My Greatest Learning Project Since Graduation (Part 1)

 

It has been three years since I came up with the idea of setting up a social enterprise, 2 years planning for it and 9 months since incorporating and actually running it. Whilst I am still terribly preoccupied with day-to-day running and frantically finding business, I've recently felt the need to re-visit and reflect more deeply about these questions:-

Why social enterprise?

What social problems do I want to address and what is the impact I want to achieve?

Why do social enterprises fail and what is my learning so far?

I must admit I had a really rosy picture when I first came up with the social enterprise idea three years ago and I could still remember how passionate and eloquent I was pitching and preaching this idea.

I never dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur, let alone a social entrepreneur. I guess every social entrepreneur has a kind of lovestruck story. Destiny found them and showed them a social problem which touched their heart and soul and they coincidentally had an innovative idea for a solution, and there goes a journey to the deep end...

In my case, it was company factory closure in Hong Kong, an empowerment programme which I ran for a large group of sewing ladies and subsequently close friendship with some of these ladies which, enabled me to see their passion and potentials.

Why it was a social enterprise was straight forward. There was no room for survival for mass scale garment manufacturing in Hong Kong since the 80s. If there is a reason for garment sewing to exist, it will have to be something which Hong Kong has a competitive edge and is worth the high cost. But that alone is not enough, having a setup as social enterprise has other incentives for corporate customers. Corporate customers through doing business with us, work with us to address a social problem, or more specifically, they work with us to empower a disadvantaged sector of society.

When I first met the sewing ladies three years ago, they were in their 40s to 50s. Some of them, in addition to having good sewing skills, also had management experience in small factories back in the late 80s. The social enterprise project is intended to provide an opportunity to enhance their garment making skills, to enable to them to make a living using their craft, and to foster entrepreneurship. It also aims to address a need in the market whereby designers often have the need for sample making and small custom made orders which require good sewing skills and short turnaround time.

While I was pitching the social enterprise idea to big companies for support, I accidentally stumbled onto a discussion with some of these companies on corporate uniforms. Hong Kong's economy is heavily supported by the service industry and the amount of uniforms worn by corporations every year is enormous. These uniforms are also replaced and disposed of regularly. Since our landfills are soon reaching full capacity and there are talks about waste disposal levy, corporations are interested in exploring sustainable textile solutions rather than contributing to the problem.

The second component of the social enterprise is to create sustainable textile products using recycled materials from corporate uniforms. Seeing this humble little innovative idea turning into prototypes gave me a lot of satisfaction, but that was only the start of a long journey of logistical nightmare...

It's hard but not as hard as you think!

This is what my friend Emily Woodland said to me over and over again. I'm so glad I had this quote in mind all the time during the race and my conclusion was also exactly this after I crossed the finishing line.

A few months ago, when Emily first said this, I thought it was easy for her to say that! she came 5th at Gobi last year and for somebody who could finish HK100 in 15 hours, I would, if I were her, say that the Gobi is a piece of cake!

The hard part for me really was the weight of the pack and the pain on the shoulders and neck. The first day it didn't bother me because I was full of energy. By the second day, my energy was starting to wear out but my pack was just as heavy. Ask me again and I would say Day 2 was the most frustrating. Day 3, I was distracted by the beautiful landscape and my determination to tackle which was supposed to be the most technical sections of the race. Day 4, a small dosage of pain killers helped me get through the day. Day 5, I couldn't think about anything else except finishing the long march and I was seeing light at the end of the tunnel anyway.

But the beautiful and positive memory definitely outweighed the memory of the shoulder pain, blisters, and the sleep deprivation etc... To be able to spend such time having such long spiritual dialogues with myself, with heaven and earth, with so many interesting new friends, are what I consider to be some of the most precious experiences in life and I cannot be more grateful. 

Do I feel a sense of loss because I did 20k less? To me, I am just as grateful with any distance, any weather, any terrain which mother nature permits and what my body permits. In fact, this has always been my attitude when I do any race or any training. Glad I still had this motto deeply imprinted in mind head when I was at the Gobi.

A totally different mood this year

I bet every Gobi March has one Japanese guy who dresses up and projects a distinctive persona. Last year, there was Mr. Spiderman who would not take off his mask any time during the race, even when he was sobbing. This year, we have Shoma-san who dressed up as a popular cartoon character and cheered every body up in the race. He created a lot of fun for himself as well as for others.

 

 
The dynamics and the chemistry of this year's Hong Kong team was very different from last year. Last year, I was travelling with two of my very good friends who were about my age. So the topics of conversation and outlook on life were more serious. This year, my three friends are a lot younger. The things that they would talk about and laugh about, whilst I enjoyed listening are not the kind of conversations that I would be able to participate. It was fun though since there were a lot more hilarious moments and laughter.

Tent mates were so different too. Last year, working as a volunteer did not allow much time to interact with people, most of the time we were just busy working. This year, it was really fun sharing a tent with several Korean friends. They come from different generations, different walks of life. They all are very warm and friendly, and fun to hang out with, no matter at what age. Koreans are also a closely knit group I find. After the first day, I started to notice that they all crowded together and sometimes all flooded to our tent.
 

The first day of the Gobi March felt easy. I felt energetic and the heavy weight of the pack had not kicked in yet. I had time to enjoy the scenery, take pictures and was proceeding at a comfortable speed. It was also great pleasure walking with Megan and Pushpa. They are two very strong ladies whom I admire.

That day at around noon time, I started to hear Buddhist music playing in my mind for no reason. After a few hours, I ran into a country park and suddenly saw this at the top of the mountain. It was very touching and I was so grateful to feel the blessings of the Buddha. I stopped for a while and prayed.

A dream journey completed, but sometimes I feel like I want to go back to my dreams...

It has been a few weeks already and I still feel that part of my heart is still in Bole. Guess part of my heart will be there for a long long time. The entire Gobi March experience is a very condensed human experience. I feel like I have compressed many years of personal growth, many years of physical training, many years of fun and cultural experience, all into one.

After one whole year of uninterrupted training, starting from zero to finishing 9 races, 500km mileage, I arrived in Bole, the city where the 10th anniversary edition would be held. I arrived with the experience I have learnt as a volunteer last year, but with little expectations. The day before I left Hong Kong, I met up with my friend Natalia and she asked me how I felt. I honestly told her that I thought of the Gobi March as essentially a travelling experience, and will try my best to finish it. But I would be happy with whatever my body could achieve.

As much as I appreciate the service provided by volunteers, I must admit that being a competitor is so much more fun than a volunteer. Before the race, I had the time and opportunity to meet with other competitors coming from different parts of the world, with diverse cultural backgrounds. We spent time shopping last minute supplies, ate together, talked about our own lives, on running and travelling, and helped each other to pack. I didn't get to take pictures with each and every one of these friends, but it's very humbling learning from all of you and I'm grateful to have met you guys - Megan, Alex, Dan, Fiaz, Joel, Eric etc...

From a Spectator to a Player

Last year when I was a volunteer at the Gobi, I saw how the competitors went through the race. I will be following their footsteps in 10 days' time, but I am still not quite feeling it yet. I have tried the individual components that make up the race, like doing ultras and a staged race; eating the freeze dried meals, gels, bars, electrolytes; using the gear, not showering for a week etc...I have tried them all but to experience all of them together into one is still beyond my imagination.

All these certainly sounds very tough, but I am not thinking too much. Last week when I was having a chat with my brother, I was telling him how I have surprised myself that after one year's training, I still am not competitive about races at all. To me, the training and the experience of running all the races are just spiritual. Every time I go into a race, I am looking for the spiritual experience for the next few or sometimes 24 hours. It is almost like finding a conversation between myself and the divine existence.

For these reasons, I am thinking more about the enjoyment of this race to make this spiritual experience more memorable. As a result, I am actually spending more time on things like compiling music, practicing with my camera etc.. Every thing else seems secondary.

It was a year ago, but it feels like yesterday...

When I joined the Gobi March in 2012 as a volunteer, I did not know what to expect. A year just flew by. In 30 days' time, I will be joining the race again, but this time as a competitor. The preparation feels familiar and yet are so different. During the course of one year, I have taken the time to research, looked around, asked around, testing everything myself. I have also trained hard, through rain or shine, day or night. Even though I have only trained for one year, the effort feels like a long long time and I am amazed and grateful that I have remained dedicated and determined still. Initially I thought joining the Gobi is an end goal, turns out it is just the beginning. What started as a travelling experience turns out to be a lifelong path of spiritual and physical discovery. I have learnt so much more about myself and my place in the world and I am so grateful to be shown this opportunity.

I look forward to start the race, even if it is tomorrow. Sure there will be physical exhaustion, pain, injuries and desperation. But at the same time, I also look forward to seeing the wonders of nature, personal breakthrough, lifelong friendships and a sense of achievement. No matter what condition I will be, I will try to take as many pictures as I can because I realize I will never get to walk the same trails ever again. This is the start of a different way of travelling and seeing the world, but then again, it will be the start of many in the days to come, hopefully.

I am so thankful to my parents for giving birth to me and for raising me to become the person I am today. Without them I would not have the strength and courage. I wish to dedicate the happiness and wonder out of taking part in adventure races to them. Even though they cannot travel anymore, I will take their spirit and inspirations with me as I run.

The first time I did the Green Power Hike was in 2010, not long after I joined Esquel. I thought it was just a casual 10k hike. Indeed it was. My colleagues and I were in casual wear, big and small bags. We were dressed for dim sum lunch as much as we were dressed for hiking. After we started, I started feeling hungry and looked at my watch. It was 10 am. At the rate we were walking and talking, we would only be done at 1 pm. So I told my colleagues that I would try running a bit so that I could finish and have food. I started galloping away and my colleagues followed. Carol and Bob were about my speed and we finished in about 1.5 hours and had a happy and early dim sum. That was my idea of trail running then.

The second year, Bob and I decided to up the challenge to 25k, and we got Eddie in too. We went for a few shorts hikes on the Hong Kong trail. On the day of the race, Eddie felt ill and had to pull out. Even though we were disqualified for lack of a complete team, Bob and I decided to go nevertheless and finish the race. While we were going up Dragon's Back, I gave a shout to Bob who was in front. My shout triggered his muscle cramps and he was barely able to walk for the last 6k. Bob is one of the best sports buddies in the office and I had no hesitation of stopping and walked with him all the way to finishing point.

The third year, I was not able to join the Green Power as it was our Annual Dinner.

2013, I decided to do solo 50k. I only had a few goals in mind - Finish, don't stop, listen to the body and enjoy the run. I was so glad that I had done all these, and still had time to care for an injured friend. As I was going up the Dragon's back, I felt I still had energy in me to keep going, and the flashes of so many races, the difficulties, the encouragement of my training buddies and friends all flashed back. Every race has helped me to become a better person and a better runner.