[Editor’s Note: This article was written by guest writer and runner, Deki Fourcin.]
The 2025 Hong Kong 100k set off at 8 a.m. native time on Saturday, January 18, from Pak Tam Chung on the east aspect of Hong Kong. Race situations had been ideally suited, with clear blue skies and funky temperatures for the season, and supporters had been out of their lots to encourage the runners. Sunmaya Budha of Nepal ran an excellent race to say victory, whereas Guang-Fu Meng of China stormed throughout the end line in first place for the second 12 months working. Each runners broke their respective course information within the quickest version of the race thus far.
The Hong Kong 100k is the grand finale of the three-day occasion, stretching over 103 kilometers (64 miles) with greater than 4,500 meters (14,800 toes) of elevation achieve. Though the primary half of the race is not at all flat, the vast majority of the elevation achieve is concentrated within the second half, which leads by way of extra mountainous terrain, peppered with technical climbs and descents. The course culminates on the summit of Hong Kong’s highest peak, Tai Mo Shan, earlier than a steep downhill to the end within the Rotary Membership Park to the west of town.
The occasion marks the primary of 12 races within the 2025 World Path Majors collection, launched in 2024.
The elite line-up promised a race to recollect, that includes each returning champions and impressive first-timers alike. Within the girls’s subject, 4 of final 12 months’s prime 5 had been again, together with all three podium finishers, with Lin Chen (China) hoping for a repeat of final 12 months’s win. Mann Yee Cheung (Hong Kong), winner of the 2023 version, was additionally current, as was Veronika Leng (Slovakia), the runner-up from 2020. Nevertheless, Sunmaya Budha dominated the race, regularly rising her lead by way of the mountains from 78k to cross the end line in 11:11:47, knocking 27 minutes off the earlier course file.
Within the males’s race, six of the 2024 version’s prime 10 finishers had been again, together with the runner-up, Pei-Quan You (China), two-time winner (2020 and 2023) and former course file holder. Guang-Fu Meng broke away from the pack on the midway level, flying up the climbs to complete in 9:43:10, 17 minutes forward of Pei-Quan You’s 2020 file.
The beginning of the 2025 Hong Kong 100k. All images: World Path Majors
2025 Hong Kong 100k Girls’s Race
A number one pack was established early on, with Veronika Leng (Slovakia) pushing the tempo previous the reservoirs towards the East Dam assist level at 12 kilometers into the race, and on towards the seaside sections. Leng held onto her lead by way of the second checkpoint at 22k, adopted carefully by Hậu Hà (Vietnam) and Sunmaya Budha (Nepal). Checkpoint 3 at 34k noticed the three girls move by way of collectively within the lead, breaking away from Jing-Yan Tang (China) in fourth.
Budha and Leng handed by way of the fourth checkpoint, at 43k, collectively, barely forward of Hà in third, and quarter-hour away from Tang in fourth. They continued to extend their lead by way of the 57k checkpoint, and by 70k, the pair had opened a niche of 23 minutes forward of Hà in third. Tang held onto fourth place, 37 minutes behind the lead.
By the Beacon Hill checkpoint at 78k, Budha had began to tug away, main Leng by two minutes. She continued to interrupt away, storming by way of the Shing Mun checkpoint at 86k and onto the final three climbs. The solar started to set as Budha arrived at Lead Mine Move, the final checkpoint of the race, eight minutes forward of Leng.
Powering up over the summit of Tai Mo Shan and into the ultimate descent, Sunmaya Budha flew throughout the end line in 11:11:47, a brand new course file. Veronika Leng adopted in 11:25:22, additionally underneath the earlier course file, to take second, and Hậu Hà rounded off the rostrum in 12:09:37.
Jing-Yan Tang completed fourth in 12:19:20 and Ling-Jie Chi of China was the fifth girl in 12:31:47.
Sunmaya Budha (left) on her method to successful the 2025 Hong Kong 100k.
2025 Hong Kong 100k Girls’s Outcomes
- Sunmaya Budha (Nepal) – 11:11:47
- Veronika Leng (Slovakia) – 11:25:22
- Hậu Hà (Vietnam) – 12:09:37
- Jing-Yan Tang (China) – 12:19:20
- Ling-Jie Chi (China) – 12:31:47
- Nirmala Rai (Nepal) – 13:06:38
- Ting Ma (China) – 13:10:02
- Anna Li (China) – 13:15:23
- Man Yee Cheung (Hong Kong) – 13:20:06
- Fei-Fei Yang (China) – 13:27:54
Veronika Leng (left) on her method to taking second on the 2025 Hong Kong 100k.
2025 Hong Kong 100k Males’s Race
The boys’s race kicked off quick and robust, with a big group of runners sticking carefully collectively. Passages throughout the seashores to the checkpoint at 22k did little to separate the pack, with the highest 9 runners all passing by way of inside a minute of one another. Notably current, nevertheless, had been defending champion Guang-Fu Meng (China), Guo-Min Deng (China), the fifth-place finisher in 2024, and John Ray Onifa (Philippines).
It wasn’t till the fourth checkpoint at 43k that the lead group started to interrupt up, with Meng and Onifa neck and neck, chased carefully by Hui Bai (China) and adopted by Deng and Jia-Sheng Shen (China) an additional two minutes behind. Meng and Onifa continued to guide collectively, barely extending their advance over Deng and Shen by the midway level. Bai dropped off the main group at this level, passing by way of midway in thirtieth place earlier than dropping from the race.
Meng used the start of the mountainous part to his benefit, build up a five-minute lead over Onifa into the sixth checkpoint at 57k, and continued to push the tempo to the subsequent checkpoint at 70k, passing by way of with 14 hours 16 minutes on the clock. Shen adopted seven minutes behind, pursued three minutes later by Gui-Du Qin (China), who was steadily making his method up the ranks. Deng adopted in fourth place, whereas Onifa, struggling to stay with the leaders on the climbs, dropped right down to sixth place.
By the ultimate checkpoint, 93k into the race, and with simply the ultimate ascent to the height of Tai Mo Shan and descent to the end remaining, it appeared that all the pieces may nonetheless be at play. Meng held the lead, 9 minutes forward of Qin in second place, and Deng was nonetheless wanting robust in third. Ionel Cristian Manole (Romania), who had now been working steadily in the course of the highest 10 for a protracted a part of the race, had moved previous Shen into fourth place, 13 minutes away from a podium place.
However Guang-Fu Meng stormed by way of the climb and right down to the end, securing his second consecutive win and a brand new course file of 9:43:10. Gui-Du Qin adopted in 9:51:11, additionally underneath the earlier course file in second place, and Guo-Min Deng accomplished the rostrum in 10:07:52.
Ionel Christian Manole held on to fourth in 10:16:58, whereas Jia-Sheng Shen took fifth in 10:29:52.
Guang-Fu Meng, about to cross the road because the 2025 Hong Kong 100k champion.
2025 Hong Kong 100k Males’s Outcomes
- Guang-Fu Meng (China) – 9:43:10
- Gui-Du Qin (China) – 9:51:11
- Guo-Min Deng (China) – 10:07:52
- Ionel Cristian Manole (Romania) – 10:16:58
- Jia-Sheng Shen (China) – 10:29:52
- John Ray Onifa (Philippines) – 10:36:07
- Man Kumar Roka Magar (Nepal) – 10:58:04
- Kao Zhou (China) – 11:00:22
- Lodewijk Vriens (The Netherlands) – 11:05:09
- Jie Zhang (China) – 11:06:54
Gui-Du Qin, the 2025 Hong Kong 100k second man.