As trail runners from all over the world are gearing up for UTMB in Chamonix at the end of this month, a few significant announcements with regard to the Asia Trail Master points races in the second half of this year.

First and foremost, good news for all runners on the Grandmaster Quest. The Indonesia SuperTrail, MesaStila Peaks Challenge, will offer two race distances that qualify for 1 point. On top of the 100km, it has been decided -also following a few appeals from runners- that also the 65 is worthy enough of a point given the high number of elevation gain that needs to be conquered to finish that race. If you still want to sign up for MesaStila, by the way, you need to sign up by the end of this month, or take your chances in our upcoming social media contest for a free race entry. Race day is 8/9 October subject to chosen distance.

Staying in Indonesia, the Bromo Tengger Semeru Ultra is now confirmed to take place between 4 and 6 November. Race registrations via local organiser Fonesport have also just been opened. The event features the meanwhile traditional tough race distances of 170, 100 and 70, all of which also qualify for 1 point in the Grandmaster Quest. Beginning runners can also aim for a few shorter distances, without Asia Trail Master points to be won. As with Rinjani 100, this one has a tight cut off time, so come prepared! More details on BTS 2016 in the course of next week.

A few other events are closing the official registration by the end of this month. The first upcoming points race, Vietnam Mountain Marathon, is among them. Be careful, as the event is nearly fully booked, too. VMM this year offers 100km as longest race distance, on top of the usual 70 and 42, plus a few shorter races without Asia Trail Master points to be scored.

Next is Ultra Trail Mount Jiri in Korea on 1/2 October. Also this challenging race in the Jirisan National Park is closing the books by 31 August. Two solo races available over 100km and 50km, both with respectable elevation gain.

In October we have 2 more races on the calendar , for which you can sign up easily via our registration platform. Mount Falaza Ultra Trail is one of our "grassroots" races taking place in the Far East of Russia, in Primorye. That's a nature area known for skiing in winter and approx 2h by bus northeast of Vladivostok. Mount Falaza is the highlight, not super high in terms of altitude, but surrounded by dense Siberian forest... in autumn colours. A race for those looking for a new trail experience. The race organiser has loads of experience setting up adventure challenges and MTB races, and is a strong multisport athlete himself. Race date for the 60km trail: 16 October.

We have a new stage race as well coming up. The 3-day Ultra Trail Jeju takes places from 14 to 16 October on the fascinating Jeju Island south of South Korea. In total 100km need to be absorbed over three race days, of which the ascent of Mount Halla on day 1 stands out as a highlight. This is an event for beginning trail runners who like to up their game. Nevertheless, it is a prestigious race to win for established trail champions as well!

Opening the registration book next week is Ultra Trail Mapawa, the first of our two races on Mindanao island in the Philippines this autumn. Mapawa is a popular race and this year has a 50k distance as the main event. Stay tuned for more on this one in the next days.

Finally, following plenty of queries from runners, we regret to announce that it has been decided that Annapurna 100 in Nepal will be removed from our race calendar for reasons of communication. Fans of Nepal can look forward to a new entry in our calendar next spring. More on that in the course of the coming week.

UTMJ - Run on and around a holy mountain Korea

Short news & announcements