I have spent the last week in Hong Kong and have had the opportunity to spend some of it on Hong Kong Trail.
In brief, it is a 50 km foot path through the five country parks on Hong Kong island. It is divided into 8 sections and is fairly well marked and documented. The trail has its finish at the beach Big Wave Bay, not too far from our hotel so it was pretty convenient to be able to walk to it and start walking backwards. On Tuesday I walked over there and did section 8-5 and the following day I did the first four sections which made me end up at the starting point of the trail, Victoria Peak.
After a more normal tourist day with Tanya and her class mates and monkeys on Kowloon on Thursday, my legs and feet were fit for fight. On Friday, i.e. yesterday, I decided to try to do the whole trail in one day. 50 km is obviously not a long distance for one day but the elevation profile is almost “Swiss style”. I would not say that it is demanding but the heat and humidity adds an exotic touch and the main issue is to avoid getting some blisters or sprain that prevents you from continuing without severe pain.
I had my watch tracking my steps and on the “race day” I reached 74974 steps (61.51 km) which is a new record and which can be compared to last year’s 66560 steps when I ran Adliswil-Zug back and forth.
I was on the trail from 10:40 to 19:10 so that’s 8 hours and 30 minutes. The official conservative estimates says the whole trail takes 15 hours but that is probably more for elderly and picnic excursions.
I walked most of the distance and I only did some slow pace running on flat stretches like section 7 in order to not risk anything. I brought fresh water but refilled with “mountain water” at two places. Halfway through the distance I had a Corny Big 50 gram peanut bar (240 kcal).
For those that think it sounds easy peasy, maybe Hong Kong 4in4 Challenge could be something? At least day 4 and The MacLehose Trail sounds like a challenge.