Hong Kong 100 results 2026: Spoils shared in World Trail Majors opener

The Anta Guanjun Hong Kong 100 has kicked off the 2026 World Trail Majors.

As in the previous two years, Hong Kong and its biggest and most prestigious race brought together an outstanding field of Asian, American, and European runners on the Sai Kung Peninsula, close to the megacity.

The route was modified due to landslides, with victories going to Guidu Qin (China) in the men’s race while Hau Ha (Vietnam) and Veronika Leng (Slovakia but based in Hong Kong) crossed the line together in the women’s race.

Men’s race

The Hong Kong 100 is a unique race due to its closeness to a huge, densely populated city, yet it takes place in pristine, highly protected natural landscape with spectacular views.

The 100K race has demanding climbs, thousands of stair steps, beaches and passes through several fishing villages.

The race started at 7am next to the entrance of the UNESCO Geopark on the Sai Kung Peninsula, with temperatures around 12ºC, high humidity and clear skies.

After 32km and +1418m of elevation, the third checkpoint after a steep climb and descent is the first real indication of how the race is going and at that point a large group of leaders included Guangfu Meng (China) and Peiquan You (China), both two-time winners, John Ray ‘Stingray’ Onifa (Philippines) and Dakota Jones (United States) among others.

Between kilometres 30 and 50, the route had to be modified as in late July and early August, Tropical Storm Wipha caused considerable damage in Southeast Asian countries and severely impacted Hong Kong with the heaviest rainfall since records began in 1884. An estimated US$250 million in damage was caused in the area, including parts of the Anta Guanjun Hong Kong 100 route, which was affected due to landslides that meant it had to be shortened by 7Km and reduced by 250m in elevation.

After 70 kilometres and over 3,500 metres of climbing, things were becoming clearer, with Guidu Qin now in the lead and with a five-minute advantage over the rest.

A final steep climb to the highest point of the race, Tai Mo Shan (957m), was followed by a rapid descent to the finish line and the first 1500 points of the 2026 World Trail Majors series went to Guidu Qin (8:52:36), followed by Guangfu Meng (8:58:50), with Guomin Deng (9:09:48) completing the podium. Dakota Jones finished fourth, followed by John Ray Onifa.

Women’s race

In the women’s race, Hau Ha set an unmatchable pace for the rest of the field in the first part of the race, with Leng, Wengli Jiang (China) and Jing Li (China), her closest pursuers, albeit 10 minutes back.

Halfway through the race (49Km, +2253m), Hau Ha was leading with a 14-minute advantage over Leng and Lingjie Chi (China).

Then at Beacon Hill (70km, +3543m), and after almost eight hours, Hau Hu appeared with a solid advantage of around 10 minutes over Leng and victory seemingly beckoning.

However, seven kilometres later the gap had been cut in half, with Leng making up almost a minute per kilometre.

At the next checkpoint, the gap was now down to four minutes, with just nine kilometres to go, including the climb over Tai Mo Shan and the descent to the finish.

And the surprise came when both runners arrived at the finish line together – all smiles and not contesting the win. After 10 hours, 43 minutes and 35 seconds, Hau Hu and Leng were crowned joint winners, with Lingjie Chi in third (10:52:22).

Other results and what’s next

Meanwhile Ruqin Wang and Xuemei Huang were the winners of the Short Series race and there was an incredible story as Mexico’s Miriam Morales triumphed in the 30km women’s event. Morales is a member of the Mexico Imparable (“Unstoppable Mexico”) team and of the Mixteca indigenous group – click here for more details.

The World Trail Majors series has only just begun, with nine races still to go and it now jumps across continents.

On the 14th and 15th of February, the Black Canyon Ultras presented by Hoka will take place in the arid terrain of Arizona (unless it snows again!) and is sure to attract an excellent field of runners as it is a Golden Ticket race for the Western States.