Last team crosses the line in Oxfam 48 hour Trailwalker: aiming to raise record HK$32 million for emergency relief
More than 5,000 people walk the trail from Sai Kung to Yuen Long in the annual event begun by Gurkha soldiers seeking to give themselves a training challenge
After a gruelling 47 hours and 08 minutes of trekking through 100-kilometres of hilly terrain, the last team crossed the finish line, their faces glowing with sweat and pride, marking an end to an annual charity walk.
“We wanted to finish as a team this time, last year we were too ambitious in setting our goals and one of our members ended up injured,” said Yip Hon-pong, 26, who was part of the last team “G-Dragon”.
The Oxfam Trailwalker saw a record 5,200 participants this year, up from 5,000 last year - when it raised a little over HK$32 million for emergency relief and the poor, exceeding the target of HK$31 million.
READ MORE: Record-breaking: all-Hong Kong Chinese team the first to win Oxfam Trailwalker since 2009
Participants in teams of four traversed more than 20 hills on the MacLehose and other trails between Sai Kung and Yuen Long, along a 100km route that stretched across from East to West in the New Territories.
One “G-Dragon” team member had sustained knee injuries halfway through the 48-hour race, but he said his colleagues who joined the race with him kept him going.
“My knee was hurting so much I nearly couldn’t walk, but my teammates kept encouraging me to take one step at a time,” said Marco Leung Ka-chun after crossing the finish line on Sunday afternoon.
READ MORE: It’s pain and gain as Trailwalkers take to gruelling trail in bid to raise funds
Previous winners included Nepalese teams, some of whom were former Gurkhas, and the People’s Liberation Army’s Hong Kong garrison.
At least 88% of 5,200 participants had completed the race, according to organisers.
The organisers pledged to set aside part of the money raised to help Nepal, where earthquakes in April and May killed more than 8,800 people.
This year’s event attracted more than 3,000 volunteers, 50,000 donors and 5,000 support team members.
The target this year is to raise HK$32 million, one portion of the money raised will be to help Nepal, where earthquakes in April and May killed more than 8,800 people.
The Trailwalker race began as a training exercise for Gurkha soldiers – Nepalese fighters who served in the British army. Since 1986, the event that started in Hong Kong, where Gurkha soldiers served for 30 years, spread to 16 cities in 10 countries around the world.
