REDFERN CLAIMS BEST INTERNATIONAL TIME AT HK4TUC

Kate Dzienis • February 10, 2020

Contributed by Marie Boyd, AURA member

The Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge is not your average ultra event; it’s created a little bit differently and features just a small number of participants, each one individually accepted after applications open.

Stephen Redfern from Engadine, NSW keenly put his name forward earlier last year for the HK4TUC, which was created by Andre Blumberg who wanted to put on a race that brought back the basics of running and allowing each participant to challenge themselves to the limits.

Traditionally run every year on the Chinese New Year weekend, this year it also happened to take place on the weekend of Australia Day – fitting for the two cultures to collide this way, as well as having an Aussie in Redfern finish on the podium.

Before we get onto the event, Redfern finished 2nd out of the whole field, with a time of 54 hours 46 minutes.

The four trails that make up the HK4TUC are:

Maclehouse Trail, 100km with 4500m+ elevation from Tuen Mum to Sai Kung.
Wilson Trail, 78km with 4300m+ elevation from Nam Chung to Stanley Gap Road.
Hong Kong Trail, 50km with 2300m+ elevation from Shek O to The Peak.
Lantau Trail, 70km with 3300m+ elevation from Mui Wo to Mui Wo Postbox.

Because the event is self-supported, each participant must make their own way from the end of one trail to the start of another, and this can include a private car or taxi drive, some train rides, whilst the last is a ferry ride.

This year, there were a total of 33 starters and it was the highest recorded number of female participants – in total it consisted of 7 finishers, 5 survivors, 21 retirees.

Redfern said it in the lead up to the HK4TUC, he felt it would be his biggest race to date since starting his running journey six years ago, and so the personal development and growth began with a few planned preparations including the UTMB in August, then the 24hour Championships in October.

“My biggest preparation was heading off to Hong Kong on two occasions to recce the trails,” he said.

“I could get a real feel for the trails, how they were marked, and also the logistics of getting around – one of the things I had to organise for myself was catching three trains to get across the harbour whilst on the Wilson Trail, and catching a ferry to the start of the Lantau Trail.

“To achieve what I achieved, those two trips were invaluable and made it super comfortable for me to do the race – on the day of the race, I didn’t have to overthink about the terrain, about the logistics of getting from one trail to another, the navigation of the trails; all of that really came into play.”

Despite all of this, there was the added challenge on race weekend with torrential rainfall and thunderstorms, however Redfern was thankful he conducted the recce runs so he didn’t have to think too much about the other factors that normally come in to play like which way to go, and keeping an eye out for markers.

In the direct lead up, Redfern said he was astonished at the amount of preparation he had to go through.

“I never thought trying to organise a race of this size was so hard, but it was like effectively having to sort out gear and nutrition for four races in one,” he said.

“Four changes of running gear, enough nutrition to last four races, three pairs of shoes, then all the spares and ancillary gear as well – then to be able to get all of this into one travel bag to take over to Hong Kong and trying to not be over in baggage weight.”

On race day, he had a solid performance throughout the entire weekend despite the Wilson Trail being the most technical and difficult of the four. He found himself slightly ahead when making it to the ferry to head to the last leg of the race at Lantau Trail, and had to wait two-and-a-half hours for the next one. Being mandatory to use the 3am ferry, Redfern took some much needed rest and then boarded along with five other runners.

“It was certainly an equaliser,” he revealed.

“There was only 70km to go once we got off the ferry, and three of us went straight onto the trail, but it included two of our biggest climbs from the 285km mark.

When it came to his recovery, he said it was the first time he really had to realise how much the HK4TUC took a toll on his body.

“Recovery is very noticeable, I had a day-and-a-half in Hong Kong before flying home and I pretty much didn’t leave my hotel room,” he explained.

“I was focused on getting my energy back, and it was hard for me to get that motivation to get out of the room and get a proper meal.

“To be honest, I was really happy to be home with great, home cooked meals, but physically I finished the race feeling really good; there was no soreness in the legs, even the next day there were no problems at all.

“From an energy point of view, I knew I had depleted everything out of my body and it was like that for a few days; after going for my first run, which was about a week after the finish, I learned a really big lesson.”

Redfern admits it was too early for him to go out for a recovery run, saying as soon as he put one leg in front of the other for a light run, he knew it wasn’t going to work.

“It was a good lesson for me to discover that, and it just meant that I needed to give myself a few more days of proper rest, active recovery and replenishing my energy,” he said.

“What I found was that my body was still burning even though I was doing nothing; for instance I’ll have a great meal and feel great, but three hours later my energy will sink low again.

“Again, it’s all about learning – if you do a run and you don’t take something new away from it, then you’re not learning. Ultra running is always about discovery, each run is different and that is one of the things that makes our sport so enjoyable.”

Redfern’s favourite memory of the 2020 HK4TUC was coming into the finish line and touching the green post box, where there was an abundance of media and crowds cheering him on.

“The HK4TUC is not something that can easily be forgotten,” he said.

“The experience is unreal – everyone is there filming or taking photos, cheering you on, congratulating you, it’s a race that I am definitely glad I ran in.”

Redfern’s time of 54 hours 46 minutes was the best from an any international participant, and it was the fourth fastest time.

Pictured: Stephen Redfern almost at the finish line of the 2020 Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge. Photograph – PhotoGuava.

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AUTRA News Report 19-02-2025

By Kate Dzienis • February 19, 2025

The latest in race results, covering Cradle Mountain Run, City Run, Oscars 100 Hut 2 Hut and Yaberoo Trail Ultra.

Final 2024 Points Competition Results

By Alexis Oosterhoff • January 30, 2025

Results for the 2024 AUTRA Points Competition have been finalised, and are available on our Points Competition page. Full details of the top 10 (as shared on Facebook during January) are detailed below, and results for all participating AUTRA members can be found in the documents at the above link. It was a real battle throughout the year between our top two finishers, Phil Gore & Kevin "BK" Matthews, with both giving it their it their all at events, and through contributions to the community - volunteering at multiple events, and submitting articles to our monthly newsletter, Ultramag. They finished within 2km of total distance for the year (Phil on 1203.087km, and Kevin on 1205.510km), and it was only Phil's final volunteering effort on 6 Inch Trail Marathon in December that gave him the that very narrow victory. As you'd be aware from previous communications, this marks the end of the Points Competition. With trail running (of all distances) now incorporated into AU T RA's constitution, and after careful consideration of the costs of the competition payouts in it's current form, the committee felt it was time for it's retirement. This marks my seventh and final year of delivering the points competition to membership (2018-2024), after taking on the role from Cheryl Symons. It has brought me great joy in doing so, and I feel like I've had an opportunity to get to know so many of our members through seeing their race (and volunteering) performances over the years! I'm continuing in my role as the AUS/NZL statistician for DUV (from whom we shared the data for the points comp), and you can expect to continue to find your ultra-race result on their site. 1st Place - Phil Gore (WA) - 86 points Phil's achievements this year have included a massive 265.653km (and 2nd place) at the IAU 24h Asia & Oceania Championships, wins at the Red Dirt Backyard Ultra (33 laps), the Australian leg of Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship (96 laps), and the Soochow/Taipei 24h Ultramarathon (270.826km). He also knocked out an easy (!) 72km at the Light Horse Ultra 24h in between supporting his amazing wife Gemma. Those two 24h wins netted Phil new Oceania 24h Open Male records, IAU Level 1 qualifiers, and pushed him to the top of Australia's 24h trophy board (with only the great Yiannis Kouros having run further). Phil topped-up his points by contributing one article to Ultramag, worked as an Event Director at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, and volunteered at a further five events through the year. He finished on 86 points. 2nd Place - Kevin Matthews (WA) - 84 points Finishing in 2nd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Kevin Matthews. He monstered his way through the year with finishes at Australia Day Ultra 100km, Delirious WEST 200mi, 24 laps at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, 190km at Light Horse Ultra 24h, 23 laps at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, and also completed Feral Pig 100 miler, Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km. And to top things off, he contributed five articles to Ultramag, and volunteered at five events. BK ran 1205km in Ultramarathon races this year, all of them AUTRA-listed, and surpassed 100 marathon finishes (including 51 Ultramarathons!) Kevin finished the year on 84 points, a massive 34 points ahead of our 3rd place finisher Sue Robertson. 3rd Place - Sue Robertson (WA) - 50 points Finishing in 3rd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Sue Robertson. Sue completed the Ultra Series 100 miler trilogy of Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST, and rounded out her year with the Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km races. She received 30 points from the racing at AUTRA-listed events, and was awarded a further 20 points by volunteering across eight events and contributing two articles to Ultramag, for a total of 50 points for the year. Thank you Sue! 4th Place - Margie Hadley (WA) - 47 points Finishing in 4th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Margie Hadley . She was the top-female finisher at both the No Time to Die Frontyard Ultra & Wild Dog Backyard Ultra, 2nd at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, ran 182km at the Australian 24h Track Invitational and placed 3rd at Coast to Kosci. Margie received 47 points in the competition 5th Place - Melissa Robertson (NSW) - 44 points Finishing in 5th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Melissa Robertson. Melissa took out 1st place at Irrational SOUTH 200 miler, 2nd place at Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place at Hume & Hovell 100 miler, 3rd place at Rumble in the Jungle and 6th place at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100 miler! She also volunteered at the GNW 50km event, receiving 44 points in the competition! 6th Place - Aaron Young (WA) - 42 points Finishing in 6th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Aaron Young . Aaron finished in 1st place at each of the Ultra Series "Triple Crown" of 200 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), 55 laps at Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship, and rounded his year out with Feral Pig 100 miler. Aaron receives 42 points, just nudging ahead of Maree Connor (who also finished on 42 points) on a count-back 7th Place - Maree Connor (NSW) - 42 points Finishing in 7th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Maree Connor. Maree had an outstanding year, achieving 2nd place with 221km (and an IAU Level 1 qualifier) at the IAU 24th Asian and Oceania Championships, 1st place at the Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place with 67km at the Southern Sydney 6h race, and 1st place with 116km at the Narrabeen Allnighter 12h. Maree also competed at Spartathlon race this year (for which she contributed an article to the September Ultramag on her experience), receiving 42 points in the competition. 8th Place - Darren Linney (SA) - 41 points Finishing in 8th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is SA's Darren Linney . Darren completed 34 laps at No Time to Die BYU, 199km at the Adelaide 24h race, and 814km at the Australian 6 Day race, for a total of 1241km raced and 41 points . 9th Place - Tristan Cameron (WA) - 40 points Finishing in 9th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Tristan Cameron. Tristan completed the Ultra Series Triple Crown of 200 mile races (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), along with Feral Pig 100 miler, for a total of 1154km raced and 40 points. 10th Place - Jen Millum (WA) - 39 points Finishing in 10th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Jen Millum . Jen finished 1st at all three of the Ultra Series Trilogy of 100 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), and was 2nd female with 35 laps at the Wild Dog Backyard Ultra. With a volunteer stint at the Yaberoo Trail Ultra, Jen finished the year with 39 points in the competition. To view the complete list of members who secured points in 2024 click here and then follow through to Points Summary under the 2024 tab. All winners have already been contacted, with cash prizes distributed for 1st - 7th places, and AUTRA Store vouchers sent for 8th, 9th & 10th.