HKFYG Community Team Sports X GigaSports “Dragon’s Back Trail Run 2024”

The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups’s Community Team Sports Office(CTS) has joined hands with GigaSports, the subsidiary sports retail chain under Swire Resources Limited to hold the “Dragon’s Back Trail Run 2024” yesterday (13 February). 

To promote the wholistic development of young people through the challenging sport of trail running, 10 young runners, after three-month professional training with CTS and professional runner Tse Kok-wai, challenged themselves at Dragon’s Back, one of the most popular hiking trails that lies within the Shek O Country Park. With support and encouragement from each other, runners overcame difficulties and successfully completed the 8.5-kilometer trail running course in 1 hour and 12 minutes. 

The current representative of Hong Kong’s trail running team, Tse Kok-wai, who is also the second-place finisher in Asia at the World Mountain Running Championships and known as “The First Trail Runner in Hong Kong,” has been invited to be the head coach of the programme. Being very supportive of the programme, Tse Kok-wai expressed his amazement that young trail running enthusiasts now have the opportunity and resources to train: “I wish I could have received group trail running training when I was 15! But of course, now I am thrilled to lead a group of young runners, and witness their progress, from initially running alone to maintaining formation while climbing Dragon’s Back on the challenge day.” 

The assistant coach, Chan Ka-keung (KC Sir) is another professional trail runner in international races. He secured second place in the open men’s category at the Skyrunning European Championships. “I’m grateful to serve as a coach for this event and hope these young people will continue running, inspiring more people to engage with trail running,” KC Sir said.

The young runner Blyth Chow, aged 17, joined the training programme with previous trail running experience. Although Blyth Chow is a rookie with only five months of running experience, his passion for the sport is much more than that, and he hopes to challenge the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) to push his limits further in the future. He also said, “What I’ve learned most from this programme is perseverance and strengthening my will and physique under the guidance of the coaches. This isn’t just about running training; there’s a lot of learning involved, and I appreciate the support from my teammates all along.”

The “Dragon’s Back Trail Run 2024” event consisted of two stages. In the first stage, 23 selected youths aged 15-18 underwent three weeks of training, where the coaches conducted a comprehensive assessment and eventually chose 10 runners to participate in a two-month in-depth training programme. The selected youths received sports equipment sponsored by GigaSports as an encouragement for their efforts. During the training process, they also took part in a “Leave No Trace” workshop, learning how to enjoy and protect nature while running. Additionally, they participated in volunteer activities distributing supplies to the homeless in the Sham Shui Po district, giving back to the community.

CTS is dedicated to promoting a vibrant sports culture in the community, encouraging young people to engage in team sports, develop a healthy physique, strengthen their willpower and drive the development of community sports. The success of this event is thanks to the generous support of Swire Resources Limited. Swire Resources Limited not only provided participants with a platform to showcase their athletic abilities but also offered training opportunities for young people and promoted overall community development and youth growth.