Gone Running. Hong Kong already has a multitude of ultra trail races. What makes Ultra Hong Kong different?
Martin. For sure it does. Hong Kong already has a multitude of races of all sorts. What the GreenRace is working to achieve is a unique race day experience with premium venue, racepacks, food and awards all sustainably sourced. We’re passionate about about creating Hong Kong’s first Zero Waste trail & road events and we’ve made great strides towards this. We’d also venture to say our Start/Finish point from the Country Club at Hong Lok Yuen is unique; particularly with the amenities on offer.
GR. Maybe you can tell us a little about the course. Will runners have run most of these trails before?
Martin. Perhaps a lot of the ultra-folks will have run much of these trails beforehand. We are really focusing on a unique overall race day experience: from the course, to high quality food & hydration at check points, to the unique start/finish venue.
GR. What about check points? Anything special for runners?
A. CPs will be VERY well stocked with treats. Tailwind is an obvious staple, but we’ll also be having European styled CPs with a variety of high quality & healthy quick energy foods!
GR. The private start and finish The Country Club at Hong Lok Yuen looks a bit fancy. Tell us about this.
Martin. It’s an amazing venue and we’ve been very fortunate to partner with this Country Club. We’re aiming for make this venue as good as it may sound to some. Certainly we’ll have great catering and a variety of beverages on site! Shower passes will be distributed to at least 100 runners in each category.
GR. What will be “green” about this race?
Martin. Perhaps the question should be what’s not Green about this race?:) We’re getting better and better with this (we hope!). From no metal awards, no disposable cups, no pins or disposable metal/plastic in racepacks, eco-friendly packaging, no plastic bottles, no disposable course markings, opt out of racepack items & donate to HK community causes or help fund student green projects, donating 5% of net race proceeds to HKCleanup for cleaner trails and coastlines + creating increased awareness of the environmental issues facing HK! We’re always looking for new ideas to make our GreenRace model even greener. Our first week of January Braemar GreenRace packs had next to no disposable metals or plastics and we intend to improve upon this for our April Ultra. So please do reach out to us!
GR. Ultra Hong Kong is on 1 April. This is not a joke right
Martin. No joke! We’re hoping for cooler weather – but we’re preparing for whatever we’re given. Like at the GreenRace Plover in September, we’ll have ice baths on hand and a tonne of cold drinks on hand, plus surprise CP’s for those really in need of little extra hydration boost!
GR. Any other Green Race events that we should look out for?
Martin. Of course! We have a full calendar for 2017 with our next races coming up:
GreenRace Pottinger (15km and 6.5km) – 20th May 2017
GreenRace Road Race (21km / 14km / 7km) – 12th June 2017
Also, the LBCTGR Short Course Series is in full swing so don’t forget to add the LBC Stairmaster races to your run calendar for: 8th & 15th April! The top placing male & female for best 3 of 4 LBCTGR short course events will be hoisting one serious cup above their heads!
