On September 9, nearly 800 cross-country runners from over ten countries including Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Japan, and China gathered at Mo Mountain Park in Yumen, Gansu, to witness the grand opening of the 2017 "Migu Run" Mo Mountain Challenge & Yumen International Cross-Country Race. The elite cross-country athletes staged an epic "conquer-the-inner-demons" battle, making this 2017 Skyrunner...
This event continues to leverage the landscape advantages of danxia landforms, rolling hills, deserts, and volcanic craters, while optimizing the course design to introduce a 60KM Devil Mountain Challenge, a 30KM Volcano Trail Run, and a 10KM Hiking Experience Race. The magnificent and colorful danxia scenery, the boundless barren Gobi Desert, and the pristine mountain valleys and gullies—these diverse terrains interweave in striking contrast, stretching endlessly with overwhelming grandeur. For the runners navigating through these landscapes, it is not only a visual feast but also an ultimate physical and mental endurance challenge. The exhilarating thrill of competition also thrilled Francesca CANEPA from Italy, who showed immense interest in the Devil Mountain course and remarked, “This race, which rigorously tests climbing skills, is extremely challenging even for ultra skyrunners.”
After fierce competition, Chinese athletes delivered outstanding performances, sweeping the top three spots in both the men’s 60KM and 30KM categories. China’s Qi Min and Italy’s Francesca CANEPA claimed the men’s and women’s titles in the 60KM division with times of 6 hours, 18 minutes, 36 seconds and 8 hours, 15 minutes respectively. In the 30KM division, China’s Yang Pengsheng and Wang Li won the men’s and women’s championships with times of 3 hours, 33 minutes, 18 seconds and 4 hours, 6 minutes, 8 seconds. Alongside earning valuable points, they also secured substantial prize money. Victory belongs to those who brave forward—every participant in this Devil Mountain race conquered the wild, delighted in self-challenge, braved dangers without fear, overcame the “demons” of the body and tamed the “demons” within, continuing the endless brilliance of conquering inner fears.
(Chinese athlete Qi Min)
(Italian athlete Francesca CANEPA)
The inaugural Devil Mountain Challenge Trail Race last year was the first trail event on the Chinese mainland to use the LiveTrail timing system to ensure runner safety. This year’s Devil Mountain Challenge introduced even more innovations to deliver an enhanced racing experience. Before the official race, the Skyrunning China Training Camp program—free for registered 60KM and 30KM participants—offered valuable insights into “skyrunning” under the guidance of gold-medal coaches and professional instructors. Trail running icon Shanhu (Coral) was also invited to join the event. With her extensive volunteer experience, she led the Devil Mountain Challenge volunteer team to provide thoughtful and attentive services to all competitors. Moreover, the delicious and ample race nutrition once again won over the athletes’ taste buds—especially the sports drinks and local specialties such as lamb and ginseng fruit—which offered much-needed relaxation and satisfaction after the intense races.
Even more importantly, this year’s Devil Mountain Challenge joined hands with the “Blue Dream” charity project to give back to society. China Mobile Foundation matched charitable donations to the “Blue Dream” initiative based on the kilometers completed by successful finishers. Through this initiative, Migu Shanshuang gave back to society, infusing the race with a spirit of compassion and making every step taken by participants more meaningful through love.
Having overcome hardships and shattered constraints, with bodies in the Devil Mountain and hearts aspiring toward nirvana—crafted by an international professional race organizing team, the 2017 “Migu Shanshuang” Devil Mountain Challenge & Yumen International Trail Race once again delivered a flawless performance. The event showcased China’s unique and high-quality landform landscapes to global trail runners, promoted international exchange in trail running culture, and provided domestic athletes with a more professional and premium racing experience. Looking ahead, Migu Shanshuang will further strengthen collaboration with the world-renowned and authoritative trail running organization—the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF). While further solidifying the benchmark status of the Devil Mountain Challenge and deepening its international influence, it will also assist in the global promotion of trail running, introduce more advanced trail concepts to China, foster the healthy and rapid development of trail running in the country, and contribute an ever-growing Chinese voice to the global trail running community.
Migu Shanshuang—The Choice of China’s Marathon Team
Migu Shanshuang is a sports and health platform developed by China Mobile Migu in 2015. Online, it centers around the Migu Shanshuang app, integrating sports, training, events, and charity to promote a new lifestyle of “fun fitness.” Offline, it leads with event IPs such as “Baoshan Offroad,” and encompasses marathons, urban fun runs, mountain trail races, and running service stations, delivering top-tier participation experiences for sports enthusiasts. Migu Shanshuang also aims to build a comprehensive event service platform, including event execution, consulting services, offline running service stations, fan running groups with celebrities, and corporate running teams. It additionally offers supporting event derivative services and running-related merchandise.
To date, the Migu Shanshuang app has amassed over 30 million registered users, with more than 1,500 enterprise groups onboarded and 18,000 running clubs participating. The platform has successfully organized over fifty events—including the Xianlin Half Marathon, Shanghai Songjiang Half Marathon, Baoshan Offroad Yading, Yumen Trail Race, Yichun International Forest Marathon, Beijing Women’s Half Marathon, China Mobile’s “Happy 1+1” inaugural Migu Health Walk, and Chery Auto & Migu Shanshuang’s “Power Run Festival”—attracting a combined online and offline participation of over 4.5 million people, covering a total distance of 93.4 million kilometers, equivalent to circling the Earth 2,335 times.