Journal Of “Team Thomas” @ 2020 HK4TUC (Second Day)
Thomas started the 2nd Leg of the event at Wilson Trail at 16:25 Hours, which was 1:25 AM of January 26, 2020, Sunday Morning. Ahead of him was a 78-kilometer distance during a cold and rainy night. Thomas was feeling cold at the start but having eaten a lot of food and keeping himself on the move, he will surely regain his pace and tempo during the run. After Thomas left, we immediately fixed our things, packed the used clothes/attire of Thomas and threw the trash at the Trash Bins at the Starting Area. We immediately took the Taxi which was waiting for us to bring us back to the place where we are staying. As we arrived in our place, we immediately checked the Racemap Application to find out if Thomas was on the right track. We were glad that Thomas was on the right track and we immediately rested for the day at 3:00 AM on the second day. Last year, after 1-2 kilometers from the Starting point, Thomas got lost and we had a sleepless on the first night at that time when more additional “lost moments” had to be corrected.
I woke up at 8:00 AM on the second day and immediately checked on the tracker of Thomas and he was doing fine without any “lost moments” as compared to his experience last year. Our monitoring team advised Thomas to call us once he reaches the MTR Station at Lam Tin and once he crosses the Quarry Bay and reaches the MTR Station at Tai Koo on the Hongkong Island side. From these calls, we would be able to estimate the time we would meet Thomas at the Finish Line of the Wilson Trail Leg. But with the lagging time as depicted by Thomas tracker, we decided to give an ample buffer time to wait at the said place before Thomas arrives.
We arrived at the end of the Wilson Trail Leg at the Tai Tam Country Park in Stanley Gap Road at 5:00 PM with the hope that Thomas would be arriving in 30-45 minutes. In a few seconds, we witnessed the arrival of the 4th Runner Abimanyu from Singapore and since Thomas was ranked as the 8th or 9th runner as seen on the tracker, we prepared ourselves to wait for some more time in the said place.
Thomas Along The Wilson Trail (Photo From Facebook)Thomas Along The Wilson Trail (Photo From Facebook)
The cold wind from the sea was blowing on our faces as we waited for Thomas but our Team was entertained by two Pinay runners who are working in Hongkong with their stories about the race and what they have prepared in terms of food for Thomas and to the rest of the Pinoy Runners. They even mentioned to me that Christian Villoria from Pangasinan, also a worker in Hongkong, is waiting at the Bus Station at Shek O Road for more food and drinks for the Pinoy Runners. We had a lot conversations with Tha Na and Josephine and they entertained us while waiting for Thomas. I decided later to hike the 1,000+ steps or the last 600 meters of the trail and tried to wait for the arrival of Thomas. Instead, the #5 Runner Chiang from South Korea came out from the vegetated portion of the trail and he was running at an easy pace going downhill. I greeted and congratulated and told him that he is only 500 meters to the end of the trail.
Thomas After Crossing Victoria Bay (Photo By Lloyd Belcher)
After almost 3 hours of waiting, the #9 Runner Karen from Hongkong, the leading Lady Runner of the event, arrived at the Finish Line and we knew that in a few minutes, Thomas will be arriving next. Finally, Thomas arrived at the Finish Line of the Wilson Trail Leg at exactly 8:00 PM of Sunday, January 26, 2020 with a time of 18:30 Hours to finish the whole Wilson Trail.
Thomas Finishing The Wilson Trail
At 8:10 PM, we left immediately the end of Wilson Trail to the Shek O Road for Thomas to start the Hongkong Trail Third Leg. It took us a 22-minute ride on a Taxi to the Bus Stop at Shek O Road which is officially the Starting Area of the Hongkong Trail. Upon arrival, Thomas checked-in with Andre Blumberg and we set-up for the “pit stop” for Thomas. Thomas ate his dinner with the food we cooked for him and the food brought by Christian Villoria. Christian was there to meet us once we alighted from our Taxi ride. The NHK Japanese TV Network guys were also there to meet us with their Video Camera and Lights. They even interviewed Thomas while he was eating his dinner and focused their video camera on the food prepared for him. They were interested to see Fried Tuyo (fried salted sardines), Pork Adobo, and Sinigang Salmon Head (Sour Soup with Salmon Head) as Thomas food for dinner.
Thomas At The “Pit Stop”Thomas With Christian Viloria
After eating, refilling his hydration vest with water and food, and changing his socks and attire, Thomas was ready to start the Hongkong Trail which has a distance of 50 kilometers. Before he left the starting point, Tomokazu “Tomo” Ihara, a sub-60 Finisher in last year’s HK4TUC and also a classmate of Thomas in last year’s event, advised Thomas that he is in the halfway (in terms of time elapsed) of the event and he needs to complete the remaining 120 kilometers in less than 24 hours to be able to be declared as a Finisher of the Event. Tomo said that it will be an easy task for Thomas to take the 7:00 AM Ferry trip to Lantau Island and be able to finish the Lantau Trail before the 60-hour cut-off time. Tomo was surprised to see how Thomas improved on his performance this time as compared to last year. In a conversation with Tomo, I told him about Thomas “lost moments” on the beaches of MacLehose Trail, lots of intersections at the Wilson Trail & mistake of going to the MacLehose Trail, and delays for looking the right MRT Platforms at the Lam Tin and Tai Koo Stations.
Thomas left the Shek O Road at 9:05 PM of Sunday, January 26, 2020 and we expect him to finish the Hongkong Trail in 8 hours or at 5:00 AM of Monday January 27, 2020.
Journal Of “Team Thomas” @ 2020 HK4TUC (First Day)
This year’s event is the 9th edition which is usually held on the Chinese Lunar New Year with the runner completing the famous Four Trails in Hongkong starting at the finish of MacLehose Trail in Tuen Mun, then to Wilson Trail, Hongkong Trail and last is the Lantau Trail. Each trail route should be finished in the reverse direction with a cut-off time of 60 hours. There is a cut-off time of 18 hours to complete the MacLehose Trail and each runner would be able to start the Lantau Trail, 4th trail and last, before the 55th Hour as the Cut-Off Time. A runner is considered Finisher if he/she completes the Challenge within the 60 hours cut-off time by January 27, 2020 at 9:00 PM and complying with the rules. Each runner should cover the Challenge without any outside support while they along the trail. It is only after each trail or before starting another that a runner could be given an outside support. A runner who fails to finish within 60 hours may continue with the Challenge and will be recognized as Survivor if they complete the Challenge within the cut-off time of 72 hours, which is Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at 9:00 AM.
The Team Thomas was the first to arrive at the starting line at 6:30 AM of Saturday, January 25, 2020 which is the day of the Chinese New Year. The Team was the first to be interviewed by NHK, the National TV Network of Japan, which will be covering the whole event. The Reporter have interviewed Thomas and myself, asking, what would be our respective roles during the event. After almost one hour, the runners and their respective Logistic Team arrived in the area. It was the usual the “meet and greet” among the those who finished and survived the previous editions and the incoming participants. Each runner was issued a “Tracker” and an Official “Mugshot” was taken from each runner. The briefing started at 8:30 AM and the usual Group Picture of the Participants was taken.
There are 33 participants of this event for the 9th edition consisting of runners coming from different countries who applied and had been invited to join this event. At exactly 9:00 AM yesterday, the event started.
Group Picture Of The 2020 HK4TUC Runners (Photo By Lloyd Belcher)
Thomas started at the back of the pack on the first few meters of the course. Aside from the Team Thomas usual members of the Logistics Team from the Philippines, he was cheered by his eldest sister, Marina & nephew John who came all the way from Toronto, Canada, purposely to watch the start the event with Thomas and niece Carol who works here in Hongkong. Thomas sister and nephew came to Hongkong for the first time! After 30 minutes that the runners had left the area, we went back to our respective Hotel to monitor the progress of Thomas tracker and position through the Racemap application.
With Thomas experience last year and our Recon Runs, I am confident that Thomas would be able to finish the MacLehose Trail without any problems or “lost” moments. I did not set a time for Thomas to finish the 100K distance but as long as he can improve his last year’s time of 17:40 hours, which was 20 minutes before the cut-off time of 18 hours, he will be fine and on target to finish or survive the Challenge. I did not ask Thomas if he can finish it within the 60-hour cut-off time but I encouraged him to finish as a Survivor.
Last year, there were 3 Finishers and 6 Survivors. So far, after 8 editions, there are only 9 Finishers of this Challenge, to include, the Race Director/Organizer, Andre Blumberg. The locals in Hongkong call those who finished and survived this Challenge as “Heroes of Hongkong”. Thomas failure to start the last trail, Lantau, was the “fire” that inspired him to prepare and train for this 9th edition. We came back to Hongkong last August 2019 to recon the Lantau Trail for two consecutive days.
After a slow start from behind the pack, Thomas finished the first 30 kilometers in 3:30 hours and he progressed to number 3 and then to #4. He was ranked at #4 as he reached 50K in 6:53 hours. We were informed by the Race Organizer that the trackers will be refreshed or reset every 10 minutes. As we observed from the movements of the Trackers on Racemap, we are having a delay of at least 15 minutes from the “real-time” location and time of each runner. Compared from our experience in monitoring Thomas last year, this year’s tracker’s performance was not good. Practically, the trackers were not giving us the “exact and real-time” location and time of the runners. There might be some problems with the Satellite transmission for the trackers in some stages of the course or the rain during the late afternoon and during the evening might have some effect to the transmission. Whatever was the problem with the trackers, our Team was able to adjust with the expected time of arrival of Thomas at the Sai Kung Country Park which is the finish area of the MacLehose Trail.
Our Team expected and calculated that Thomas would be able to finish the first trail in less than 15 hours and we were at the finish line at least 1.5 hours before the said time. The first runner from Japan, Takashi, reached the finish line at 13:50 hours and we tried to locate Thomas at this time. Thomas had still 8 kilometers to the finish line when the first runner arrived. Calculating the distance and pace of Thomas, we expected Thomas to arrive in one hour and ranked as the 4th Finisher. Surprisingly, another runner arrived as the 4th runner with few minutes ahead of Thomas.
Finally, Thomas arrived at the Sai Kung Country Park in 15:04 Hours and I immediately met him as soon as he reached the finish line. I escorted him to where our Logistics was located and did what was needed to be done to him. He changed his clothes/attire, charged his cellphone with a Power Bank, and then ate the food we had prepared for him. In 7-8 minutes, we were in a Taxi on our way to Nam Chung Public Toilet as the starting line of the Wilson Trail. It took us 45 minutes for the trip and it was raining. Thomas was able to sleep inside the Taxi during the duration of the trip. Thomas did not have any issues when he arrived at the Finish Line of the First Trail. He was still strong and happy that he improved his time from last year’s time.
Thomas Running Along The MacLehose Trail (Photo By Lloyd Belcher)
We arrived at the Starting Line of Wilson Trail at 16:00 Hours. Immediately, set-up the remaining food that we brought and let Thomas eat again. After repacking his hydration vest with food and water, Thomas left the Start of the Wilson at 16:25 Hours. Thomas was feeling cold because of the rain and encouraged him to eat some more. We gave him some fruits and rice packs and he left the area strong and determined to finish the race.
Journal Of “Team Thomas/PAU” @ 9th HK4TUC (Preparatory Stage)
January 22, 2020 (Wednesday)——Team Thomas/PAU departed Manila aboard Cathay Pacific at 8:00 AM and despite the delay of 30 minutes for our departure, we arrived at the Hongkong International Airport at 10:30 AM. After changing our money to Hongkong Dollars, buying our SIM Card with Unlimited Data, and loading some money to our Octopus Cards, we took the Airport Bus to our Hotel. After lunch, we settled and rested the remaining part of the day.
January 23, 2020(Thursday)——Thomas and I woke up early in the morning and prepared for our Recon Run at the MacLehose Trail. We took the MTR and Bus until we reached Sai Kung. From Sai Kung, we took the Green Taxi up to the start of the Section 2 of MacLehose Trail. We made sure all the parts and intersections in the said Section were carefully studied and marked by Thomas. This was the part where Thomas spent a lot of time looking for the trail, most specially on the beach sections of the course. With all those stops to eat and hydrate, picture taking, and talking to some people along the way, we finished our Recon Run in three hours.
In one of the Rest Pavilions along the trail, we met Johse from South Africa as he was on his second day hiking the MacLehose Trail, carrying his tent and food provisions for six days in his big backpack. He was resting when we started talking to him. He intends to finish hiking the MacLehose Trail by Tuesday as he takes his time enjoying the scenery and resting along the way. He had been taking a lot of pictures with his camera whenever he was resting for the day and night.
The Beach Area Where Thomas Got Lost Last Year
At the 2nd village that we reached, Sai Wan Beach Village, we stopped at the first eatery establishment for water, Coke, and Pocari Sweat. The place did not have any food to offer but it was good that we carried with us a piece Tikoy from Camarines Norte. That would served as our lunch during the hike. As we hiked farther from the business establishment, we reached the Campsite/Beach and we appreciated the beauty of the sea and sand. We took some pictures in this place. According to Thomas, he did not know which way to go once he reached this section as it was already nighttime. We took time to see some markers for him to know which way to go this time.
As we moved further, I was able to see the Sun Dial and took some pictures of it. After which we reached the Sai Wan Stargazing Site. The place is very beautiful and we took some pictures on the said place. Thomas will no longer see these markers and places once he passes during the HK4TUC as it will be nighttime.
Thomas @ Sai Wan Beach Campsite
As we entered the Tai Long Village, Thomas pointed to me the place where he bought some food and soft drinks. Near the said place, an old man in half-naked attire was eating his lunch. As he glanced at me, he asked me if I am a Catholic and what country I come from. I said, “Yes, I am a Catholic and I am from the Philippines”. He immediately stopped his lunch and asked me to follow him as he went into an uphill stairs until he was leading me to an Old Small Church. He said that St Mary’s statue is inside the Church and it is 120 years old and the church was constructed 60 years ago. He said that every weekend/Sunday, a lot of Filipino, mostly Filipino Ladies would visit and hear mass in the said Church. His name is Philippe and he maintains the cleanliness of the church and its surrounding. He said that he is cutting the grasses to prepare the church for the weekend’s mass and visit of devotees. He said that he is 78 years old! I took some “selfies’ with Philippe and Thomas, the Altar with Mama Mary and the Church. When Philippe left us to continue his lunch, Thomas and I offered some prayers to Mama Mary. I hope and pray that a miracle will happen to Thomas this weekend’s run!
“Selfie” With Philippe @ Mama Mary’s Old Church
Two kilometers before reaching Pak Tam Au, the end point of Stage 2 of the MacLehose Trail, I heard some fast footsteps behind me as I was jogging fast to reach the Rest Room. I did not bother to look behind me as I was focused to maintain my pace. On the last kilometer of the section, I asked Thomas to take some pictures of me while running. With the brief stop that I had to talk to Thomas and hand him over my phone, the guy behind passed me and I was surprised to see him as we did not see him along the trail. After the picture taking, he was ahead of me and reached the Rest Room first.
After he got out from the Rest Room, I asked him the direction going to Sai Kung and that started our conversation. I forgot to get his name but according to him, he finished the Vibram HK 100 five years ago and never came back to improve his time because of knee problems. Instead, he hikes carrying his camera. While waiting for the Bus To Sai Kung to arrive, he told us that he purposely hiked along the Section 2 and reached a place to take some pictures of a plant’s flower that blossoms onlyat the start of the Lunar Year. It is only this part of the year that the flowers bloom and they bloom in downward position. He showed to us the pictures that he took from the said flowers and they are beautiful. The flowers have some white and red color combination. We were amazed by the beauty of the flowers to the point that we forgot to ask his name and the name of the plant. We suspect that he had to veer off from the trail route and reached some peaks just to locate and take some pictures this plant.
Thomas @ Bus Stop To Sai Kung
We boarded the Bus to Sai Kung and had our late lunch in one of the Noodle Shops before taking the Mini-Bus that would take us to the MRT Station.
January 24, 2020 (Friday)——Due to incidents of being lost at the Wilson Trail for so many times, Thomas was not able to catch up with the last trip at the MRT Lam Tin Station for him to cross the Quarry Bay enroute to Hongkong Island for the last leg of the Wilson Trail before reaching Stanley Gap Road. Once the MRT opened on the 3rd day, Thomas spent so much time inside the MRT trying to figure out what Platform was he going to take. He had to ask the locals for directions where to take the MRT up to MRT Tai Koo Station before reaching the Wilson Trail at the Hongkong Island side.
So, we recon and rehearsed this part of the route and Thomas was able to recall and review the the route. I think we were able to hike about 5 miles tracing this route aside from our trips with the MRT Subway. To make my hike/recon more challenging, I carried a backpack with a weight of 20 pounds consisting of four (4) 2-liter bottles of water.
Hiking With My 20-Pound Backpack
On our way back to the MTR Lam Tin Station, we saw an old local Chinese man about the age of 80s pushing his wife on a wheelchair on an uphill climb of about 200 meters long. I asked Thomas that we should help the old guy in pushing his wife. So, we did it and we alternated in pushing the wife until we reached their destination. Some of the old guys that saw our effort to help the old couple were cheering us for what we did. It was a good workout for me with the weighted backpack I was carrying.
On the second day here in Hongkong, Thomas and I were able to successfully recon the places where Thomas got lost and places where he spent so much time figuring it out which way to go. Thomas gave me the assurance that his confidence had been boosted with our Recon Runs for the past two days.
In a few hours, the whole Team will take a ride to the starting area for the event. Good luck and have fun, Thomas!
May 3, 2020—Tagaytay To Nasugbu 50K Ultramarathon Race
June 26-28, 2020—8th WEST COAST 200K Ultramarathon Race
October 3-4, 2020—6th Zamboanga Mountain Ultramarathon (80K/50K/25K)
October 21-24, 2020—-PAU 4th NORTH COAST 200-Mile Ultramarathon Race
November 29-December 5, 2020—2nd Manila To Pagudpud 580K Ultramarathon Race
*There will be 6-Hour & 12-Hour Endurance Races at the Headquarters Philippine Army, Fort Bonifacio as requested by the runners. These events will be FREE.
*PAU GrandSlam Award Races For 2020:
6th Manila To Baguio 250K Ultramarathon Race
4th North Coast 200-Mile Ultramarathon Race
2nd Manila To Pagudpud 580K Ultramarathon Race
8th West Coast 200K Ultramarathon Race
Note: 2020 PAU GrandSlam Awardees Will Receive SEIKO 5 Watch Each
For the third time, I was refused to join in one of the UTMB Races for the year 2020. I pre-registered for the CCC (101K) Race where my prevailing earned ITRA points for the past two years are qualified. After looking for the list of accepted/registered runners from the Philippines at the UTMB Website, I found out that there are 14 Runners for the UTMB (out of 50 applicants); 6 Runners for the TDS (out of 7 applicants); 4 Runners (out of 15 applicants); and 1 runner (out of 5 applicants) who will finally join the UTMB Races for this year. I am one of those 11 applicants who were not lucky enough to be included among the CCC participants.
In the formal notice that I have received from the UTMB Race Organizers which was sent to my e-mail address, they have stated that they have implemented an updated entry process for the year 2020. The bottomline is that I have to apply again for the year 2021 with a bigger chances to be included in the list of participants. There is also another option where I could join without going through the lottery if I can finish the 100-mile or 100-kilometer races in their UT Races in China (actually, 2 races in China), Spain, and Oman. Since these UT races are qualifiers for the longer UTMB race, they will not be part of my option as I want to join the CCC in the near future, if qualified and accepted. But for now, Chamonix is gone in my mind as I have to wait for the pre-registration for the 2021 UTMB Races this coming December 2020.
My plan for 2020 is to make CCC as my A-race and the rest of the trail races that I have scheduled and planning to join are part of my ITRA points accumulation; preparation/training for CCC; and a way to visit other places where I have never been. As they say, “If Plan A did not materialize, there are still remaining 25 letters in the Alphabet!”
As a teaser, I have already registered to three (3) International Trail Running Events for the year 2020 and these races will be revealed as my blogging progresses from day to day. Of course, there are also Local Trail Running Events that I am planning to join as part of my training/preparation for these International Events. My non-acceptance to the CCC Race had given me a lot of options to travel to other countries and places that I have never been before. Hopefully, Chamonix will be good for me in the year 2021, if I still have the strength at the age of 69 years old.
For those Pinoy Runners who are accepted for the 2020 UTMB Races, congratulations and wishing you the best of luck. Train properly. Enjoy the journey!
This is my first post for the year 2020. I am sorry for my readers and followers to this blog that I was not regular in making or posting my stories about my races and training. I was concentrated in my daily posts and readings on Facebook that I forgot to publish my stories in this blog. Hopefully, the New Year of 2020 will change everything as I will make sure to make a regular post in this blog.
For the meantime, I would like to post the list of races that I have finished for the year 2019. In the coming days, I will make a story or Race Report on each of these races (except for those which I have posted already in this blog).
Boston Marathon: The 2019 Boston Marathon is the 123rd Edition of this Most Prestigious Marathon In The World. I was able to qualify for my age (61-65 years old) in the 2017 Revel Canyon City Marathon Race with a time of 3:46+ and I had to wait for two years to be able to join this prestigious race. I will post a separate story about my experience in the said race.
REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon: I joined this race two weeks after I completed the 2019 Boston Marathon with the thought that I could qualify again for the 2020 Boston Marathon with my present Age Category of 66-70 years old. I failed because of the heat after the 13-Mile mark up to the Finish Line. However, I will still make a detailed Race Report about this experience in joining a Marathon Race in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MILO Half-Marathon Race In A Suit: This could be a FIRST in the History of Running in the Philippines’ MILO Marathon/Half-Marathon where a participant would run in a Business Suit. I finished the race but I was not able to qualify for the Finals. I posted a story on Facebook and in this blog about this experience.
Lavaredo’s Cortina Trail 48K Run: After a year, I have to return to Cortina D’ Ampezzo, Italy to complete the Lavaredo Trail Course and finish the last 48 kilometers of the route. I was able to finish it with barely two minutes before the Cut-Off Time. This experience showed my tenacity and grit to finish this race. It was a wonderful experience and I need to share my story about this in my incoming posts in this blog.
The North Face (TNF) 50K Philippines: After three years of being absent in the Philippines’ Trail Running Events, TNF Philippines revived its iconic trail running in the country. I opted to join the 50K race to test my endurance in the month of October after having some break/rest after I have finished the Cortina Trail 48K in the last week of June. With not much of training and preparation, I used this race to evaluate myself and I was able to finish it within the prescribed cut-off time. More details of this race in my Race Report.
The North Face (TNF) 50K Hong Kong: I was one of the late registrants of this race and I think I was the only Filipino who came from Manila who joined this race. I guess, some of the local Filipinos who planned to join this race backed-out on the last minute because of the prevailing situation in Hongkong. I forced myself to join this race to evaluate my training and present status of my body if I can finish this race. With hardwork, patience, and grit, I was able to finish this race, two hours before the prescribed cut-off time. I was happy with my performance in this race and it provided me with a more positive attitude to join more trail running events in the future despite my senior age. For the sake of the Local Trail Runners, I will post a story about my experience in this race soon.
It is nice to be back in this blog as I promised myself to make a habit to post a story in this blog about anything that I could think of but the main focus will still be about running. Some of the future intervening stories in this blog will be about my hobbies, daily activities, and my collections. I promised myself also to write and post, at least, once a day on anything that I could think of.
Note: This is my 4th day not being able to update my Facebook Wall; not making any LIKES and COMMENTS in the posts of my FB friends. Presently, I am regularly posting my thoughts on Twitter and pictures on Instagram. Hopefully, I will transform this blog as my Facebook Wall.
Bald Runner 
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