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01 Jan, 1970

MSIG HK 50 Sai Kung: What a line up! Women on top & ready to rock

MSIG HK 50 SAI KUNG: WHAT A LINE UP! WOMEN ON TOP & READY TO ROCK

An all-star line up will gather at Sai Kung next weekend for the final and most technical race in the HK50 Series. But it’s the impressive women’s field, not the men’s, set to shine the most.

Making the journey from the USA, Salomon-sponsored athlete Cassie Scallon should make even the men a little nervous. She’s had a stellar year of running, dominating the 50-mile distance in the USA. Rearing to go after a recent win at the 50-mile distance in February, the only question is whether this American speedster can handle the technical trails of Sai Kung Country Park.

From Europe, Italy’s Allessandra Carlini is at home amongst rugged terrain. She was 2nd at the 80-kilometre du Mont Blanc marathon in 2013, 3rd at the 2012 Traces des Ducs de Savoie (Tds) in 2012 and 3rd in the Lavaredo Ultra Trail in 2011. She holds a top 30 ranking in the 2013 International Skyrunning Federation top women’s ranking.

For Filipino adventure racer Baby Marites BitBit, the rougher the better. Though Asia’s top female mountain biker is relatively new to ultras, she confirmed her abilities over grueling terrain when she took 3rd place at The North Face 100 Hong Kong last year.

Making her debut is newcomer from China, Zheng Dan. She calls the mountains of Yunnan home, where trains with elite runners Rudy Gilmore and Pavel Tarapov. Could she be the dark horse amongst the experienced ultra runners?

And let’s not forget the experienced local females. Current series champion Olya Korzh will look to use her local knowledge to defend her title against the elite crowd. But she will also have to contend against top road runner, Jo Jo Fan Siu Ping, winner of the MSIG HK50 Hong Kong last October and Claire Price, who is also registered to compete. Local runners Lo Ching Ling (2nd place MSIG HK50) Lantau and Sophie Tam will also likely be in the mix.

The women’s field adds to an impressive league of male runners, including 2012 Australian Ultrarunner of the year, Brendan Davies, and up-and-comer Stu Air from the UK, who holds several British records in skyrunning.

From the rest of Asia is Russian Pavel Tarapov (2nd 2013 MSIG HK50 Sai Kung) race and Rudy Gilmore (2nd 2013 MSIG HK50 Lantau50) - both live and train in Lijiang, China. Russian Petr Novotny, winner of the technical OtterBox Taiwan 17km race in September, is travelling from Taiwan.

Last year’s series winner and current series champion William Davies will not only need to keep the internationals at bay but also the strong local competitions. Skilled local runners likely to apply some pressure include Stone Tsang Siu Keung, Law Chor Kin and Wo Ho Chung.

More than 1100 are currently registered and numbers will be capped at 1150. The 50km race involves 2218m of elevation gain (1502m in the 26 km race), with a max elevation in both races of 468m.

All distances start at Pak Tam Chung at the mouth of the MacLehose Trail, weave through Sai Kung East Country Park. The 26km and 50km distance ascend Sharp Peak (Nam She Tsim). Unrivalled views of Sai Kung’s beaches, including Tai Long Wan, are offered along the way.

There’s more than HK$170,000 cash and prizes up for grabs and the top man and woman (based on placings) will represent Hong Kong in the ISF world championships in France in June.

More about the MSIG50 Series

The MSIG50 series in association with Volkswagen, Hong Kong’s premier 50 kilometre race series sanctioned by the International Skyrunning Association. Runners may also chose from 27~ kilometre and 14~ kilometre distances across the three courses on Hong Kong Island, Lantau and Sai Kung. The MSIG50 Lantau, to be held on 7 December 2013, is the second race in the 2013-2014 series.

Action Asia Events is thankful to the title sponsor MSIG, associated sponsor Volkswagen and other sponsor and support OtterBox, ActionX Store, Nature Valley, Bonaqua, Descente, Auberge Discovery Bay, Skins, Woolies, Herbalgy, Salonpas, Beauty Diary, Digital Butter, OLN, AroundDB Magazine, ISF and Hong Kong VR2HAM.

More about the prizes

ISF race representation: The first man and woman (two places in total) in the Lantau 50 and Sai Kung 50, based on placings (not time) will receive the ISF prize. Must have attended and completed both course and born in Hong Kong similar to Olympic rules for Nationality.

ISF prize is entry into World Championship race of choice at ISF World Championships in Chamonix, France 2014. Includes race registration and hotel package, but excludes flights.

  • The Mont-Blanc 80KM, June 27, features a challenging 6,000 metres of vertical climb along ridges, over snow fields and traversing glaciers in a point to point loop. Records: Francois D’Haene with Michel Lanne, 9h45’57”; Caroline Chaverot, 13h10’05”, 2013.
  • Short and steep, the Vertical KM, June 27, points 1,000 metres skywards. A timed race, it will test your VO2 max to the limit. Records: Saul Antonio Padua, 34’34” and Christel Dewalle in 41’33”, 2013 .
  • The Mont-Blanc Marathon, June 29. The 42 km course starts in Chamonix and finishes at 2,016m altitude, gathering 2,511m elevation gain and 1,490m on the downhill, this beautiful trail offers some of the best scenery of the Mont Blanc massif. Records: Kilian Jornet, 3h30’41”, 2013 and Stevie Kremer, 4h03’20”, 2013.

About MSIG

With a network of operations dating as far back as 1855, MSIG has been providing general insurance solutions and products to customers in Hong Kong for more than 150 years.

MSIG, a subsidiary of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited (“MSI”) within the MS&AD Insurance Group (“MS&AD Holdings”), is highly regarded for our long-standing industry experience and market knowledge. We offer multiple channels of sales and services to our valued customers. We operate through an extensive distribution network including agents, brokers and bancassurance alliances with leading banks.

With the support of committed and professional business partners, MSIG delivers only the highest levels of service to our customers. We provide an extensive range of general insurance products covering Property, Marine Cargo, Personal Accident, Motor, Liability, Home Contents, Healthcare, Personal Effects, Directors' and Officers' Liability, Professional Indemnity and other classes of casualty business, meeting both the commercial and personal needs of our customers.

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