It is commonly said that a true champion never buries the hatchet until the fight is really over. After a difficult start of his 2019 campaign, recovering from a surgical measure that took longer to heal than expected, Asia Trail Master Champion Alessandro Sherpa certainly wants to live up to the stereotype as he enters Mount Talinis Mountain Ultra in Negros Oriental, Philippines, this Sunday. Already written off by several people, the charismatic Italian has a lot of points to catch if he wishes to retain his ATM title, but mathematically it is still possible and so he races. After a strong victory in Penang Eco 100K at the end of June, Sherpa suffered two DNFs (Mantra Summits Challenge and Magnificent Merapoh Trail) that have made his ATM championship journey a tough one. A third place in Borneo TMBT, albeit behind his title rivals Milton Amat and Hisashi Kitamura, were a sign of hope but he will need more and better race placings. Still, more than anyone else perhaps he knows that a succession of strong results in the last three months can do wonders. A year ago it was Spain’s Salva Rambla who did just that to take the battle to Sherpa all the way until the final in Izu Trail Journey. That is the mindset Sherpa - already in Philippines since a few days - will bring to the start in Valencia, a town not far from Dumaguete, the main city on Negros Oriental, an island in the southern Philippines that hosts an ATM points race for the first time ever.

A popular Candidate Race last season, the 70k race across one of the country’s biggest mountains (peak at 1903m) is a technical one if the weather turns wet, which is always a possibility. The main race starts at an unusual time of 11 pm Saturday night, making it a predominantly dark race for the protagonists. Sherpa will not get the victory presented on a silver platter. In the southern Philippines we have seen the sudden emergence of great running talent over the past years in ATM, and there’s some established contenders on the start list in any case. Manila-based Dane Kristian Joergensen is in the best running shape of his life this year and will definitely push Sherpa forward - if not put him on the backfoot. Joergensen so far has only 1 ATM result behind his name, 2nd in Cordillera Mountain Ultra, so he currently plays no role in the Championship. However, what counts for Sherpa also counts for him: it ain’t over until it’s over. Nevertheless, the highest ranked male in Talinis will be Luzon’s Koi Grey - who himself is also running better than ever since his surprise comeback ten months ago. Koi Grey is sixth in the point standings and is keeping the filipino honours high in the men’s competition this season. Koi is best on the medium distance, so Sherpa and Joergensen better watch out.

Roy Gentoleo is by all means a podium candidate on a good day. Carlo Chiong and Arnie Macaneras: the same.

In the women’s, we will be looking at Ces Wael to propel herself back inside the top five of the ATM Championship. Third place if she scores a race victory this weekend, which would be her first ever. If she finishes second in Valencia, she will move alongside Malaysia’ Siokhar Lim in the ranking. Ces Wael, from the northern Philippines, is one of those runners who keeps getting better and more competitive by the month. This weekend she will need to compete with Melanie Hingpit and Maria Sepe, amongst others, for that maiden race victory.

We will be reporting live from the Mt Talinis Mountain Ultra on Negros Oriental all weekend via our usual social media channels.