Headmaster runs 360km around Hong Kong drawing on ‘rock-solid confidence’ of previous endurance adventures

The Hong Kong-based Canadian completes his latest first but shrugs it off as a minor achievement

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Mark Western became the first person to run around Hong Kong by hugging the coastline, sticking to the Shenzen border, and running around Lantau and Hong Kong Island. Photos: Handout

Published: 7:00pm, 10 Jan 2019Updated: 4:48pm, 11 Jan 2019

Mark Western ran 360 kilometres around Hong Kong and puts the success down to a belief in himself earned from a life of adventure.

“I have total faith,” Western said. “Having done these events before I just have a knowing in me now that things will work out. I just have to get out there.”

Western started his run near Clear Water Bay and headed north. He hugged the coast line, then ran along the border with Shenzen before heading South along the coast again. Western then ran around Lantau and finally Hong Kong Island to finish in Shek O. The challenge took him a week, running 50km each day.

Mark Western’s route allows him to the encounter the contrasting landscapes of Hong Kong, from beaches, to mountains and even landfills.

The Hong Kong-based Canadian was part of the first international team to walk around Taiwan in 1999, the first to kayak around Taiwan in 2004 and then the first to kayak around Hong Kong in 2016.

“I just have faith that if I plan this and start it, my body will respond. It is definitely from all the events previously,” he said. “You don’t know if you’ll finish, but now I have this rock-solid confidence.”