A good start is half of the success. If that will turn out to be true, Trailrunning Team Vibram might expect 2016 to be a year of outstanding triumphs. At the trail running race Vibram Hong Kong 100 held on January 23, the new entry Gediminas Grinius kept up the good reputation of his new team, Vibram Trailrunning Team, succeeding in placing himself third overall rankings with a time of 9h53'50.
A truly sensational debut of the Lithuanian athlete, who joined the yellow octagon team competing also this year in the Ultra Trail World Tour. The 100km course starts in Pak Tam Chung on the Sai Kung Peninsula and covers some of the most beautiful sceneries in Hong Kong, including remote and unspoilt beaches, ancient forests, nature trails, reservoirs and steep hills. The course involves a cumulative elevation gain of over 4500 meters and the cut-off time is 30 hours. No such problem for Gediminas Grinius, who completed the race in less than 10 hours. Ahead of him only the French François D’Haene who lowered of around 20 minutes the time of the second-placed Chinese athlete Yan Long-Fei, winner of 2015 race.
The weather proved harsh, making the race tougher and even more demanding due to cold temperature and wind, with unceasing snowflakes starting to fall at night on the first elevations that made an interruption necessary at around 2 am local time. Such weather conditions had not occurred in Hong Kong in the last 40 years.
A victory that doubles its value for the Lithuanian athlete, who commented “I am very happy of this third place. The race season with my new team couldn’t have a better start”. He also added: “Bad weather forecast persuaded me to wear a pair of Hoka shoes with Vibram Megagrip, to feel safer even on wet and slippery surfaces. Best choice I could ever make!”
Two other members of the Trailrunning Team Vibram had remarkable results in the race: the Italian athlete Marco Zanchi ranked 14, closely followed by the French Sebastien Nain who placed 15th.