The 35th edition of the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker lived up to expectations, with pre-race favourites AWOO Team Nepal stampeding through the 100km course to finish in 11:01, only three minutes behind the 2013 course record set by another Nepalese team, Team Columbia S1, of 10:58.
True to their word, the team set off on a blistering pace and stuck to it the whole day, building up a lead advantage of 40 mins at the third checkpoint to finish a full two hours before another team would finish.
The team of Nepalese soldiers out to set new Hong Kong Trailwalker record
Had they not been directed off course less than a kilometre from the finish, Team 2XU (Dan Parr, Ander Kartik Jensen, Peter Lee, Nicol Boyd) may well have hit their goal target of under 13 hours, but 13:03 was enough to secure second place for the team that finished fifth last year.
Rounding up the podium, and taking first mixed team honours in the process, was Team Salomon (Claire Price, Jeremy Ritcey, Jacky Leung, Tom Robertshaw), in 13:12, finishing not far from the 2014 record of 12:52 set by all local Hong Kong team 2XU UFO.
An impressive performance indeed by two stalwarts of the local trail running scene in Price and Ritcey, and two rising superstars in Robertshaw and Leung.