We at Breaking Impossible are currently training for the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge in 2025. The challenge is to run all four of the major trails in Hong Kong, 300 kilometers (186 miles) in total, with 14,500 meters (47,572 feet) of elevation gain and loss, in under 60 hours. In 2017, Robin Lee made a major motion picture about it, called Breaking 60: Challenging the Impossible. In distance, the challenge is equivalent to seven consecutive marathons; and in elevation, it is equivalent to climbing from basecamp on Mt. Everest to the summit (and back) three times.
We have trained for the challenge by walking, hiking, and running trails on several continents, and in several countries, and also by cross training in weightlifting and doing martial arts. We've climbed stairs; run on treadmills; run on beaches; did box jumping; did gymnastic exercises; yoga; plyometrics; let's not forget about flipping tires; and when necessary, we've done physical therapy (at this writing, my calves hurt so badly that I am having trouble walking to the kitchen to get a beer). We've also run both marathon and ultramarathons distances, both in official events and on our own. And we've traveled to Hong Kong and spent significant time on each of the four trails, especially the first and the last, the MacLehose trail, and the Lantau trail, respectively. The trails are hard and also beautiful. And so is Hong Kong itself, which, even with all of the troubles it's had recently, politically, and with the pandemic, is a wonderful place.
Nearly all of the pictures we post are from our training. Please join us as we train and blog about our efforts, including our successes and our failures. And remember, do hard things, and keep moving forward.
