The Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping has quickly established itself as the leading trail running event in Malaysia alongside the older classic Borneo TMBT Ultra. Also in 2023, MMTF will be the final points race event in the Asia Trail Master Championship season on the weekend of 4/5 November. Competitive runners can score potentially vital points to qualify for the ATM Final on both the 100km and 50km race categories. Shorter distances and a Vertical Kilometre are also part of the overall event programme.

The Esplanade in Taiping will be the host venue once again for the start and finish of the races that run through wild and pristine rainforest around the city. Taiping is accessible via bus and/or train once you land in Kuala Lumpur or Penang. Accommodation options are plentiful, but bear in mind the events attract between 2000 and 3000 runners, so do do not leave your booking too late.

MMTF has 5300 hm of elevation gain for the 100km and nearly 3000 hm for the 50km. These figures may not appear excessive, but if the trails get wet - and it does rain a lot in Taiping - the races often turn out to be much tougher than one would think beforehand. Bukit Larut, aka Maxwell Hill, is kind of the main feature of the long distance race courses. 100k runners will climb it twice but from different sides.

Taiping now also has a Basecamp for trail runners and hikers, managed by MMTF Consultant in the person of Ewegene Tan, allowing people to come and train on the trails nearly throughout the year.

Registration for MMTF is already open. All details, as well as mandatory gear requirements and logistics, can be checked on the official website below.

official website and registration