Reverse Hong Kong Trail unsupported record set by magician, showing the trick to success is simple
- Ferdinand Clovis Airault wants others to discover Hong Kong step by step, as he went from partying to trail running in just three years
- The Hong Kong-based Frenchman runs the Hong Kong trail in reverse in three hours and 56 minutes
A Hong Kong-based magician pulled his latest trick, setting the unsupported reverse Hong Kong Trail record in three hours and 56 minutes. Ferdinand Clovis Airault wants others to see behind the curtain to reveal his secrets.
“Running is like magic. It’s not about the card disappearing, it’s about the story,” said the Frenchman.
He pointed to magician David Blaine, who held his breath in a water tank for 17 minutes: “To me, that looks like magic.”
“I want to say that the Hong Kong Trail, in reverse, self-supported in under four hours looks impossible for some people, like a magic trick. Here’s the trick – you train, you train your mind, you plan, you transform your pain into motivation. This is the same, it’s part of magic, part of the performance. And when it’s done, it looks like magic.”
Airault, who is sponsored by Lantau Base Camp and the Hong Kong Sports Clinic, has not been running long. He said he was a party animal until just three years ago.
“I’d go out and go to bed at 5am. Now it’s in reverse. I get up at 5am and go out running,” said Airault, who is a “trader by day, a magician by night, and a trail runner in between”.
He loved the party side of Hong Kong and then a friend asked him to join his Oxfam Trailwalker team in 2018. They mostly hiked the 100km course taking 36 hours.
“Step by step I discovered a different life,” he said.
“Records and competition are just steps towards performance, but before that, just taking steps and being on the trails changed my life. Everyone can go on the trails.”
Until January, Airault rarely ran on Hong Kong Island, preferring to explore distant parts of the region. But when he found out about runners breaking records on the Hong Kong Trail, he decided to give it a go.
Firstly, he ran the 44km route from The Peak to Big Wave Bay, with support, in 3:42. It was the fastest time on Strava, but he later found out the record belonged to William Davies, who ran it in 3:39 in 2009, before Strava existed.
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So, Airault set his sights on the reverse record. The fastest time, supported or unsupported, was 4:10.
“After I compared myself with other runners, I had the record in my head. But more than just beating the record, it was my own challenge. My objective was to go under four hours,” he said.
“So I was thinking about that, I kept on pushing, but I wasn’t monitoring the time. I ran just with the feeling. With one hour to go, I felt my objective was in reach.
“It’s good to have the record and of course there is a bit of pain, but there is always good pain,” he added.
