Hong Kong 298km Four Trails finisher Leung returns for 10-year anniversary with an attitude shaped by failures and weakness
- Jacky Leung almost gives up trail running in 2011, but finding solutions to injuries has shaped his outlook for problem solving and strengthening his resolve
- The Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge marks 10 years by only inviting former finishers and survivors
Jacky Leung Chun-keung is among rare company as one of the few people who have finished the 298km Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC). Yet it is not his success, but his failures, that have shaped his approach to running. He is returning for another attempt at the HK4TUC over Lunar New Year, confident he can improve on his 58 hours and 30 minutes, set in 2020.
The HK4TUC is one of the most brutal events in ultra running. It links all four major trails in Hong Kong – 100km MacLehose, 78km Wilson, 50km Hong Kong and 70km Lantau – in reverse. There is no support allowed on the trails, and no checkpoints. Runners can have help travelling between trails.
If they reach the end in under 60 hours, they are a “finisher”. If they reach the end in under 72 hours they are a “survivor”. There’s only 16 finishers in 10 years. It is not a race, there is no entry fee or prizes. It is a personal challenge.
Leung has been trail running since 2006. “The journey has always been up and down. I’ve had many failures in my life and in trail running, and a lot of injuries. But every time I had an injury, I found there was a solution to get me back to running. I learned the process of getting up again after a down moment,” Leung, 37, said.
After he finished the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, 171km in France in 2011, Leung had an IT band injury that stopped him running for six months. “I almost gave up trail running. But afterwards, I discovered some way to recover and came back even stronger,” he said.
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“Injuries taught me a lot about my own weaknesses, that I could not admit before. In trail running, everyone wants to be strong and show off on the trails. But with the mindset, we know our own weaknesses but don’t want to admit them.”
To mark the 10-year anniversary of the HK4TUC, only former finishers and survivors have been invited this year. Less than 20 runners are starting.
“I was on the waiting list, I felt very lucky to be number six in the list so there is no way I could run this year,” Leung said. But then, as Covid-19 prevented overseas runners coming to Hong Kong, Leung crept up the wait-list and was accepted in December. It is not much time to prepare, but he is feeling strong and hopes to finish again.
“As former finishers or survivors, we all share the mindset. Even if you want to survive, be a finisher or finish in under 50 hours, we are all serious runners. We will all be more serious, we all know the game’s rules and how the game goes,” he said.
“And it’s quite fun getting all the same people do it with the same mindset. Even if I am the last one, I’ll appreciate my own achievement and appreciate the 10-year anniversary.”
In the 15 years Leung has been running, he has come a long way. Back then, he just wanted to tick off the Standard Chartered Marathon and the Oxfam Trailwalker, but the latter was full so he signed up for the Raleigh Challenge instead, which follows the Wilson Trail.
It took him 38 hours, only just making the cut-off. He slept in the middle of the race to make it through.
“During my childhood, I did music, trombone, concert band, orchestra. I always wanted to get involved in the adventure environment and activities,” he said. “But I did not get so many chances to participate during my school time. But after I finished the Raleigh Challenge, I found it was my way of living my life, it’s what I wanted.”
During his training for Raleigh, he was passed by a runner on Pat Sin Leng who was carrying just two little water bottles. It spurred him on to improve his own running.
“We thought that was so amazing. It triggered me to become more efficient on the trails,” he said.
Now, with highs and lows since that day long ago, Leung is accomplished and wants others to learn that it is never a linear climb to success.
“I really want to encourage people not to be afraid. Challenges are tough, but if you really want to take it, just go ahead. Success or failure – there is always many failures before success,” he added. “We need to go deep inside, try your best, try and reach your potential or recognise your own weakness. Practise hard and you will get your target.”
