At the Mt. FUJI 100, held over two days on April 26th (Friday) and 27th (Saturday), 2024 , Courtney Dauwalter (USA) and Guomin Deng ( China) won the women's and men's "FUJI100mi" (Fuji 100 Miles) races, respectively, on the evening of Friday, April 26th.

The "FUJI100mi" is a trail running race that starts at midnight on April 26th (Friday) at Fujisan Kodomo no Kuni (Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture) and finishes at Fuji Hokuroku Park/Fujisan no Meisui Stadium. Guomin Deng completed the 166.6km course with an accumulated elevation gain of 7,039m, running through the mountains, forests, and towns at the foot of Mt. Fuji, in 19 hours, 10 minutes, and 34 seconds, and Courtney Dauwalter completed it in 19 hours, 21 minutes, and 22 seconds. In addition, as of the time of writing, Guidu Qin (China) is in second place with a time of 19 hours, 20 minutes, and 52 seconds, and Ryo Murata (Japan) is in third place with a time of 20 hours, 27 minutes, and 14 seconds.

In the women's race, Courtney DeWalter not only maintained the lead from the beginning to the end of the race, but in the second half of the race she overtook the male runners one after another, achieving the astonishing result of finishing in third place overall.

In the men's race, Deng Guoming and Qin Guidu were both in the lead in the first half. However, Deng arrived at F5 Oshino (113.0km) 20 minutes early. After that, Deng extended his lead over Qin.

Men's winner Deng Guoming reflected on his race, saying, "Today's race was by no means perfect, and there are things I can reflect on. I had a particularly hard time when I went over the three hills towards the end. But I am grateful that I was able to run to the end and win the race."

Chin Guidu, who came in second to Deng Guoming, was competing in her first 100-mile race. Reflecting on being overtaken by Courtney Dwalter with 20km to go, she said: "Courtney is my senior in this sport. When she caught up to me, I didn't have much energy left, but I decided to stick with her to the end to learn from her. I think she could have overtaken me and finished ahead, but I think she respected my pride and let me go first. I appreciate that consideration."

Courtney Dwalter , who became champion of this race for the second time following her victory in 2018, told the assembled crowd, "I feel very fortunate to have been able to run around Mt. Fuji today. I was able to enjoy the beautiful view of Mt. Fuji after the sun rose. I was surrounded by wonderful people, and it was a great day to run outdoors, so I was able to give it my all until the very end."

Ryo Murata, who achieved the highest ranking among Japanese male runners by finishing third, humbly reflected on his performance. "This time, there were many strong runners, and my goal was to finish at least in the top 10 among them. I was able to gradually improve my position as I progressed through the course, but finishing third overall and as the top Japanese runner was unexpected. I believe that sticking faithfully to my plan until the end led to my success."

The approximately 100 runners taking part in the FUJI2400mi will aim to reach the finish line at Fuji Hokuroku Park/Mt. Fuji's Meisui Stadium by 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 27th, the time limit.

The KAI100k, which is the second half of the FUJI69.4mi course, is 3,493km long and has a cumulative elevation gain of 70m, and will start at midnight on Saturday, April 70th at the Fuji Hokuroku Park, Fuji Meisui Stadium.

FUJI100mi Results (For the latest results, please click here: https://leaderboard.runnet.jp/?tri=02524_20240426_01 )

(Boy)

1 Guomin Deng (CHN) 19:10:34
2 Guidu Qin (CHN) 19:20:52
3 Ryo Murata (JPN) 20:27:14
4 Hayato Nishikata (JPN) 20:59:36
5. Alexandre Boucheix (FRA) 21:02:14
6 Takashi Doi (JPN) 21:26:12
7 Nagisa Itagaki (JPN) 21:41:47
8 Ho Chung Wong (HKG) 21:48:31
9 Tatsuya Saguchi (JPN) 21:57:46
10 Takamaru Kawasaki (JPN)

(Girl)

1. Courtney Dauwalter (USA) 19:21:22