The 2024 Hong Kong 100k kicked off at 8 a.m. local time on Saturday, January 21, on the Sai Kung Peninsula, located on the east side of Hong Kong. This year’s women’s winner, Lin Chen (China), stormed through much of the race in first position, while the men’s champion, Guang-Fu Meng (China), made a surprise attack on the last climb to finish in first position, knocking last year’s winner off the top spot.
This 103-kilometer (64 miles) race has over 5,300 meters of elevation gain (17,388 feet) and is one of three races that took place across the weekend — along with the half (56k/35 miles) and the third (33k/21 miles). Athletes can compete in individual races, or have the opportunity to compete in all three for a chance to win the event’s grand slam.
The Hong Kong 100k is also the first of nine races in the inaugural 2024 World Trail Majors series.
As expected, conditions were extremely humid throughout the race, which may have been a struggle for European athletes, who will currently be training through winter conditions back home. The women’s race began with an early lead from one of the favorites Dominika Stelmach (Poland), however it was Lin Chen who dominated the race and finished in 12:44:51.
In the men’s race there was a shock finale from Guang-Fu Meng who overtook Pei-Quan You (China) on the final climb of the race, and crossed the finish line in 10:16:56.
Read on for the full story.
The start of the 2024 Hong Kong 100k. All photos: World Trail Majors/Anta Brand
2024 Hong Kong 100k Women’s Race
Although Dominika Stelmach (Poland) was ahead very early in the race, she came into the first checkpoint alongside Lin Chen (China), and from there on it was Chen’s race. With each passing kilometer, Chen increased the gap between her and the rest of the field.
Chen came into checkpoint six at Kei Ling Ha, 57 kilometers in, in 6:16:20, with 20 minutes between her and Ying Li (China), who was by then in second place. These two were followed by Stelmach, who hit the checkpoint shortly afterward.
By checkpoint eight at Beacon Hill, 78k in, the gap between first and second had increased to 26 minutes, as Chen entered the checkpoint in 9:17:56. From there to the finish line, there was very little doubt that Chen had taken gold and was described as looking strong and composed throughout.
Lin Chen crossed the finish line in 12:44:51, taking first place in the women’s race. Chen also won the 2023 Doi Inthanon by UTMB 100 Mile in Thailand only a month ago, which is part of the Western States 100 Golden Ticket Series and at which she accepted that ticket. She also indicated after finishing the Hong Kong 100k that she plans to race UTMB this year.
Whilst Chen stormed the race, there was a shock retirement from Stelmach who dropped out of the race 11.5 hours in.
Ying Li maintained second place throughout the race, and although she wasn’t able to close in on Chen, she crossed the finish line in second with a time of 13:39:30.
Unlike the top two positions, there was a lot more competition for third place. Ting Ma (China) retained third place for most of the second half of the race. But all the while, Yuan-Yuan Wu (China) was slowly creeping up the leaderboard, and there was a fierce battle between the two in the closing stages of the race, where they went head-to-head during the final climb.
However, it was Yuan-Yuan Wu who came out on top, and took third place in 13:54:08, running with her son across the finish line.
Lin Chen, the 2024 Hong Kong 100k women’s champion.
2024 Hong Kong 100k Women’s Results
- Lin Chen (China) – 12:44:51
- Ying Li (China) – 13:39:30
- Yuan-Yuan Wu (China) – 13:54:08
- Ting Ma (China) – 13:57:15
- Rong-Hua Deng (China) – 14:01:10
- Xiao-Xiao Zhang (China) – 14:13:22
- Ki Chun Wong (Hong Kong) – 14:16:25
- Xiao-Xiao Zhou (Hong Kong) – 14:32:32
- Qin Lu (China) – 14:44:56
- Xin Wang (China) – 14:51:05
2024 Hong Kong 100k Men’s Race
The competition was much closer in the men’s race, with a shock win from Guang-Fu Meng (China) at the very end of the race. This year’s favorite to win was last year’s winner and course record holder Pei-Quan You (China). Even after this year’s race, his incredible 2020 record still stands at 10:00:17.
From the offset, You took the lead and from checkpoint three at 34k onward, Meng dipped between second and third place. By checkpoint eight, 78k in, the gap had increased, with You taking a 12-minute lead on Meng, and still looking very comfortable in pole position.
However, it was the final checkpoint where the competition started to heat up. With 10k to go, there was only a five-minute gap between the competitors, and although it looked like You still had the race in the bag, Meng did the impossible. He managed to overtake on the final uphill to the highest peak of the race — and of Hong Kong — Tai Mo Shan.
Guang-Fu Meng took first place in the men’s race, finishing in 10:16:56, and Pei-Quan You took second in 10:35:11.
Tyler Green from the U.S. also had a strong race, climbing from 12th to third place by the 70k mark. From here on, he managed to maintain his position and finished the race in 10:38:12, only minutes behind You.
The 2024 Hong Kong 100k men’s podium (l-to-r): 3. Tyler Green, 1. Guang-Fu Meng, and 3. Pei-Quan You.
2024 Hong Kong 100k Men’s Results
- Guang-Fu Meng (China) – 10:16:56
- Pei-Quan You (China) – 10:35:11
- Tyler Green (U.S.) – 10:38:12
- Gui-Du Qin (China) – 10:58:22
- Guo-Min Deng (China) – 11:06:14
- Jia-Ju Zhao (China) – 11:11:23
- Tirtha Bahadur Tamang (Nepal) – 11:15:09
- Meng-Kai Bate (China) – 11:28:47
- John Ray Onifa (Hong Kong) – 11:37:32
- Kao Zhou (China) – 11:45:37
