UMARA HK Athletes
Jose Bongulto
Also known by his peers as “Bonjovi”, is a former dancer turned avid long-distance runner and marathoner. Born and raised in Manila, he moved to Hong Kong in 2019, where he discovered his passion for running. He has ran in World Marathon Majors including Berlin and Chicago, achieving multiple sub-3 hour marathon finishes, and have recently attained Boston Qualifying times. Jose’s next challenge will be TransJeju, marking his debut in ultra trail running.
Katrina Hamlin
Katrina was born and raised in Hong Kong and loves to run her local trails and races. Favourites include Lantau 70 and Moontrekker, both of which she has won multiple times. She’s a regular in the TransLantau UTMB series too, most recently nabbing a place on the podium in her first attempt at the 100km distance. Katrina is also a proud mother of two tiny trail runners, and a financial journalist. She is part of the T8 team as well as representing Umara.
Mayank Vaid
Mayank Vaid, an Indian living in Hong Kong, is a Solicitor and a Patent Valuation Analyst. Married to Theresa and gifted with four amazing kids. He’s an ultra triathlete, ultra runner and ultra swimmer. Mayank’s been finding limits to his endurance efforts through Fastest Male Enduroman Arch 2 Arc 2019 (50hrs 24mins), Swam around HK island twice (2019 & 2021), First person to finish EverestMan (2020), HK4TUC Survivor and Finisher (2023 and 2024), holds a Guinness World Record for fastest male Running 10 Marathons in 10 days on a treadmill, and recently he’s attempted to swim around HK Island twice (one go) (2024). Mayank will push the limits once again in summer 2024 with first ever attempt at Double Arch 2 Arc which includes a two way English Channel swim.
Richard Kimber
Richard Kimber (@the.drone.runner) is a passionate mountain runner and filmmaker and has been competing in and shooting trail events for more than 15 years. The challenge of documenting Asia’s fastest runners has proved to be great training for his own racing, with wins at the Salomon Hong Kong 100km and Altra King of the Hills, a third place at the Asia Trail Master Lantau 70, and a sub-60 hour Finish of the Hong Kong Four Trails 298km Ultra Challenge. After consistently suffering from stomach issues at big races, he switched to Umara and has rediscovered the joy of pushing his legs to their limit, and fighting for the podium.
Naomi Fung
Naomi Fung is a passionate trail runner and triathlete. She is an A&E doctor but her true passion lies in exploring mountains all over the world. She competes in both international and local trail races including a recent victory in the 9 Dragons Ultra 50km race. She is now preparing for UTMB-CCC in Chamonix, France, and the Ironman 70.3 in Kenting, Taiwan.
Alex Neyrinck
Alex is a trail runner whose journey from the UK to the French Alps has shaped a passion for mountain sports. Since delving into trail running in 2019, Alex's commitment and resilience during the Covid era have propelled notable achievements, such as securing 1st place at the 2023 Salomon Cam 2 Tai Mo Shan Race, an impressive 2nd place at the 2023 Barclays Moontrekker and recently achieving a remarkable performance at the 2023 Doi Inthanon 100km race, where a stellar score of 762 was achieved, marking it his highest UTMB score to date.
Currently residing in Hong Kong, Alex's training grounds are set against the dynamic cityscape.
For 2024, amongst local and international races, Alex finished 13th overall at the Hong Kong 100 and is looking to improve his time at CCC in Chamonix later in the year.
Alex aims to build on past successes and secure a spot among the top trail runners globally. Watch as Alex continues to conquer both local and international races, driven by an unwavering dedication to the trail.
Lodewijk Vriens
Lodewijk is from the Netherlands residing in Hong Kong. Not new to ultras, Lodewijk first ran his first HK100 back in 2017 in 14:20. He has since then improved on his times, to finish in 11:58 in 2023! Lodewijk has also gone up in distance to compete in the Doi Inthanon 100 Miles in 2022, and again this year, placing 7th and 9th respectively! Lodewijk returned to the 100K distance, for this 7th edition of the HK100 which he completed in 12:09 to finish 12th overall!
Elliot Froidevaux
Elliot, founder of Boa Vista Running Co. Limited, is from Switzerland but raised in Hong Kong. Elliot is no stranger to running long, having completed the Hong Kong 4 Trails Ultra Challenge, Transcania 246, and numerous 100 milers.
Elliot is Husband and Father of 2, an Ultarunning Specialist at Joint Dynamics, an Online Run Coach at ultra-elliot.run, and a Race Organizer at Racebase.asia when he is not out running!