Trailwalker 2023｜Fang Shaocong, Wu Yekun and Wu Fuqiao persisted in completing 100 kilometers in 30 hours

Artists Fang Shaocong, Wu Yekun, Wu Fuqiao and firefighter friend Ryan teamed up to participate in the Trailwalker. Although Ryan was unwell and retired halfway through the race, the top three persisted until the end, taking 30 hours and 19 minutes to complete the approximately 100-kilometer track. , ran to the finish line in Tuen Mun last Saturday afternoon. Wu Yekun and Wu Fuqiao both said that they regretted participating during the Trailwalker, but the former felt refreshed after the trip and the latter expected to be tempted to sign up next year.

The team number of Fong Shaocong, Wu Yekun, Wu Fuqiao and Ryan is 270, and the team name is “Gang Hike”. The four of them started from Pak Tam Chung, Sai Kung, at 9:30 am last Friday. After traveling for about three and a half hours, they arrived at Dalang Sai Wan at nearly 1 p.m. At around 6 p.m., they completed the first three sections of the MacLehose Trail and reached the Qiling Lower Checkpoint. As the sky turned dark and the temperature turned cold, they set out on the mountain road on the fourth section of the wheat trail.

Ryan, who was ill during the race, began to have physical problems. He suffered from severe gastrointestinal discomfort and his physical fitness declined. He had to quit when he reached the Lion Pavilion in Shatin Au, and Fong Shaocong, Wu Yipkun, and Wu Fuqiao continued for the remaining half of the journey. In the early morning of last Saturday, they passed the Beacon Peak, dropped into the Kowloon Reservoir, walked to the city gate, and started going up to Needle Hill.

Fong Shaocong said on social networking sites that when he was walking on Needle Mountain and Cao Shan, he was “in a very bad mental state, extremely dizzy, and went up to Needle Mountain in a state of confusion.” However, he pointed out that Wu Fuqiao was walking very fast. “He was very fast. Brother Kun’s taillights can’t even be seen.” After sunrise, after staying up all night, they arrived at Lead Mine Au at around 7 a.m. and started climbing Tai Mo Shan. At around 11 o’clock, they landed at Tsuen Kam Au, rushed towards Tuen Mun, and crossed the line at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Fang Shaocong wrote: “The last section is 7 kilometers of reservoir road, plus 5 kilometers of water diversion. Originally this section of the road was easy to walk, but after going through 85 kilometers and not sleeping for 27 hours, it will become a barrier. It felt like the road section kept repeating itself. In the end, the three of us kept running and running, and finally reached the finish line with a completion time of 30 hours and 19 minutes.”

This is the second time Wu Yekun has participated in Trailwalker. The last time was the virtual competition in 2021. He spent 34 hours and 50 minutes. This year he challenged the physical competition for the first time, and his results were faster than the last virtual competition. After the game, he thanked his teammates, support team and Mrs. Ng Fuk-kio on social networking sites. He finally wrote: “Although I regretted participating during the trip, I feel happy to have broken through myself after the trip.”

Fang Shaocong and Wu Fuqiao took two days off and only posted a review of Trailwalker on Monday. Wu Fuqiao said that although it was more than two hours slower than the target time of 28 hours, “I think I won the last laugh”! He thanked his wife for working hard for two days to prepare meals and supplies. He revealed that after traveling 80 kilometers, he and Wu Yekun both regretted participating. “But we both knew that we would be unable to resist signing up again around the time of the year.” Fong Shaocong also thanked the support team, “Without your support, we would not be able to do it.”