Sergeant Li Mao vows never to give up the race
Sergeant Li Mao, a dark and wiry soldier good at running, had completed his unit’s 5km cross-country runs and participated in the Shenzhen International Mountain Marathon. But now, he can no longer run long distances. He says he has no regrets.
In November last year, Li Mao and three other teammates formed a team to take part in the “Oxfam Trailwalker” cross-country race in Hong Kong. Midway through, he slipped and fell to the ground but got up and endured the excruciating pain to reach the finish line. He was later diagnosed with a left ankle fracture at the hospital, and the doctors were impressed by his perseverance.
“Oxfam Trailwalker” is the largest sports fundraising event in Hong Kong, attracting thousands of teams from around the world every year, including many professional ones. The race format requires four-person teams to support each other in traversing over 20 of Hong Kong’s mountain ranges and completing the 102km MacLehose Trail within 24 hours.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison in Hong Kong began participating in this charitable race in 2009. That year, the two teams they sent swept the top two spots, and they did it again the following year. They rewrote the history of the race, which had never seen a Chinese team win, and received high praise from military leaders.
Li Mao, who had achieved the top score in the unit’s 5km armed cross-country, once missed out on competing in “Oxfam Trailwalker.” Later, as a support member, he served fellow racers along the grueling course. That year, his teammates won the championship for the second time.
In last year’s race, he was selected again and, through fierce competition, became an official competitor. The “Oxfam Trailwalker” race is even more competitive, with many foreign professional teams having run 300km in deserts. Based on past experience, the PLA team stayed neck-and-neck with foreign strongholds in the first half.
The race route is also fraught with danger. During their adaptation training upon arriving in Hong Kong, they even encountered snakes and wild boars on the way. By the end of the full race, participants often lose three to four kilograms in weight.
The official race started at 9:00 am. Among the crowded field, Li Mao and his teammates kept in mind some tricks, such as cutting inside on curves, which helped them save considerable distance. They also drank plenty of water—they estimated that they would need to consume around 20kg of water during the entire run.
Li Mao’s experience as a support member the previous year gave him plenty of insights. He was in good form, maintaining a steady pace and allocating energy wisely. Their group steadily held the second position, and the quartet even aimed to break the 11-hour and 59-minute record set by their teammates.
“After more than 60km, my legs just wouldn’t obey me,” Li Mao recalled. They carried energy bars to replenish strength. But most crucial was drinking saline solution because some team members suffered severe dehydration, with spasms so intense that others couldn’t hold them down—but as soon as they felt slightly better, they got up and kept running.
Li Mao doesn’t like to recall the moment he got injured. As evening fell during the race, the weather suddenly turned bad—torrential rain poured down the mountains, strong winds blew, and thick fog reduced visibility. Near a downhill section at around the 72km mark, he suddenly stepped on a rock, slipped, and lost his balance.
He heard a loud crack, and his body heavily hit the ground, with searing pain shooting through his left leg. The Aurora Team, led by Japan’s “King of Mountaineering” Yoshimitsu Suzuki, which had been following them, seized the opportunity to speed up and gradually closed the gap. “I can’t let the army down!” Li Mao gritted his teeth, stood up, and kept running.
With his left foot weakened and his center of gravity unstable, Li Mao twisted his left ankle twice on a stretch of rocky terrain, swelling it even more. His face was pale, sweat dripped from his forehead, and his body began to feel light-headed. Clenching his lips, he kept his pace and maintained the group’s lead over the third-place team.
When passing through the checkpoint at Tai Lam Chung Reservoir in the final leg, the third group picked up their pace again, closing to within just 200 meters of Li Mao’s team. “I mustered all my strength and ran nearly 3km in one go, then collapsed on the ground, unconscious,” Li Mao said.
The staff had already noticed the severity of his injury. Oxfam Hong Kong stated that an ambulance was on standby and he could withdraw from the race at any time to receive further treatment.
“Even if I fall, I’ll fall at the finish line,” he said. After receiving basic treatment and resting, Li Mao gradually regained consciousness. Supported by his teammates, he struggled to his feet and limped toward the finish line. Every step was agonizing, the pain in his ankle seemingly numbing, his vision blurring, and his mind hazily aware—but he pressed on with unyielding determination.
The final 8km took him and his teammates over two hours. Despite this, only six teams had finished ahead of them.
At the finish line, leaders of the PLA Garrison in Hong Kong, Oxfam staff, Hong Kong media reporters, and international competitors who had completed the race all spontaneously welcomed this special team. They received warmer applause than any other team. Oxfam fundraising manager Wong Yuk-han said excitedly, “The PLA is truly amazing!”
“In such harsh weather conditions, some professional teams withdrew, but you braved your injuries and persevered to finish the race. This is the best embodiment of the ‘Trailwalker’ spirit,” Wong praised.
Li Mao was sent to the General Hospital of the Guangzhou Military Command. The attending doctor remarked, “To run 30km after fracturing a leg—without a strong sense of honor and extraordinary perseverance, it’s simply unimaginable!”
After recovering, someone asked Li Mao why he didn’t just stop and rest after getting injured. The trim young soldier in his crisp military uniform lifted his sun-tanned face and replied earnestly, “I never thought about stopping. You see, I’m a soldier—I don’t represent just myself.”