At 6:00 a.m. on March 14, the first UTMB Global Series race of the year in mainland China — the 2026 Zhanma Xiamen (Tongan) Trail Race by UTMB 100-kilometer category — fired its starting gun at Fantian Cultural Square. The course is 96.8 kilometers with 5,206 meters of cumulative ascent. In the men's field of the 100 km, last year's champion Zhao Jiaju was determined to go for a second consecutive title — reportedly aiming to gap the runner-up by at least half an hour and push his ITRA score back up to 900. Last year's third-place finisher You Peiquan also returned in force. Other top contenders included last year's Chaigutangsi TG overall champion Zhang Sheng and 2025 Ninghai 100K champion Ionel Cristian MANOLE, among many others.On the women's side, last year's second- and third-place finishers Jiang Wenli and Wang Liping both returned. Fu Huarong — fourth at the 2025 Chiang Mai by UTMB 100-mile — also joined the podium hunt. After the start, Zhao Jiaju, Ionel Cristian MANOLE and Zhang Sheng quickly covered the flat, wide roads and arrived at CP1 Silincun in quick succession, with You Peiquan about a minute behind. In the women's race, Hong Kong's Dong Chaoling, Wang Liping, Jiang Wenli and Fu Huarong checked in at the aid station within about thirty seconds of each other.At CP2 Zhengzhai, Zhao Jiaju and Ionel Cristian MANOLE were running together, while Zhang Sheng was pulled about 1 minute 30 seconds back. Yang Yong and Bai Xingzhi were fourth and fifth. You Peiquan had already fallen more than 20 minutes behind — possibly due to physical issues. In the women's race, Jiang Wenli was the first to check in, followed by Wang Liping and Fu Huarong. Japan-based Korean runner Mina TERADA was right behind Fu Huarong; she won the women's title at the 2025 Seoul 100K. By CP4 De'an Ancient Castle, Zhao Jiaju and Cristian were still locked together, pushing a brisk pace; Zhang Sheng was already over 26 minutes back. Jiang Wenli remained in front, extending her lead over Wang Liping to 14 minutes. Mina TERADA and Fu Huarong swapped positions, but were separated by only two minutes. At CP6 Beichen Mountain, Cristian began to push and led Zhao Jiaju by a little more than one minute. You Peiquan chose to withdraw before CP6. Jiang Wenli was still far ahead at CP6. However, Cristian failed to shake off Zhao Jiaju. Up until the final aid station, CP9 Silincun, the two still arrived together — the battle was extremely close. Has the 100K evolved into a sprint showdown? On the women's side, Jiang Wenli could already see the victory goddess waving to her. In the end Zhao Jiaju and Cristian staged a touching joint finish, replaying last year's storyline, finishing in 9:52:25. The difference is that last year Zhao Jiaju paired with Silang Duoji; this year Duoji had dropped down to the 50 km category. Zhang Sheng finished in 11:01:53 to take third place.Jiang Wenli had essentially locked up the victory in the latter stages, ultimately finishing in 11:57:35 — after taking bronze last year, she finally claimed the title this year. Cristian likewise expressed mutual respect in his interview. Jiang — known as “C” — said she learned from last year’s heatstroke and made ample cooling preparations. She had planned to finish within 12 hours and achieved that goal. For her, which section was the toughest, and where will she place her next key race? Wang Liping took runner-up for the second year in a row, finishing in 12:12:15. Fu Huarong finished third with a time of 12:53:14. Text： Mengmeng /Editor：Mengmeng Images：RUNYEAH/Visual：Five-Year TraineePractitioner
