UTMB is most influential event in running but the future lies in short trail races, says Salomon China general manager

Amer Sports general manager says French ultra is an epic experience but not everyone’s passion

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Kafir Chen, Amer Sports general manager of Greater China, says not everyone can run a 100-miler “and the way to grow the sport is to have fun, it is most important”. Photos: Handout

Published: 3:30pm, 26 Oct 2018Updated: 5:15pm, 26 Oct 2018

The obsession with running ultramarathons will soon pass and trail lovers will turn to shorter races so they can obtain a better life balance, according to an industry figure.

“After people run an ultra they say, ‘What’s next?’ And they look for more elementary races, they don’t look for records, they just do it for experience, for friends and for nature,” said Kafir Chen, general manager in Greater China for Amer Sports, an international company that owns brands including Salomon, Arcteryx, Peak Performance and Atomic.

“It is a new sport. It has transformed an ordinary trail into a sport, and a new way of discovering your neighbourhood,” he said. “And a new way of challenging yourself and building a community.”

Chen, who is in Hong Kong for the Salomon Lantau 70, goes to races and sees participants bringing their families and turning it into a day out, or sometimes bringing their children on the race with them, which would not be possible on an ultra race.

“I think people will realise, this is a subject we discuss quite often, that people and race organisers are obsessed with ultra,” he said. “But not everyone can run a 100-miler. And the way to grow the sport is to have fun, it is most important.”