Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship: Raul Butaci wins hotly contested men’s race

After battling through strenuous heat and humidity and a packed racing trail, the Romanian Raul Butaci eventually took first place at the Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship on Sunday in a time of six hours, eight minutes and 13 seconds.

American Christian Gering finished second in a time of 6:13.08, and Japan’s Miura Yuichi finished third in 6:14.16, making him the winner of the overall Asian Skyrunning Championship.

Michael Maddess, director of event organiser Action Asia Events, said this year’s group of Lantau 50 contestants was the most talented he’d ever seen.

“Some people, including myself, thought that the records would have been shattered this year,” he said. “Every year this race has drawing lots of international talent, and if you look at the top seven guys, each one of them has won international races. Truly elite talents and they were neck-and-neck for a lot of the race.”

Butaci, who races full-time in his home of Catalonia, Spain, said he was “worried” about the incredible pace of his competitors early on. But he was confident that he would come back later in the course as the trail ran past steep mountains like Sunset Peak.

“I saw everyone was keeping up with me at the beginning,” said Butaci, who saw seven competitors at the second checkpoint. “But I felt that their pace was a little bit too fast, so I stayed patient.”