Kailas Ultra Tour Mount Siguniang

Russian runner Uliana Dobrovolskaia (@dobrovolskaia_uliana_) finished 5th in the women's 35km (KLNZ35) field at the 2026 Kailas Ultra Tour Mount Siguniang. She kindly shared her race recap, and we're excited to feature her story on RunEast!

The course starts at 3,200m and tops out at 4,200m — 32km and 1,650m of climbing by GPS, against an official distance of 35km.

Up at 5:15, we were walking to the start by 6:00. Gear check and drop-bag hand-in took under 5 minutes. Too early for the corral, so we warmed up in a nearby building with restrooms and a race broadcast. At 7:00 we moved into the start zone — I lined up just behind the front row this time, calm and ready. Then the siren sounded, and we were off.

I'd scouted part of the course days earlier, so the opening stretch felt familiar. I skipped poles — moving well without them — and led the women's field through 5km, around 10th among the men. Just past 5km a Chinese runner passed me; too early to chase, so I held a steady pace.

Around 6km I caught up to my coach and we pushed toward the summit together. At the aid station I grabbed an ice-cold mandarin wedge, then pushed on into the descent — red-rated, fairly comfortable, with stretches of large loose rock. I filmed a quick video on the way down: everything felt good.

Around 15km my stomach turned on me — echoes of a race in St. Petersburg's White Nights, for anyone who's been there. Lena caught up and asked how I was doing; I said I needed a restroom. "Go faster and catch back up," she said, and pulled ahead — I dropped to third.

At the next aid station I topped up water, ate two pieces of banana, and kept moving at a slower pace. At 18km Sveta cheered me on: not far to go, and only about 3 minutes behind Lena.

The route here runs along boardwalks with steps, shared with tourists — not an excuse, just part of the picture. I wasn't a fan of the boardwalks, but the tourists made up for it, cheering "Jiayou!" the whole way. My trailside vocabulary came down to three words: nihao, jiayou, xiexie.

At the third aid station, Seryozha refilled my bottles and handed me a banana, and we headed out together. I asked him to check how far back the 4th-place woman was — before he could even look, she was right beside us. I kept the pace I could sustain; Seryozha stuck with me, telling me there was 200m more climbing before the descent.

We hit a fence and climbed it together, all three of us — I tore my shorts on the wire. She pulled away and I couldn't close the gap back.

Up ahead, Gena — one of our guys from Primorye — stumbled and went down into the bushes, cramping. I left Seryozha with him and pushed on alone.

Five kilometers to go. I dug into whatever I had left, checked my watch, let go of breaking 5 hours, and focused on just not getting caught.

At the finish, we went straight to gear check — standard for top-10 finishers — then I picked up my finisher kit, got a free massage, grabbed a snack, and rested.

I loved everything about this race, from the organization to the experience itself. Finishing 4th felt great — proof I'm steadily improving since placing 10th back in June. Already looking ahead to next season.

P.S. Huge thanks to my girls Sveta and Ksyu for the support, and for this running-and-travel trip to China together.

Ultra Tour Mt Siguniang offers race categories from 35km to 100km through the valleys and high passes of the Siguniang Mountain (Four Sisters Mountain) scenic area in Xiaojin County, Sichuan, with trails through Shuangqiao, Changping, and Haizi valleys and alpine scenery throughout. The main venue is the Siguniang Mountain Outdoor Activity Management Center; start and finish points vary by category.

Nearest major city is Chengdu, about 175km (3-4 hours) away, with bus and private transfer options to the venue.

Kailas Ultra Tour Mount Siguniang

Race Categories (2026)

KLNZ 35km

Kailas Ultra Tour Mount Siguniang 35km race report

Race Morning

An Early Pace

Stomach Trouble at 15K

Boardwalks and Encouragement

The Final Push

Finish Line

Kailas Ultra Tour Mount Siguniang Introduction