“Keep going even in the nastiest weather,” says Wanda Lam from Corporate Planning & Strategic Investment. She ran in the Hong Kong 100 race
that came under media spotlight after athletes were stranded on the ice-covered Tai Mo Shan in a cold spell early in the year. Her quote sums up her
approach to life gained from long-distance hiking.

Most of the HK100 course was on the MacLehose Trail so Wanda said it should have been a rather safe race, but she encountered the strongest winds ever on the tough track in Ma On Shan and remembers thinking that she could have been blown down the slopes on either side if she had lost her balance.

Then came the temptations. The organizer had set up heaters along the route for athletes to rest and get warm in the cold weather and she said: “You don’t know how hard it is to leave the heat once you’re near!” But she kept reminding herself to keep going and not yield to the siren song, which was the attitude that got her across the finish line before ice started forming on the Tai Mo Shan trail and the organizer stopped the race. Wanda said the experience taught her that temptations, obstacles and hiccups in work and life are to be
expected, but you have to stay focused and push yourself out of the comfort zone because even a little hesitation can make things worse or produce a
regrettable result.

Hiking brings people close to nature, offers vast relaxing scenery and helps relieve stress. Wanda describes it as a tonic for health and happiness: “Now I rarely see the doctor. I can even cure the occasional flu with a sweat from hiking! Plus my appetite is getting better and better.”