This is the first UTMB post-pandemic and the 20th anniversary of the event. Hong Kong’s elite cross-country runners are almost in full force. Many local mountain figures gathered in the French town of Chamonix this week to participate in different UTMB events.
Lin Chengye, Luo Chujian and Zeng Jinjie teamed up to participate in the PTL race with a track length of more than 300 kilometers. Zeng Xiaoqiang, Chen Guoqiang and Liang Junqiang participated in the 145-kilometer TDS race. As for the highlight on September 1, the 171-kilometer UTMB race will feature Hong Kong’s “female number one” Cheung Min-yi and the current Trailwalker champion Yang Zhicheng. Although Huang Haocong did not participate in the competition, he will support Zeng Xiaoqiang.
Focus runner introduction and tracking link:
UTMB (about 171 kilometers)
Start time: 6:00 pm on September 1st (0:00 am on September 2nd, Hong Kong time)
UTMB’s record holder in Hong Kong, Wong Ho-chung, did not compete this year and stayed away to prepare for the Tor des Géants 330km cross-country race in Italy. Although there is no Huang Haocong, there are still heavyweight Hong Kong runners participating in UTMB this year, such as “God of War” Yang Zhicheng. Yang Zhicheng won the championship in this year’s Trailwalker and set a new local Chinese record.
Another runner in focus is Zhang Minyi. She is the long-distance women’s champion of the Hong Kong Mountain Road Championships and represented Hong Kong in the Cross-Country World Championships in June. Like Yang Zhicheng and Zhang Minyi, Huang Jiajie is also the finisher of the four-track. He completed the four-track in 57 hours and 11 minutes this year.
Yang Zhicheng:https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/runners/222
Zhang Minyi:https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/runners/225
Huang Jiajie:https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/runners/724
Zhen Zhiyi:https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/runners/499
Yang Zhicheng (middle) and Hong Kong runner Zeng Xiaoqiang (second from left) who participated in the TDS. (Provided by Yang Zhicheng)
TDS (about 145 kilometers)
Start time: 11:50pm on August 28th (5:50am on August 29th, Hong Kong time)
Zeng Xiaoqiang participated in UTMB many times in the past, and his best ranking was among the top 20. However, due to the epidemic and being with his family, he has not participated in UTMB for 7 years. This year, he went to Chamonix again and switched to the TDS race. Compared with UTMB, although the track of TDS is shorter, it climbs more densely and is more difficult. Zeng Xiaoqiang hopes to finish the race within 22 hours and enter the top 10. Another Hong Kong cross-country runner, Huang Haocong, did not participate this year, but will support Zeng Xiaoqiang along the way.
Zeng Xiaoqiang hopes to finish the TDS within 22 hours. (The North Face Adventure Team Facebook)
The 62-year-old “Mr. Yixing” Chen Guoqiang took his students to France for training this month and participated in the TDS competition. Last year, Chen Guoqiang tasted his wish and completed the UTMB of 171 kilometers, ranking among the top 10 in the group. He switched to TDS this year. He said that the focus of this trip to Europe is to bring young students to broaden their horizons and knowledge. The biggest goal is to return home safely. The personal success or failure of TDS is really insignificant.
62-year-old Chen Guoqiang (left) said that the most important goal this year is to take a group of students to go out to see, and personal achievements come second. (provided by respondents)
Liang Junqiang, the former four-track record holder who moved to the UK, also participated in the TDS, but he said that he was injured and could only do his best.
Zeng Xiaoqiang:https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/runners/10009
Chen Guoqiang:https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/runners/10204
Liang Junqiang:https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/runners/10311
PTL (about 300 kilometers)
Start time: 8:00 am on August 28th (2:00 pm on August 28th, Hong Kong time)
Seeing UFO reminds me of Trailwalker. In 2015, the UFO of Lin Chengye, Luo Chujian, Zeng Jinjie and Deng Chenjin won the Trailwalker Championship in 11 hours and 58 minutes, setting a local Chinese record. This year, Lin Chengye, Luo Chujian and Zeng Jinjie formed a team to participate in the PTL race with the longest and most difficult track in UTMB under the name of UFO.
UFO (Lin Chengye, Luo Chujian, Zeng Jinjie):https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2023/runners/21090
2023-08-29 02:24:14
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