Outdoor life

Those pebble-looking objects on the trail are the people who paid to inflict pain upon themselves. Jeff ran this half-marathon (22k) yesterday, while the rest of us angels went to church and learned about Jesus! 

I find this picture funny because his face has a faint smile, but his body looks like it's revolting. He might say it's because he was soaking wet with sweat, but his gait the rest of the day said otherwise. Grueling was the word he used. 
The saddest part is that he had to get home via subway and taxi (the race was in the New Territories), which took almost two hours. I can't imagine the person who had to sit in the taxi after him. 

Prior to Jeff leaving for his race on Sunday morning, Forrest came stumbling in from a twenty-four hour event called Stop the Traffik (and still went to learn about Jesus with the rest of us). He worked for 24 hours straight with a first-aid team to attend to injuries during this crazy 24 hour race at The Peak here on HK Island. I've attached a short explanation from the coordinator.  The kids that raced did so for a full 24 hours, taking breaks every two hours or so. Forrest said it was to give emphasis to the grueling life of those who are in this horrible modern day slave trade.

Running to Stop the Traffik was not just about the race.  Students raised funds through their schools to help support the efforts of Freedom Matters.  Freedom Matters, started by Phillip Holmes, with its dedicated team has freed hundreds of Nepalese children trafficked into slavery at circuses, brothels, and labor companies and provides these children with opportunities for education, employment or service.  
"Running to Stop the Traffik 2013 "(24 Hour Race) happened this weekend at Lugard Road to raise funds and raise awareness to fight the scourge of human trafficking in Nepal and East India.  HKIS was well represented again this year. These students' herculean efforts over the past 8 months paid off with a smoothly run event and awareness heightened about the human slave trade. Forrest Holcombe served on the first aid team throughout the event.  Our school fielded two teams.
The event kicked off under the sunny skies at the Peak. M started off with a grueling pace of 12:45 for the 3.4 km Lugard Rd lap.  Despite a few injuries, HKIS went on to battle it out with West Island School and Island schools for first place.  Throughout the night, fierce competition continued between the boy teams of HKIS and Island School.  HKIS girls team dominated the race with 77 laps run and one of the female runners had a fastest lap time, after 22 hours of racing, of 13:42!!!  HKIS runners all pushed themselves to the limits and won the event with a total of 170 laps run! Island School closely followed with 168 laps.  

On to the casual lover of the outdoors, Ellis and Claire. They like a nice afternoon in the woods with a dog and a few trees and rocks, and they're happy. 

Ellis had his first scout campout last weekend. Did they sleep in tents? No, under the stars because it's mid-November. He took a sleeping bag, a tiny bowl, a fork, spoon, and water. There's not even a jacket in the skinny backpack. 

Do you remember how skinny this child is? And, you can't even see the backpack.