Q: At present, there is no Taiwanese race on the Asia Trail Master calendar. Which event would you like to see in it?
As mentioned above, most trails in Taiwan are quite wild and undeveloped. I would expect a race with a route that covers mountains above 3000 meters. If that, trail runners could see beautiful sunrise with endless sea of clouds and maybe could run with Sambar deers if lucky. But this kind of trail running race above 3000m might not be allowed by the government. I know there is the first edition ofThe Beast Trail race held in June in New Taipei City. The route represents the wild and technical trail type in Greater Taipei.
Q: Do you often travel to other countries to take part in trail running events?
I have taken part in several trail running races in Hong Kong mainly, but I also finished 172km UTMF in Japan in September 2015. And I have signed in UTMB-CCC race this year. Looking forward to it...
Q: Last month, there was the news that a big national park in Taiwan (Yangmingshan National Park) has forbidden trail running with immediate effect on environmental and safety grounds, leading to the cancellation of scheduled races. Do you think more parks will follow and forbid races?
I hope that won't happen. But how to protect environment during a race and after a race is a very important issue. Trail runners should be taught well. And race organizers and government officials could refer to how Japanese put a lot of effort into ecological planning and protection while holding the big UTMF race.
Q: How do you select the trail races you run?
In Hong Kong, I plan to join all ultra trail races. In other countries, I prefer to sign up for popular and classic races.
Q: Which Asia Trail Master races are you planning still for this year? Given your high points score, will you try to get a good final ranking?
There are lots of interesting Asia Trail Master races, such as Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset and Annapurna 100. I hope I can join them, I need to check with my limited annual leave from work.
Q: What was your best trail running experience so far?
My favorite part of trail running race is the moment of breaking dawn. It makes me think of being vigorous, fresh and enthusiastic. It makes me keep going ahead.
Q: What was your craziest experience in a trail running event?
My first 100 miles race was UTMF in Japan in 2015. The trail was muddy because of pouring rain in the previous day and still scattered rain during the race itself. The cut-off time was very tight in the first half of check points. I tried to speed up my pace to pass through lots of technical sections. But after sunset, I couldn't see the narrow route clearly through thick fog in the forest. It's really dangerous because of chances to fall down off the mountain. I slowed down and waited for someone coming with a brighter light. It was my first time to feel helpless. And rain became heavier at night. Trails were muddier and slipperier. In addition, trekking poles were forbidden by organizers for the reason of soil protection . So every trail runner needed to be more careful to go downhill. Lots of runners fell on their butts, faces, knees and other body parts. I got an injury at the lateral collateral ligament of knee joint after going downhill dramatically in the first one-third of the 172 km long race. And my pain still increased in intensity when I approached the finish line. I was in a bad situation at that moment. I was still determined to keep going unless I were to miss cut-off time. So, I really wanted to cry when I crossed the finish line after not sleeping for two nights. I learned lots and gained a lot of experience from this race.
Q: What does your training look like when you have a specific race goal
I will start training for UTMB-CCC race soon. Although the distance is not my longest race, it's still 6100 meters of positive altitude change in 101 km. No doubt it's very steep up and down, but without any stairs like in Hong Kong. I plan to find similar terrain in Hong Kong and spend weekends running on it. In addition, I plan to spend more time training to hike uphill on a treadmill as steep as it goes at gym, because at CCC I'm actually going to be hiking for almost half of the steep climbs.
Q: In your opinion, what are the biggest issues facing the sport of trail running in the near future? What is it you would not like to happen?
How to protect the environment and nature is an important issue. There is always a lot of litter on the trail after a race. How to prevent that? Also, the effect of urbanization in Hong Kong is that the government has gradually paved over the ancient trail with concrete in recent years. It looks like an attempt against nature. When we go trail running or hiking, we want to spend quality time on trees and grass, not on city-like sidewalks.
Q: Is there a race you really NEVER want to do, and why?
I face all challenges and expect to break through them myself.
Q: Do you have any tips for race organisers? Things every organiser should pay special attention to?
For race organizers, I would suggest that they provide more detailed race information on the websites as early as possible. The most important thing for overseas participants is to run the right way without spending too much time finding routes. I wish all organizers could provide GPS and mark routes more clearly.
