On the global trail running map, one race is regarded by countless trail runners as the ultimate, lifelong-desired shrine: the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB).
The course follows the famous Tour du Mont Blanc hiking route. The UTMB category covers 168 km with nearly 10,000 m of cumulative ascent,crossing France, Italy and Switzerland.
In 2003, the first UTMB had only the UTMB category: 722 runners from around the world started, and only 67 finished — a finish rate of just 9.28%. The fickle weather on Mont Blanc and a course weaving glaciers, cliffs and forest trails made finishing itself a miracle.Have you ever wondered, who was the first Chinese finisher of the UTMB category? In which edition did Chinese faces first appear? In this sport dominated by European and American athletes for over twenty years, when did Chinese trail runners begin to emerge?
Chinese runners
First finishers in the UTMB category
In 2008, while the world's attention was on the Beijing Olympics, in distant Chamonix, France, a Hong Kong trail runner quietly took the UTMB start line. His name was Zeng Xiaoqiang, a firefighter; that year he was the only Chinese face at UTMB.
Zeng finished in 28:00:23, 42nd among men. 42nd may not look dazzling today, but it was the first footprint left by a Chinese trail runner in the UTMB category.
Zeng continued to improve: in 2010 he rose to 20th among men, and in 2013 further to 17th.
On the women's side, Wu Xiuhua (founder of VibramHK100) studied abroad in her early years; she and her husband were both lawyers, yet she fell in love with running in the mountains.
She became the first Chinese woman to start and finish the UTMB category in 2010, finishing in 18:55:15 for 33rd among women (492 overall). This experience solidified her determination to found the HK100 and to pass her love of the mountains to more people.
In 2012 the finish line for the UTMB category saw the five-star red flag raised for the first time.
Huang Long finished in 13:54:42, 48th among men (52nd overall), becoming the first mainland Chinese finisher of the UTMB category. On the women's side, Xing Ruling also went to Chamonix; due to rain the race was shortened to 105 km and she finished in 17:33:08.
In 2013, 50-year-old Xing Laolao set out again to tackle the full UTMB course (168 km), finishing in 36:26:16 and becoming the first Chinese woman to complete the full UTMB course; she also placed third in her age group.
From one person to a group
In the pioneering era of Chinese trail runners at UTMB, every result and every placing was measured step by step on foot.
In 2014 Zeng ran under the 24-hour barrier with 23:52:03, again finishing 17th among men — the first Chinese to break 24 hours. From that year, Chinese trail running experienced an explosion in growth.2016 was a landmark year: 185 participants from mainland China entered various UTMB categories; with Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan added, the total reached 292.That year Ma Yanxing finished the UTMB with an injury in 34:05:44 for 17th among women — the first time a Chinese female runner placed in the top 20 on the full course.On the men's side, Qin Yanzhong finished in 29:15:06, the best result for mainland China that year. Yu Lei finished the UTMB category for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016.In 2017 Ma Yanxing returned to Chamonix and finished 12th among women in 29:56:40, further improving the best Chinese women's placing.In 2018 and 2019 the number of mainland Chinese entrants in the UTMB category were 123 and 124 respectively, with 70 finishers each year.After the pandemic in 2022, Xiang Fuzhao finished in 27:14:21 for 7th among women, continuing to push the highest ranking for Chinese women. Deng Guomin finished in 23:04:39 for 20th among men.Chinese names
Break into the UTMB top five
In September 2023, at the Chamonix finish line, a bespectacled Chinese woman crossed the arch.Xiang Fuzhao, nicknamed “Arale”, took 4th in the UTMB women's category in 24:50:33. This was not just a placing — it was at the time the best-ever UTMB performance by any Chinese athlete (male or female).During the race she was briefly as high as second, sweeping along the Alpine ridges like the wind in the first half. In the second half fatigue dropped her and she was overtaken by Katharina Hartmuth and Blandine L’Hirondel, but she defended fourth to the end.A year earlier Xiang had already finished 7th. From seventh to fourth in one year, she climbed three places — one step short of the podium.Just one year later another Chinese woman, Chen Lin in her first UTMB took 4th in the women's category with 24:16:33.Not only did she match Xiang's previous year's highest Chinese women's placing, but “Gege Lin” became the fastest Chinese woman ever on the UTMB course.On August 30, 2025, history was rewritten again,when three Chinese men simultaneously broke into the UTMB top ten — an unprecedented breakthrough.Silang Duoji, a young Tibetan from Ganzi, Sichuan, braved cold and snow and crossed the line in 20:15:05 to take 4th among men. This was the best-ever result for a Chinese male at UTMB, and the fastest finish time and highest placing for an Asian man in the race.Between 80 km and 115 km he hit a physical “bottleneck”, so exhausted he could barely run and his position fell to 11th. He himself said he thought a top-ten was impossible. But he held on, recovered gradually, and clawed his way back up.Less known is that the 34-year-old Silang Duoji only started trail running at 24. Before that he was a herdboy in Walong Village, Julong Township, Daocheng County; tending cattle and climbing mountains to dig matsutake were his routine. The winds and snows of Mont Blanc, which others see as extreme challenges, are to him a “familiar difficulty” — he knows how to live with and overcome them.Behind him, Shen Jiasheng took 8th among men in 21:11:59, and Zhao Jiaju placed 10th in 21:19:47.Notably, the 2025 race altered its starting-section route due to landslides and rockfalls, and the high-point sections were canceled because of complex weather. Under such challenges, Chinese runners still delivered a historic performance.This was no longer the solo act of a single talent, but a reflection of the overall rise in Chinese trail-running strength. Behind them are scientific training systems, iterations in professional equipment, and the maturing of Chinese trail running.From Zeng Xiaoqiang standing alone at the Chamonix start in 2008 to Silang Duoji, Shen Jiasheng and Zhao Jiaju all breaking into the UTMB top ten in 2025, Chinese trail runners have come a full 17 years.This year's UTMB will see more Chinese trail runners arriving — can they sustain this momentum to break through again, or even stand on the podium? Chamonix on August 28 will reveal the answer.
#Who are you most looking forward to in this year's UTMB categories?#
Text / Editor: MP
Images: Paoye Big Bang / athletes' social media / thenorthface
Visuals: Max
