This weekend we have an unanticipated doubleheader in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. Malnad Ultra in Karnatika is the first points race event in India, and TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping is arguably the most competitive 100k race and 50k race of the season so far. Originally scheduled for last weekend, MMTF had to postpone by one week due to Malaysia’s General Elections, which caused quite a stir in the community. While many people, such as global elite runner Pau Capell, could not change their travel plans so last-minute, plenty of others found a way to still be there this Saturday. For many competitive Asians, MMTF is seen as the second-to-last opportunity to score enough points to get into their national country team at the ATM Final in Philippines next month.

This may be the case for 2019 MMTF race winner Kristian Joergensen also. Joergensen has had a solid year on the global scene, and now added both MMTF and Cordillera Mountain Ultra to his programme in order to try and qualify for the Mount Apo Sky Race in Davao on 17 December. Joergensen would immediately be a top contender for the ATM title, too. Another expat, and former ATM Champion in 2018, Alessandro Sherpa, is also back in Asia and keen to get his name on the board this weekend. Sherpa has been running in Italy and Europe for two years, and it will be interesting to see how he fares back in the hot and humid conditions of Southeast Asia. As a former champion, Sherpa only needs to finish two ATM races to get qualified for the Final, and reportedly that race on Mt Apo is also the only thing on his mind - competitively speaking. At MMTF, Sherpa will run the 50k to get the machine rolling.

Joergensen will have some challengers to repeat his victory from meanwhile three years ago, a megaperformance that turned him into the top trail performer he is now known as. Not in the least from Sabah’s Milton Amat, arguably the one-to-beat in Malaysia’s ultras this year. Amat needs the MMTF race to secure his spot in Team Malaysia, ironically enough. He has run often, but only two ATM points races (BUTM and TMBT), which is leaving him vulnerable against the many other Malaysians who are battling to get inside the country’s top 5 in the ATM rankings - based on a ‘best-four-count’ system. Wilsen Singgin, Muhamad Affindi and Jeffery Budin have already secured their team spot. Amat will be competing with mainly Amir Zaki, Ben Siong Lee, Daved Simpat and Akmal Adzmi for the two remaining spots. Amir Zaki is in great shape these days, having just won Doi Nhok Trail in Thailand, and Akmal Adzmi has always run very well at MMTF. Nevertheless, if Milton Amat can duplicate his performance from, say TMBT, he will be safe and in fact a top favourite to win the ATM Championship, too. Mount Apo is the kind of technical mountain terrain that will suit pure mountain runners.

Two more serious victory contenders on the 100k this weekend come from the Philippines: Larry Apolinario and Arnie Macaneras. Also in the Philippines, it’s a tight fight to get inside the country’s Top 5. Current points leader and MUSPO 100 winner Apolinario seems safe, as long as he finishes the race this weekend. It will only be his second race outside his home country. His first was VMM 100k last September, where he ran together with Hau Ha and Gaetan Morizur until halfway his stomach let him down. He did well to keep going and finish the race, which gave him the additional ATM points to now be leading the ranking. Macaneras on the other hand finds himself on the back foot after a DNF in MUSPO 100. The Davao ace returned with a second place behind Hisashi Kitamura in The Punisher 80 in August, but those 450 points of just 1 race are currently insufficient and places him behind Sean Aying (also at MMTF), Yojong Sacayle, Angelito Vertudazo and Poy Brillantes. Macaneras is a brilliant performer on technical trails, though, and expect a strong challenge from him to win MMTF 100 and lift himself into Team Pilipinas for his home race on Mount Apo.

We mentioned Hisashi Kitamura just now, but unfortunately the Karate Kit will not be competing this weekend in either the 100k or 50k race. Kitamura got badly sick during VJM last month - covid - and has seen his training schedule completely gone up in smoke. Already qualified a while ago for Team Japan, he does not want to risk anything and try to recover in time to be at his best at the ATM Championship Final - his main goal this season from the beginning.

A serious dark horse is Indonesia’s Arief Wismoyono, the 2015 ATM Champion who this season returned to peak form and showed that with a highly impressive win at Mantra Summits Challenge. This is Wismoyono’s first international in a long time, and it will be interesting to see how he fares. Similar with Milton Amat, Wismoyono will be a serious contender on the Mount Apo course next month. Akmad Nizar is another talented Indonesian who can cause an upset this weekend.

Other podium contenders on the 100k this weekend will be Singapore’s Deric Lau, Japan’s Seiji Morofuji and Sabah’s Safrey Sumping.

Looking at the 50k race, double ATM race winner this year Muhamad Affindi will be up against Daved Simpat and John Ray Onifa - the latter probably the man-to-beat. Onifa does not run a lot of races under ATM, but when he does he either wins or is very close to winning. One of his Filipino countrymen, Koy Grey, will return to trail racing for the first time since covid and his excellent 2019 season, in which he was one of the greatest stars. Let’s also watch out for Frenchman Herve Huguenot, a revelation at Cameron Ultra. Another great run could potentially even push him into Team Asia Expat for the ATM Final.

In the women’s races we will especially be looking at the performance of Hong Kong-based Hungarian Ezster Csillag, who recently scored 4th in the World Championships and who has her eyes set on the ATM title next month. Csillag won Ultramarathon de Sai Kung in October and MMTF 50k will be her second ATM race of the season.

On the women’s 100km we will see the best of Malaysia competing in the same race. Sally Yap, Halimatun Saaidah and Norlela Ismail are already guaranteed of their ATM Final qualification, and at MMTF they will face stern competiton from the likes of Adelinah Lintanga -back from Nepal- and 2021 MMTF race winner Izzah Hazirah, and also some strong runners from Philippines and Singapore. Cecile Wael will be at the start, along with Majo Liao - back from a long absence on the ATM scene - Irish Glorioso and Janet Halcon. Vincere Zeng is Singapore’s female number one at the moment, following her victory at Cameron Ultra. Can she repeat that feat in Taiping? It will certainly be interesting to see how she fares this weekend, also with a view to Mount Apo, which should suit her mountain skills very well. Let’s also keep an eye out on Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathing, who was a podium placer at UTOP, too, just a good month ago.

MMTF: despite postponement, stellar cast remains!