Hong Kong 100 2027

Hong Kong. Just saying those two syllables, you picture the skyscrapers, the neon lights, the street food at 3 a.m. 🌆.

What you probably picture less is someone running 103 kilometers through the hills, with 5,300 meters of elevation gain in their legs and a smile on their face 😂. And yet, that’s exactly what’s been happening every year in January since 2011 with the Hong Kong 100 (HK100 for those in the know 🤓), a race that proves Hong Kong isn’t just the densest city in the world, but also one of the wildest 🌿. It all starts in Pak Tam Chung, on the Sai Kung peninsula, where concrete suddenly gives way to pristine beaches and ancient forests shining under the sun 🌞. The first 10 kilometers follow the famous "Maclehose Trail", with the islands of the South China Sea on the right, and the High Island peninsula on the left 🏝️. It’s beautiful. Too beautiful, even. The kind of scenery that makes you forget you still have 90 kilometers to go 😅.

The "Maclehose Trail" is the common thread of the adventure. This 100-kilometer hiking trail was inaugurated in 1979, named after the colonial governor Sir Murray MacLehose, a man who clearly had great taste in landscapes 😎. The race crosses an incredible diversity of environments: untouched beaches, ancient forests, natural trails, steep hills, with panoramic views over the South China Sea. Basically, it’s like someone took the most beautiful parts of Hong Kong, stitched them together, and said "go on, run in there" 🏃‍♂️. And people pay for it. Voluntarily 🤣. The race welcomes around 1,800 athletes on the 100 km and 5,028 mD+, but the whole weekend is really a festival of distances 🗓️. There’s "The Third", 31 km (1,395 mD+) for those testing the waters, and "The Half" at 50 km (2,118 mD+) for the ambitious but slightly more cautious. And then there’s the "Grand Sam" 🏆, the challenge for the truly crazy: stringing together the three races over three consecutive days, i.e. 31 km + 50 km + 100 km = 181 km total, with a cumulative elevation gain that’ll make your head spin, 8,541 mD+ to be precise 🤯. The "Grand Sam" gets its name from a local runner, Sam Tam, the first human being to dare finish this triple combo 🏆. In the first edition of the "Grand Sam" in 2023, all 10 participants heroically finished all three distances. A 100% finisher rate on an event like that—hats off 🎩.

The second half of the course is where it gets really serious 📈. The section from Gilwell Camp (km 62) to Beacon Hill (km 70) offers the best views over the city: you run alongside Lion Rock with Kowloon below, the glass towers of Hong Kong glinting in the distance ✨. Imagine running at night with that view, legs on fire and the city’s neon as your panorama... It’s probably one of the most cinematic experiences trail running can offer 🤩. And how does it end? With a descent from Tai Mo Shan 🗻, the highest summit in Hong Kong, topping out at 957 meters. Because climbing at the end would’ve been too easy—but descending with charred quads after 100 km is the real definition of fun for ultra-trailers 😝. The HK100 is the season-opening event of the World Trail Majors, where the world’s best runners meet—ambitions on display, performances under the microscope ⏱️.

In short, the HK100 is proof that trail running isn’t just about mountains or exotic deserts ☝️. It’s also a megacity of 7 million inhabitants hiding, right in its backyard, one of the most spectacular ultra courses on the planet 🌍.

V-Asia, Hong Kong is on you 👊. (Go on, we’re counting on you!)