Browsed by
Author: michael

Chun Kong Mak will attempt an English Channel solo crossing this October to become the first Hongkonger doing so.

Chun Kong Mak will attempt an English Channel solo crossing this October to become the first Hongkonger doing so.

Comments 0 Comment

Chun Kong Mak has announced that he will attempt to swim across the English Channel this October, hoping to become the first Hongkonger to complete this epic challenge in open water swimming. He currently lives in Brno, Czechia. He is an experienced long-distance swimmer and ice swimmer, the only ice swimmer from Hong Kong with his first ice mile in 2019, and his second this year in butterfly. He and 3 other Czech swimmers crossed Loch Ness as a relay…

Read More Read More

Is it practical to boycott the MTR? My personal experience since last September.

Is it practical to boycott the MTR? My personal experience since last September.

Comments 0 Comment

The MTR is one of the best metro system in the world. It is punctual, efficient and clean. It is a pride of Hong Kong. It is an integral part in the public transport network in Hong Kong, forming nearly half of the market share in the city where public transport usage is the highest in the world. The government has a policy to use railways as the backbone of Hong Kong’s public transport system (以鐵路為骨幹, alternatively railway priority policy,…

Read More Read More

My marathon plan aborted

My marathon plan aborted

Comments 0 Comment

Because I felt good after running a half marathon last December, I decided to continue my run training and signed up for a marathon because I wanted to become a balanced “triathlete”, having similar level in swimming and running. I picked Seoul International Marathon as my target race, which was 15 weeks after I did the half marathon, noting that it had a IAAF platinum certified flat course and held in a good season which I could expect to run…

Read More Read More

“Marathon” swimming – some thoughts about the use of the term

“Marathon” swimming – some thoughts about the use of the term

Comments 0 Comment

What is a marathon? “Marathon” is a running term. It means a long-distance race with an official distance of 42.195 km. The name originated from a legend of Philippides that he ran from Marathon to Athens non-stop to announce the victory that the Persians had been defeated, then collapsed and died. The modern distance, about 40 km, was approximately the distance of that route from Marathon to Athens, and settled at 42.195 km using the length of the 1908 Olympics…

Read More Read More

Cold Half 2020 – race report

Cold Half 2020 – race report

Comments 2 Comments

I have completed Cold Half on Sunday, which has become my second marathon swimming race. Here’s the race report. Race information Name: Cold Half Date: 2020-01-19 Place: Hong Kong (Stanley ➡️ Deep Water Bay, via To Tei Wan, around Stanley Peninsula, round Round Island and Middle Island) Distance: 15 km as claimed by the organiser (13.8 km as measured on Google satellite image) Website: http://results.racetimingsolutions.com/results.aspx?CId=16387&RId=6325&EId=1 Live tracking: http://live.dottrack.asia/coldhalf2020/ Result: 05:14:26 Rank: 6/6 in category, 11/13 in non-wetsuit, 15/17 overall (1…

Read More Read More

Cold Half 2020 – pre-race

Cold Half 2020 – pre-race

Comments 0 Comment

It is only 4 days to my next race, Cold Half, which will be my 2nd marathon swimming race in my life. This has been my goal race from the very beginning when I started swimming seriously at the end of 2018. At that time I set up my goal to become a marathon swimmer by March 2020, which I planned to do this as my 1st race. However I did the Lake Geneva Classic in July 2019 which became…

Read More Read More

Year review of 2019 and goals of 2020

Year review of 2019 and goals of 2020

Comments 0 Comment

Today is the end of 2019 and my life has drastically changed in this year as I have become an endurance athlete when compared to previous years. It’s time to have a review what I have done this year, referencing what I have written last year to see if I have achieved them. In orienteering, Remain in the elite class in local sprint ranking in 2020 Become a Hong Kong team member for the 1st Asian Trail Orienteering Championships, and…

Read More Read More

Garmin Tai Po Half Marathon

Garmin Tai Po Half Marathon

Comments 0 Comment

Race information What? Garmin Tai Po Half Marathon When? 2019-12-08 How far? 21.0975 km Website? https://www.garmintphm.com/ Time? 1:41:50 Place? 13 / 71 in male 25 – 29 Goals Goal Description Completed? A under 1:40 No B under 1:45 Yes C complete my first half marathon Yes Splits Kilometer Time 1 4:43.5 2 4:20.5 3 4:33.7 4 4:39.7 5 4:50.2 6 4:40.5 7 4:49.5 8 5:00.9 9 5:03.8 10 4:30.1 11 4:48.2 12 4:41.5 13 5:01.6 14 4:52.9 15 4:55.7 16 5:12.1 17 4:50.8 18 4:41.3 19…

Read More Read More

It finally gets “cold”

It finally gets “cold”

Comments 0 Comment

As winter comes, the unheated university pool that I regularly swim in has now cooled down to my target temperature 16°C for my “cold” water training. (channel swimmers, please don’t laugh at me – 16°C is considered cold in subtropical Hong Kong, people put on their wetsuit here even in 22°C water) I consider temperature below 16°C as cold water swimming (which I don’t feel warm even when I’m swimming at race intensity, and can’t have long breaks in it),…

Read More Read More

Why have I changed so much after becoming an endurance athlete?

Why have I changed so much after becoming an endurance athlete?

Comments 0 Comment

I have notice that, this year, I am now becoming more and more like an endurance athlete as opposed to having a “normal” lifestyle. Before 2018, apart from work and study, my life was prosperous and all-rounded. I did a lot of sports, mostly sailing and orienteering, and also running, swimming, and mind sports such as competitive programming, mahjong and bridge as well as long as they didn’t become too physically demanding. Among them, I achieved a high level in…

Read More Read More