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14 May, 2023

Gurung makes his move on wet downhill - Wong another Womens podium

Gurung makes his move on wet technical downhill to keep Nepalese in front of competitive pack  – Wong adds to her podium collection in the Women’s

HONG KONG, May 14, 2023 – With over 500 runners at the Action Sprint Repulse Bay, the 14km/9km trail running race organized by Action Asia Events in Tai Tam Country Park didn’t disappoint in the rain as new on the trail running scene, Nepalese Labin Gurung was in a tight packed group of around 7 runners made up of some of Hong Kong’s most talented short distance technical runners with all in a space of around 10 seconds at the halfway point near the top of the 436m high Violet Hill. Gurung put the hammer down on the wet muddy technical downhill to get a good enough gap of only 33 seconds thru the remainder of the course to outpace Hong Kong’s Charles Lo to grab the win at the Repulse Bay leg, the last of the Action Sprint Series in an overall time of 1 hour 19 minutes 23 seconds with Charles Ho taking 2nd overall in 1 hour 19 minutes 56 seconds.

Hong Kong’s Jeffrey Cho Yu Hin pushed as hard as he could on the final sand beach sprint to grab 3rd just 6 seconds behind in 1 hour 20 minutes 2 seconds. Then 50 seconds back was Hong Kong’s Mok Wai Hung taking 4th overall in the Men’s 14 km in 1:20:52 and Nepalese Rai Bimalkaji a close 5th in 1:21:17.

“This was my 2nd race as did a race in September, but really want to thank my coach for helping me build some strength and my good friend Rai as this course was really, tough and some serious competition as all of us were so close together all the way to the top of Violet Hill. Lucky it was very wet and slippery on the downhill and I knew I had to push really, hard at that moment to make a gap which helped just enough to get in front of all the other strong runners. So happy also with the course marking and staff on course” said overall Men’s 14km winner Nepalese Gurung who was hugging his teammate and close friend Rai who grabbed 5th just over 1 minute later showing everyone how competitive the field was.

“The course was very interesting and a lot of fun in this weather and big thanks to Action Asia for pulling this off” said 2nd place overall Hong Kong’s Charles Ho .

“The first 7 men were so close thru the whole race as we pushed each other hard in some extreme conditions with the rain and mud so very happy taking 3rd overall. Thank you so much Action Asia for making this happen as we need more”, said 3rd place Mens 14km overall Jeffrey Cho Yu Hin.

Hong Kong’s Wong Mei Yan chalked up another podium at the Action Sprint Repulse Bay grabbing the overall win in 1 hour 35 minutes 7 seconds after an impressive last couple of years with numerous podiums including a 2nd two weeks ago at the Sai Kung Action Sprint and 5th place at the Discovery Bay Action Sprint a month ago. Britain’s Nia Cooper improved her previous record by taking 2nd overall in 1 hour 40 minutes 14 seconds with Australian Meg Sterling taking 3rd overall in 1:45:39.

One of Hong Kong’s most celebrated Women podium finishers with numerous wins in ultra marathons & adventure races over the past 20 years Japanese Chiaki Fjelddahl grabbed 4th overall in 1:46:35, but the fun part is Chiaki now has some bragging rights over her young daughter Hannah who many remember was 1st overall women at the 2021 Lantau 50 ultra marathon and currently living in Japan, so should be some interesting family conversations going on.

Hong Kong’s Fiona Shek took 5th overall in the Women’s 14km in 1:47:01.

“The rain made course quite slippery, but I had a lot of fun as like these conditions and with the weather lower compared to the last Action Sprint it was a welcome relief” said overall Womens 14 km winner Wong Mei-yan.

Nia Cooper was full of praise for the wet conditions and course. “I love these Sprints as good distance for me. Was a bit slippery but I had the right shoes on. Really good marking, I paced well and managed to get by a couple people near the end which made my day and happy to finish on a high this season” said Nia Cooper who took 2nd overall in the Womens 14km.

Meg from Australia signed whole family up for the Action Sprint Repulse Bay saying “amazing grabbing 3rd overall as course was slippery but amazing marking and what a fantastic mothers day gift today as big thank you to Action Asia” said Australian Meg Sterling.

In the 9km distance category, Limbu Yamanath took the Men’s title in 53:40 while Alina Ilyn Vaso from the Philippines took the Womens 9km title.

Runners set off from Repulse Bay Beach and after a short 400m sprint on the sand, they headed up towards Tai Tam Country Park for a loop around Violet Hill including going over the 436meter peak. Going down the Wilson trail, muddy, technical rocks and cement stairs the 9km participants would then drop back down to Repulse Bay for a total elevation gain of around 568m , while the 14km participants continued towards Tai Tam Reservoir for another loop around the middle reservoir, more technical muddy dirt trails before finishing back at the beach for a total elevation gain of around 751m.

The Action SPRINT Trail Series now in its 20th year is an icon in Hong Kong for many trail runners and outdoor lovers with over 1000 participating in the series. Focusing on the environment, sustainability and Leaving No Trace, Action Asia Events used almost 100% recycled course marking material for the last Repulse Bay Action Sprint race focusing on its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, while generating over 10 bags of separated waste made up of tin cans, fruit peels and cardboard that will all be recycled. Action Asia Events is dedicated to creating diversified and challenging routes and giving runners the opportunity to set foot on less-trodden trails and explore the suburbs away from the concrete jungle to promote mental health.

The event could not have happened without the kind support of OCA, Royale International, DelMonte, Bonaqua, Action X Store, Fitz, C3fit, Auto-Camper Batteries and the Action Asia Sports Academy.

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#ActionSprint #ActionAsiaEvents #trailrunning #HongKong #Fitness #Health #FUN #DelMonte #OCA #RoyaleInternational #ActionXStore #Fitz #Torq #C3fit

Race Results

14 km - Top 5 Men

Position – Bib# - Name – Category - Nationality - Team/Sponsor - Finishing Time

1 (244) Labin Gurung -Nepal - Run Nepal HK - 01:19:23

2 (247) Chun Chi 浚錙 Lo 羅 - HKG - RMAC - 01:19:56

3 (99) Yu Hin Jeffrey 宇軒 Cho 曹 - HKG - The Peak Hunter - 01:20:02

4 (243) Wai Hung 偉雄 Mok 莫 -HKG - 01:20:52

5 (248) Rai Bimalkaji - Nepal = Run Nepal HK - 01:21:17

14 km - Top 5 Women

Position – Bib# - Name – Category - Nationality - Team/Sponsor - Finishing Time

1 (2) Mei Yan 美欣 Wong 黃 - HKG - 01:35:07

2 (76) Nia Cooper - UK - 01:40:14

3 (227) Meg Sterling - Australia - 01:45:39

4 (365) Chiaki Fjelddahl -Japan - 01:46:35

5 (195) Fiona 海慧 Shek 石 - HKG - 01:47:01 

9 km - Top 5 Men

Position – Bib# - Name – Category - Nationality - Team/Sponsor - Finishing Time

1 (593) Limbu Yamanath - Nepal - Actionpanda/Bix/Chamonix/Akiv/La Sportiva - 00:53:40

2 (597) Wu Yin 護然 Wong 黃 - HKG - 00:55:23

3 (578) John Cove - UK - 00:56:47

4 (606) Stephen Higgins - UK - 00:57:00

5 (608) Pak Iu 伯銚 Fok 霍 - HKG - The Peak Hunter-  00:58:20

9 km - Top 5 Women

Position – Bib# - Name – Category - Nationality - Team/Sponsor - Finishing Time

1 (583) Alina Ilyn Vaso - Philippines - BST - 01:04:56

2 (573) Phoebe 巧臻 Mak 麥 - HKG - 01:08:05

3 (621) Chung Man 仲雯 Cheng 鄭 - HKG - 01:09:39

4 (520) Laetitia Montfort - France - 01:13:43

5 (533) Evelyn 凱欣 Chan 陳 - HKG - 01:15:19

 

Race Info

Event Name

Action SPRINT Repulse Bay trail run

Date

May 14, 2023 (Sunday)

Start Time

8:00 am

Start / Finish Location

Repulse Bay, Kong Kong,

Distance

14 km and 9km

Category

Hiking and Trail Running

Course

www.actionasiaevents.com 

About Action Asia Events

Action Asia Events is the organizer of spectacular, extraordinary remote marathons for adventure travel seekers & trail running enthusiasts that inspire and push the boundaries of participants. Having organized over 290 events over the past 23 years, Action Asia Events constantly keeps inspiring and pushes the boundaries of adventure travel, ultra-marathon and team building. Responsibilities range from designing courses, selection of the venue, dates and race format to raising the funds essential to run the race as well as liaising with NGO’s and non-profits for fund raising activities related to environment, education and health.

For more race details, please visit below:

 

www.actionasiaevents.com 

www.facebook.com/ActionAsiaEvent/

www.instagram.com/actionasiaevents/

www.youtube.com/user/ActionAsiaEvents

www.linkedin.com/company/action-asia-events/

 

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