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Living To The Full: Trekking Poles Pro!

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Loïc Le Jannou, a DB resident of almost 30 years, shares his love of the Lantau trails with Elizabeth Kerr. Use trekking poles his way and you’ll do so for years to come

It turns out that trekking poles are like bras. If you use one, chances are you’re using it wrong. Honorary Hongkonger and trail running facilitator Loïc Le Jannou may have been late to the running game but he was among the early adopters of poles on Hong Kong’s trails as a tool for bettering times, improving mobility and protecting your knees for the long term, and now he’s sharing this wisdom.

“Poles are not just for going uphill and for balance,” opens Loïc, who’s gregarious, relaxed and buff at 64. “All the commercial brands recommend poles that are at least 15 centimetres too long. You should use poles that are shorter on the downhill – not longer. And it’s terrible, because you lose the benefit of using them downhill as a support.” Somehow this sounds worse in Loïc’s lilting French accent.

To Loïc’s mind, no matter how healthy you think running 100 kilometres makes you, it damages the body – and this from a guy who actually enjoys a good trail run. So he set out to find a way to make it less so.

“I invented a new technique to use trekking poles, which I’ve also started to teach,” he says (find him on Instagram @loic_the_trekker). Loïc’s singular style is centred on trekking poles with a flat head that can take weight and so take pressure off the knees. The goal is to use the poles to actually jump and land lightly: “like a cat”. Using poles this way also develops arm, shoulder and core strength, gets trekkers down hills without causing knee, hip or back problems, and ensures you can still climb stairs a decade from now. In other words, it prevents damage to the cartilage. Loïc’s taught elite runners, been recommended by physiotherapists, and has inspired people with weight issues to get more active.

CIRCUITOUS ROUTE TO DB

In between chatting about running and poles, and his long, winding road from Montpellier, in southern France, to Discovery Bay in 1995, Loïc sounds off on a range of subjects: French verbs, the virtues of the signature Barmah hat he’s never without on a walk, the relative genius of classic rock titans. Turns out, Loïc’s not keen on Jimi Hendrix, or Keith Richards; he’s all about The Beatles. He’s also a huge fan of DB: “it’s the best place in Hong Kong to be”.

“We lived in South Horizons when we first arrived in Hong Kong in 1993,” Loïc recalls, the ‘we’ being his ex-wife, now living in Ireland, and daughter. A visit with friends one day sold them on DB for its natural environment, car-free streets and low-rise living. “I thought, ‘Wow, that place is paradise,’” Loïc recalls. “South Horizons was all towers and long queues to get on the bus in the morning. It was madness. When you arrive in DB, you see the mountain, hear the birds; and the ferry is a great way to disconnect from the job and meet people. I love Discovery Bay.”

Loïc calls Hong Kong home now, but it was mainland China that first drew him east. As a student in the late 1970s, he developed a passion for the Chinese language after stumbling into a class. “The teacher said Chinese had no grammar, no gender, no plurals, nothing. I said that’s the language for me,” he says with a laugh. Loïc was sure he was destined to wind up in China one way or another and, sure enough, he saw an ad about learning Chinese in China in Le Monde. He called the Paris number and voilà. He landed in Shanghai in 1986, taking a trip to Hong Kong after his first nine months.

“I arrived in Hong Kong, and oh my God, the lights everywhere, the products, the shops. I jumped into a McDonald’s to have french fries because I hadn’t had any for so long. I just loved Hong Kong.” He spent time in Chengdu and Tianjin, and returned to Europe (briefly) before relocating to Hong Kong for good. “I learnt I was not made to live in France,” he says. “I love the country, but I have a problem with the people. I’m not going back.”

OWNING THE TRAILS

These days, Loïc spends his time living for himself, indulging his passion for trail running and hiking, and teaching other trekkers the art of the poles. He first caught the trail bug back in 2007: he had two kids by then, and he was 46. He was at the age where staying fit became more important, and remembering a sporty childhood that included cross-country skiing – where he learnt how to use trekking poles – he found a hiking partner in DB and started competing in local trail races. He dropped the racing in 2017 when first, he realised he wasn’t getting faster, and second, one of his brothers passed away from a heart attack while cycling at 57.

It was time to take it easy, easier at least, and so Loïc put his energy into volunteering as a sweeper for the likes of Translantau™ by UTMB, Action Asia, North Face 100 Ultra Trail Challenge, Oxfam Trailwalker and King of the Hills, reaping the benefits of the activity without the pressure of the clock. Sweepers follow the last runner, collect the markers and clean the trail. Aptly enough, Loïc did his 100th race as a sweeper last December at DB’s Team FEAR Junior Adventure Challenge. He also co-designed and helped mark the course.

Right now, it’s peak race season for Loïc, who gave up his last job in gift and toy merchandising in 2021. “I love being a sweeper,” he says. “I love the atmosphere; I love discovering other trails and being out in nature.”

As a sweeper, Loïc also gets to hang out with the lagging runners, many of whom have the most interesting stories to tell on any given day. Some want to take photos but don’t know the trail routes, some want to have a picnic, and some are doing it for personal satisfaction. He recalls catching up to an Indian runner in her first race who was looking to prove to a selfish family she could do something valuable that they couldn’t. “She finished within the cut-off time,” says Loïc. “She was last, but she finished. It was great.”

It’s also where a lot of runners discover the poles. And champion racer or not, with “muscles of titanium” or otherwise, Loïc is confident you’ll run better and for more years if you use his pole technique. Don’t take it from him; take it from the 200-odd people he’s taught so far – not including all those who’ve benefited from freebie advice on the trails. As an added bonus you could look like you stepped out of Zack Snyder’s 300.

“All my life I’ve never had the pecs I have now,” Loïc jokes. “I always tell my girlfriend ‘You’re a lucky girl. My ex-wife has never seen me this fit.’ I have pecs, I have triceps. I’m totally buff.”

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