Probably THE best thing about running in Hong Kong is the proximity of pretty high quality trails regardless of where you are in the territory. This is true also of Sheung Wan, there the studio is located. So several times a week I try and get out for a lunch time run. A few people have noticed, however, that the Garmin profiles of these lunch time runs differ somewhat to what most people might expect. In many major cities you might get out for a blast around a park or along a river or a canal but in Hong Kong its not difficult to get out on the trails and get a solid 500m or so climbing in to boot.
The are a few good options which I'll try and detail at some point but currently my favourite lunch break outing is a loop around Lung Fu Shan Country Park including a proper hands on knees grunt up the back of High West. It's not super easy to find the way in, requiring a bit of a climb up a few metres of rock. Once on the path it is pretty steep but mostly hike-able. You need to be careful about your foot placement- I wouldn't exactly call it a scramble but might require a few hands in places. It tops out at only 494m but given that every run starts from bang on sea level and includes a drag up the morning trail, over the shoulder of Pinewood Battery and down towards the trail above Pokfulam and 150m+ or so of grunting, the out and back of almost 10k and 550m of climb is enough to get the heart beating a little bit. The best part is that there is a water fountain in the park off Hatton Road on the other side which helps in the summer. A few photos below (It was my first outing with my new 'running' camera so please excuse the quality of the shots....I barely know how to switch the thing on yet).
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| In HK these signs generally mean you are on the right track |
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| Its a bit steep and overgrown in places |
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| Its also a bit rocky |
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| A steeper section towards the top |
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| Looking down on Mt Davis and Kennedy Town |
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| Ridge up to the summit, Victoria Peak in the background |
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| Cyberport and Lamma Island |
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| The ridge has a few tricky bits |
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| The summit trig point |
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| Sai Ying Pun, ICC and Kowloon in the distance |
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| The main path down the other side |
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