The 2026 Moganshan Trail Running by UTMB has officially kicked off. The event features four categories: DMG 100M (114 km, 6,680 m elevation gain), CMG 100K (81 km, 4,374 m elevation gain), MMG 50K (47.97 km, 2,616 m elevation gain), and EMG 20K (25 km, 1,290 m elevation gain).
At 10:00 AM on April 10 the DMG 100M category set off first. Let's look back at the standout moments from that field.
On the men's side, according to the UTMB index, You Peiquan is the favorite to win; his main rivals include Chen Hualing, Xiong Zhengqiang, Zhang Weiqiang, Bai Xingzhi, Wang Zhihu, and others.
From the start of the race, You Peiquan was in the lead, with Wang Zhihu and Bai Xingzhi behind him, though his advantage was not large.
At 2 hours 24 minutes, You Peiquan reached D2 (24.3 km) first; he stayed at the aid station for only 90 seconds before heading out. Wang Zhihu arrived second, spending just over 2 minutes at the aid station. Although that stop opened up a small gap, by the time they reached D3 (33.8 km) Wang Zhihu had made up some time, shrinking the gap between them to just over a minute.
As time went on the sun beat down and it grew muggy and hot, yet You Peiquan's condition only improved. From D3 to D4 (40.2 kilometers) he re-established a lead of nearly five minutes. By D5 (49.9 kilometers) his lead had reached eight minutes.
D6 (55.6 km) checkpoint: You Peiquan took 7 hours 03 minutes, while Bai Xingzhi and Wang Zhihu arrived almost simultaneously in 7 hours 16 minutes. With the race approaching the halfway mark, barring any major incidents in the second half, You Peiquan is very likely to take the win; the battle for second and third should be much more fiercely contested.
However, as night fell the race situation quickly changed. First, Wang Zhihu chose to withdraw, and then between D8 (74 km) and D9 (83 km) You Peiquan suddenly slowed down; holding a 24-minute lead, he was overtaken by Bai Xingzhi, and after hanging on until D10 (93 km) he was also forced to withdraw.
Bai Xingzhi grew more excited as the race progressed and ultimately took the win in 14 hours 55 minutes 32 seconds. It was his first major victory at a big race in his professional career.
Chen Hualing and Zhang Weiqiang, who was racing at home, crossed the line together, both recording 15:28:42; the former took second place while the latter finished third.
On the women's side, Li Anna, Wang Aili, Deng Ronghua, Wang Liping and others all have a shot at the title; it will come down to who performs best on the day.
Deng Ronghua was in the lead from the start. Wang Aili and Li Anna were second and third, running almost side by side.
By D2 (24.3 km) Deng Ronghua's lead had grown to 4 minutes, but the turning point arrived. By D3 (33.8 km), Li Anna and Wang Aili had both passed Deng Ronghua, moving up to first and second, while Deng Ronghua fell to third. The gaps between the three were within half a minute.
Li Anna reached D4 (40.2 km) first in 5 hours 53 minutes; Wang Aili was 1 minute behind, and Deng Ronghua nearly 8 minutes back. After leaving the aid station, Wang Aili quickly caught up to Li Anna — the two arrived at D5 (49.9 km) almost together, while Deng Ronghua had already been pulled back to a 15-minute deficit, making it very difficult to close the gap.
As the race entered the second half, Wang Aili and Li Anna ran together and ultimately crossed the line side by side. Wang Aili took the win by the slimmest of margins—one second—with a time of 16:54:53. Li Anna was second in 16:54:54. They finished 5th and 6th overall.
Wang Liping finished third with a time of 17:06:15, while Deng Ronghua and Jiang Jie crossed the line together, taking fourth and fifth respectively.
At the time of filing, many runners were still out on the course. We wish everyone a safe finish.
