Penang and Endurance Nature have been an integral part of the Asia Trail Master series since the very beginning and continues to be in 2024. On the long weekend of 18 to 20 October, trail runners will score points for the ATM Championship ranking and the Grandmaster Quest at Ultimate Trails of Penang, better known as UTOP. The 5th edition of the event takes place on the island proper and is widely regarded as one of the tougher races on our calendar. This year, there is also a 100 miler on the programme.

UTOP 100 Miles and the 60 km medium distance will be the two categories offering championship points. There is also a 100km category, which obviously offers a Grandmaster point for all finishers as it’s above 70km.

Since the covid crisis, UTOP and Penang Eco, also by Endurance Nature under event director Seow Kong Ng, have alternated on the ATM calendar. The trail courses of both events are completely different, but have one thing in common: they’re both very tough even if they don’t necessarily look so on paper. Easy runable sections are mixed with steep technical jungle trails, and some serious elevation. The 100 Miles comes close to a massive 10000 hm for 171 km, whereas the 60km (actually 64km) also has no fewer than 4300 hm - which is only 200 hm short of Grandmaster qualification. In other words, participants better come prepared.

Start and finish is at the Lapangan Memanah Youth Park, which is really just outside the city centre of Penang’s capital city Georgetown, making it convenient for a family trip as well. Georgetown also has an airport with a few international connections, and plenty of accommodation options at various levels. If flying to Georgetown is difficult, there are many comfortable busses per day from KLIA and Kuala Lumpur to Penang.

As described on the official website, Penang Island is blessed with amazing numbers of trails for many decades. Blazed by the local inhabitants of Penang, these trails link up various heritage sites and points of interests all over the island. Starting from Youth Park and Botanical gardens, the trails spread out from the north to central and southern part of the Island, from Air Itam, Batu Ferringhi, to Teluk Bahang and Balik Pulau.

Two years ago, Jeffery Budin pulled off his first ATM race victory at UTOP 100km, which was a very popular achievement. Budin did benefit from a few other contenders going off course, but managed to defend his position once he realised he could win. It was a liberating win, too, because since then Budin’s competitive performance has improved further and last month he grabbed his second ATM race win at Silabur in Sarawak. The strongest woman in 2022 was home favourite Siokhar Lim, during a season she proved that the post-covid Grandmaster had also become a very competitive runner.

Registration for UTOP is already open. Make sure you check all the details, including mandatory gear, before you sign up.

event details and online registration

event website

utop facebook page