Work and lifeHiking

Clement Chan taking a casual hike on a paved trail

32 May 2016

aplus

Ever since Clement Chan started hiking in early 2015, he has noticed an improve-

ment in his overall sports per-formance. The avid golfer, skier, horseback rider and now hiker is the Assurance Managing Director at BDO and a past president of the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs.

“My golfing buddies asked me what I’ve been doing recently because they saw an improvement in my game,” says Chan. “Hiking really builds up your strength and endurance and changes your whole physical condition.”

In addition to the physical benefits of hiking, the versatile activity allows busy CPAs to stretch their legs and socialize at the same time, forming bonds on the mountain trails as they climb to the peak. Many Hong Kongers, CPAs included, take advantage of the city’s unique proximity to a variety of trails and terrains, as well as the careful planning that went into developing safe hiking environments.

Chan began hiking regularly to train for the Oxfam Trailwalker, a 100-kilometre hiking event along

the MacLehose Trail to be completed in teams of four within 48 hours in November 2015. The fundraiser has been raising money for various projects around Africa and Asia since 1986. “I have CPA friends who are Oxfam Trailwalker veterans and I tagged along their training sessions for fun at first,” says Chan.

Last year, the Institute had 10 teams participating in the Oxfam Trailwalker, with 40 CPAs commit-ting to the long hike on the MacLe-hose Trail from Sai Kung to Yuen Long, which was recently named one of the best hikes in the world by the National Geographic Society, among trails like the Everest Base Camp Trek in Nepal and the Tour du Mont Blanc through France, Italy and Switzerland.

Starting from three-hour hikes in May and building up to eight or 10-hour hikes by November, Chan hiked one day each week to prepare for the Trailwalker. “I usually hike with fellow CPAs or other Council members and it’s a completely different experience seeing them in the office compared to on the trail,” says Chan. “Many CPAs hike together because we are

in the same social networks,” says Chan. “More people end up joining because they see how great the experience is.”

Although committing to the Oxfam Trailwalker tested his nerves, the comradeship that resulted from the 100 km trek was worth the effort. “When we reached the finish line, my team changed into our CPA shirts so that we would look fresh for the photo,” remembers Chan. “Some-how, my jersey was too small but I managed to squeeze into it,” he laughs. Along with fellow CPAs Patrick Law, Albert Wong and Edward Yuen, Chan made it to the finish line after 35 hours, 59 minutes and 35 seconds of hiking the MacLehose Trail.

Never more than an hour away from the city, hiking trails in Hong Kong are both some of the most accessible and most

scenic in the world. Tigger Chaturabul talks to active Institute members to find out what they love about hiking and how they

prepare themselves for mountain trekkingPhotography by Anthony Tung

Into the wild

“ When we reached the finish line, my team changed into our CPA shirts so that we would look fresh for the photo.”

May 2016 33

Work and lifeHiking

“ In the winter or when it’s not too hot, I can usually run around the island in eight hours.”

Building enduranceWhen Jeremy Chiu needs to prepare for a marathon or hiking event, he will always find the time to train. The Head of Asset and Liability Management at the Bank of Com-munications and Institute member remembers having to work until late at night, changing into his workout clothes at the office and running all the way home. “That’s one way to practise as a busy CPA,” he laughs.

Chiu stresses the importance of maintaining consistent training sessions to avoid injury on the trail. “On weekday mornings I run around the Hong Kong Parkview area and on weekends, I do longer distances,” he says. He enjoys running around Hong Kong Island, a 55-60 km route

with flat roads, cross country trails and slopes, which provides him with useful cross training. “In the winter or when it’s not too hot, I can usu-ally run around the island in eight hours.”

Chiu has been doing short distance running since his univer-sity days in the 1980s until long distance running started to gain popularity in Hong Kong in the mid 80s and 90s. “I got involved with 10 km running around 2003 to build up my endurance, because short distance running was more focused on speed,” he says. “It was more challenging.”

When Chiu registered for the Sowers Action Charity Marathon in 2006, he was looking for a

change in landscape. “When you run, you’re usually on a flat road but for trail running, you have to go through mountains, parks and more,” he says. The charity mara-thon is a 42 km hike from Yau Tong to Tai Po that must be completed within 12 hours.

In addition to the extra chal-lenges of trail running, Chiu enjoys the versatility of hiking in general. “I can train with CPA companions for team building, practise with marathon buddies for shorter races to build speed, hike by myself for meditation and relaxation or even hike with my family at lower speeds,” says Chiu. His son, aged 18, has also been trail running with his father since the age of 13, earn-

Jeremy Chiu training for trail running in the early morning mist

34 May 2016

aplus

ing medals and championships in individual races and team category races, for example, for the annual fundraising walkathon Green Power Hike.

As a successful trail runner, Chiu knows the power of never giv-ing up. “The first time I signed up for the Oxfam Trailwalker in 2007, I failed to complete the 100 km because I wasn’t strong enough and didn’t have adequate preparation,” says Chiu. When he joined again in 2008, he completed the trek with his colleagues and cemented one of his most memorable hiking experi-ences yet. “Completing the Trail-walker event demonstrated that I had the strength and confidence to finish such a long trail,” says Chiu. “After 2008, that’s when I really got

into long distance hiking, because I knew I could do it.”

He has completed 36 running marathons and over 50 ultra trail running and hiking marathons since 2005, including events in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Berlin, Paris and more.

Staying togetherWhen Alan Fung is on a trail, he pays close attention to the needs of his group mates. He could be calling out warnings for slippery steps, providing extra balance support or watching out for dogs for his canine-fearing friends. When the Assistant Manager at Grant Thornton and Institute member was in second-ary school, his friends invited him to participate in four activities to

receive the Hong Kong Award for Young People. The categories were service, skills, expeditions and physical recreation. The expedition category required him to hike for three days and two nights, camping in different areas of Sai Kung.

“I was the smallest and slowest hiker at the time,” remembers Fung. He appreciates the loyalty of his team, which helped him carry sup-plies and kept his pace throughout the journey. “I was grateful because they didn’t try to compete with the other teams but instead stayed with me. We really bonded together because we would share the same tent at night and spend time talking before going to sleep. It was an amazing experience to wake up with the grass under us in the morning.”

Alan Fung (centre) and Grant Thornton colleagues Nicolas Tang (left) and Toby Yeung (right) hiking downhill

“My favourite part of the process is seeing the view after climbing

thousands of steps.

May 2016 35

Work and lifeHiking

Terry Chiu running through a shaded trail

36 May 2016

aplus

Fung usually finds time once a month to go hiking, choosing trails that are challenging but not too strenuous. “My favourite part of the process is seeing the view after climbing thousands of steps,” he says. “It’s amazing that you can see the sea because Hong Kong is a coastal city and that’s one of the rea-sons why hiking here is so special.”

Now Fung often hikes with his colleagues at Grant Thornton, using social media groups to recruit interested hikers to join their weekend activities. “I usually hike with people who started working at the firm at the same time as me, although our group also consists of colleagues from all different rank-ings, even managers,” he says.

“When CPAs with different skills come together and apply some of those skills during hiking, the resulting teamwork leads to good experiences,” says Fung. “The communication on the trail is often around encouragement to keep hiking and this is also really useful in an office environment to cheer people up or lift up the mood.”

“Hiking together is a good chance for us to get to know and encourage each other to have work-life balance,” he adds.

Beating recordsAfter injuring his knee during the Oxfam Trailwalker in 1989, Terry Chiu told himself he would never participate in the hike again. In 2013, the Institute member joined a team with CPA friends and finished the route in 23 hours,

then again in 2014 with 19 hours and most recently, 2015 with 17 hours, 54 minutes and 11 seconds, surpassing the OTW Accounting Category the Oxfam Trailwalker.

“I was thinking about my retire-ment four years ago and started planning the things I could do,” says Chiu. “I joined some CPAs on their trailwalker training with no intention to really join the event and found that I became better prepared and better trained in trail running. I registered for the trailwalker with them the year after.” The now retired CPA previously worked as an audit manager at EY, finance director of North Asia at Energizer Asia Pacific and senior vice president of a listed company in Hong Kong.

“The first time I joined the Oxfam Trailwalker in 1989 was with colleagues from EY,” says Chiu. At the time, the race was in its third iteration and had fewer support teams available, which meant Chiu had to carry three to four litres of water in a heavy backpack without headlamps. “We relied on the old Chinese saying – anything dark is soil, anything white is rock and anything bright is

water – to walk at night,” he laughs. Chiu remembers doing soft

training with three other teams a week before the race, hiking up from Mui Wo to Sunset Peak on Lantau Island to watch the sunset. “After that we set up a tent, played cards until three in the morning and then hiked to Lantau Peak to watch the sunrise. It was one of my best hiking moments,” he recalls.

The Institute member nowa-days trains six days a week to keep his muscles toned and his heart beating to properly prepare for the annual fundraiser. Hiking trails are conveniently accessible in Hong Kong and Chiu can easily walk to section 4 of the MacLe-hose Trail from home without taking any transportation. “Even though I hike in the same areas, each time is different, whether I’m hiking with different people or experiencing different weather conditions,” says Chiu.

Today, in comparison to 1989, Chiu only needs to carry half a litre of water mixed with electro-lytes in a light backpack along with sunblock, sunglasses, a hat, some disinfectant, hiking poles, edible power gel and a GPS watch when he hikes the Trailwalker. “Because we’re CPAs, we calcu-lated that we can only walk around 3-4 km uphill per hour, which means there’s no way we can finish the trail in under 20 hours by just walking,” explains Chiu. “That’s why we have to do trail running when we can to beat our records.”

“ We set up a tent, played cards until three in the morning and then hiked to Lantau Peak to watch the sunrise.”

The Wilson Trail is one of the four

long-distance trails in Hong Kong. The 78

kilometre-long footpath is the

only trail in Hong Kong that

is impossible to complete by

foot – once hikers reach Quarry Bay, they need to take

MTR or other transportation to Nam Tin to

continue hiking.

May 2016 37