11 trail runners finish 2025 Hong Kong Four Trails with new rules

15 trail runners from Asia gathered from Jan. 29 to Jan. 31 to participate in the annual Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC), along the MacLehose Trail, Wilson Trail, Hong Kong Trail and Lantau Trail.

Runners who finish the 298 kilometers trail within 60 hours and 72 hours are classified as "finishers" and "survivors" respectively, according to the official site.

The challenge kicked off at Tuen Mun on Jan. 29 at 9:44 pm. This year, there were 11 survivors, and for the first time since 2016,  there were no finishers.

Andre Blumberg, the founder of the HK4TUC was not surprised with the result. "This challenge was very difficult.You can't really take anything for granted," he said.

Nugo Yamanath Limbu, 46, a Nepalese runner living in Hong Kong, was a finisher  twice in 2020 and 2023. This year, he was the first to finish at 10:32 am on Feb. 1. It took him 60:49 hours.

Nugo was happy though he wished he could have done better. “I spent 19 hours in Lantau Trail because of bad weather,” he said, “everybody made me enjoy it. It was nothing like that three years ago.” 

“It is impossible to check the phone when there is no watch allowed in long distance running,” said Nugo.

Runners were prohibited from wearing any smartwatches this year in order to raise the difficulty of the challenge. 

"I don't think that's such a big deal," said Andre, "it may be a bit of a reminder that we've all become a bit too reliant on technology,".

Takashi Wakiya, a Japanese runner who was in Hong Kong for the first time, finished the challenge within 67:44 hours. "The steps in Hong Kong were more steady and the inclination was much higher, compared to similar trails in Japan.” He said.

“The most difficult part is to always check the train and ferry schedule during this long event,” said Takashi.

Fan Wing-Chun, 38,  a secondary school teacher from Tai O, left the challenge after he finished the Wilson Trail on Jan. 31, “I would like to try again, but my support team suggested that I should quit because I was too sleepy.” 

"I learnt the power of perseverance, especially along the Wilson Trail at night,” said Fan, “it is a mental and physical challenge," he said he would pass the spirit of the challenge to his students.

According to the official site, no personal phone is allowed during the challenge next year.

Andre said he would decide after the challenge if he will decide to do it, “Let’s enjoy this year, maybe I will defer that or let more runners finish again before making it harder,” he said, “It’s a challenge. We want them to discover their weakness and strength in this individual event.”