high praise to the course for its unique design, clear markings and thoughtful organisation.

Two distances were offered — 25km and 50km — both starting and finishing at Shing Mun Reservoir Catchwater. As bad weather was forecast for race day, race director Michael Maddess changed the direction of the loop around Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s highest peak, from clockwise to anti-clockwise. This ensured a safer course as participants would then descend Tai Mo Shan on tarmac road instead of slippery trail.

Adrien Konareff of France claimed the overall 50km men’s title, conquering the course with 2,474m of total elevation gain in a speedy 5 hours 4 minutes and 24 seconds. ‘‘Perfect conditions!” he said. “It was not too hot, yet quite tough. The course was nice and the view was really good. I am happy with my result and really enjoyed the race.’’

The 50km women’s title went to Leung Ying-suet, a perennial winner of Hong Kong trail races, in 6:09:34. Leung, who has a road running background, said: “There was a lot of runnable flat trail on the HK50 West course, which played to my strength. Also, the weather was quite good today, so I could produce a good result. During the race, I ran alone most of the time, but the course markings were very clear, so I could follow them and didn’t get lost.”

Both the 50km and 25km courses ran past the highest point of the course, 917m, at Tai Mo Shan, where they were treated to a spectacular view. While the figure-of-eight 50km course also included a loop of Tai Lam Country Park, the 25km course had only the Tai Mo Shan loop for a total elevation gain of 1,290m.

Australian elite Vlad Ixel grabbed the overall champion title of the 25km event in a blistering time of 2:27:10. Ixel was happy to come first and thrilled to see a part of beautiful Hong Kong that he had never seen before.

Ixel said: “The course was beautiful and really nice. That climb was hard but after that the way down was just incredible. It’s a nice part of Hong Kong that I had never seen before. The 25km course was so beautiful, and I can’t wait to do the 50km next year to enjoy it a little more. I’m happy to come first but for a race this challenging, making it to the finish line is the goal and I’m just happy that I made it here.”

Wendy Porterfield from the United States won the 25km women’s title in 2:56:12. She said: ‘‘It was a great race and the weather was perfect — it was so nice to have a little rain and wind. It was really fun. I love the course and there were a lot of trails I hadn’t done before. I really enjoyed the race.’’

For the team of two category, Law Chor-kin and Cheung Man-yee won the mixed team title in 6:11:43. Law said: ‘‘I was blown away by how good the course marking was at the HK50 West.”

Cheung said she enjoyed racing in a team rather than as an individual: “Racing in a team is much more fun because you can talk to your partner and pace yourself. It’s enjoyable compared to when you are solo that you have to be serious and not make a mistake and it’s mentally tougher. I’m looking forward to another team event in the future.’’

A group of disabled runners from Fearless Dragon Running Team completed the HK50 West. Kim Mok, the founder of Fearless Dragons Running Club shared after finishing 25km race: “Thanks to Action Asia Events for providing the extra time allowance beyond the seven-hour cut-off for our group. I think persisting to the end of the race is very important and it’s great that the race organiser was willing to offer opportunities for over 30 of our members to race the HK50 West.”

 

Race Results

2018-19 HK50 Series – HK50 West

 

50km Top 5 Men

1. Adrien Konareff – France — 5:04:24

2. Ryan Whelan – United Kingdom — 5:19:07

3. Robin Fall – United States — 5:29:47

4. Robert Turnbull — United Kingdom — 5:30:53

5. Jesse Smith — Canada — 5:35:15

 

50km Top 5 Women

1. Leung Ying-suet — Hong Kong — 6:09:34

2. Cheung Man-yee — Hong Kong — 痴傻二人組 — 6:11:43

3. Jcy Ho — Hong Kong — 6:45:12

4. Katherine Gearing — United Kingdom — 7:31:07

5. Edith Fung — Hong Kong — 7:33:03

 

25km Top 3 Men

1. Vlad Ixel — Australia — 2:27:10

2. Logan Marshall — China — 2:32:01

3. Tim Marchant — United Kingdom — 2:33:18

 

25km Top 3 Women

1. Wendy Porterfield — United States — 2:56:12

2. Sonia Massot — France — 2:58:18

3. Kim Knape — Netherlands — 3:00:21

 

Race Info

Event Name	HK50 Series - HK50 west
Date	Saturday, March 23, 2019
Start Time	8:30am — 50km 9:00am — 25km
Start/Finish:	Shing Mun Reservoir Catchwater, Tsuen Wan (two-minute walk from Shing Mun Pineapple Dam minibus stop
Distance	25km, 50km

 

For more race details, please check out the links below:

www.actionasiaevents.com

www.facebook.com/ActionAsiaEvent/

www.instagram.com/actionasiaevents/

www.twitter.com/ActionAsiaEvent

www.youtube.com/user/ActionAsiaEvents

 

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 practiced in more than 40 nations and counts followers from 126 countries.