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In Hong Kong’s race to nowhere, resident Chamelia Suhra has fun running 194km without stopping

  • Suhra runs for 29 hours along Bowen Road loop to claim city’s version of the backyard challenge
  • A race without a finish line, competitors keep going until there is only one left

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Chamelia Suhra, winner of the 2023 Big Boar’s Backyard Challenge, the race with no end, rests between loops. Photo: Lucien Chan

Hong Kong resident Chamelia Suhra outlasted the competition during the city’s version of the backyard ultra, going non-stop for 29 hours to win the toughest race there is.

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The 44-year-old went for an hour more than rival Alice McLeod, racking up 194km (120.5 miles) along a 6.7km loop of Bowen Road.

With an hour to complete each loop before she needed to be back at the start line, Suhra said every moment of her time on the course “was good fun”.

“I very much enjoyed the camaraderie between competitors,” she said. “The spectators were great also.”

The Indonesian said unlike her normal races she had not “set out with a plan”, rather she wanted to see how quickly she could settle into a decent pace.

The participants of 2023 Big Boar’s Backyard Challenge, the race with no end. Photo: Lucien Chan
The participants of 2023 Big Boar’s Backyard Challenge, the race with no end. Photo: Lucien Chan

“I do wonder if not having stressed over a race plan maybe helped me,” said Suhra, who typically completed a loop in about 45 minutes. “I was definitely more relaxed than usual for a race. I always had 15 minutes or so to relax, stretch, eat, chat and visit the loo.”

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