We’re well hard, me and Scarlet. So on Saturday we hit the hills and ran a 4km trail run through the Clearwater Bay ranges for HK charity Hard As Nayls.
Not just any old trail run, it was billed as Clearwater Bay’s “toughest running event” no less. It was held across the whole weekend with family races on Saturday afternoon, culminating with a BBQ and drinks.
We’re a small expat community up here in the jungle and it was lovely to see so many friendly faces at the starting line. This is the second year the event has been held and was initially set-up last year as a memorial event for Andy Naylor, a popular local runner who trained along the very trails used in the races. Monies raised go to Andy’s family back in the UK.
We loved it (Scarlet particularly enjoyed the massive bowl of jelly beans on offer at the halfway water stop) and would definitely do it again (but not the 8km, said Scarlet).
The race started at the Tin Hau temple on Tai Miu Wan Pier and headed straight up the vertiginous slopes of High Junk Peak. The views across Clearwater Bay and Po Toi O from the top are fantastic, but we didn’t stop to gaze as Scarlet was off like a rocket, back down, along, up and down a bit more, and then back down onto the road and the jelly bean stop. There was then a couple of kms along Tai O Mun road, skirting around the Bay and back to Tai Miu Pier.
We loved the pork BBQ and the chicken wings – and you don’t often see a cool-box brimming with Tsing Tao on a race finish line, which I thought was a nice touch.
The following day the serious runners hit the trails, racing 10, 16 and 42(eek!)kms. But I was already booked to race in a dragon boat festival at Lamma so had to say no to the more hardcore options. But there’s always next year…
Check out http://www.hardasnayls.org about this time next year and have a go yourself.
Beyond the Highrise 