The 3rd edition of Bali Ultra saw one of the most international fields of our Asia Trail Master season, but nevertheless it were the expected runners who battled for the race wins on the 80km and 50km courses. Going up and down the Batur volcano again, these trail courses turn out to be quite underestimated as quite a lot of participants - particularly those on the 80km discovered the hard way. Temperatures were very modest and excellent at the start at 6am , but once the fog cleared up and runners began the first ascent of Batur it got hot. South Korea’s Kyuho Lee was the fastest starter, but already by km 5 Alessandro Sherpa caught him and set the pace from the front. Sherpa had just returned from Europe and will be staying in South East Asia to prepare for his next bid to regain the ATM Champion title at Borneo TMBT now just over a month ahead. As some of his rivals for the championship, Sherpa looked the part in Bali. In the end he was not truly challenged, although Banyuwangi’s newcomer Dedi Furqoni kept the Italian on guard for the first 33km, until muscle cramps threw him a bit further down the leaderboard and even off the podium. Sherpa cruised home in 6h38 to take his first ATM race win of the season, his sixth in total. Behind him we saw the ever more remarkable Aurore Dacier taking second overall as the first female finisher. Based in Singapore, Dacier won Lantau 70 in March and also MMTF 50 last November. This was her third ATM race win therefore, and ever more impressive given she overtook celebrated male runners such as Yoyong Sacayle and Akhmad Nizar towards the end of the 50k race. She will certainly be one of to look out for next season. Borneo TMBT does not fit into her previously planned racing schedule this year. Mindanao’s Yoyong Sacayle ran very well given he had such a hard time and finishing outside the top 25 in KAR 110 just a week ago - suffering from a heatstroke there. Always in the mix for the podium, he was faster than Akhmad Nizar at the end. The 450 points will be very welcome for him in his bid to get into Team Pilipinas next month. Akhmad Nizar, 8th in last year’s ATM Final, is once again qualified for Indonesia with his second podium of the current season after Mantra 68. Bali’s I Made Budiana ran a smart and consistent race to claim fourth place, ahead of Furqoni and Jesse Wilkinson. Thimo Kilberth finished in eighth, and secured his spot for Team Indonesia once again.

Aurore Dacier was a class on her own, with the second and third female podium placers finishing a while later. Hong Kong’s Flora Ching Wing Yee took it ahead of Joanne McNamara and Alison Gauthier.

On the 80km, it was a three-man-battle at the front until the second ascent of Batur, when Dedy Yusof no longer had the pace to keep up with last year’s Bali 100 winner Rachmat Septiyanto and season revelation Ma’Mun Khariri - the surprising winner of Mantra 116 last month. Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama, already third here last year, was never far back but also never managed to bridge the gap to the front. Meanwhile, first female Angelie Cabalo from Philippines was having her own nice day out on the trails. Cabalo, in only her second ATM race of the season, was no match for all the other women in the race and had her eyes set on the overall top three. Catching Matsuyama in the second half of the race, when the 80k runners return from the beach in North Bali, Cabalo looked like she was going to reach that goal. The Japanese runner, however, still had something in the tank and finished slightly ahead of Cabalo. He is qualified again for Team Japan next month, for Cabalo it remains to be seen. Many Filipino runners have been competing for the points all season, and so she finds herself in a tight spot to get into the top five. In any case, next weekend’s The Punisher race will be required. Especially since Irish Glorioso proved once again that she is back on-form , as she was in 2022. Glorioso finished second , a long way back from Cabalo , but nevertheless second and ahead of some very solid competitors such as Hong Kong’s Rachel Chan - who was second in Silabur 100 in May and qualified for the ATM Final again. Carly Balmforth ran a great race, too, also showing increased competitiveness. Balmforth ran second for a while, but eventually came in fifth, shortly behind India’s Ashwini Bhat , who got herself qualified for the ATM Final with her second top six finish of the season. Indonesia’s Yustina Wardhani, an ATM Finalist last year, came in seventh, behind Hong Kong’s Yin Kwan Cheng.

Rachmat Septiyanto and Ma’Mun Khariri in the end produced the most exciting battle of the event as the two went head-to-head on the final ascent and descent of Batur. Septiyanto opened up a small gap in the descent of about seven minutes. Khariri did not throw in the towel ,though, and chased Septiyanto all the way to the finish in those treacherously tough last five km on the road back up to the Geopark Museum. Septiyanto did hold on for his third ever ATM race victory. Still, Khariri showcased his trail talent again. Taken into account he ran and won Mantra 116 four weeks ago, and had another 100k road ultra afterwards, his performance raises eyebrows. With all that hard racing mileage in such a short timeframe, of course let’s hope he doesn’t burn himself out as happens ever so often in Indonesia… Fresh and on form, he could pull off a surprise at the ATM Championship Final next month!

Bali: convincing wins for the top favourites