Tomorrow’s Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping in the State of Perak will be as usual very tough, but most runners will forget about the pain and the difficulty of climbing up-and-down the wet jungle trails of Maxwell Hill. Such is the joy today at race pack collection at the Esplanade that, finally, there is a real race on again! Event organiser Ewegene Tan has not had an easy time over the past months to make his prime trail event happen this weekend, with Malaysia having only recently relaxed covid-related restrictions. There’s a strict safety & mitigation protocol to follow for anyone involved in the event - runners, event staff, volunteers -, which causes extra pressure and stress, but what matters most now is: the race is on!

For most participants it will be a step in the dark, no matter what. Most of even the most experienced trail runners in Malaysia have not been in a competiton for nearly two years. Will the established guard complete the podium once again, or will we see the emergence of fresh, young and new talents?

MMTF ranks among the toughest races on the Asia Trail Master calendar. Its main race, the 84km - this year 80 km, in fact - is a serious test of physical and mental strength. The respectable elevation gain number of 4610 hm does not tell the whole story. It’s steep at times, it’s narrow, it’s wet, it’s pure rainforest. At the 2019 ATM Final here, most elites were completely drained at the finish. Hisashi Kitamura not in the least…

The first runner-up in the 2019 ATM Championship will be back on Saturday, but for him it is also a major question mark how good his current form is. In our pre-race chat (see our social media channels and upcoming live broadcast), Kitamura downplayed his chances of success and instead will focus on enjoying the trails after 22 months of no competition. The path to victory will lead passed some other Malayia-based trail stars such as 2018 MMTF race winner Daved Simpat and Wilsen Singgen, both from Sabah on Borneo island. An important race for Simpat, as that victory three years ago was the last time we saw him at his best. Injury plagued him in 2019, resulting in DNFs at Borneo TMBT Ultra and MMTF that year. Meanwhile no longer the youngest elite runner, the ever-friendly Simpat will certainly give it his best tomorrow to reclaim the top step of the podium. What can Wilsen Singgen do about that? Singgen was the up-and-coming Sabahan in 2019, after coming back from a serious dehydration episode at Moon 100 in Thailand, which left him hospitalised. Wilsen bounced back with a strong race win at the 230 km long Ultra Trail Chiang Rai, his first ever under the ATM umbrella. How has he coped with the corona pandemic? In any case, Wilsen Singgen was incredibly enthousiastic when he found out he could race again!

The top-ranked Sabahan in the ATM Championship two years ago, Milton Amat, will not be running tomorrow. But Steven Ong is. The 2017 ATM Champion has kept himself very busy with running around his country Malaysia. He must be in top shape endurance-wise, the question is: has his body recovered already enough to compete with the younger trail runners on Taiping’s technical terrain. Yet, when the body refuses, Steven Ong can always still rely on his tactical race brain, which brought him plenty of success in his championship-winning year in ATM.

Other podium candidates for the men’s race are expected to be Seiji Morofuji, Yuzof Ezkandar and Aqmal Adzmi. The latter, 11th in this race in 2019, is said to have improved significantly as a trail runner during the corona crisis..

The winner of the 80km race will also be celebrated as the 2021 Malaysia Trail Master champion.

The women’s race is equally open on paper. Izzah Hazirah might be considered the top favourite, given her 2018 win at MMTF, and her 4th place a year later. Hazirah loves tough mountain trails. In fact, the tougher the better and the higher her placing in the race results. The runner from Team Malatra might face strong competition from Penang Eco 100 miles winner Adelinah Lintanga. That miler was a break-through race win for Narna, and today - two and-a-half years later - she will be keen to add MMTF to her record. And then there’s Chong Mei Tze, arguably the fastest ultra runner on road in the list of female participants. On the technical trails, she has been on or around the podium for a couple of years, but an ATM race win has eluded her so far. HOKA ambassador Chong Mei Tze might also still be in a recovery phase after a long ultra two months ago. And yet, if she starts tomorrow’s 80k trail she must feel confident enough. Let’s also pay attention to Alyssa Ong, Lynn Law and Lynil Martinez as podium candidates.

ATM is on-site in Taiping and will be providing race coverage throughout the day. A livestream broadcast on our facebook and youtube channels is being planned for the afternoon and the arrival of the race winners.

MMTF - Total excitement in Taiping