The TransLantau race is an incredible endurance event which challenges runners to conquer the hills and valleys of Hong Kong’s biggest island.
There will be four races: the 25K, 50K, 100K, and 140K.
The most partipcated race is usually the 100K. Runners gather in the tiny village in the dark at midnight for the start of a grueling 103km race across Hong Kong’s largest island.
The 100K route
Now in its 11th year, TransLantau typically runs a beautiful but challenging route covering Lantau’s most scenic trails. Runners will start by going through the Chi Ma Wan peninsula, climbing up to the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping, down into Tai O, back across the island and on to the Olympic Trail, to finish again at Mui Wo.
During the race, runners will also have to conquer Lantau Peak, the second-highest mountain in Hong Kong at an elevation of 934 metres, and Sunset Peak, at 854 metres.
Usually, there is a cut off with competitors required to finish the route within 33 hours, with checkpoints throughout the race.
Qualifications
In previous in-person races, to qualify to enter the 100km race, runners must have completed a 100km race or a 50km race in under twelve hours within the last two years. Given the dearth of races, it’s not clear how this will be handled. Alternatively, they can compete in the 50km or 25km race categories.
In the most recently completed in-person race of 2019, the winner of the men’s category came in at 12 hours and 2 minutes—more than 2 hours faster than the 2018 winner! Meanwhile the fastest female runner came in at 13 hours and 36 minutes—also faster than the quickest male competitor of 2018.
Registration for the TransLantau is often completely full.