The first thing the women’s champion and runner-up did after the race was to have a bowl of congee.
This edition of the Wuyuezhai International Trail Grand Prix attracted athletes from more than ten countries and regions, truly featuring a strong lineup of elite runners. The men’s competition was especially fierce, with Yang Jiagen—three-time consecutive champion of the 100-kilometer category at the Beijing International Trail Challenge—and Swedish 100-kilometer trail champion Linus Holmsäter as highly anticipated contenders. After the start, Li Zicheng and Gao Yongning emerged as the biggest dark horses of the race, quickly pulling away from the rest of the field and ultimately securing the men’s championship and runner-up positions by a comfortable margin.
The men’s champion, Li Zicheng, born in 1990, joined the Shandong Provincial Sports Team in 2007 to begin professional long-distance running training. He participated in the 2012 London Olympics and achieved a personal best marathon time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. In a post-race interview, Li said: “I feel absolutely amazing right now. The course today was fantastic, progressing from easier to more challenging terrain, with a beautiful environment that made running very enjoyable. Winning the championship today was beyond my expectations—I’m really, really happy.”
Gao Yongning, who took second place, is a longtime rival of Li Zicheng. He usually specializes in mountain trail races and has participated in multiple such events this year, though he often finished behind Li Zicheng, securing many second-place finishes. During this RW50 race, he engaged in fierce competition with Li Zicheng, with the two frequently swapping the lead. Unfortunately, he lost by less than two minutes once again.
In the women’s category, National Games marathon champion Jia Chaofeng and fellow athlete from Gansu, Wang Wanfang, almost crossed the finish line together, with times of 5 hours, 26 minutes and 46 seconds and 5 hours, 26 minutes and 47 seconds respectively—a gap of just one second. Another long-distance running star, Gan Xue, suffered an injury to her lower back during the race, which slightly affected her performance. She finished third with a time of 5 hours, 28 minutes and 43 seconds. This event was organized by Sport Media Group, hosted by Runner’s World magazine, and co-organized by the CPC Lingshou County Committee and the People’s Government of Lingshou County. The total prize purse was 200,000 RMB, with the top three finishers in both men's and women’s categories each receiving pre-tax prize money of 50,000 RMB, 30,000 RMB, and 20,000 RMB respectively—the highest reward amounts for a domestic trail running event. Additionally, the organizing committee set up 50 merit awards, with the top 50 finishers receiving prizes valued between 5,000 RMB and 500 RMB based on their rankings.
Men’s top three results:
Champion Li Zicheng – 4 hours, 11 minutes, 52 seconds
Runner-up Gao Yongning – 4 hours, 13 minutes, 36 seconds
Third place Li Wei – 4 hours, 29 minutes, 46 seconds
Women’s top three results:
Champion Jia Chaofeng – 5 hours, 26 minutes, 46 seconds
Runner-up Wang Wanfang – 5 hours, 26 minutes, 47 seconds
Third place Gan Xue – 5 hours, 28 minutes, 43 seconds