Latest news with #trailrunning
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong athletics bosses dismiss trail runners' complaints over ‘crazy, dangerous' race
Athletics bosses have defended their handling of a trail race that runners called 'crazy and dangerous', adding if competitors had concerns they should not have taken part. Advertisement Nearly a week after complaints first surfaced on social media over the Hong Kong Trail Championships in Tai Mei Tuk, organisers issued a statement on Friday dismissing any criticism and pointing to a host of other races that had also been held in late May. However, the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates (HKAAA) did apologise for 'inconvenience caused to local residents' after rubbish left behind following the event resulted in one of the city's oldest and best-preserved rural settlements being littered with plastic waste. Officials had come under fire for opting to stage the 62.4km (38.8 mile) championships – which served as the selection race for the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in September – on May 25, when temperatures reached 26 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity was high. In its statement, the HKAAA said while 'an earlier month with an average lower temperature would be preferable, holding trail running races in May in Hong Kong is not unusual'. Lai Chi Wo is one of Hong Kong's oldest rural settlements. Photo: University of Hong Kong It then referenced 10 other privately organised races that have taken place in May, including two 50km events staged by Action Asia Events. Of the rest, the longest was 27km, and several were below 10km.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Makers of surprise Hong Kong hit movie ‘Four Trails' in talks over worldwide distribution
The makers of a documentary about one of the world's toughest trail races that is set in Hong Kong said they were in talks to distribute their movie globally after it became a surprise hit. Four Trails showcases the gruelling 298-kilometre (185-mile) Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge, and a select group of trail runners who have bravely attempted it. Since its theatrical release in December, the 101-minute-long movie has pulled in more than HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) in box office receipts, making it the second-highest-grossing documentary film ever released in Hong Kong. The movie has also earned a growing list of accolades, including the Audience Choice Award at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and Best New Director Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. 'Four Trails' film-makers at a Q&A session at Premiere Elements cinema last December. Photo: Jonathan Wong The plan, said Hong Kong-based brothers Robin Lee, who was the film's director, and Ben Lee, who produced it, was 'to get it out as far and as wide as possible'. 'We have conversations happening with sales agents and a distributor in the US,' Ben Lee said. 'Same in the UK. It's going into the Shanghai International Film Festival later this year in June. Hopefully out of that we can find some theatrical release in China.'
ABC News
5 days ago
- Science
- ABC News
Researcher pushing for international standard for mapping trail running events in bid for Olympics inclusion
An avid trail runner is mapping every twist and turn of the trails around Brisbane's Mount Coot-tha in an effort to bring much-needed precision to the growing sport. University of Queensland research scientist Raimundo Sanchez has covered the trails hundreds of times with a professional GPS. Unlike a regular marathon or running event that can be measured using a calibrated bicycle, accurately measuring trail runs is an endeavour in science and technology. "When you run in the trails, the mountains have a ragged shape and the complexity of the terrain makes it difficult to capture with regular tools," Dr Sanchez said. There's no international standard for how trail running events are measured, which Dr Sanchez said was hindering the sport from being taken more seriously. "That's what I'm trying to mitigate," he said. "I'm trying to develop a reproducible way to compare distances and elevation gain in different trail running races anywhere in the world." Trail run organisers can use a variety of ways to measure and plot out an event. "I've seen races where they design the route solely on the computer and don't even step onto the trails. Others use a proper GPS device or a smart watch," Dr Sanchez said. Not all GPS devices are the same either. It can depend on the resolution of the measurements taken or how accurate it is. A professional-grade GPS can be accurate to within a few centimetres whereas an average smart watch can be from one to five metres. That might be fine for an amateur run, but Dr Sanchez said there needs to be a globally accepted standard of measurement for international events. "If you measure each second it will give you a different distance than if you measure every two seconds," Dr Sanchez said. "It's important to define which is the standard that we want to adopt." Dr Sanchez recently tested his method at the Brisbane Trail Marathon and said he hoped to standardise all Queensland races in the coming months. "If we as a trail runner community want our sport to grow and to become a more mature sport, if we want our sport to get to the Olympics for example, we will need the sport to get serious and to develop and adopt certain standards like this one," he said. Michael Duggan is heading a campaign for trail running to be included in the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. He said Mr Sanchez's research is a "world first" and will help athletes understand how their performance measures globally. "One of the things that we've really struggled with for a lot of years is the ability to be able to measure in a consistent way globally the types of trails that we run on," Mr Duggan said. "It's very important for things like world records to ensure that trail running metrics are spot on." Brisbane's local Olympic organising committee is set to reveal the six sports it will endorse to include in 2032 within the next 18 months. Mr Duggan believes trail running has a good chance of making the cut. "That's because of its growth, its diversity and the size of groups that are actually coming out of the woodwork to join trail running as an amazing new sport."
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Climate
- RNZ News
Severe flooding in NSW causes death and destruction
Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about how severe flooding has been causing death and destruction for communities on the New South Wales east coast and how a push is on to include the sport of trail running in the 2032 Olympic Games being held in Brisbane. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong trail runners accuse officials of hosting ‘crazy and dangerous' race
Members of Hong Kong's trail running community have described the local athletics association's decision to host a world championship qualifying race in May as 'crazy and dangerous', saying it put runners' health at risk. On Sunday, hundreds of athletes competed in a 62.4km (38.8-mile) race at the Hong Kong Trail Championships in Tai Mei Tuk, chasing qualification for the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Spain in September. There was also a short-course race of 34.3km, and an 11km 'experience group'. Before the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates (HKAAA) event got under way, local trail runners questioned why the race was taking place when temperatures could soar to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity was high. The HKAAA had yet to respond to the Post's request for comment. A social media post by Asia Pacific Adventure Athletes, attributed to its director Ryan Blair, said: 'This is a perfect case of how a sport gets mismanaged (and in this case worse with serious safety and health risks to athletes). Play 'Firstly, they [the HKAAA] are holding a 60km qualifier race tomorrow [Sunday] – this is so crazy and dangerous in May's oppressive SE Asia summer heat and only puts so many runners' health at risk.'
