Lantau 50: Salomon Wettstein and Hanah Fjelddahl take top honours as ‘ultra sky marathon’ returns to Hong Kong after two years
- One of the staple events of the Hong Kong trailing running scene, the race is held for the first time since 2019 after being disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic
- Runners endure a challenging number of vertical climbs as they tackle Lantau and Sunset peaks in one of Hong Kong’s iconic races
Swiss runner Salomon Wettstein and Hong Kong-born Japanese Hanah Fjelddahl took top honours in the men’s and women’s races for the Lantau 50, which was held for the first time since 2019.
Wettstein completed Sunday’s event – also known as the “ultra sky marathon” – in six hours, 46 minutes and 23 seconds, beating out the challenges of Hong Kong’s Wong Wai-hung (7:01:18) and France’s JB Martenet (7:03:52), with Australia’s Henri Lehkonen (7:09:41) and Wong Kwok-wai (Hong Kong, 7:18:08) fourth and fifth respectively.
Fjelddhahl crossed the finish line in 8:14:40, ahead of Irish runner Claire Nesbitt (8:18:24), Angelika Hahn (Germany, 8:19:32) and UK’s Nicola Han (8:21:37).
“Going up Lantau Peak and looking in front I could see JB was starting to cramp up,” said Wettstein. “He really pushed hard, but probably I think he pushed a little too hard and then going down I passed him and felt great at that point. Then I must say going up Sunset Peak I also was suffering, started to get a bit of cramps.”
Lantau 50 is the second trail running race of the Hong Kong 50 series with 16km, 27km and 54km distances but the popular event has not been contested since 2019 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The field comprised runners who were living in Hong Kong.
The course started from Tung Chung, taking runners up to Nei Lek Shan, Ngong Ping, Keung Shan ridge, Shek Pik and Lantau Peak, then to Pak Mong and finishing back in Tung Chung.
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Wong Wai-hung was the first Hong Kong runner to finish the race with his second place in the men’s division.
“The course was really nice, very tough,” said Wong. “The 54 kilometres with very high elevation was very nice and I love Lantau but every time I come to Lantau its always a nightmare as the last two peaks – Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak – are too tough for me and everyone, I think. That was one reason I started easy, as I did the Trailwalker [unofficially] last week and felt a bit tired.”
The event was organised by Action Asia Events, who were able to obtain the green light from the Hong Kong government for a number of local races during the pandemic, bypassing some restrictions. Action Asia Events has organised more than 280 events in the past 20 years.
The race used to be a part of the Asian Skyrunning Championship – sanctioned by the International Skyrunning Federation for the Skyrace category on the 27km distance and the Ultra Skymarathon category for the 54km distance.
Action Asia Events director Michael Maddess said he was “crossing his fingers that in December 2022 Hong Kong will make it easier on our visitors to come and race”. The next race is scheduled for January 15, 2022 with the Sai Kung 50.
