Hong Kong runner completes Sri Lanka’s 22-day Pekoe Trail in just 58 hours

A Hong Kong runner has completed Sri Lanka’s 22-day Pekoe Trail in just 58 hours.

Sri Lanka holds a special place in Hyun Chang Chung’s heart and with an emotional connection in mind the decided to run the newly minted 300-kilometre Pekoe Trail.

When he heard an old acquaintance had designed a multi-day trail route to help promote tourism in Sri Lanka, Chung’s ears pricked up.

The trail is split into 22 stages, each designed to take one day. But Hong Kong-based Chung, just 49 year-old, finished it in just 58 hours.

The Pekoe Trail is a 300km hiking route that connects tea plantations across the country. Chung’s friend Miguel Cunat took 10 years to design and create it. The Sri Lanka-based Spaniard modelled the idea on the multi-day Camino de Santiago route in Spain.

Each stage starts and finishes in a village, so hikers can stop for the night and enjoy the local culture.
Chung reached out to Cunat and asked if he could run the whole thing non-stop, in one go, to help promote it.

Tourism in the country had been suffering since the 2019 East Bombings and Covid-19 travel restrictions. 

Chung thought of a unique way to promote the new trail and help the nation’s tourism.