The Hong Kong trail runner inspired by tragedy to climb mountains for charity – how he does it
After his mother died from cancer, Loz Wong wanted to show his appreciation for Macmillan Cancer Support. Liking a challenge, he climbed the highest peaks in Europe and South America. He tells us how he trains to run and climb
Loz Wong has long been a keen trail runner, but it wasn’t until personal tragedy struck that he turned his attention to climbing mountains rather than running up, down and around them.
In 2013 his mother was diagnosed with cancer, and a year later she died. The experience inspired Wong, a 30-year-old global business consultant, who has been living in Hong Kong for six years, to use his mountaineering endeavours to support charitable causes he believes in.
Help for his mother from Macmillan Cancer Support made them an easy choice to work with when he and a friend set out to climb his first mountain – Europe’s highest peak, the 5,642-metre Mount Elbrus in Russia, in 2015. The pair covered the expedition and travel costs themselves, and made sure that all the donations they received for making the climb (more than HK$68,000) went directly to the charity.
“The support provided by Macmillan during my mother’s final few weeks was truly invaluable, and I wanted to raise funds for the charity so they can continue their work and ensure that nobody has to face cancer alone,” says Wong, a Briton whose father is from Myanmar and whose mother was from Brunei.
The incredible story of Marin Minamiya, ex-SIS student and the world’s youngest woman to summit Mount Manaslu
With his first summit conquered, and his interest in mountaineering piqued, Wong turned his attention in 2016 to a new challenge – 6,961-metre Aconcagua in Argentina, South America’s highest peak, a feat that raised HK$50,000 for the White Helmets in Syria, a 3,000-strong volunteer search and rescue team who help victims of the country’s civil war. It’s a cause that, while it hasn’t touched him personally, he feels very strongly about.