Hong Kong 100k

100 kilometers and 20,000 feet of climbing up and then back down again. Sounds miserable. But, it’s in Hong Kong! And you get a free entry! Right. So, I ran up and down the mountains in Chiang Mai a lot, and then flew to Hong Kong. 

“I’m gonna come to Hong Kong for your race.” I thought my friend Tim, who lives in Wyoming, was joking, but he wasn’t. So, when I got in on Friday morning, there he was. I love seeing new places, and Tim and I get along really well, so it was really nice time together. We saw quite a lot, while also leaving plenty to go back and see “next time.” I appreciate Tim so much for coming out and helping with the race, but it was also just great to hang.

I started the race slowly and from the beginning I felt really good. I enjoyed the first 4 or 5 miles and once the crowd thinned out a little bit I decided to start working. I hit a low point around mile 29, but it only lasted for a mile or two. It was brought on by direct sunlight and having to use my hands (and knees) to get up one hill. Besides that everything worked like clockwork. Tim met me at 5 aid stations and gave me my tailwind and whatever else had my fancy at that time. 

The course was mostly either up or down. Not much flat. If it was going up, we were climbing up stairs made out of stones placed there by design (not God’s). If it was going down, we were descending stairs likewise made of uneven, not always steady, stone. I had practiced some on stairs, but not enough. The technique of stair climbing/descending is different than just running up or down a hill. The beating that the stairs hand your body is more dramatic than regular dirt trail. And, the concentration it takes to navigate the best path up or down a set of uneven stairs accumulates over time.

Besides the one blip I told you about earlier, I felt strong and smooth all the way until mile 48. I saw Tim at that aid station and told him I wasn’t feeling so hot. He used some psychologist’s trick and I left feeling buoyed. A couple miles later was when I saw a porcupine. Hong Kong has wild porcupines. Seriously. And they’re huge.

As mile 55 rolled around, my body, and my brain, decided they had done enough. And I stopped running. There isn’t a good way to explain this “Blowing up” other than to say – I just couldn’t. I tried every trick in the book. But my legs were beat up and my brain was tired. So, I ran a little, really really slowly, but mostly I just walked it in. “Keep moving forward…” I had hit nearly all of my time goals up to that last section. Then, I didn’t.

 I finished in 32^nd out of 465 finishers (622 starters) and in 16 hours and 15 minutes. This one will go in the books as the hardest course I’ve ever ran. I’ve done a lot of these races now and everyone is new and presents new challenges. This race was all about managing the stairs. I was happy with the finish. I was super impressed by the Hong Kong runners. And I was so grateful for Tim’s support and accompaniment.

I don’t think I walked away with any big life lessons. But, as with every race, it was hard, and it’s always nice knowing that you can do hard things.

Thank you for all of you that followed along throughout the day. We were required to carry a phone, so while I didn’t see most of your messages, I did feel the notification buzz, and that was always encouraging.