Mr Mak initially joined the civil service as Traffic Warden in the Hong Kong Police Force, then later worked as Transport Assistant II in the Transport Department, and finally joined the Hongkong Post, where he worked as Postman for over twenty years. He shared, “A key motivator for me joining the civil service was the stable income, which enabled me to support my family. The biggest challenge at work in the early years was the long working hours. I recalled that when I first started working as Postman, I had to work for up to 11 hours each day and performed overtime work on holidays.” He quipped, “I spent times with my colleagues more than my family members. As years passed by with continual changes in the work schedule, we can get off work more on time now and enjoy work-life balance.”

When he started working as Postman in the Sorting Office of the Central Mail Centre, Mr Mak was required to attend a three-month induction training to learn the skills in sorting letters according to different corresponding addresses. Never one to sit still, Mr Mak took this opportunity to do some footwork, literally, to get prepared for his new duty. He recounted, “In order to sort the letters more efficiently, it would be useful for me to get familiar with the names of different places across Hong Kong. So, whenever I had some free time, either near my home or just out and about in the street, I would go around hunting for and familiarising myself with all the different locales and addresses in Hong Kong.”

Mr Mak joined the 10-km “Thaiquain Cup 10k” competition in September 2019.

Mr Mak said, “In 2013, I started to get ready for my retirement in 2015. As many of my co-workers were talking about the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon at that time, I thought why not give it a go. It is simple and all I need is just a pair of running trainers. That was when I began to develop my interest and pick up the skills of long-distance running.”

He added, “If I had to say what the most important elements to becoming a runner are, at my age in particular, I would say that it is mainly about the social aspects and meeting runners from different walks of life. I often make new running friends while doing on-line research for information on long-distance running, and then end up practising with them. Once you become running friends and practise together, it is much easier to get into and keep at the running — as they encourage you, and you all come to love it. My friends and I usually run at night together, but personally, I prefer running in the morning.”

Besides, Mr Mak emphasised the importance of proper training in running, “After retirement, I took up formal training on long-distance running to learn the proper running skills. This helps to avoid injuries due to incorrect running postures, which will in turn adversely affect my performance and determination in running.”

As to where to run, Mr Mak runs just about everywhere in Hong Kong, covering Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. He explained, “I just find the right and nice place to go running, get out there and do it — I love it.” To keep himself motivated in his running, Mr Mak likes to join running races, and his all-time favourite race is the Ultra-Trail^® Tai Mo Shan (UTMT) — a supremely challenging trail running event. Mr Mak pushed himself to the limit along the 100-mile course, with a cumulative altitude gain of over 9,000 metres. The event attracts runners from around the world, competing along local footpaths, forest trails, reservoir family walks, country trails and ancient trails around the foothills of Tai Mo Shan.

Mr Mak participated in the 7th Jinshanling Great Wall Marathon in April 2019.

Mr Mak recalled, “My favourite race so far has been the UTMT held in January 2020. To prepare for it, I have practised long-distance running on an ongoing basis. I run four times a week, and each time I run for three hours.” He added, “The UTMT is currently the longest course in Hong Kong with a distance of 162km, and I finished the race within the 42-hour time limit. It remains my most favourite and memorable race because it is the longest distance I have ever run so far. The race was very much run, stop, run, stop, and there were some checkpoints where runners could briefly stop to rest and get some refreshments and water. But basically I kept running all the time for some 40 hours. By the end of the race, I was so exhausted that I started hallucinating. It seemed like stationary objects in front of me were moving, which was quite perturbing at the time. Fortunately, everything was fine again once I got some rest. I did not get too much muscle pain the next day, and didn’t get any blisters either as I have worn the right kind of trail-running shoes.” It would seem Mr Mak’s physical resilience is every bit as strong as his mental resilience, and in his six years of running since retirement with proper professional training, he has never been injured during a race.

Apart from races held in Hong Kong, Mr Mak has also run in events all over the world, such as those held in America, Croatia, Greece and Japan. It is a lot of fun for him to enter overseas races with his running friends. He explained, “I like to compete in races as I will not get bored. I want to maintain my performance and hopefully progress in each race – that’s what motivates me to keep practising.”

Long-distance running has genuinely been a life-changing process for Mr Mak. He noted, “When reflecting on the races, you often go through many emotions. You would feel elated, realising the massive amount of running you have just done. When you finish a race, you also get to share all the little things that happen during the race, over a cup of tea with your running friends.”

Running forms a massive part of Mr Mak’s retirement life; regular races and meet-ups with running friends keep his schedule full. He explained, “I don’t find much spare time in my daily life as running keeps me occupied. I would say it is a social sport, which makes your social circle getting bigger and bigger, and so even after retirement, I am still very busy.” After races, many running friends and Mr Mak will go out for a post-run meal in places all around Hong Kong depending on their footsteps. He said, “I don’t have any favorite restaurants; the most important thing for me is the running; so when we finish running, we just pick any nearby restaurant and enjoy the gathering.”

On how to choose a suitable sport, Mr Mak shared, “From the moment I first started running and joined long-distance races thereafter, it just happened very naturally. To start with, you need to think about what your personal interests are, and then find some friends to pursue that interest together. That’s how my friends and I started running.”

He further said, “There wasn’t anything in retirement that surprised me, I had no particular difficulties transitioning as I had already developed my interest in running well before I retired. This is what I recommend - make plans ahead of time for your retirement.” When talking about the most important thing in preparing for retirement, Mr Mak shared, “I would recommend and encourage you to do as much exercise as you can; and you also need to develop your own personal interests. Some colleagues may think it is not easy to spare time for doing exercise or developing other interests due to heavy workload. Taking my interest in long-distance running as an example, when I was posted to work as Postman in the International Mail Centre located in Hung Hom, I started work at noon every day. So I went out early in the morning and did my running from my home in Fanling to Tai Wai, and then took a ride on the train to Hung Hom for work. If we manage our time well, we can still get into exercise or pick up a new sport even with a busy work schedule.”

Mr Mak (third left) participated in 57-km Totem Run with his friends in October 2017.

To get the most out of your retirement, Mr Mak advises colleagues to develop their interests apart from work. He shared, “For retirement, no doubt you have to consider your financial situation. If you have sufficient savings, you may choose not to work anymore, then you can enjoy life and continue with your own interests.” As for staying happy in retirement, Mr Mak recommends doing volunteer work, “Many running groups have partnered with charitable organisations to do volunteer work together, such as clearing rubbish along the country trails.”

For young colleagues who have just started their career, Mr Mak said, “You should stay healthy and not just confine yourselves to your work. It is important to develop interests in other aspects of your life. Regular exercises can help maintain good work-life balance, and also expand your social life.”

In closing, Mr Mak encourages fellow colleagues, “Retirement is a new beginning for you to enjoy another taste of life.” As the adage goes, if you want to run — run a mile; if you want to experience a different life — run a marathon. Mr Mak looks set to experiencing ten different lives as he has set the bar even higher in joining the Challenge Marathon x 10 recently, an event which requires competitors to run a full marathon each week for ten consecutive weeks, adding more colours to his retirement life.