Hong Kong Four Trails runner escaped rat race, made a spreadsheet for ultra race
A brutal slog, day after day and sleep-deprived, surrounded by majestic peaks, an abundance of nature and spectacular cityscapes.
That description of the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge also applied to residing in the city generally for Glen Yick Kin-ho, until he was inspired to reject the daily grind in search of a better life balance – a backstory that helped earn him a place in this year's race, set to start on Wednesday.
His immediate aim is to become, at 25, the youngest to complete the 298km (185-mile) route – comprising the MacLehose, Wilson, Hong Kong and Lantau trails – inside the 72-hour time limit. And after that? He is considering becoming a firefighter.
It was that willingness to leave his comfort zone that stood out when Yick applied to enter Four Trails, under a process that requests not only serious running experience but compelling reasons for attempting the challenge.
For Yick, that centred on finding a new purpose in life after he resolved to 'break the status quo' by saying goodbye to his job in investing and an expectation to 'work all day and night, and even at the weekend'. Glen Yick aims to become the youngest to complete Four Trails inside the time limit. Photo: Edmond So
Besides dedicating his efforts to those closest to him, Yick is racing against the clock to finish on time while still younger than Sarah Pemberton, who was 26 when she timed 70 hours, 45 minutes in 2020.
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South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- South China Morning Post
Vincent Ho eyes late-season return as he takes concussion recovery one step at a time
Vincent Ho Chak-yiu could make his return from injury during the final months of the 2024-25 season, however the leading local jockey has confirmed he won't be putting any pressure on himself to be back by a certain date. Ho suffered a serious head injury and minor shoulder and neck fractures in a race fall on February 9 – his fourth tumble in little more than 18 months. 'We'll see. Maybe end of May or June or somewhere like this,' Ho told the Talking With Fen show in an episode published on Monday. 'Actually maybe to start racing by then, but of course I need time to get back on the horse and see how it feels and gallop more and [ride in] trials until I feel good, and then we'll start racing. 'There's no certain time for me. I don't try to set up a certain time to put pressure on myself. To let it heal is more important.' Ho, who said he has experienced headaches and dizziness during his recovery, emphasised how important it has been to take his rehabilitation one step at a time. 'Some concussion symptoms can take years to recover for some people,' said Ho, who was also concussed when falling from Super Win Dragon at Sha Tin in December. 'Because the December one and the one lately were so close, that will have some influences into this one. Of course, the closer it gets, the next one will be more severe. That's how it works. 'The last two were quite close so this one is a little bit more severe than normal and it takes probably a bit more time to recover fully. 'If you fracture something, you can still push on a little bit. If it's stable enough you can still go ahead and keep on doing your sport. 'But with the brain, it's better off to bounce back 100 per cent before you go for another try on your sport. It's like – can [you] handle another, even a light concussion? 'You have to take the risk so it's better you are completely healed in the brain and you don't have to think about if you will get another shock to the head.' Ho will travel to Switzerland in April – like he did after his fall in Japan in 2023 – as he ramps up his rehabilitation. 'I feel good now. [I'm] ready to do some more intensive stuff for rehab and training. [I'm] looking forward to that,' Ho said. 'I still go to the gym every day, do some brain and cognitive workout training to help myself to get back as soon as possible, but I can't rush too much. 'Since the Japan fall I've had the connection to do rehab in Switzerland at the Olympic rehab centre with a lot of sports teams. 'We'll have some training and testing for concussion. I think they are a bit more advanced with concussion rehab than us in Hong Kong at the moment. 'They know the limit when to push and when not to push. I can rely on them, because if I do it by myself I tend to push harder than normal. 'There are a few times that I don't feel well afterwards because I just overdid it. It's good to go and push almost to the limit but not quite. I will improve faster.'
South China Morning Post
03-03-2025
- South China Morning Post
Jockey Club lodges basketball betting proposal, while Vincent Ho faces ‘long recovery'
Chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges confirmed on Sunday night that the Jockey Club had lodged its basketball betting proposal with the Hong Kong government. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced in his budget speech last week that the government was considering legalising basketball betting, inviting racing officials to submit a proposal as they look to 'combat illegal betting activities in an effective manner'. 'The proposal is with them and we have to see how they want to progress it. It will be interesting,' said Engelbrecht-Bresges. 'Now, they lead and we only can follow because it's a policy decision. They asked us to give them a proposal and we did. 'It is good that it has been recognised that there is obviously a significant illegal gambling problem.' With illegal markets turning over between HK$70 billion (US$9.3 billion) and HK$90 billion on basketball last year, it is hoped the government could earn between HK$1.5 billion and HK$2 billion annually from legalised wagering on the sport, as it grapples with a fiscal deficit of HK$87.2 billion for the 2024-25 financial year. It has been suggested the Jockey Club could offer basketball betting as soon as September. Ho faces 'long recovery' as Purton eyes Derby Engelbrecht-Bresges has also provided an update on the sidelined Vincent Ho Chak-yiu, who continues his slow recovery from a head injury and minor shoulder and neck fractures suffered in a race fall on February 9. Ho posted a video of himself in the gym last week, saying he had started his 'rehab journey and will be taking it one step at a time'. 'I personally think it will be a long recovery after so many concussions. I talked to him last week and said 'take your time'. There is no rush,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. Ho's most recent tumble was one of a string of bad falls endured by the superstar local jockey in recent years and there has been no suggestion yet whether he will be seen in the saddle again this season. Zac Purton, on the other hand, is confident he remains on track to ride on Hong Kong Derby Day on March 23 after breaking his left big toe in a separate fall on the same day Ho was injured. 'I see the specialist again tomorrow just for a check up to make sure everything is in order, which I don't see why it wouldn't be,' Purton said. 'Then I get the pins out next Monday, wait a couple of days for it to settle then we'll get back on with things. 'I think the Derby should be no problem. I've been going to the gym and the physio and it feels pretty good, so I can't see any reason I won't be back Derby Day. 'There's not much there [in the way of rides] so I could be back Derby Day but the way things are going I might be watching it from the room.' Positivity around HKIS A year after the Hong Kong International Sale (HKIS) saw its average purchase price drop by more than 30 per cent, there is some positivity from officials ahead of this year's auction at Sha Tin on Friday night. After a successful morning of breeze ups at Sha Tin on Saturday, 19 of the original 21 lots remain on track to be sold. 'We've had a really good RSVP rate and obviously wagering has seen a bit of an increase year on year, so it certainly feels like we're in a slightly better position than 12 months ago,' Danny Rolston, HKIS executive manager, said. 'Based on a few of those early runners that have come out of last year's sale, I think a few people have seen that they might have been a bit more of a value buy last year. The breeze ups were excellent and I think we're in good shape.' New Future Folks, Markwin and Perfect General are the gallopers from last year's sale to hit the winners' list and Rolston identified a couple of horses from this year's sale he likes the look of – a Toronado gelding out of a Pierro mare and a Lope De Vega chestnut. 'Lots 11 and 17 are a couple of horses that have taken the eye a fair bit,' he said. 'They're two of the horses we've liked all the way through and when it came to the breeze ups they showed up as well.'
South China Morning Post
09-02-2025
- South China Morning Post
Ho conscious and moving after nasty Sha Tin fall
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