Topics from the award ceremony The international trail running event, Mt. FUJI 100, held from April 26th to 27th, 2024, concluded at 10pm on Saturday the 27th, when the final deadlines for the two races, the 166.6km "FUJI 100mi" and the 69.4km "KAI 70k", came to a close.

*Due to traffic congestion on part of the course during the race, the closing time was extended by one hour from the original schedule.

At the FUJI 100mi, Courtney Dauwalter (USA) won the women's division, and Guomin Deng (CHN) won the men's division. This is Dauwalter's second victory at this event, following her victory in 2018. This time, she became the first female athlete in the history of the event to finish under 20 hours, and also achieved the remarkable feat of placing third overall in the overall rankings, both men and women.

In the "KAI70k", Andreu Simon Aymerich (Spain) and Yuri Yoshizumi (Japan) won the men's and women's divisions, respectively. Please see the attached documents for the overall and age group award winners for both races, as well as the New Hero Award winners, which are given to athletes under the age of 29 who have achieved outstanding results.

In addition, data such as the number of finishers and completion rates for both races can be found in the attached documents. Here are some topics from the award ceremony held today.

(Deng Guoming takes Kaburagi Tsuyoshi's words as encouragement to secure this victory)

Guomin Deng , the winner of the men's FUJI100mi, revealed a untold story about Takeshi Kaburagi, the chairman of the Mount Fuji 100. "Last year, I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Kaburagi when he visited Beijing. He encouraged me by saying, 'For us athletes, the time we can perform at our best is limited, so we should practice hard and participate in more international competitions.' At the time, I was feeling down because I had injured my leg, so I am grateful to Mr. Kaburagi for acknowledging that I have the potential to transcend the boundaries of China and Asia."

(Ryo Murata expressed his gratitude for the fun time he had with athletes from Japan and around the world.)

Ryo Murata ( JPN) , who finished third in the men's FUJI100mi and was the first Japanese runner to complete the race, was asked to comment on his impressive result. "It was a great time running alongside strong and amazing runners while gazing at Mt. Fuji from start to finish. I'm happy to have finished third as a result. I'll definitely be back for the Mount Fuji 100."

(Courtney DeWalter is grateful to have experienced another trip to the base of Mount Fuji.)

Courtney Dauwalter (USA) , who became the FUJI100mi champion for the second time following her victory in 2018, spoke to the crowd gathered at the awards ceremony about her experience. "I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to come to Japan and travel the trails around Mt. Fuji on foot. Mt. Fuji was magnificent throughout the race. A huge thank you to the organizers and volunteers. Congratulations to all the runners and supporters. Thank you for leading us to the finish line."

(Angie Yang was thrilled to be sent out on the night trail with a saxophone.)

Angie Yan (HKG) finished third in the women's race at the FUJI100mi. After introducing herself in Japanese to the audience, she spoke about the unexpected kindness she received at the start of the race. "The volunteers reminded us to be careful not to get injured or lost on the mountaintop on a cold night. I would like to give a special thank you to the person who was playing the saxophone at CP1 (the Fujinomiya checkpoint 25km from the start). You really brightened up my night. Thank you."

(Andreu Simon vows to return to Mount Fuji 100 )

Andreu Simon (ESP) was supposed to make his debut in the Mount Fuji 100, a 100-mile trail running race set against the backdrop of his dream mountain, Mt. Fuji. Due to an injury, he changed his target to the KAI 70k this time, but he won brilliantly. "Seeing Mt. Fuji with the sunrise in the background from the course was absolutely stunning, an unbelievable experience. I will definitely participate in this race again."

(Tsuyoshi Kaburagi's project to run all of the Gran Canaria World Trail Majors races has begun.)

During the awards ceremony, Tatsuo Chiba , co-chair of Mount Fuji 100, took the stage with Janet Ng and Steve Brammer , organizers of Anta Hong Kong 100 , to introduce the Gran Canaria World Trail Majors, in which both races participate. At the end of the introduction, it was announced that Tsuyoshi Kaburaki , chairman of the Mount Fuji 100 , will be undertaking a challenge to complete all 10 World Trail Majors races over the next five years. Kaburaki spoke about his aspirations for the project: "Starting with the FUJI100mi that I completed today, I am excited about this plan to complete all the races in the year I turn 60. Please cheer me on. I encourage you all to follow in my footsteps and take on the challenge."