In anticipation of the ATM Championship Final in Taiping this Saturday, we look a bit further ahead and continue our introduction to the 2020 events on the ATM calendar. Three weeks after UT Koh Chang in Thailand, we have the second SuperTrail on the programme and it is the Philippines’ SuperTrail. The Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Tinongdan is the premier 50k race in the country and possibly on the ATM circuit. All short and medium distance trail lovers should mark 8 March bright red on their calendars, and ultra long distance runners might just as well come for a solid training session. CMU is tough enough.

The 50km race course will traverse around Mt. Ugo in Benguet. Topping out at 2150m it features long ridge lines covered in Pine forests as well as superb views of the West Philippine sea, the entire Agno River Valley as well as the Cagayan Valley of Nueva Vizcaya. GPS data reveals close to 3800 hm for 47km, so this is certainly no walk in the park. The long distance race starts at 4 am so runners can also enjoy a spectacular sunrise. Shorter distances are also available, and the day before - Saturday - there’s also Vertical Kilometre race for those with energy to spare. This VK race actually offers stunning scenery as well.

In 2019, CMU had a class field in both the male and female categories. John Ray Onifa ran his only ATM race of the season and took revenge for a defeat in 2018 by winning marginally ahead of a strong Kristian Joergensen. John Ellis ‘only’ came fifth and Hisashi Kitamura was even down in seventh… In the women’s we witnessed the real emergence of Veronika Vadovicova, who began her 2019 season with an astonishing win against US professional Laura Kline. Our video race report can be re-watched below.

This is a true outdoors event if you like it to be. The local community in Tinongdan provides guesthouse accommodation nearby the start/finish arena. There’s no shortage of food and drinks neither. It is essential that you reserve before hand. Guesthouse accommodation will cost from 150-300 pesos per person per night. You may also camp in the school grounds or sleep in the school for a small fee. If nevertheless you prefer a bit more comfort, in nearby Baguio we have partnered with the Podium Boutique hotel.

This event takes place in a remote mountain area so obviously you need to plan enough time to get there. However, the organisers of the Cordillera Conservation Trust offer a great bus service with Victory Liner from Manila to Baguio, which takes a lot of hassle out of the trip. You can make online reservations with Victory Liner: https://www.victoryliner.com . Once arriving in Baguio you have several options for public transportation to go to Tinongdan:

-Jeepney from the Jeepney terminal of Tinongdan beside Jollibee along Magsaysay avenue. The cost should be less than P50-100/person and should take about 1 hour –There is only one jeep a day that departs after lunch when full so you need to be there earlier.
-Taxi hire: A taxi rental from the city to Tinongdan should cost approximately P1000-P1500 and should take between 1-1.5 hours. Best to split the fare between 4 people.
-We will arrange a jeepney from Baguio City on Saturday March 7 in the morning going directly to Tinongdan for a small fee.

Most runners leave on Sunday afternoon and manage to get an early morning return flight in Manila airport.

The registration for the race is open and can be done online via https://myrunti.me/register?fbclid=IwAR2OiQQtD9F_hMwj4FArjduMNTMO_uu-DdhJ86UQf-o-X2o3SWUfGxbJwsg#/cmu-2020

The organisation communicates a lot via facebook, so join their facebook page to get the latest infos.