Race Media

Frenchmen Team Uglow Win Royale International Kayak n Run opener

Summer Starts at Deep Water Bay at Royale International Kayak n Run

Hong Kong - May 30, 2015 – After a week of heavy rainstorm, the sun finally came out with a sold out race at the Royale International Kayak n Run at Deep Water Bay. Frenchmen Adrien Choux and Jerome Laboulais of team Uglow showed their paddling strength Saturday and grabbing top of the podium in a respectable 1 hour 34 minutes 48 seconds. Team 2XU-Patagonia (1 hour 37 minutes 56 seconds) and team AI's Diners (1 hour 41 minutes 12 seconds) rounded up the podium.

Continuing their strong performance after winning the OtterBox Action Asia Challenge, Frenchmen Adrien Choux and Jerome Laboulais of Team Uglow were happy to have two wins in the same month. “We started a little bit too fast and we lost the rhythm at first. So we slowed down a bit to find back the right pace. We didn't go too hard on the kayaking part since it was quite hot and we needed to reserve energy for the run later. We knew that we are stronger on the run than kayak, so the tactic was to keep some strength for the last part", said Laboulais. "Jerome is a definitely a strong runner. We always try to help each other and it is one of the reasons why we have been racing together for years. We finished the kayak leg just behind the team AI diners and we grabbed the lead just before reaching check point 2 (near Wong Nai Chung Gap). Today's weather is a lot better compared to last year's. Would be perfect if added a little bit of rain" said Choux of Team Uglow.

Just over 3 minutes later arriving at the beach finish came team 2XU-Patagonia with Russian Olya Korzh and local Hong Kong runner Wong Wai Kin grabbing second overall and first in the mixed category. “Kin pushed me very hard and always shout at me during the race. It's fun to go across the tunnel and that's my favorite part of the course." Said Korzh. "Just relax and enjoy the race. I'm quite confident about the kayaking session since I'm a kayak instructor, but the trail running session was never easy to me. It was a tough course especially running uphill on the mount Nicholson. Would definitely love to sign up for the next (Royale International) Kayak n Run in June" said Wong. Team 2XU-Patagonia accomplished the task in 1 hour 37 minutes 56 seconds.

Grabbing 3rd place overall was team AI's Diners with Robbie Broomhead and Ruaraidh Smeaton finished in 1 hour 41 minutes 12 seconds. Broomhead and Smeaton were both on Robin Hood costumes today, creating a fun scene at the start and finish line, which Broomhead is famous for in previous Action Asia races. "Go deeper and harder, longer and stronger. Today's tactic was to really push on the kayak so we can get a good head start going onto the run. We tried to come down the stairs faster, but the mountain run was tough as ever, I could never catch my breath. Glad to see so many great runners today. Jerome and Adrien caught us on the first hill and Olya and Kin caught us just before we came down Mt Nicholson”, said Broomhead of team AI's Diners.

The top women’s team was Lam & Lui with local runners Lam Lai Po and Dennex Lui Lai Han finishing in 1 hour 54 minutes 23 seconds. "We bike and run together to keep ourselves in race shape. However we didn't come up with any strategy to win, but just wanted to try our best. Knowing that we are quite weak in kayaking so we tried to overtake others on the trail instead. Good fun and team spirit, can't wait for the next race coming up in June as we have already signed up for the Royale International Kayak n Run Discovery Bay" said Lui, a season adventure racer.

Before the adult teams had their hard fought battle, family teams had enjoyed their fun time on the 1.5km ocean kayak -2km run course filled with smiles and laughter. “This was my 2nd year participating in Action Asia's Kayak-n-Run events (both DBay and Deep Water Bay) with my 7 years old son, Welkin. He was excited about the race and I woke him up at 5:30am without any difficulty. There are running races out there for kids, but not much adventurous one; thanks Action Asia and Royale International for arranging the family category and the kayaking part made the whole event more adventurous and fun to my little boy, as well as other kids racing with happy faces today”, said Stanley Ng.

British Stuart Sharpless and Kailan Sharpless of father and son came first in family category finishing in 18 minutes 57 seconds. “Fourth time joining and four wins in a roll. My son Kailan fell off the boat when we were positioned in first at that time. We then became third after he got on the kayak again. Trying so hard to overpass the first two teams again and finally chased up to the second when we were about to finish the kayaking part. Kailan is eleven but he is definitely an engine. We do a lot of outdoor sports and we have always been racing together. We did the first race together when he was 5. This year we are planning to go back to the United Kingdom and run all the high peaks with Kailan’s sister as well", said Stuart Sharpless.

Race 1 of the 7th annual Royale International Kayak n Run series at Deep Water Bay had a full entry list with 60 adult teams and 53 family teams with the adult race covering a 4km ocean kayak, and 5km trail run, while the families had a 1.5km ocean kayak and 2km run.

Race 2 moves to Discovery Bay on Saturday June 13th and is almost sold out with only a few team spots available and can enter at www.actionasiaevents.com

Royale International Kayak n Run Series 2015
Race 1 – May 30 – Deep Water Bay, HK Island, HK
Race 2 – June 13 – Discovery Bay, Lantau Island, HK
Race 3 – TBC (July-Sept) – Tai Tam Bay, HK Island, HK

TOP 3 OVERALL TEAMS – Royale International Kayak n Run – Deep Water Bay – May 30, 2015
 
1st        Uglow - Adrien Choux and Jerome Laboulais –1:34:48
2nd       2XU-Patagonia - Olya Korzh and Wong Wai Kin –1:37:56
3rd        AI's Diners - Robbie Broomhead and Ruaraidh Smeaton –1:41:12

Overall Top 3 Women Team
1st         LAM & LUI - Lai Po LAM and Lai Han Dennex LUI –1:54:23
2nd       CHAN & LAU - Yue Yan CHAN and Pui Ling Connie LAU –2:01:40
3rd        Manny & Frank - Sarah LO and Sharon TSANG – 2:09:17

Overall Top 3 Men Team
1st        Uglow - Adrien Choux and Jerome Laboulais –1:34:48
2nd       AI's Diners - Robbie Broomhead and Ruaraidh Smeaton –1:41:12
3rd        Jeremy & Tristan - Tristan FAIRBAIRN and Jeremy BORNE –1:42:24

Overall Top 3 Mix Team
1st        2XU-Patagonia - Olya Korzh and Wong Wai Kin –1:37:56
2nd       Cvetkovic & Davis - Chris DAVIS and Magdalena CVETKOVIC –1:44:43
3rd        Uglow - Mat LENG and Charlotte HENRY –01:48:07



Race Info
Event Name    Royale International Kayak n Run (Family & Adult - 2 different races)
Date    May 30th, 2015 (SATURDAY)
Start Time    7 a.m. Family start & 8 a.m. Adult race
Start Location    Deep Water Bay, HK Island, Hong Kong
Distance    Family 1.5 km kayak & 2km run / Adult 4 km kayak & 6 km trail run
Description    Kayaking and running near Middle Island and Deep Water Bay. Kayak, paddles and life vests provided
Aim    To see beautiful scenery and to get off the main trails and into locations people don't usually go.




About Action Asia Foundation

Since its inception in 1997 the Action Asia Foundation has promoted the idea that outdoor activities can play a crucial part in fostering an individual’s personal development. Proceeds from the Action Asia Challenge and other fundraising events go to help the work of the Foundation. The goals of the Action Asia Foundation include:

•    Developing personal development opportunities for young people in Asia through organising outdoor adventure activities.
•    Raising the quality of life for disadvantaged young people in Asia by funding health clinics, schools and activity centres.
•    Promoting cultural interchange through adventure programmes and events.
•    Developing permanent facilities for youth adventure training

The Foundations achievements so far include funding a day-care and health facilities in Nepal, and organizing kayaking, climbing and other outdoor activities for handicapped and underprivileged youth in Hong Kong. More information on the Action Asia Foundation can be found at http://www.actionasiaevents.com/about-us/action-asia-foundation.html

The event could not happened without the generous support of Royale International, and presenting sponsor and the supporting partner like ActionX Store, Otterbox, Pearl’s, Salonpas, Herbalgy, OL&N, Ocean Potion, Socam, HKR, Oregon Scientific, Gatorade and the Action Asia Foundation.

www.actionasiaevents.com

RESULTS - Deep Water Bay - Royale Internationale Kayak n Run Series - race 1

Overall Team Top 3
1st        Uglow - Adrien Choux and Jerome Laboulais –1:34:48
2nd       2XU-Patagonia - Olya Korzh and Wong Wai Kin –1:37:56
3rd        AI's Diners - Robbie Broomhead and Ruaraidh Smeaton –1:41:12

[Top 3 All Categories]

Women’s Team Top 3
1st         LAM & LUI - Lai Po LAM and Lai Han Dennex LUI –1:54:23
2nd       CHAN & LAU - Yue Yan CHAN and Pui Ling Connie LAU –2:01:40
3rd        Manny & Frank - Sarah LO and Sharon TSANG – 2:09:17

Men's combined age 36+ Top 3
1st        Lee & West - Ben LEE and Steven WEST –1:50:59
2nd       Chatagnon & Moisset - Alban CHATAGNON and Romain MOISSET – 2:05:51
3rd        Stay Hungry - Shogo SUGANUMA and Shogo MATSUBARA – 2:08:53

Men's combined age 60+ Top 3
1st        Uglow - Adrien Choux and Jerome Laboulais –1:34:48
2nd       AI's Diners - Robbie Broomhead and Ruaraidh Smeaton –1:41:12
3rd        Jeremy & Tristan - Tristan FAIRBAIRN and Jeremy BORNE –1:42:24

Men's combined age 80+ Top 3
1st       Nasty - Gump WONG and Kwok Wah WONG - 1:44:58
2nd      Walkermix - Billy CHAN and Jim CHAN - 1:54:30
3rd       DB2 - W K CHAN and Chris CHENG - 1:56:58

Mixed Team age 36+ Top 3
1st        Cvetkovic & Davis - Chris DAVIS and Magdalena CVETKOVIC - 1:44:43
2nd       Uglow - Mat LENG and Charlotte HENRY - 1:48:07
3rd        Devine & Ward - Christina DEVINE and Ryan WARD - 1:51:01

Mixed Team age 70+ Top 3
1st       2XU-Patagonia - Olya KORZH and Wai Kin WONG - 1:37:56
2nd      HUI & TSANG - Dino TSANG and Cristal HUI - 1:56:43
3rd       Lungers - SZE YING JENNIFER CHEUNG and HOI TAT LEUNG - 1:56:52

賽事安排如下：
1.    5月30日 - 深水灣，港島 - 親子組7點、成人組8點開始
2.    6月13日 - 愉景灣，大嶼山- 親子組8點、成人組9點開始
3.    [TBC]   - 大潭灣，港島

2015年5月30日
賽後新聞稿                                                            
請即時發送
2015 Royale International獨木舟及越野跑系列賽 - 深水灣

法國組合 - Team Uglow挑戰賽後再奪冠軍
夏日2015 Royale International獨木舟及越野跑首戰成功舉行

晴日卻並非十分炎熱，今晨「Royale International獨木舟及越野跑系列賽」首戰在深水灣成功舉行。今夏賽事依舊分設成人組(4公里獨木舟及6公里越野跑) 和親子組 (1.5公里獨木舟及2公里越野跑) ，首場比賽名額爆滿。法國選手Adrien Choux和Jerome Laboulais組成的UGLOW隊以1小時34分48秒勇奪成人組冠軍，而親子組則繼續由英國父子組合Stuart Sharpless和 Kailan Sharpless衛冕。

早晨七點在成人組奮力比拼前，親子组帶著歡聲笑語率先出發。和7歲的兒子Welkin一起參賽來玩的Stanley Ng賽後 表示：「這是我們第二次參加這個系列比賽，我兒子因為這個比賽十分興奮，今天一早五點半我一叫他，就馬上自己起床了，起床一點困難都沒有。」Stanley也稱喜歡本比賽的特別：「感謝動感亞洲和Royale International特別組織這個家庭組別，我們都很喜歡獨木舟的部分，不但讓整個比賽更有冒險的感覺，對我兒子和其他小朋友來說也更加有趣和好玩了。一路都伴著笑聲，相信大家都玩得很開心！」

親子組最快的英國父子Stuart Sharpless和Kailan Sharpless的APA Ninjas隊伍僅用時18分57秒便完成全程，取得了四連冠的驕人成績！Kailan自信滿滿的告訴我們說：「我長大之後要做一個律師。我也想和爸爸一起回英國時跟姐姐一起爬遍英國所有的高山。」父親Stuart則表示「連贏四場的確很開心。今天我們開始時是一直領先的，Kailan卻半路從獨木舟墮下水，我們想盡快追回前三，在獨木舟部分結束前其實就追到了第一名。雖然我兒子才十一歲，但他真的像汽車引擎一樣非常有衝勁。我們平日就一起做很多戶外運動，從他四五歲的時候就開始比賽了。」

成人組別方面，UGLOW隊以1小時34分48秒的時間獲得冠軍。今日是該組在本月Otterbox動感亞洲挑戰賽後的又一勝戰。隊員之一法國選手Adrien Choux笑著說：「我們已經在香港住了9年了，可以算是香港人啦。比賽線路很棒，很興奮可以得到本月的第二个冠軍。近期Jerome訓練的比較多，所以Jerome比賽的時候比較不吃力，一路也不停鼓勵我，偶爾還幫我拿水樽。」同是來自法國的Jerome Laboulais則很謙虛的說：「其實我們在獨木舟剛開始的時候有點太快了，有點亂了節奏。還好在獨木舟的部分和爬上坡的時候留了點力氣，因為我們知道越野跑的部分才是我們的強項。現在我訓練比較多，之前有段時間是Adrien比較強。團結絕對是我們的決勝關鍵，因為我們一起比賽很多年了，所以非常了解對方。而不管在什麼比賽我們都是互相幫手。」

第二個衝線的是男女混合組的冠軍2XU-Patagonia，組員分別為俄國女將Olya Korzh和香港獨木舟教練Wong Wai Kin，用時1小時37分56秒。Olya開玩笑的說：「我的隊友Kin獨木舟很厲害，還不停的催我大力點划。」Kin說：「獨木舟肯定是我的強項，我自己也是教獨木舟的。對我來說比賽最難的部分是上坡的部分。」Olya則表示：「越野跑的部分肯定是我的強項。但獨木舟的路線真的很長，所以比賽一點也不容易。」
     
獲得成人組第三的是Al's Diners組的Robbie Broomhead和Ruaraidh Smeaton用時1小時41分12秒完成比賽，他們今天的一身羅賓遜裝扮十分吸引眼球，如果有最佳著裝獎，他們一定入選。Ruaraidh笑稱說：「我們是像羅賓遜一樣訓練，在樹林裡奔跑絕對是我們的強項，不過今天對手強勁，拿到第三也很高興。」隊友Robbie介紹他們今天的戰術說：「在獨木舟的部分我們真的很拼，一心想著要早點到開始跑步。可能是這個服裝的原因，跑步的時候又非常悶熱，所以最後一段很辛苦。 Uglow組真的很強，在第一個上坡就追上了我們。不過下坡我們倒是很得心應手。」

而由Lam Lai Po 和 Liu Lai Han Dennex 兩個香港選手組成的Lam & Liu則用時1小時54分23秒，勇奪女子組冠軍。Lai Po表示：「其實我們划獨木舟算是很吃力的，只能盡力去努力拼。平時我們一起跑步，騎單車多一些的。」Dennex則分享訓練心得說：「平時上班都很忙，我們是屬於週末如果兩天有空就訓練兩天，一天有空就訓練一天的類型。因為熱愛運動所以也樂於在假期的時候多做戶外運動，呼吸一下新鮮空氣，享受大自然。」

是次深水灣站為今年系列賽事的首站，比賽名額爆滿。參賽選手從深水灣沙灘出發，越洋繞過熨波洲水路4公里，回到深水灣沙灘後接連5公里定向越野跑步。途經黃泥涌峽、南峰路、聶高信山，再轉回南峰路至黃泥涌峽最後沖線。下一站將於6月13日在愉景灣舉行且名額有限，想要參加的朋友們，要抓緊時間報名啦！

是次獨木舟系列賽榮獲Royale International冠名贊助；並感謝(排名不分先後) Action X Store、 OtterBox、 Pearl’s、撒隆巴斯、健絡通、Gatorade、OL&N、Ocean Potion、Socam、Oregon Scientific、Action Asia Foundation、HKR、康樂及文化事務署、漁農自然護理署及香港警務處的大力支持。

賽事詳情請見：www.actionasiaevents.com


賽事信息

賽事名稱    Royale International獨木舟及越野跑系列賽 (親子組&成人組)
日期    5月30日 (星期六)
時間    親子組7點、成人組8點開始
地點     深水灣，港島
距離    親子組1.5 km 獨木舟 & 2 km 越野跑/成人組4 km 獨木舟 & 6 km 越野跑