Cancellation of Naylor Memorial Trail Run lets down charity, athletes and Andy himself: Updated with organisers’ response

The HardasNayls Races planned for 29 – 30 September were cancelled, a disappointed Narelle Pamuk told SAI KUNG BUZZ. Narelle’s charity Sai Kung Stray Friends Foundation, which looks after more than 100 dogs, was to have been the main beneficiary of the event.

Here from the HardasNayls website is the explanation given for the cancellation: “The costs involved in ensuring a safe and fun day far exceeded the enrollment and it was therefore not viable as a charity race.” The organiser, HKTRL (Hong Kong Trail Racing League) Ltd, which has an office in East Ocean Centre, had been charging $550 a ticket if you wanted to run the 50km or 16km races in the hills of Clearwater Bay. Tickets for the family runs of 8 and 6km were $350 (one adult and one child).

One of the organisers, Richard Scotford, said he was shocked we would publish this criticism without checking with them. (The article is based on Narelle’s information that it had been cancelled and on the website.) He said they did agonise over the decision to cancel because there was insufficient enrollment to go ahead with the two-day event. He said they then received a letter from the AFCD cancelling permission, because of the storm. This is not the reason given on the HardasNayls website. This article is written from the point of view of a member of the Hash House Harriers for 40 years. The Hash attitude is the trails are there. Get out and run. Minimum organisation. The Hash just makes sure there will be iced beer at the end of it. Most of the trails had been cleared by volunteers two weeks after the storm. HKTRL does appear to over-egg its events.

This year’s cancellation lets down many people who were looking forward to the event. The races in honour of Andy Naylor, who died after getting into difficulties in the Hudson River during a New York triathlon, have been held successfully three times before.  Cancelling such a fine event does not show the Naylor spirit. HKTRL also seems to have made the event over-complicated and over-organised. Cut the officious fiddle-faddle, take a Hash House Harriers-like minimalist approach and it will all happen.  According to its website, HKTRL arranges dozens of trail-racing activities each year. It appears to have also got itself over-loaded.

HKTRL is a non-profit operation. The money raised by the Andy Naylor event was to have been invested according to the website in running programmes for kids, sponsorship and prize money for adult runs, benefits for families who lose a family member during running activities, including the Andy’s wife and children, and Narelle’s charity.

The organisers have disappointed many: The people who had enrolled (refunds were promised) and who had been training hard for the great athletic occasion, the charity, the running community in general and the family and memory of Andy Naylor.

Richard Scotford, one of the organisers of the Andy Naylor memorial races, asks us to print this rebuttal:

1. I have not quit the race.
2. We do not run any more races.
3. Our efforts to make a safe enjoyable race for everyone are not “officious fiddle-faddle.”
4. The race WAS cancelled due to low numbers, and
5. The race WAS cancelled a couple of days later by the AFCD due to storm damage.