Just hours after their incredible victories at the Hong Kong 100 Ultramarathon, which double as the first leg of the 2024 World Trail Majors Series, Meng Guangfu and Chen Lin promised to return in 2025.
The pair, who bested strong fields in the Chinese special administrative region, both shared their plans in the post race interviews after taking the tape.
Defending champion You Peiquan also shared his plans and revealed his next race after taking second, with American Tyler Green Hong Kong for “an amazing race with incredible volunteers, scenery and community”.
“I will come back next year to run a faster time”
Having won his fifth straight ultramarathon since October in Hong Kong, Guangfu now seems to have his mind set on records as well as race wins, with the Chinese star promising to return to the race to run even quicker.
“I am delighted to win today and will come back next year to run a faster time. Today’s weather suited me and I’ve run the last section over Tai Mo Shan several times in training recently, so I felt great there today.”
His winning time of 10:16:56 was just short of Peiquan’s course record, which stands at 10:00:17. Peiguan, who was hoping for a third successive title this weekend, came up just short after leading for the majority of the race.
“I felt confident and went out fast and was leading until the final checkpoint, but couldn’t maintain the pace in the final stage.”
Despite the disappointment of losing out to his fellow countryman, Peiquan will now return to training before next racing at the Black Canyon Ultras in Arizona.
Lin planning to go back-to-back
For Lin, who won by over 55 minutes in her first ever 100km race, the weather presented one of the biggest challenges on race day, but this won’t stop the Hong Kong star from returning in 2025.
“Today was a bit too hot for me, but I was pleased I could still achieve the win. I’m coming back next year to defend the title”.
Finishing 16th overall with a time of 12:44:51, you could have been forgiven for thinking Lin was an experienced pro, with a World Trail Majors Series win under her belt now likely to open doors to plenty more ultramarathon race opportunities.
