Trailwalker and the related Trailtrekker are fundraising endurance events conducted across the world by

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

, in which teams of four competitors must complete a course of in a set time limit - typically between 24 and 48 hours. The routes may be point-to-point or follow a circular route returning to the start.

History

The event was established in 1981 by Brigadier Mervyn Lee in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

as a training exercise by the Queen's Gurkha Signals, part of the Brigade of Gurkhas of the British Army, which was at the time based in the British colony. In 1986, teams of civilians were allowed to take part and Oxfam Hong Kong was invited to co-organise the event. In 1997, with the handover of Hong Kong to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the Gurkha regiments were relocated to the United Kingdom. The Trailwalker event followed the Gurkhas' relocation and was organised over the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, with

in the UK acting as partner since 2002, alongside the Gurkha Welfare Trust. Oxfam Hong Kong continued to organise the original event without the Gurkhas and the event has grown with 17 events now taking place across 10 countries worldwide. In 2017, Ian Crawford of Petersfield, Hampshire, continuing his support of the Gurkha Welfare Trust and aged 74 years old, completed a record 19th UK Trailwalker in a time of 29hrs 34mins. In late 2022,

withdrew from organising Trailwalker UK. It is now solely organised by The Gurkha Welfare Trust in partnership with The Queen's Gurkha Signals.

Events

Common rules

There are some common rules across all the Trailwalker and Trailtrekker events. * Each team must have four members, who are required to cross all checkpoints and finish line together, although teams may continue with only three members if one has to retire. * The Trailwalker event course, referred to as 'the trail,' is 100 kilometres long. * Participants should also organise a support team, plan and start their training schedule at least three months before the event. * All teams must raise a minimum sponsorship amount. Failure to raise the stated amount could mean teams do not take part in the scheduled event. Teams failing to meet the required amount approx $1600 are given an opportunity in the next years event with no refunds on entry fees and fund already raised. Teams raising over the threshold will take priority in registering for Oxfam Trailwalker next year.

Macau TrailWalker

In mid-2010, Upward Bound Unlimited (UBU), a Macau-based company which organizes sports tourism events in the Pearl River Delta region, and Macau's main English-language daily newspaper, the Macau Daily Times, announced that a cross-country hiking event called "Macau TrailWalker" would be held later in the year with the support of the local Macau authorities. The event was held on 9 October 2010 on the outer island of Coloane and consisted of a 30 km category and a 12 km category. Prior to the event,

Hong Kong issued a press release stating among other things that it was not associated with the event or any of its organizers (nor had it been contacted by them), that it did not approve nor endorse the event, that no sponsorship money from the event would be used in any Oxfam aid work, and that it "reserved the right to take appropriate legal action to protect the Trailwalker name".

History

Events

Common rules

Macau TrailWalker

References

External links