For the first time this Sunday, Izu Trail Journey in Japan will not mark the end of our trail season, but the beginning of the next. Due to the previously announced calendar shift, with the ATM Championship Final projected to take place mid-September 2024, Season IX launches this weekend already with Mt Apo, and Izu. Traditionally one of the highest-stacked races in Japan, Izu is also celebrating its 10th anniversary and will do so on the fantastic 70km pilgrimage route across the peninsula south of Tokyo.

It is always the weekend when we all realise that nowhere else in Asia the general competitive level is so high. A top 10 result in Izu often seems like a victory already. That is also what Hisashi Kitamura will attempt again, after achieving it in 2019. Last year, coming back from a bad covid infection, Kitamura was already satisfied with a rank just inside the top 20. That is also the usual goal for Yuta Matsuyama, another Izu regular who we often see elsewhere in Asia on the ATM circuit. Just a week ago, both of course featured still in our Final in Indonesia. Kitamura took fifth place, Matsuyama was ninth. Let’s see how they fare against other Japanese elites on Sunday, especially those active at the global competition level.

Someone who has been very successful in the most prestigious of global races over the past two years, and whom we know well in Asia, is Esztser Csillag. The Hong Kong based Hungarian will be running Izu for the first time and try to achieve what Veronika Vadovicova did four years ago: winning Izu as a non-Japanese athlete (see video below). Last year’s Izu race winner Honoka Akiyama is reportedly also running so we may get a nice dual in the women’s race.

Izu Trail is basically divided into two sections, of which the first one is very runable for about 30km. Afterwards, the terrain gets more technical and hilly with the famous Nishina Pass - providing exquisite views on Mount Fuji and the Bay - as highlight. The trails follows the rocky coastline for a while, and with some bad luck it can be quite windy and cold there. However, it seems the weather this year is more pleasant. For sure runners should not expect any snow this time around.

The top 25 of the male and female races score points for the 2024 ATM Championship.

In 2018, Alessandro Sherpa won the Asia Trail Master Championship at the event, beating Salva Rambla for the title.

Izu Trail Journey: Csillag to follow in footsteps of Vadovicova?