Shanghai Running Magazine Shanghai Running Q2 2014. Volume 2 | Page 16

Interview of the Quarter - Keith Noyes.
Race Director for the North Face 100 Hong Kong
By Mark Woodward

Y

ou have been creating races now
for many years, including the
KOTH race series and several races
in the mainland. What are your
best experiences so far?
I think of organising a trail race
as having three distinct parts.
The first part involves exploring
the trails and conceptualising the
course. This is always lots of fun.
The second part involves finding
sponsors, drawing up a logistics
plan and marketing the race. This
is fun the first time around for a
new event, but can also be stressful. The final part is actual race
execution. There’s a feeling of
satisfaction when everything goes
well and no one is injured. However, the most rewarding part is
when a racer comes over and says
something along the lines of “that
was an epic trail” or “what a fabulous race.” That’s when I know
the course that I conceptualised is
appreciated.
As an experienced race director
what attracted you to The North
Face as a title sponsor?
The North Face is a great fit for
the new 100 km race I designed
for several reasons: 1) They have
an Asia-wide 100 km series and
wanted to add an HK leg, 2) they
have a great brand name and that
helps to attract athletes to partici16

pate, and 3) they shared my vision
of designing a really tough, offroad race
With a young child, full time job
and your own training, how do you
make time to coordinate another
race?
Due to family and work commitments, I no longer coordinate races outside of HK. I simply don’t
have the time and don’t want to be
away from my family more than I
have to be. However, coordinating
a race in HK is much simpler. I
can check out trails on weekends
(and use that time to get my own
workout in). I also have a number
of people and organisations in HK
with whom I’ve been working for
many years and feel comfortable

sub-contracting much of the race
prep work and race day support
work to them. Because it all takes
place in HK, we are able to meet
up as needed to plan the logistics
© Shanghai Running 2014

In your experience, what are the
biggest issues with being a race
director?
To be successful, one has to be
very organised, spend a lot of time
thinking through logistics, able
to delegate and able to multi task.
The most frustrating thing is when
a racer is let down by bad marshalling. In these circumstances, it
pays to be level headed rather than
getting frustrated. I accept that
the problem is never the volunteer
marshals fault; it is always my fault
and I should make sure the same
mistake doesn’t happen again.
What are the biggest benefits?
Having a good reason to go out
and link up beautiful trails and
then exercise ones brain putting

together a race logistics plan is
quite satisfying. Without doubt,
however, the recognition of my
efforts by the trail racing denizens

is the biggest reward. I would like
to be thought of as an important
person in the development of the
sport of trail running in HK.
How would you say your TNF100
compares with the other Ultra races
in Hong Kong and Asia?
The TNF 100 is really tough for
its distance. The altitude profile is
huge (6,300 meters of altitude gain
and 6,300 meters of cumulative altitude loss). However, I think what
sets the course apart is the variety
of scenery and the roughness of
the trails.
Tell us more about the team you
have to help make the races a success?
I have worked with my Administrative Assistant, Ling Tsang, for
over a decade. She is phenomenal.
A running friend, Martin Christmas-Boldt, was between jobs and
offered to be deputy race director
for the event. The medical team
has 7W