Four of our regular SKATs (Shane, Morgan, Tom, Ron) took part in OTW2022 which took place on 24-26 Feb 2023 (delayed event). For the uninitiated Oxfam Trailwalker (Hong Kong) is an event that spans 100km primarily along the iconic Maclehose Trail.
Start time was 0930 on Fri 24 Feb (wave 2). Weather was clear and mild, however it did become hot during the day and this had some impact on the team during sections 2&3. After a support stop (thank you to Jenny, Bella, Fritce, John and kids) at the beginning of section 4 the team took off and made good progress.
At the top of Buffalo Pass the team were met by Cedric, John and Marley (our fav 4-legged trailrunner) who ran with them through CP4 to Sha Tin Pass where they had set up a drinks break for the team. They were also met by Oli who took over as a support runner and dug into her wealth of experience of past Trailwalker events to encourage the team on.
At the end of section 5 the team were met by Andrew and Steve, with Steve joining Oli as support runners through CP6 and onto Shing Mun BBQ pits where Andrew met the team in another support stop. After a short rest it was onto sections 7&8 (Needle Hill, Grassy Hill, Tai Mo Shan) with Steve continuing on as support runner and Oli taking a break. The team absolutely blitzed these hills and made it into CP8 much quicker than planned. Again Andrew met the team with support bags etc.
After a good break, the team said goodbye to Andrew & Steve and continued on being joined by Oli once again who powered on with the team through sections 9&10 to the end. Progress slowed down as expected as the team saw sunrise and pushed through to the end to complete the event in an official time of 23h29m50s. Wendi, Jenny, Bella (and kids) met the team at the end and looked after them as they struggled to walk, talk or even stay awake.
Again many thanks to all the support people:
Jenny, Bella, Fritce, Wendi support at 35km and the end. Andrew for doing the overnight support stops again – absolute legend!
Cedric, John, Marley, Steve for running with the team and providing much needed encouragement.
And special thanks to Oli who ended up doing over 35km of support running and providing invaluable advice leading up to and during the event!
OTW2022 Pre race at Pak Tam Chung 
OTW2022 Registration 
OTW2022 Photo spot pre-race 
OTW2022 On the start line 
OTW2022 Kai Kung Shan 
OTW2022 CP2 
OTW2022 Support stop on Maclehose section 4 
OTW2022 Support stop on Maclehose section 4 
OTW2022 Support stop on Maclehose section 4 
OTW2022 CP4 
OTW2022 Seeing HK at Night 
OTW2022 Support stop at Shing Mun BBQ Pits 
OTW2022 Support stop at Shing Mun BBQ Pits 
OTW2022 Neede Hill 
OTW2022 CP7 
OTW2022 Tai Mo Shan 
OTW2022 CP8 
OTW2022 On the podium
Great time! Lets do that again…. never 🙂
Have a week off to forget the pain … and then training begins for the next one! 😀
It was an epic run! Couldn’t have made it without our incredible support team and our team leader Shane! Let’s get ready for the next one!