Thu, 23 May 2013 06:23:22 -0800WeeblySat, 31 Mar 2012 11:12:20 GMThttp://www.lantau50.com/1/post/2012/03/post-race-report-2012-from-race-director.html Dear Friendly Survivors,

“I gonna kill you!” “What happened in your mind to design such a tough route!” “Did you want me to die!” were the nice comments I received while shaking hands at the finish…
In fact, I was rather prepared for this. When I took the decision to organize this event, I certainly underestimated the endurance training that was required to organize such event (I lost my voice while marking the route in the middle of the windy night on Friday), like many participants did not realized that they signed up for one, if not the toughest trail race in Hong Kong! Yes, I wanted to design a tough and scenic trail race, and on this side, I think we succeed!
Every finisher deserves a big congrats and you can all be proud to have completed the Lantau50, especially those who took over 11h, which means they had to do the last technical section in the dark!

Congratulations to the amazing performance of Jeremy Ritcey (Salomon Bonaqua Team) who took the lead straight from the beach and never slowed down until the finish. Just wondering whether Jeremy had to sprint at the end to make sure he could finish in 5h30, as that was the predicted time I set up. What I did not anticipate was that the second, William Davis (Salomon Bonaqua Team), would arrive 30 min later. This clearly confirms that Jeremy had a strong ambition for the Lantau50, and he is currently the trail runner to beat in Hong Kong. Will got lost with Eric Lahaie (Raidlight Asia) as someone had moved the arrows on purpose, what a shame! But they were kind enough to phone me and then took the time to replace the arrows on the right direction for the followers (nice move from them, big thanks). Benoit Laval (Raidlight France) who came especially from France, took the third place in 6h03 but was surprised by the number of stairs he had to climb and the heat on the Chi Ma Wan section. The first woman Claire Price finished 5th overall, which is again a fantastic performance, while Kami Semick (The North Face) also finished in the top 10 overall, and third woman was Lucy Marriott who showed me her bleeding arms at the finish while saying, that one is though! All top 3 finishers of each category received nice Raidlight prizes (backpack, shoes), but also GPS Garmin, accommodation nights at Novotel, Thyo socks, Sunscreen Zinke, Power cookies.

We won’t forget the Explorer15, which was actually 17+km…I should have mentioned it earlier... It was nice to see groups coming from overseas to run the Exp15 and participating to the tattoo contest. Great performance from the Macau resident Pedro Ribeiro (New Balance) who won the race in 1h41min, while the first woman Zein Williams finished in just 2h00. Thanks to the no time limit, you could also take your time and enjoy the trail. Great prizes were also given to the top 3 of each category, including Raidlight equipment, Newton shoes, Novotel vouchers, Thyo socks, Power cookies, Sunscreen Zinke.

One thing I am very disappointed is the mention of many participants throwing away their garbage on the trails. This is because of this behavior that we have real difficulty afterwards to obtain the permits from the government.

Thanks all for supporting this first edition, do not hesitate to contact us to give comments (both positive and suggestions for next year). We are already aware of several issues that will need to be improved and hopefully with this first edition success, we will gain the confidence of sponsors to obtain cash to better offer you an even better event.

We want to thanks all the 41 volunteers, which made possible this event! Raidlight was not only a great sponsor, but also was a fantastic support for the event with Pierre-Arnaud helping with all the logistic (he was the one you saw at the check points!).

Clement Dumont
Race director

]]>Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:01:25 GMThttp://www.lantau50.com/1/post/2012/02/press-release-db-living-magazine.htmlFind below a nice article from Claire Wallace (DB living magazine) on the Lantau50

"When most of us head out to hike, we think 15 km is a fantastic achievement. After all, that is the distance from DB, up the Tigers Head, down the Olympic Trail to Mui Wo, and back to DB. Quite a distance, to be fair. For some however, that is a mere walk in the park. Those Trail-walking Titans are the kind of people whose idea of a good weekend is to trek the 100km Maclehose trail and for whom the 50km GreenPower Challenge is a pleasant way to see the Peak. This year however, there is a new challenge on the horizon. One that is most definitely not for the fainthearted!
....
THE TRAINING
However, for such liberation, you do need to put in the hours of practice. The most relevant training you can do is to simply get out on the trail. Luckily living in DB, the Lantau50 route is easily accessible. 
Whether you are intending to walk or run it, leg strength will play a massive part in your success. To get your legs used to incline and your ankles used to uneven terrain, try and hill climb at least twice a week. Flat ground training will be effective in building your cardiovascular fitness, and including a few trips up and down the numerous stairways here in DB will stand you in good stead on the day."
Read more...
]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:28:21 GMThttp://www.lantau50.com/1/post/2012/01/hkd30000-in-prizes.html_Thanks to our sponsors, we are able to offer over HKD30,000 in prizes not only to the best runners but also to the youngest and the oldest participant as well as a lucky draw. A list of the prizes will be released on the website end of February.

We need VOLUNTEERS to help us for the event. Please tell your friends who are keen to support you that they can be even more proactive by volunteering. The volunteer form is now available on the website.

For those who have been training during the Chinese New Year, you certainly "enjoyed" the extreme cold weather! It was 3 degrees at the top of the Sunset which is the highest peak of the Lantau50. But no worries, by end of March, the average temperature will be over 20.
Have a good training this week-end,
Clement ]]>Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:23:14 GMThttp://www.lantau50.com/1/post/2012/01/raidlight-team-at-the-green-power-50km-3rd-place-in-3h57min.htmlYesterday,  Eric Lahaie who recently joined the Raidlight team, finished 3rd at the Green Power 50km in a time of 3h57min. Eric finished just behind William Davies (3h54) and the winner Darren Benson (3h48min, Champion System Adventure Team).
"Perfect day for racing the cooler weather and overcast skies. Greenpower is one of the fastest trail races in HK because of the fairly flat terrain and a lot of cement. I tried to keep Darren and Will in my sights, but lost them around the mid way point. Then on the long 8k Tai Tam catch water before ShekO road I ran a really good leg and nearly caught Will. But he was just too strong up and over Dragon's Back and down to the finish. Still very happy with 3rd and knocking 1 minute off my pb."
You can check Eric interview here
We cannot expect such fast times for the Lantau50 as much more elevation and less than 10% cement section. We estimate instead that the fastest time should be ~5h30.

]]>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:08:16 GMThttp://www.lantau50.com/1/post/2012/01/first-post.htmlThanks for joining the Lantau50 Blog. I will regularly post news on the race but also topics related to trail running (e.g. equipment, training plan). We plan to organize recce of the route for those interested. Interviews from keen trail runners will also be posted soon. If you have any suggestion on trail running topics, do not hesitate to post on this blog.
Have fun on trails,
Clement
]]>