Run Charity Trail Race 2026

Dim sum in the morning, trail in the afternoon: in Hong Kong, you fit indulgence in between two strides 🥟.

Head to Tai Tam Country Park, on the island of Hong Kong, where the Run Charity Trail Race sets up shop every year in early November 📅. The timing lands right in the most pleasant window of the year: the monsoon fades, humidity drops, and the thermometer tops out around 22 to 25°C ☀️. The sky clears, the air becomes more breathable 🍃, and the organizers take advantage of this lull to send runners off at first light, before the sun gets too intense 🔥. The windbreaker is useful for exactly ten minutes, then goes back into the bag. 

The trail climbs gently through the smell of wet earth and tropical undergrowth 🌳, far from the noise of Central that you can still make out in the distance. On both the 8 km and the 15 km, the trail strings together tight switchbacks 🌀, then opens onto runnable sections along the reservoir, where your gaze runs straight over turquoise water. Legs wobble a bit on the false flats—harder than they look beneath the canopy of trees 🌲—the kind of stretch you curse on the way up and savor on the way back 😅. The final drop brings the pack back to the start area, often to the sound of drums 🥁 and cheers 📣. The youngest runners enjoy the kids’ and juniors’ courses with a shortened, secured route (3 km and 1.5 km), designed for running as a family without any pressure 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦. It’s also possible to run the 8 km and 15 km races as a duo, a great way to strengthen the bond with your running partner if it wasn’t already 👥.

Once you’ve caught your breath, the real reason for being here rises to the surface ⏫. The race supports RUN Hong Kong, an NGO that helps the most vulnerable refugees—especially women who are survivors of violence—rebuild their lives through sport and education 📚. On the start line, orange overwhelmingly dominates the T-shirts, echoing the "Orange the World" campaign against violence against women 🧡. It’s hard not to be moved when you pass, along the trail, some volunteers who themselves went through the organization’s programs and who applaud every runner, from first to last. A detail that changes everything in the atmosphere of this charity cause 🙎‍♀️.

Medal around your neck 🏅, head to Victoria Harbour to catch your breath facing the skyscrapers 🌆. Then climb up to Sky100 for a vertigo-inducing view over the island 🏝️, before strolling along the Avenue of Stars or the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade 🌊. For refueling, local stalls dish out dim sum and stir-fried noodles 🍜—perfect for recharging after the effort 🔋. And you can’t leave without a stop at a cha chaan teng, those typical diners where milk tea flows freely 🧋.

So, ready to trade skyscrapers for trails for a weekend 🏃? In Hong Kong, the Run Charity Trail Race proves you can run far while staying close to others 🌏.