TransLantau by UTMB
TransLantau100 by UTMB
Mui Wo
Race guide
Updated 19 July 2026
TransLantau100 by UTMB, run on the Mui Wo route, is a 104 km loop around Lantau Island with 4069 m of climbing and a high point of just 891 m. That modest ceiling is deceptive: the race packs its vertical into repeated short, sharp climbs and drops between eleven checkpoints, swinging from coastal villages back up into the hills again and again rather than one sustained mountain ascent. It's a course built on rhythm and recovery — how you manage the constant up-down-up between Mui Wo, Ngong Ping, Tai O and back — more than on any single defining summit.
The Course & Terrain
The route starts and finishes at Mui Wo (Silvermine Beach / River Silver Garden), and in between it strings together eleven checkpoints across the island: Nam Shan (9.1 km, 361 m), Ngong Ping first pass (22.4 km, 14 m), Kau Ling Chung (32.3 km, 298 m), Tai O (45 km, 328 m), Sham Wat (52.3 km, 504 m), Ngong Ping second pass with drop bag (67.3 km, 8 m), Shui Hau (75 km, 37 m), Pak Kung Au (82.7 km, 110 m), and Pak Mong (93.1 km, 147 m) before the final push back to Mui Wo. The checkpoint elevations alone tell the story: this is not one long climb to a summit but a saw-tooth profile, dropping to near sea level at Ngong Ping (14 m, then 8 m) and Tai O (a coastal fishing village) before climbing back into the hills each time. Crew access is available at Ngong Ping (both passes), Tai O, Shui Hau and Pak Kung Au, giving five real opportunities to reset with support over the 104 km. With a high point of only 891 m against 4069 m of total climbing, the terrain rewards runners who treat this as a series of connected rolling sectors rather than a single mountain race. Each leg between checkpoints has its own character — the run down to Ngong Ping's plateau, the coastal stretch through Tai O, the return climbs back toward Sham Wat and Pak Kung Au — and the cumulative toll comes from doing this repeatedly, not from one brutal wall.
Where the Race Is Decided
The biggest single block of unbroken climbing on the profile sits between Sham Wat (52.3 km, 504 m) and the second Ngong Ping checkpoint (67.3 km, 8 m) — a leg that starts at the highest checkpoint elevation on the course before dropping almost 500 m back down. Given the route's overall high point of 891 m, this is likely where the course reaches its true summit before the long descent to the drop-bag station at Ngong Ping — meaning runners hit their hardest sustained climb of the day roughly two-thirds of the way through, right when accumulated fatigue is highest. The closing kilometers deserve equal respect. After Ngong Ping's second pass at just 8 m, the course still has Shui Hau, Pak Kung Au (110 m) and Pak Mong (147 m) to get through before the final 11 km back to Mui Wo — three more climbs stacked into the last third of the race when legs are already well spent. This late sequence, not the early Nam Shan or Kau Ling Chung climbs, is typically where places and finishing times are made or lost, because it comes after runners have already banked 67+ km and a major elevation swing.
Pacing & Fueling Strategy
The early legs out of Mui Wo — up to Nam Shan and down through Ngong Ping's first pass — feel fast and open, and that's exactly the trap. Runners who have raced this course well describe a patient, almost social first half as the deposit that funds a strong finish: going out conservatively through Nam Shan, Ngong Ping and Kau Ling Chung doesn't cost time, it buys the ability to still be climbing well at Sham Wat and descending well into Pak Mong. Treat the five crew points — Ngong Ping (twice), Tai O, Shui Hau and Pak Kung Au — as the spine of your fueling plan, and use the Ngong Ping drop bag at 67.3 km to fully reset kit, nutrition and mindset for the demanding closing third. Break the race into manageable blocks between checkpoints rather than fixating on the full 104 km or the Day 22:30 finish cut-off as one abstract target. A 'two more and I'm home' mentality — Pak Kung Au to Pak Mong, then Pak Mong to the Mui Wo finish — turns the hardest, latest climbing into a series of controlled, planned pushes instead of something to fear. The lesson from those who've run this well is consistent: the strong finish comes from an easy start, not a hard one.
Conditions to Expect
Lantau Island's terrain swings between exposed coastal sections at Tai O and Shui Hau and higher, more sheltered climbing toward Sham Wat and the 891 m high point, so expect real variation in exposure and heat across the 104 km rather than one consistent environment. The repeated pattern of dropping to near sea level (Ngong Ping at 14 m and 8 m, Tai O at 328 m relative to the coast, the finish at 4 m) and climbing back out means temperature and humidity shifts happen constantly through the day and night, and managing heat in planned resets at the crew points — rather than pushing through discomfort — is part of what separates a controlled race from a struggle in the closing legs toward Pak Mong and Mui Wo.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-05) · official source
0 km · 5 m · —
10.6 km · 333 m · —
17.4 km · 14 m · —
23.5 km · 56 m · —
37.7 km · 8 m · Sat 04:45
50.9 km · 439 m · —
56.1 km · 336 m · —
66.8 km · 12 m · Sat 12:45
78.8 km · 47 m · —
85.5 km · -2 m · Sat 18:00
95.1 km · 37 m · Sat 20:45
103.7 km · 4 m · —
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