The North Face® and King of the Hills Team Up

The North Face®, the world’s premier supplier of authentic, innovative, and technically advanced outdoor apparel, equipment, and footwear, and King of the Hills (KOTH), Hong Kong’s oldest and longest running off-road racing series, are teaming up this year to challenge outdoor enthusiasts with The North Face® King of the Hills series 2009-10.

Team racing in Hong Kong reaches its climax each year with the Maclehose Trailwalker event. King of the Hills is the spiritual follow on, requiring many of the same skills, fitness, and mental toughness, but with a reliance on individual effort. This ethos fits in perfectly with The North Face® spirit of exploration and pushing limits.

As a global outdoor pioneer, The North Face® has a heritage of supporting its elite champion athlete team and world-class endurance running races throughout the world, including The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc®, The North Face® Endurance Challenge in US, and recent years’ The North Face 100® Asia Series. While continuing to push the boundaries of design to enable athletes, The North Face® wants runners to run farther and to push their personal limits, whether they are aspiring newcomers or experienced challengers.

King of the Hills will comprise 4 off-road trail races this coming season with full and half courses in each: Sai Kung on 20th Dec., Lantau on 10th Jan., HK Island on 31st Jan., and Taipo on 7th March. An individuals three best results will be used to determine the winner of the prestigious “King of the Hills” and “Queen of the Hills” titles. As part of its commitment to the sport, The North Face® sponsors a team of athletes that help to push the limits in off road racing. The North Face® team members are no strangers to King of the Hills competition with past and present team members Tsang Siu Keung Stone and Jeanette Holmes-Thomson having previously worn the King and Queen of the Hills mantles respectively. This season The North Face® will hope that one of their members can wrest the title away from reigning King of the Hills Jeremy Ritcey, a teacher at French International School. The Queen of the Hills title, in the meantime, is vacant, with reigning Queen Hiko Takeda taking a maternity leave break.

While the pace is quite sharp among the top athletes at the front of the pack, King of the Hills is also known for being Hong Kong’s friendliest race. Many participants are attracted to King of the Hills because the courses take them off the beaten track on some of the prettiest trails in Hong Kong. Many of these people opt for the shorter half marathon courses, though there is also a sizeable contingent that prefers to challenge themselves with the full marathon experience.

Supporting sponsors Liquidnet and Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation became involved in King of the Hills because of their own employees’ passion for trail running. They join a blue chip group of companies who have been involved with King of the Hills for years. Swire Coca-cola (HK) Limited will once again be providing Bonaqua water and Bonactive sports drink to meet runners’ hydration needs and Protrek Company Limited will again be offering top quality outdoor prizes, including Smartwool Socks. Hong Kong Ambulance Company will again be providing on course medical support and Cosman Medical Associates will be providing physiotherapy services. Finally, the Kin Hang Hiking Club, the Cosmo Boys and the local hash house harriers will again provide supportive and encouraging marshals.