Hakuba Trails in Nagano latest ATM Candidate Race

With three races in the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship series, Japan is more than ever open to the international trail running community. The country arguably being the centre of Asian long distance running, we can only applaud this and we are looking forward to discovering more of all these gems of events that have so far been elusive if not outright mysterious. Introducing Hakuba International Trails: a new 2018 Candidate Race taking place this coming weekend 9/10 September in Nagano, former host city of the Olympic Winter Games. 

It will be the second edition of the event after a very successful premiere last year. Hakuba offers a scenic and spicy 53 km course with 2800 metres of elevation gain. As you can see from the images below, the race takes place in the mountains. Several rivers need to be crossed as well. About 1700 runners are expected to take part in the event that also offers three shorter distances to cater for the whole family. The first start is at 7:00 a.m. and the COT for the 53km is 10 hours, which does imply participants need to move on during the race. 

The event is organised by the Hakuba International Trail Run Committee, which includes several experienced ultra runners. We are looking forward to next week's Candidate Race edition, and are confident Hakuba International Trails will also be a great points race in next year's Asia Trail Master Championship. 

Please take a look at the website of Hakuba International Trails for more details (currently only in Japanese).