The 14th edition of the Anta Hong Kong 100 Ultramarathon brings a large international field to Hong Kong for each of its three races, and its 3-day stage race, The Grand Sam. Hong Kong 100 will be the first ever race of the World Trail Majors series. 2800 runners from 60 countries will enjoy the beautiful and varied trails from the Sai Kung Peninsula.
The start for a new chapter in trail running: Hong Kong and World Trail Majors
This edition of Hong Kong 100 will make history as the first ever event in the World Trail Majors, an alliance of some of the world’s most emblematic trail races. The Hong Kong 100 events see the welcome return to Hong Kong of world class runners from Europe and North America and incredibly strong competition between the best of Asia’s trail running talent.
World Trail Majors will begin in Hong Kong and conclude in November in South Africa, featuring some of the best races in the world, including events in the United States, Spain, Japan, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada.
The races of the Hong Kong event
The first of the races, The Third, 33km, +1460m, takes part in the morning of Thursday 18th while Friday will be the time for The Half, 56km, +2010m with athletes like Núria Picas and Ruy Ueda. Saturday 20th is the time for the original HK100 race with 1800 athletes.
Anta Hong Kong 100 Ultramarathon starts in Pak Tam Chung and runners first enjoy the UNESCO Geopark and the beaches. They then head for the hills on the Maclehose Trail closer to the city before climbing Hong Kong’s highest peak (Tai Mo Shan or “Big Hat Mountain” at 957m) and descending to the finish line party in the Rotary Club Park. The men’s course record is You Peiquan’s superhuman finish just 17 seconds over the 10 hours mark and the women’s is Xiang Fuzhao’s breathtaking 11 hours and 28 minutes.
Finally, there is the Grand Sam for those braves doing The Third, The Half and Hong Kong 100 on consecutive days. Some big names on this challenge includes Francesca Canepa and Sangé Sherpa.
Women elite field, Hungary vs Poland vs China?
This year’s top 2 contenders for the women’s title, Eszter Csillag (Hungary, living in Hong Kong, Hoka, ITRA 768) and Dominika Stelmach (Poland, Team Stelmach, ITRA 756). Stelmach is the European record holder for 100km (7 hours and 4 minutes) while Csillag placed 3rd at Western States in 2023 and 4th at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2022.
The challenge to the European runners is likely to be led by China’s Wu Yuanyuan (Altra, ITRA 742), who won the Hong Kong 100 Grand Sam in style last year: winning in The Third, being second in The Half and 7th in Hong Kong 100.
Other top contenders include: Anna Li (China, ITRA 724) who claimed 2nd place in 2023, having started in the 4th wave and run past almost the whole field. Qin Lu (China, ITRA 724) was 3rd in Hong Kong 100 in 2023 and will be competing again. Or Phitchanan Mahachot (Thailand, ITRA 653) and Nisachon Morgan (Thailand, Salomon, ITRA 620), who both represented Thailand in the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2022 and are regular winners at races in Thailand.
Men field: You Peiquan for the triple crown
Remarkably, 9 of the top 10 male finishers in the 2023 Hong Kong 100 are racing again in 2024. If You Peiquan (China, ANTA, ITRA 864) wins it will be three-in-a-row for him. He set the course record in 2020 at 10 hours and 17 seconds and said after his win last year that he can break 10 hours if conditions are cool. He is certainly in good form, having tuned up with a win at Yangxian 100 in November.
Keenly anticipating the race, You commented: “As the Brand Ambassador of ANTA this year, I am looking forward to racing at the top level again on a course that suits me and which I have really enjoyed in the past. I’m trying to get my third win and can’t wait to get going.”
Probably his closest contenders from China will be Zhao Jiaju (Hoka, ITRA 904), Meng Guangfu (Hoka, 888), Duo Ji (Hoka, 888), Bate Mengkai (887), Zhao Hu (Kailas, ITRA 876), Deng Guomin (The North Face/Suunto, 873) and Zhang Jiao (Outopia, 869).
Internationally the competition will be strong. From The USA, Tyler Green (Nike, ITRA 873), from Spain Ricardo Cherta (Dynafit, 867), from Philippines John Ray Onifa (T8, 862), from France Alexandre Boucheix (aka Casquette Verte, Salomon, 830), from Nepal Bed Sunuwar (788) and Arjun Kulung (767), from Australia Joe Dorph (SingleTrack Events, 767) or from Italy Alessandro RIzzetto (T8, 763).
Encouragement from title sponsor and organizers
Tsui Yeung, ANTA’s Chief Executive Officer remarked: “We are delighted that ANTA becomes the official partner of HK100, an event which unites the local and global trail running communities and combines the buzz and excitement of competition at the highest level. As one of the leading sports brands in China, ANTA will continuously support and inspire all participants to challenge themselves and push their limits. Let’s keep moving and trailblaze together!”
Janet Ng and Steve Brammar, Race Directors of Hong Kong 100, said: “We are very proud that Hong Kong 100 will launch the World Trail Majors, a series of fantastic races which we hope will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people for a long time. To every runner taking part in the Hong Kong 100 events, good luck, stay safe, look after yourselves and each other and enjoy every step of the way.
Thank you to all the volunteers, race sponsors, supporting organizations and partners, the authorities who allow us to hold the events in Hong Kong’s amazing country parks and everyone who takes part and supports in any way. Not least of course, the runners. Have a great time.”
Social media and streaming
Web: www.hk100-ultra.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HongKong100/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hk100ultra/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JanetandSteveHK100
There will be updates and live streaming of Hong Kong 100 from 7.30am to 10pm (local times) on Saturday 20th January with details on social media channels.
Streaming according on time zones
Hong Kong: Saturday – 2024/01/20 > 07:30 – Saturday 22:00
Tokyo: Saturday – 2024/01/20 – 08:30 > Saturday 23:00
Cape Town: Saturday – 2024/01/20 > 01:30 – Saturday 16:00
Geneva: Saturday – 2024/01/20 > 00:30 – Saturday 15:00
Winchester-UTC: Friday – 2024/01/19 – 23:30 > Saturday 14:00
Canary Islands: Friday – 2024/01/19 à 23:30 > Saturday 14:00
Madeira: Friday – 2024/01/19 – 23:30 > Saturday 14:00
Quebec: Friday – 2024/01/19 – 18:30 > Saturday 09:00
Phoenix: Friday – 2024/01/19 – 16:30 > Saturday 07:00
