International stars and iconic Rarámuri runners add to global appeal of 2026 Hong Kong 100

This week sees the Anta Guanjun Hong Kong 100 kick off its 16th edition and marks the beginning of the 2026 World Trail Majors season.

From January 22 to 25, many of the world’s best trail runners will be taking on Hong Kong’s stunning trails in Asia’s most competitive trail race.

Here’s how things are shaping up…

Hong Kong 100

This year’s race is set to be the most competitive edition yet.

With over 3000 participants from 60 countries, it sees former champions and world-class athletes vying for the coveted crown. In the men’s 100km:

Meng Guangfu, the reigning Hong Kong 100 champion, returns to defend his title, alongside You Peiquan, also a two-time winner. One of these two trail legends could become the first runner ever to win a hat-trick of Hong Kong 100 titles.

Dakota Jones of the USA has won many of the world’s best known trail races and lines up alongside Abel Carretero of Spain, who was sixth in the 2024 World Trail Majors and fellow Spanish national team member, Mario Olmedo Sancha.

Australia’s Mikey Dimuantes, John Ray “Stingray” Onifa from the Philippines and Tom Joly from the UK are just a few of the international stars set to race, along with last year’s runner-up, Qin Guidu, and third-placed Deng Guomin (who will be making his ninth appearance at Hong Kong 100).

Yan Longfei, the 2015 champion and Yang Jianjian, the 2025 World Trail Majors Short Series winner, will also be in the mix, bringing all their experience and talent to the Hong Kong 100 course on which they have already tasted success.

The women’s race will be just as exciting with Veronika Leng, the 2025 runner-up, returning to see if she can go one better, and third, fifth and seventh respectively from last year Hau Thi Ha, Chi Lingjie and Ma Ting all return.

Challenging them will be local favourite, Cheung Man Yee, who delighted the crowd with her victory in 2023, and was the runner-up in the 2025 World Trail Majors.

Other prospects to watch include Elizabeth Dangadang, the Queen of Philippines trail running, and Canada’s Stephanie Case, who made global headlines last year.

The Half (50km)

The Half will be the opening race in the 2026 World Trail Majors Short Series and the field is stacked accordingly.

Unusually for a race in Greater China, the top-ranked runners in the men’s field are not from Mainland China.

The undisputed King of Japanese trail running, Rui Ueda, will face a challenge from Sweden’s Anton Gustafsson and Great Britain’s Luke Grenfell-Shaw.

Chinese hopes for the win probably rest with Tian Peng, Shi Aiai and Shi Guo, but the field is deep.

The women’s race too looks likely to be dominated by runners from outside of Greater China with a showdown between South Africa’s Toni McCann, Hungary’s Eszter Csillag and Japan’s Yuri Yoshizumi. As a Hong Kong resident, Csillag has the advantage of local knowledge, although Yoshizumi came second in The Half in 2025 and spent time in Hong Kong in advance to study the course, so she’ll know when to push and when to hold back.

Also equipped with course knowledge is China’s Lei Yan, who scoped out the route on her first ever trip outside of Mainland China just a few weeks ago and found it “beautiful, but technical”.

Other contenders for the podium include Great Britain’s Eve Moore and China’s Zhang Ting and Huang Xuemei.

The Grand Sam

For those brave enough to take on the ultimate challenge, the Grand Sam (174km, 3-day stage race) is an opportunity to test the limits of endurance.

Last year’s women’s winner, Zhao Fen, defends her title and will face stiff competition from her compatriots Deng Ronghua and Chen Rongrong. The rankings suggest these three athletes or perhaps Bai Jie or Ting Xu will claim the top spots in this gruelling but gorgeous multi-stage challenge.

Contenders for the men’s Grand Sam crown include the top three finishers from 2025: Wu Yongbo, Ryan Whelan and Yang Liu.

Liang Disi, the inaugural Grand Sam winner who was second in 2024 competes again, as do Sangé Sherpa and Luca Papi (both resident in France) – runners known for their incredible mileage and consistent high-level performances.

The out-and-out favourite is Zhao Jiaju, with Zhang Zhenlong and Xiong Zhengqiang likely to push him all the way.

With the field expanding from 10 runners in 2023 to 250 this year, the Grand Sam will showcase some of the world’s toughest ultra-endurance athletes and some of the world’s most iconic trails.

Breaking new ground

One of the most exciting stories this year comes from the Rarámuri, Maya and Mixteca runners from Mexico.

María Lorena Ramírez Hernández, a legendary ultrarunner from the Rarámuri tribe, competed in the Hong Kong 100 for the first time in 2025, joined by her brother José Mario Ramírez Hernández and Mirna Beatriz de la Cruz Alvarez.

This year they are bringing a group of 12 athletes from the team México Imparable (“Unstoppable Mexico”) to compete across all four events. It will be fascinating to see how this group that was “born to run” takes on Hong Kong’s rugged terrain, bringing the unique spirit and talent of the Rarámuri, Maya and Mixteca people to the race.

The group includes the inspirational Emmanuel Sedglach, who lost his left leg in an industrial accident, and will run the 50km race with a prosthetic limb.