5Month27Afternoon3O’clock,2016the pre-race press conference for the Red Bull Women’s World Ultra Trail Race was held as scheduled. Contestants Dong Li, Myriam Guillot (Myriam Guillot), Ruby Muir (Ruby Muir), and Camila Nicolau (Camila Nicolau), together with event personnel and professional media from various fields, gathered in Beijing to build anticipation for an upcoming top-tier off-road racing event.
A Promise to Run on the Snowy Mountain
For runners, traversing plains, skirting seas, crossing mountain ranges, and passing through grasslands are all part of their running aspirations. For extraordinary female runners, the thrill of conquering and the excitement of challenging human limits is what truly drives them. Yuzhu Peak, a snow-capped mountain with an elevation of6178meters, is located10kilometers east of the Kunlun Pass in Golmud, Qinghai, and is the highest peak in the eastern section of the Kunlun Mountains. Many mountaineering enthusiasts spend their entire lives dreaming of setting foot on the roof of the Kunlun.
Now, female off-road running elites from five continents will take firm steps from the base camp on the southern slope of Yuzhu Peak at an altitude of6meters on5, to participate in the5050Red Bull Women’s World Ultra Trail Race — the world’s highest-altitude off-road challenge.2016Kilometers, which may be a piece of cake for off-road experts in regular races, become a formidable test when run through the extremely narrow valleys of high-altitude Yuzhu Peak. The course includes treacherous scree slopes, expansive snowfields, steep ridgelines, and culminates in reaching the summit at
12meters before turning back down the southern slope base camp. Only after completing an elevation gain of6178meters does the Red Bull Women’s World Ultra Trail Race truly conclude.1128Female Off-Road Elites from Five Continents Gear Up
In the past, Dong Li has traveled far and wide, flying the Chinese flag across the globe. Now, competing on home turf, she’s determined to showcase the strength of Chinese female runners. “This is my first time competing against top athletes from around the world. I also want to find out where my limits are. While ensuring I finish the race, I definitely want to win.” True warriors always rise to the challenge.
Besides Dong Li, the other elite athletes are equally impressive: New Zealand’s Ruby Muir (
Camila Nicolau from BrazilCamila Nicolau) is visiting China for the fourth time to take part in an off-road challenge,30At 30 years old, she came well-prepared. Before coming to China, she specifically underwent professional training in high-altitude locations outside of Brazil. "I trained for two weeks in Peru to adapt to high-altitude competition. But there will definitely be unforeseen challenges in the Yuzhu Peak Trail Race—cold, rugged terrain—I’ll do my best to overcome them."
French elite female ultra-trail champion Myriam Guillot (Myriam Guillot), with over a decade of outdoor challenge experience, arrived with her husband, who is also an ultra-trail expert. Myriam was the champion of a 330-kilometer non-stop world expedition race and expressed immense excitement about participating in the Red Bull Women’s Ultra-Trail World Championship. "This kind of challenge is incredibly thrilling. I’m looking forward to even greater challenges at Yuzhu Peak—I believe it will be a perfect test for me."700The champion of a world exploration off-road race covering kilometers without any support, she was brimming with excitement about participating in this Red Bull Women's Super Mountain Race. "This kind of challenge is just thrilling. I'm looking forward to even greater challenges at the site of Yuzhu Peak, and I believe it will definitely be a perfect challenge for me."
Steve・Kramer (Stevie Kramer) couldn’t attend the press conference in person due to work commitments, but the top female ultra-runner in North America conveyed her enthusiasm for the challenge via video. She will fly directly to Golmud and join the other elite athletes, who are departing from Beijing, at the Yuzhu Peak base camp.
Red Bull has always been at the forefront of pushing human limits.
As the race director of this challenge, Wei Jun, a seasoned outdoor expert who has been involved in organizing and planning various trail events since2003, noted that while China now hosts a wide variety of running races, Red Bull chose Yuzhu Peak as the starting point precisely because of its unique natural advantages. Hosting an ultra-trail event at such a high altitude is not intended to be a broadly promoted competition, but rather an attempt by a few individuals to explore the limits of human potential.
Challenges require courage as well as meticulous support in every aspect to ensure the smooth execution of an ultra-difficult race. Wei Jun is confident in this regard, explaining that long-term and detailed preparations have been made for the race in terms of supplies, high-altitude logistics, high-altitude medical care, high-altitude support, and emergency rescue. A core technical team composed of experts in various fields has been assembled to safeguard the success of this challenge.
2016The Red Bull Women’s Ultra-Trail World Championship, an event destined to mark a milestone in the history of global trail running, will become the focus of the worldwide trail running community on6March5. The five elite athletes are full of confidence and sending out the strongest call to the world:6May5— see you at Yuzhu Peak.
