2018 ATM Preview: here come the SuperTrails
Yesterday we highlighted the first quartet of races in the forthcoming 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship, and today we are happy to announce the first SuperTrails next year. UTKC, short for Ultra-Trail Unseen Koh Chang, in Thailand is again the first event where runners can score 50 bonus points for the championship if they finish the 100k or 70k race. Making a fantastic debut on the Asia Trail Master scene last February, UTKC stood out for its great atmosphere, challenging course,hot weather and the high-level of the participants. On 16/17 February 2018, we expect no less. You can already sign up, too, via the new event website by the Teelakow crew.
Only one week later we already have the next SuperTrail. And it's a brand new one: the 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong! After great reviews of the inaugural edition, we are delighted this young event has joined our Asia Trail Master Championship. The 9 Dragons Ultra merits its SuperTrail status for exactly the same reasons as UTKC. There is an additional challenge in Hong Kong, though. The main race is de facto a stage race, with a 50 miles race on Saturday and a 50k on Sunday. ATM points will be scored on the basis of the general classification after the two stages, but runners can also collect if they finish the 50 miles-only. This race goes beyond the usual trajectory of Hong Kong races with the many steps and stairs, and will surprise you of how much beautiful natural trail there still is in the New Territories.
For the seventh race of the 2018 season we return to the Philippines for the 50k classic Cordillera Mountain Ultra. Hailed year-after-year as one of our championship's highlights, the CMU race will reward runners even more in 2018...stay tuned. Mount Ugo is the centrepiece of this race that starts and finishes in the small town of Dalupirip, where citizens are very enthuastic about the event and will do everything to make you feel at home. You should try the locally produced coffee as well, and if not for anything else, just to support the NGO Cordillera Conservation Trust, which does important environmental and social work in this remote mountain area.
With the CMU event we have arrived in March, which currently still has two vacant weekends. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, we are still open to receive event applications for the weekends of 10/11 March and 17/18 March. But not for 24/25 March, as then we have the next one of our meanwhile classic events. Which one? Find out tomorrow!