Back to Koh Chang in February!

One of the big returnees in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series is Ultra Trail Koh Chang, perhaps best known abbreviated as UTKC. The 5th edition of the popular southern Thailand event is set for 15/16 February 2020 and is back on the calendar after a one year break. In fact, the event did not take place at all in 2019 and it is therefore no surprise that most places are already sold out. UTKC is renowned for having some very technical hilly jungle sections and for the heat, yet it easily draws up to 2000 runners spread out over several race distance categories of which the 100km (A race) and 70km (B race) matter for the ATM Championship points and the Grandmaster Quest.

To get to Koh Chang, you need to make your way to Trat. You can do that via highway bus from Bangkok or via a short domestic flight. From Trat you take a ferry for roughly 45 minutes to reach Koh Chang island. There’s plenty of guesthouses and hotels in the area. For details on logistics, please contact teelakow and check the event website.

Thailand’s Jay Jantaraboon and Sanya Khancia were the big winners of the 2018 100km race, with an Indonesian top 3 in the women’s: Ruth Theresia, Shindy Patricia and Lily Suryani. A year earlier, it was Malaysia on top with Steven Ong who carried Wataru Iino the finish in the men’s, and Tahira Najmunisaa who was at the peak of her running form to claim the women’s race. That year Kim Matthews came to the foregound as well and won the 70km race. It does look like winning UTKC is a good omen for the rest of the women’s ATM championship.