Action Sprint Sai Kung trail race is hotly contested as series returns after Covid restrictions ease
- The second of three races in the Action Sprint Series takes runners through the Sai Kung countryside, and proves a close affair
- It is the first sprint series in four years after Covid-19 restrictions on races were finally eased
Marco Mueller and Sophie Hedou won the second of three Action Sprint Series races on Saturday.
It is the first sprint series in four years, due to Covid-19 restrictions.
There was a 18km and a 12km run. Both races started at the Pak Tam Chung gates to Lok Wu Country Trail. They followed the trail for 6km, with a steady climb of 298m.
Eventually, runners arrived at Sai Wan Road. Those doing 12km then circled back with reservoir views, and finished. While the 18km runners continued on and finished with a 5km technical scenic dirt track on the Sheung Yiu Country Trail, with a total of 572m accumulative elevation gain.
“It was a fantastic race today. Nice course. Fast. It was a little bit hot but I got used to it,” Mueller said, adding that there were “small technical challenges”.
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The Swiss won the 18km race in one hour and 28 minutes, beating Ka Sing-cheng by six minutes.
The fight for second place was heated. Ka finished in 1:34:32, just 18 seconds ahead of Australian David Longo.
Frenchwoman Sophie Hedou took the top spot on the women’s 18km in 1:55, beating Mei Yan Wong (01:57:01) and Karen Tse (01:59:52).
“It’s short and it’s a bit technical, but not too much,” Hedou said of the course.
The top three men in the 12km race were Chris Davis (1:04), Pierre Six (01:05) and Pak Lu-fok (01:08).
The top three women were Eleanor Ngan-kee (01:36), Oi Wan-chan (1:42) and Noriko Uchida (1:44).
