I have done a lot of hard things in my life. But the Oxfam Trailwalker was the hardest.

On 24 November 2023, I joined thousands of participants on the start line of one of the world’s most iconic endurance events, the Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong. 100 kilometres. Over 5,000 metres of elevation gain. Through the mountains of Hong Kong, through the night, and out the other side.

I finished. And I am delighted I did.

What the Last 25km Actually Felt Like

My knees swelled so badly I could barely see my left kneecap. My feet ballooned to the point where taking more than 5 steps felt like climbing Everest. Every part of my body was telling me to stop. The only thing still moving was my will and my teammates.

That is not a complaint. That is the point. The Oxfam Trailwalker is designed to break you down until there is nothing left but the decision to keep going, and your team. And that decision, made again and again, step after step in the dark, is the whole experience.

Do I have any regrets? Not one.

Our team raised USD 3,500 for Oxfam, and the experience of crossing that finish line together is something I will carry for the rest of my life. My teammates, are now best mates forever, my brothers.

The Context That Makes This Meaningful

Here is what was happening in my life at the same time.

Kina, my daughter, had just turned one year old. My wife Yama was at home in Zhuhai. I was Group CFO of C2W Group, Chairman-elect of the British Chamber of Commerce South China, and Chairman of Come Together Community. And November 2023, the exact same month as the Trailwalker, was also the month of the Come Together Charity Music Festival, our biggest fundraising event of the year.

Months of early morning trail runs, weekend long hikes, and late-night training sessions, squeezed into the margins of a life that was already full to the brim. There were moments during training when I genuinely questioned whether I had taken on too much. My wife certainly did!

But here is what I learned: the preparation for something like the Trailwalker is not separate from the rest of your life. It becomes part of it. The discipline bleeds into everything. The resilience compounds. The clarity you find at the top of a mountain at 3am with burning legs carries over into boardrooms and charity meetings and quiet moments with your family.

What It Taught Me About Leadership

True strength is not just in the legs that carry you, it is in the will that drives you.

That sounds like a motivational poster. It also happens to be exactly true. In endurance sport, as in leadership, there will always be a price to pay for ambitious goals. The question is not whether the price is real, it is whether the goal is worth it. Every time, for me, the answer has been yes.

If you are reading this and there is something you have been putting off, a goal that feels too big, a challenge that feels too hard, take this as a sign. Find your trail. Walk it bravely.

🔗 Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn

Mark Clayton FCMA CGMA CPA KOR — Group CFO, C2W Group | Chairman, British Chamber of Commerce South China | Founder & Chairman, Come Together Community