The 2023 edition of the 100km long Mount Apo Sky Race in Santa Cruz saw two wonderful race winners: Isaiah Paraiso and Julie Ann Morales. At the finish line on the beach, both had a significant gap on their nearest rivals. For upcoming talent Paraiso it was his first ever ATM race win, for Julie Ann Morales already the third, after The Punisher (2022) and MUSPO Bukidnon 100 (2023).

The men’s race initially had a nice dual between 24-year-old Paraioso and the ten years older Jevie Cagatin. Florence Alave, Jomarc Ferrer and Kik Russel Suello were still keeping up as well. Pre-race favourite and last year’s 100k winner Yoyong Sacayle was a last-minute DNS, still feeling a bit fatigued after his excellent performance in the ATM Final in Indonesia just a week before. Also ATM Finalist Sean Aying did not find the legs to compete for the podium and would eventually finish in 8th place. Former Mt Apo Sky Race winner Ronnie Torlao had to be content with 9th place as well.

Isaiah Paraiso made the difference primarily in the descent of Mt Apo and the ensuing runable part back to the finish, in this beach to summit out-and-back race. He came home in 15h18, which eventually was an impressive 2,5 hours ahead of Cagatin. The latter was chased down heavily by Alave in the final sector, but held onto second place by a mere two minutes. For both it was the first ATM race podium as well. In fact, Cagatin managed to complete this race 2h48 faster than a year ago: quite an improvement!

Julie Ann Morales had the upper hand on main challengers Shally Yuson and Manilyn Mamugay from the beginning. She reportedly had a half hour gap on the summit, which she then extended big time on the way back to the finish. Morales came in in 22h07. In fact, Christine Montuya managed to grab second place in 26h08’ after overtaking Mamugay and Yuson in the descent and the way back to the finish.

The Mt Apo Sky Race was one of two opening points races of Season IX of our ATM Championship series. The new season will end already in September, hence.

Special thanks to and photo credits for: Florence Alave, Jerrson Botea.

First ATM race victory for Isaiah Paraiso

Second place for Jevie Cagatin

Great podium for Florence Alave

Julie Ann Morales: a solid win on Mt Apo

Shally Yuson

A year ago the Mount Apo Sky Race was the ATM Championship decider seeing Vietnamese sensation Hau Ha and Davao local Arnie Macaneras winning the titles in the female and male categories respectively. This weekend the event and its 100km race is one of two season openers for Season IX of our series. The other one is Izu Trail Journey in Japan on Sunday.

Mount Apo and its boulderface remain a popular challenge for plenty a trail runner. It’s the highest mountain of the Philippines, after all, and the race goes from the beach in Santa Cruz to the peak and back. On the start list we find last year’s 100k winner Yoyong Sacayle, who just a week ago ran arguably the best competitive race of his running journey at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra. As part of the winning Team Pilipinas, Sacayle kept up with none other than Hisashi Kitamura for the big majority of the race. Only a small dip towards the end still saw Wilsen Singgin overtake him, but his seventh place and the manner it came about was a positive surprise for all observers. Has Sacayle recovered enough this week to take a repeat victory on Apo this weekend? His main competitors are likely to be another former Apo winner - Ronnie Torlao - and Rexell Aguirre, who was outstanding in the 100 miles race at UT Chiang Rai in October. What can Sean Aying do? Part of Team Pilipinas alongside Sacayle last week, Aying did not have the best of race days in Indonesia and contented himself with ‘just’ finishing. His racing season has been very long and his greatest form that saw him, a.o. score third place in Mantra 116 in July, may be over by now. Or can he find a final burst of energy on Apo to challenge for the win? Let’s also keep an eye on Bernie Bauyot and Jomarc Ferrer.

In the women’s race, we are looking forward to what can be a close competition between Julie Ann Morales, Manilyn Mamugay and relative newcomer Shally Yuson. Only a few weeks ago, Yuson outpaced Mamugay in the Santa Cruz 70 Candidate Race and Matanao in October, but now we are going up Apo. Mamugay has won this race already. Yuson also finished ahead of Morales in Matanao 70 last October. But Morales was the best Filipino female in the ATM Final last year with a great fifth place.

Just a week after showing how much competitive improvement he made in a year: Yoyong Sacayle is going for the double on the Mt Apo 100

Shally Yuson is one of Mindanao’s new faces this year, very much like Mary Joy Sumanda.

Julie Ann Morales was best Filipino on Mt Apo last year

Full of experience and a former winner on Mt Apo: Ronnie Torlao. Can he challenge a potentially tired Sacayle this Saturday?

Also a former winner and always a contender: Manilyn Mamugay

You can now watch the ultimate Tale of the Trail episode of 2022, with the race recap of last weekend’s ATM Final in Davao, Philippines. The 75 km Mt Apo Sky Race was won by local hero Arnie Macaneras and Vietnam’s Hau Ha. They are the new Asia Trail Master Champions, following in the footsteps of John Ellis and Veronika Vadovicova who both won the title before covid in 2019.

The new format ATM Final was held in national country teams, composed of maximum five male and five female runners - those who scored most ATM points during the season, which began in March.

The Mt Apo Sky Race was held for the 6th time since 2015 and is organised by Vertical To Sky Events, in cooperation with the Ministries of Tourism in Davao and Santa Cruz.

FLASH NEWS - The 2022 Asia Trail Master Champions are Arnie Macaneras from Philippines and Hau Hau from Vietnam! Both class acts won the Mount Apo Sky Race 75km race in Santa Cruz, Davao, on Saturday aftervery competitive and exciting races. For the first time ever in her running career, Hau Ha was put under pressure early on by another female runner, Vanja Cnops, but ultimately once again smashed everyone. Local hero Arnie Macaneras executed his game plan and knowledge of the terrain to perfection, and was able to hold off Malaysia’ s Milton Amat by a sheer five minutes at the finish in the Playa de Oboza beach resort. Team Malaysia won the inaugural ATM Team Championship ahead of the home team Pilipinas and Team Vietnam. More news coming soon, meanwhile watch the videos from our live race coverage yesterday (more published on facebook and youtube).

The 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship will reach its conclusion this Saturday at the Mount Apo Sky Race in Davao, Philippines with a 75km sea-to-summit-return race. For the first time in ATM history, the Championship will be decided in a winner-takes-it final race with qualified runners, who scored enough points in ATM promoted races throughout the year to be in the top 5 of their country in our points ranking. It’s a new approach that has been applauded by as good as everyone in the competitive Asian trail community, and we are looking forward to see how it all pans out this weekend.

The list of favourites is long and it’s anyone’s guess who can clinch the first Asia Trail Master champion title since 2019, before covid interrupted everything. While reigning female champion Veronika Vadovicova has family priorities at the moment, 2019 male champion John Ellis did everything to get qualified for this year’s Final and will sell his skin and title at a very high price this Saturday. The race distance of 75km probably doesn’t seem long enough for him, but Mt Apo is not an ordinary 75km race. Pablo Diago Gonzales, a very decent reference, won the 70k race in 2017 in 12 hours, and that opens perspectives for an ultra specialist like John Ellis - now in his mid-forties but looking every bit as fit and stoked as three years ago. Kind reminder: nobody has ever won the ATM Championship twice. Two other former champions are also in the race tomorrow: 2018 hero Alessandro Sherpa, who qualified by finishing MMTF 50 and CMU 50 since he returned to Asia and is very much focused on this weekend, and 2015 inaugural champion Arief Wismoyono from Indonesia, who at Mantra Summits Challenge 75 was absolutely smashing it last July. Mind you, Mantra Summits 75 is the closest it can get to the Mount Apo Sky Race... It is truly hard to predict the outcome, which makes it so exciting and worthy of a championship race.

Jeff Campbell, Canadian residing in Hong Kong and running for Team Asia Expat, won Dark 45 and Vietnam Jungle Marathon 70 to qualify and is the most tipped potential champion. But isn’t 75km on a very technical mountain trail a bit too much for his very fast legs? The same can be said about Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura. Super fast on road marathon, and increasingly resilient on technical trails, but this is Mt Apo... Enter the pure mountain goats like aforementioned Arief Wismoyono, Malaysia’s Milton Amat and Wilsen Singgin and last but not least Quang Tran from Vietnam. Of all the highest ranked runners, Quang Tran is the least mentioned as a potential winner tomorrow, primarily because he is relatively unknown outside Vietnam still. He can change all that as we understand he is highly motivated to prove himself this weekend. We remember his easy victory in the Mantra Summits Challenge 116km race last July. Again, that race is the closest reference to what runners will get tomorrow. Malaysia arguably has the strongest team of all in the ATM Final, men and women, and are the top favourites to clinch the new ATM Team Championship. The finish times of the best 3 men and best 3 women of each team will be accumulated to produce the team result. Until a month or two ago, Sabah’s Milton Amat was arguably the man-to-beat in the Mt Apo Sky Race. Milton this season was better than ever. Maybe he still is, but the fact is that he has done a lot of racing over the past weeks so questions have been raised about his physical and mental state going into this last race of the year. If Milton Amat were to win tomorrow, a lot of training books would need to be rewritten, and we would certainly love that. Malaysia has more irons in the fire, however. Mohammad Affindi has also been exceptionally strong this year with wins in BUTM and Bali Trail Challenge. He could cause the upset if he has a good day, just like teammate Wilsen Singgin. You never really know with Singgin, who can be either superbly strong or remarkably below-par. In any case, Mount Apo is the kind of terrain Singgin, winner of MMTF 2021 and UT Chiang Rai 230 in 2019, likes a lot. Amir Zaki and Jeffery Budin - both race winners themselves this ATM season - are excellent backups and potential ‘helpers’ for Team Malaysia. Helping your teammates is allowed in the ATM Final, including carrying extra water or food for the captains - as long as every single runner respects the mandatory gear requirements. Mt Apo Sky Race is an out-and-back course, so the faster runners will come across the more slower ones at some point.

We have not even mentioned Team Pilipinas, the home favourites, and their star runner Arnie Macaneras, who will be running really in his own backyard. Nobody knows Mount Apo better than Macaneras and Sean Aying. Two weeks ago at Cordillera Mountain Ultra, Macaneras proved to be reaching his top level again at the right time. Many co-favourites fear him, and they have every reason to. Sadly, Philippines will be missing Larry Apolinario, who has been advised not to run by his physioterapist as an injury he sustained while winning MUSPO 100 in July is still not properly healed and recent race results suggest that it is doing Apolinario more damage than good. His

place in the team is taken last-minute by Rhys Pawid. Angelito Vertudazo is the fourth runner in the team. Poy Brillantes qualified by right as well, but a professional emergency prevented him from taking the flight from Manila to Davao yesterday.

The women’s home team will also miss CMU winner Cecille Wael, who unfortunately opted out just a few days ago. For the potential replacements Aggy Sabanal and Angelie Blanco it was too late to still make the trip to Davao.

The women’s race tomorrow is excepted to be an exciting first-time battle between Vietnam’s new star Hau Ha and Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops. Both are unbeaten in ATM this season and actually looked unbeatable, too. Hong Kong-based Hungarian Ezster Csillag was also qualified for the ATM Final and keen to compete, but her busy racing schedule over the past weeks resulted into too much fatigue. The dual between Hau Ha and Vanja Cnops will be mouthwatering, though. For Hau Ha, on paper, it will be the first race she will normally be genuinely tested by another female competitor, who on top has faster road running times than herself, and credentials as a national cross-country and trail athlete. Vanja Cnops has been in Santa Cruz for a week and loved it. She has never run longer than 70km, however. Similar with Jeff Campbell, that is her alleged handicap, given Hau Ha has proven she can handle even 100km very well by comfortably winning Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100 overall, i.e. beating all the men in the process. The Vietnamese ace, who only started competing for real last March, is still prone to nutritional issues, however, and that could cost her against a seasoned runner like Cnops, who has been in several running ‘wars’ already.

Everyone expects those two ladies to fight for the victory and the ATM title, but behind them the battle for third place is also wide open. Julie Ann Morales and Irish Glorioso from Philippines will be keen to get a strong result, Malaysia has Sally Yap and Izzah Hazirah as arguable likeliest podium candidates, Vietnam also has Ngoc Lien Trinh and Lan Huong Vu, and Indonesia has its technical mountain ultra specialist Shindy Patricia in the race, too. From Japan, we can also expect Moeko Yasugahira to fight for third place.

The 75km race will be covered live on our usual ATM media channels, and there will be live GPS tracking of all the runners via: https://live.asiatrailmaster.com/mtaposkyrace22/

The home team is known! Team Pilipinas for the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship Final will consist of Arnie Macaneras, Larry Apolinario, Sean Aying, Angelito Vertudazo and Poy Brillantes in the men’s, and Cecille Wael, Irish Glorioso, Emily Raga, Rhea Batac and Julie Ann Morales in the women’s. Last weekend’s Cordillera Mountain Ultra concluded the Filipino ranking for this ATM season, as nobody of the potential contenders is lining up at Izu Trail Journey in Japan this coming Sunday.

Some of the qualified runners were already guaranteed of their team spot before CMU, and underlined why they may also play a very prominent role in the Mount Apo Sky Race on 17 December. Arnie Macaneras has shown increasing form over the past weeks, and Cecille Wael found speed and resilience we had not come to expect from her so late in a season, in which she was accumulating podiums once again without an ATM race win. Both of them have experience on Mount Apo, too. Macaneras lives in Davao and it’s basically his home terrain. Nobody of the ATM Finalists knows the mountain trail better than him. Ces Wael, she ran the 2019 edition of the Mt Apo Sky Race. She came fourth. Post-covid, however, Wael has reached a higher competitive level.

Team Pilipinas is strong overall and will be a great challenger for Team Malaysia and Vietnam, and others, for the ATM Team Title (ranking will be based on race result of best 3 men and best 3 women of the teams). Larry Apolinario may have struggled with his stomach and nutrition in races abroad the past few months, but let’s not forget his dominating display at MUSPO 100 in July and the Sierra Madre Trail (ATM Candidate Race) in May. As it goes in elite sports, today, nobody may be thinking of Apolinario as a potential championship winner…. but wait and he might just as well upset the whole order. Macaneras and Apolinario are in theory the fastest men, and they will be backed up by two more Mindanao talents - Sean Aying and Angelito Vertudazo, and Luzon’s mountain trail expert Poy Brillantes. Brilliantes had a late surge in the rankings thanks to his performances in South Korea at the Ulju Trail 9 Peaks and CMU. Just outside the top 5 we find Koy Grey, who scored very well in both his two comeback races, and Yojong Sacayle, who unfortunately was not in a position to fly to CMU and saw himself being overtaken on points as a result. They are the two reserves in case one of the top 5 cannot make it.

Behind Ces Wael, we find Irish Glorioso - who kind of quietly collected bags of points in four races this season. She never finished outside the top 6 and was 2nd in UTOP in Penang early October. Emily Raga was already qualified before the weekend, too, and decided to take a rest after what was a very busy period for her in the middle of the season. Emily will be well-rested in two weeks, normally, and we are curious to see if she can carry the fast speed she often has shown in the early parts of races towards a longer distance, in this case the 75km of Mt Apo Sky Race. Rhea Batac is always a solid finisher, and when she decides to push can actually challenge for a podium place. Second place in Jember Hills Classic in Indonesia this year was evidence of that. Julie Ann Morales is new to trail running and entered the scene with some impressive results, including a win at The Punisher and third place, just behind Ces Wael, at MUSPO 100. Morales is highly motivated to give it her best at her home race in the outfit of Team Pilipinas by OTSO. On the reserve list for women, we actually have two very strong runners: Aggy Sabanal and Angelie Cabalo. Sabanal did not make the team despite one victory and one second place, because the others had three or more races this season (remember it’s a four-best-count system). Cabalo is the exciting newcomer, who burst onto the ATM scene just ten days ago by winning MMTF 100 as an unknown. Cabalo was still tired from that performance at CMU last Sunday, but nevertheless still got third place. Even if both are not at the start line this year, both Cabalo and Sabanal - back from maternity leave after finishing 2nd in the 2018 ATM Championship - will certainly be Filipino protagonists in ATM next year.

We are one month away from the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship conclusion, and the national country teams are beginning to take shape. Throughout the year, runners have been able to collect ATM points in all races on our calendar and many of them are, today, already guaranteed of a place in the top 5 of their country in the ATM rankings. For some other Asian top runners, there’s still work to be done if they want to be part of the Mount Apo Sky Race in Davao, Phlippines on 17 December, location of this year’s championship decider. The Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival and the Cordillera Mountain Ultra, Malnad Ultra and Izu Trail Journey, are the last chances to score points. Especially for a spot in the home team, Team Pilipinas, these last few races will have quite some significance. But even on the similarly competitive Malaysian trail scene, arguably the top guy is not yet guaranteed of his spot in the team for the ATM Final.

Let’s do a round-up for some of the leading country teams going into the final weeks of Season VII.

Philippines

The battle for the five spots (five for men, five women) is a tight one in the home country. Due to the covid crisis, organising events and traveling was difficult for Filipinos so quite a few competitive runners are banking on MMTF and CMU in particular to get inside their country’s team for the Mount Apo Sky Race 75 in Davao in Mindanao. The current men’s ranking is led by Larry Apolinario (830 points) and Sean Aying (825 points), but nobody is already guaranteed of qualification. Davao’s own Arnie Macaneras, in particular, sits in 7th place at 450 points and needs a good result at MMTF or he risks being left outside. Kristian Joergensen is signed up for both MMTF and CMU, and could still enter the game being a long-term resident in the Philippines. John Ray Onifa is registered for the 50k at MMTF, but even winning that one race won’t be enough anymore for him to qualify. Remember: race winners score 500 points, 450 for 2nd, 425 for 3rd and so on. Each runner’s best four results of the year are taken into account for the final ranking.

In the women’s ranking, busy bees Emily Raga and Rhea Batac have basically both secured their places already. The question is who will join them on Mt Apo: Julie Ann Morales, Ces Wael and Irish Glorioso are holding the spots for now, but Aggy Sabanal and Janet Halcon will be trying to sneak one away in the coming races.

Malaysia

The top 3 in the men’s and women’s ranking are as good as safe already. Wilsen Singgin, Mohamad Affindi and the surprising UTOP winner Jeffery Budin all scored enough points already. It’s not quite the case yet for Amir Zaki and, especially, Milton Amat. The Sabahan lead runner currently has only 2 ATM results this season, and even though it’s two big victories, his countrymen like to run a lot and it’s four results over a season that are taken into account. Milton will be competing at MMTF and can be expected to safeguard his place in Team Malaysia, however. As a matter of fact, several people argue Mount Apo is the ideal territory for Milton Amat to become ATM Champion this year. It may indeed be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for him. Other Malaysians who will still compete for a spot in the men’s team are Ben Siong Lee, Daved Simpat and Bernardo Linus.

In the women’s, exciting newcomers Sally Yap and Halimatun Sa’adiah already secured their spots, together with La Sportiva’s Norlela Ismail, who proves that consistency across four ATM races can bring you a long way. The remaining two spots will be contested between Chong Mi Chin, Trisha Thow (currently dealing with an injury, though), Izzah Hazirah, Sum Mei Soh and Siti Hajar Razali.

Indonesia

A complicated season for Indonesian trail runners, also due to international travel issues in the aftermath of covid. As in the Philippines, only three instead of four points races in 2022, so the rankings have been modest. One exception: long-term Bali resident Thimo Kilberth has made the step forward to ATM’s top tier and could be an important alley for former ATM Champion and in-form Arief Wismoyono on Mount Apo. Expected to be in Team Indonesia is also the young and promising Akmad Nizar. Nizar is also scheduled to compete at MMTF next week.

Shindy Patricia has emerged as the leading mountain runner in Indonesia this year, as former ATM champion Ruth Theresia returned from a covid-induced running break and selected her races carefully. Ruth will be missed in the Philippines, but Shindy finds a mountain that will suit her skillset very much. She may be joined by newcomer and talented Mantra Summits 75 winner Siti Nuraini and Novita Wulandari.

Japan

Hisashi Kitamura has been looking forward to Mount Apo and the ATM Final in particular since 2019, when he narrowly lost out on the title against John Ellis. Kitamura this year has focused on ATM and guaranteed his qualification already very early in the season. While he was outstanding in the period March to July, his form has dropped since, however. Also caught by covid during VJM mid-October, Kitamura has not been able to follow his training programme and finds himself on the backfoot going into December. Some say the additional resting time will do him good, and we will see the best Karate Kit again on Mt Apo. Time will tell. In any case, he has a strong team by his side - in theory. Yuta Matsuyama, Tomohiro Mizukoshi, Seiji Morofuji and Fuminori Kondo are all experienced trail runners and very familiar with Southeast Asian conditions.

The women’s team from Japan could offer some surprises. Most runners scored points in the Korean and Japanese races this season, and are less known in Southeast Asia. Tamae Harada is leading the ranking, but is for sure a DNS in the Philippines due to visa update reasons for her resident country Vietnam. Let’s watch out for Asami Kimio, Moeko Yasugahira and others!

Vietnam

The country that has seen enormous growth in trail running over the past few years will have two of the top favourites for this year’s Asia Trail Master title: Quang Tran and Hau Ha. While the former has been around already for quite some years, the latter is brand new onto the scene. Both are already secured of their spot in Team Vietnam, and they will be flanked by runners who can play a great supporting role as well. Nguyen Si Hieu won’t be able to join them despite his qualification, though. Thang Hoang Huu, Nguyen Duc Tuan Anh, Pham Duc Tuan and Bui Van Da are expected to join Quang Tran on Mount Apo, with Nhon Trong as first reserve.

Hau Ha will have the support of Thi Lan Huong Vu, Phuong Nguyen and Ngoc Lien Trinh. Vy Le Phuong is in the best position right now to secure the fifth spot.

Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia

Kim Jisub from South Korea and reigning and defending ATM Champion John Ellis will definitely be ones to watch out for. Ellis, Australian but long-term resident of Hong Kong prefers to run in the colours of his resident country. That gives Team Hong Kong a big name and arguably the only reasonable podium candidate this season. Kim Jisub is a 50k specialist who has not yet raced very often in Southeast Asia, but having won Seoul 50k and UNTP 45k in October there is no doubt he is a potential ATM Champion this year. The Korean team could actually turn out to be surprisingly strong with also Junghyun Lim, Jang Dong Kuk, Jae-Duk Sim and Youngmin Yoon qualified at this stage. Boyoung Jan, Gyesook Lee, Jung Soon Park and Hyunja Kim are very solid women in the team, too. Korea could turn out to be the suprise team champion.

In Thailand, Arnon Srimat and Chonlada Kappiyanond are arguably heading the team. Danon Rattanatumrong is a potential podium candidate, but his qualification is not yet fully guaranteed. In Singapore, Deric Lau has been a great newcomer this season, as is female mountain runner Vincere Zeng. Also Lem Chee Ng, Steve Chia and Trung Nguyen are already qualified, as is Chin Chin Lee for the women’s. For Australia, David Longo is qualified and could be a dangerman for the podium on Mount Apo, too. Longo has proven to be in the best shape of his trail life last month in the two Hong Kong races.

Team Asia Expat

The elephant in the room. The best-scoring expats across Asia will be united under Team Asia Expat and it is bound to have some big names and race favourites. Gaetan Morizur, Frenchman based in Vietnam, is leading this ranking but won’t be able to travel, however, as his wife is due giving birth around the time of the event. Jeff Campbell, Malachy KIrwan and Eirik Knudsen are basically all qualified already. Campbell just won VJM 70k in impressive style and has been focusing on Mount Apo, so whoever wants to become champion this season will need to get by Campbell. One former champion who is currently unranked but set to compete in both MMTF and CMU is Alessandro Sherpa. As the 2018 ATM Champion, it is sufficient for Sherpa to finish two ATM races this year to qualify for the Final.

In the women’s expat team we have Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops, who has won all her 3 ATM races this season so far. She is most likely going to be joined by none other than Hong Kong-based Hungarian Ezster Csillag, winner of UM Sai Kung 58 in October and about to race MMTF next week. Those two races should theoretically provide Csillag with enough points to hunt for the ATM Championship title alongside Cnops. Fascinating that will be! Especially with an exciting Vietnamese newbie who can’t wait to race against the two. Also in a good position to enter Team Asia Expat are Isabelle Bedard and Carly Balmforth.

Most likely we will still be welcoming qualified runners from Brunei Darussalam and India as well.

Apart from the individual championship, there is also a team championship. The race times of the fastest three men and women of each team will be added up to produce the team’s finish time.

All details on the Mount Apo Sky Race can be checked on our dedicated webpage. Runners are also advised to familiarise themselves with the race regulations and the mandatory gear requirements.

It’s busy weeks on the ATM circuit and the trail racing continues this weekend with the final points race in Thailand for 2022, the Doi Nhok Trail near Chiang Mai. The second edition of this event unfortunately threatens to be overhadowed by the WMTRC event, which got rescheduled from last year to this weekend and which also takes place in the Chiang Mai area. Some of the biggest names in ATM and in Thailand, and other neighbouring countries and regions, e.g. John Ellis, Milton Amat, Jeff Campbell, Ezster Csillag, Sally Yap, Ruth Theresia, John Ray Onifa and Jay Jantaraboon have received the opportunity to measure themselves on a global stage. As a consequence, we expect instead to discover several new faces at Doi Nhok Trail. The start list of the event is in any case very long. The list of race distance categories is unfortunately also very long. ATM Championship points will be scored on the 125k and the 58 km races. But runners on the Grandmaster Quest can do 80km, 125km or even 100 miles.

Last weekend’s 9 Dragons in Langkawi, an ATM Candidate Race label event, saw a very nice victory by Andy Chong Chi Lee on the main 50/50 category, that is 50 miles on Saturday and 50 km on Sunday. Lee made the difference on Sunday, when he distanced Singapore’s Lem Chee Ng - with whom he had finished together a day earlier. Siokhar Lim was, as expected, the only female finisher of the 50/50. Francesco Floris ran with her quite a bit to be third in the men’s. The 50 miles single race was won by Ben Hails and Law Bee Chiao. The 50k single race went to Radzi Mokhtar and Gladys Ang.

The plagued Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping has now been forced to reschedule the event date as a consequence of Malaysia’s national elections taking place on the original weekend of 19/20 November. MMTF is now set for one week later. Both the 100km and 50km races have a very competitive field of entrants, hopefully most of them can still make it on the new date. Along with Malnad Ultra in India, Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Philippines and Izu Trail Journey in Japan, MMTF is one of the final points races for the 2022 ATM rankings, and thus opportunity for runners to get into their national country team for the ATM Championship Final on Mount Apo in Davao, Philippines, on 17 December.

A media conference on the Mount Apo Sky Race event was held in Davao City this week and can be watched here.

Runners who are currently in the Top of their country ranking will receive all details on the event in the coming days. As previously announced, all qualifiers will get free race entry for the 75k Final race, free 3-night accommodation, free country team t-shirts, and free airport shuttle services from/to Davao City.

Andy Chong Chi Lee scored a very nice victory in the 50/50 of the 9 Dragons Langkawi

We are happy to reveal the first set of national country team t shirts for the 2022 ATM Championship Final race in Philippines on 17 December. With special thanks to the designers and manufacturers of the Tees! All the qualified runners for the 75K ATM Final at the Mount Apo Sky Race in Santa Cruz, Davao, Philippines on 17 December will receive 2 pieces of this running tee. Wearing the T shirt during the race is mandatory.

This year’s ATM Final will for the first time be held in a winner-takes-all race and held in national teams of maximum five male and five female runners. Runners will be competing for the individual’s men’s title, individual women’s title and team title. The team result will be based on accumulating the best three male and best three female runner times of each team.

Overview national team tees:

• Team Philippines (by OTSO)

• Team Malaysia (by T8)

• Team Vietnam (by Mude)

• Team Thailand (by T8)

• Team Japan (by OTSO)

• Team Singapore (by UGLOW Sport)

• Team Indonesia (by Summit)

• Team Hong Kong (by T8)

• Team Korea (by OTSO)

• Team Australia (by T8)

Coming soon: Team Indonesia, Team China, Team India, Team Asia Expat

We are pleased to announce that global beer brand San Miguel will be a popular sponsor at the forthcoming Mount Apo Sky Race, the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship Final event in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur. The Filipino company has its headquarters in Davao and will be refreshing all finishers with their selection of traditional beers, but also their new range of non-alcoholic beverages. The event will have its start and finish line set up at the Playa de Obuza Beach Resort, right next to the ocean, on 17 December.

Companies and brands that wish to sponsor our biggest event of the season are of course welcome to contact Asia Trail Master and Vertical To Sky to find out more about available opportunities. Please click the button below to connect to our dedicated ATM Final Webpage for further information.

We are happy to announce that the Mount Apo Sky Race in Philippines will feature as the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship final on 17 December. The winner-takes-all Championship race, organised by Vertical To Sky with Doi Calbes as race director, will take place on the original 70k trail route used in 2015 and 2017, plus a 3k extension to the beach in Santa Cruz, one hour south of Davao City in MIndanao. Mount Apo is the highest mountain in Philippines with an elevation of 2954m above sea level. The ATM Championship race will thus run from the beach to the highest peak of the country and back.

As of this year, runners need to qualify to take part in the ATM Championship Final by ranking in the top 5 of their country. Points can be earned throughout the season in races on the ATM Championship calendar. The final race will be held in country teams format of maximum five men and five women per country. Qualified runners will start the Mt Apo Sky Race 75k in two separate waves: women at 5 am and men at 6 am. The winners, male and female, will be crowned as the 2022 ATM Champions, following in the footsteps of John Ellis and Veronika Vadovicova. The top 10 will be rewarded on the podium with significant prizes. In addition, the best performing country team will also be crowned as ATM Team Champion. The country result will be based on the accumulated finish times of the best three male runners and best three female runners in each team (= 6 finishing times in total). More details can be read here.

Please note that the event also has a mass-participation race of 100k, open to the general public, which will start earlier at night. The scene is set for an unforgettable weekend in Davao!

Stay tuned for more details to come out in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, book your diaries for a fantastic weekend in Davao on 16/17/18 December.

This is the course map of the 70K race in 2017, which will be used for the ATM Final. The only difference will be start & finish on the beach, adding almost 6km tot the total distance

Mount Apo, highest peak of the Philippines at nearly 3000m above sea level. Also the turning point of the race.

Click on the image to read the story of the four men’s winners of the Mt Apo Sky Race so far

Click on the image to read the story of the four women’s winners of the Mt Apo Sky Race so far

 

The Mount Apo Sky Race in Santa Cruz, Davao sul Sur, is supposed to be celebrating its 5th anniversary this coming 25 April. The corona virus epidemic has, unfortunately, thrown a spanner in the works. The event has been postponed upon governmental order to a new date later this year, which will be announced before the end of March. The Mount Apo Sky Race is an iconic event in the Philippines because Mount Apo is the highest peak of the country at 2954m above sea level. Situated near the coast and Davao, the biggest city on the large southern island of Mindanao, the higher slopes of the mountain als offer amazing vistas of the surrounding region. Mount Apo captures the imagination, not only for local and Filipino trail runners, but also from those across the Asian continent. Climbing the mountain is very tough in its own right, and having to do it as part of a trail race that has developed into a 100K ultra is a challenge for everyone at each single attempt. Moreover, the area is sensitive and not always open for hikers and tourists. Being part of a field of maximum 100 runners on the 100K category is already reason to be happy for many. Time to take a look back at the Mount Apo Sky Race and those runners who have managed to crown themselves as race champions since its inauguration in 2015. Ten days ago we put the spotlight on the women, today in this second episode, we focus on the four men who conquered the Mount Apo Sky Race: Jonathan Pido (2015), Pablo Diago Gonzales (2017), David Gianelli (2018) and Ronie Torlao (2019). But first, we talk to the founder and race director, Mr Doi Calbes.

By Kris Van de Velde

Romualdo Calbes, better known as Doi Calbes, is the founder of Vertical 2 Sky based in Davao and has been organising quite a number of trail running events on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines for quite some years by now. Calbes runs himself, too. He is an ATM Grandmaster since 30 September 2018 and has a particular taste for the really long ultra distances.

ATM: What brought you on the idea to set up the Mt Apo Sky Race in 2015?
Calbes: All I want was to bring the sport of trail running here to Mindanao, to prove that mountain running exists and it is possible to do it.
ATM: Mt Apo is usually closed for tourists. Is that still the case, and how did you get the approval to hold the race back then? Yup! Every Holy Week in the month of April Mt. APO Sta Cruz trail is closed for tourist and hikers, and its only open for the race. Thanks to the LGU Sta Cruz & PAMB DENR for letting us to use the National Park at least a day or two for the event.
ATM: What are the technical difficulties of managing this race?
When it comes to technicalities it is 100% loveliness. But of course, three days without sleep has never been enough to manage this race. I am always thankful for all the support from the Local Government, volunteers, rescue teams, and the local tribes around Mt Apo.
ATM: The 100k race is limited to 100 runners. What is the main reason for that? Do you think this number can be increased in the future?
The main reason to limit the participants is to minimize the impact to our National Park. I think 100 runners is enough, it is also what makes this race prestigious and special. Getting in is tough, let alone winning it.
What is the local response to the short distance categories?
Yes, no sweat for them locals running on a short distance, for them 50k is the new 5k, haha! 100k and other ultramarathon distances are really mainstream now a days. We have had different winners on the long distance every year, both in the male and female category.
Is there any winner who stands out for you as the “most impressive”?
Yup! Torlao .
What do you expect of the race this year? Still awesome and lovely even though we a have an issue around the globe with this virus. We will have a meeting with all local stakeholders in the course of the next two weeks and come up with a new date, hopefully. We welcome everyone and are aiming for a huge success. See you all soon at the starting line!!

2015: Jonathan Pido

“A 100% YES that I saw myself as a potential race winner”

— Jonathan Pido

Jonathan Pido was the winner of the inaugural editon of the Mount Apo Sky Race. “It was promoted as a major event,” says Pido. “I gladly joined as the trail route was really challenging but also had beautiful views. A 100% YES that I saw myself as a potential winner, too! At the start I was only 10th in rank in the first few kilometres of the race, but then as it went on, I was able to slowly get ahead of the others and eventually I was the first one to cross the finish line. I remember as I reached the summit it was very cold, but despite that I was able to witness an amazing, beautiful view that Mt. Apo gives us.”

Pido’s victory had a deeper meaning also for him: “Aside from being able to truly appreciate the nature around me, I became a nature lover as they say, I was also able to prove to myself that I am someone that can achieve the things that I am determined to accomplish. A conqueror of different obstacles that I am confronted with, and finally, I became a Certified Trail Runner that day. “

If given an opportunity, Jonathan Pido would happily run the Mt Apo Sky Race again, five years after his glory day. But Pido is a busy bee and does not restrict himself to trail running in his free time. “ After I won the 2015 Mt. Apo, I participated in several local competitions and was able to place first in for example Mt. Kalatungan Trail Challenge, The Punisher on Babak Samal, and three times the Mapawa Trail Run. I was also able to participate in an international event. Aside from trail running, I also participate in Ultramarathon Road Events and became champion in 50km, 80km, 100km, 260km, 300km, and 400km events. Right now I am focusing mainly on Triathlon, and especially the Iron Man type events.

2017: Pablo Diago Gonzales

“ I definitively place Mt Apo’s 2017 victory as one of my best sporting achievements so far. ”

— Pablo Diago Gonzales

“One of the things I enjoy most about trail running is discovering new places, “ says Pablo Diago Gonzales. The Spaniard works and lives in Singapore and has been a multiple race winner and podium placer across the continent in our Asia Trail Master series. He also ended the 2017 and 2018 ATM Championship seasons as 4th and 5th respectively. So far, 2017 was his Grand Cru, the year when he also won the Mount Apo Sky Race.

“ In 2017 I hadn’t done any races in Philippines yet so when I saw the event on the ATM calendar it caught my attention.  It’s no secret that I enjoy mountain races, especially those involving challenging climbs and Mt Apo certainly qualifies as challenging.  I also liked the fact that it was the highest mountain in the country and we were climbing it all the way from sea level.  Easy logistics were a plus, luckily Mt Apo is easily accessed from Davao and I have direct flights there from Singapore.”

“At the time of the event I was slowly getting back into shape following some rest. At my previous race a few weeks before (Sungai Menyala in Malaysia) I had hit the wall very hard so I wasn’t overly confident about my fitness.  I knew the mountain terrain and cooler weather would favour my strengths so I was hoping to at least have a much better day.  Before the event I thought I could be a contender for the podium if everything went to plan.”

The weather turned nasty on the day with just a few hours till the start at midnight. Pablo recalls: “Before the start there was a big storm, but luckily Rene Amigleo and his family had taken me to shelter were they were staying.  We got to the start with just enough time to get ready before the gun went off.  The first part of the race was relatively runnable and Rexel Aguirre took off like a bullet. I stayed behind with Aleksis Capili and other runners, including a horse that didn’t allow us to overtake him for a few minutes!”

“As we continued climbing, the terrain became more technical and it was challenging to find the way in the dark especially across a couple of rivers that probably had more water than usual.  I didn’t see Rexel on the way up, but when I reached the last stop before summit attack I was told that I was in the lead. Later I found out that he had missed an intersection on the way up.  The boulder face was as challenging as expected, I thought I was making only slow progress, but I didn’t come across anyone until after the boulder section coming back down again, so I realized I had a healthy lead.  On the way back I enjoyed crossing paths with the rest of the field (it’s an out and back course), shaking hands and even stopping for pictures with some participants.  The last few km were tough, it was getting very hot and I was worried someone would come from behind so I was really relieved when I reached the finish line. “

Pablo enjoyed his moment at the summit of Mount Apo: “I took a short breather to take in the view, because the last section of the climb is hard. I got to the top in the early hours of the day and was lucky to have beautiful weather. Mt Apo is not that high but it’s very close to the coast and doesn’t have other similar size mountains around so the views are very special.”

Gonzales is a bit of an all-round athlete and has always been quite successful in competition. “I’ve been racing MTB and running since 1996 so I know how difficult it is to win any event; so the few times I’ve been in that position are very special moments.  Winning a tough ultra is even more satisfying; I definitively place Mt Apo’s 2017 victory as one of my best sporting achievements so far. “

The Spaniard is one of those who enjoys returning to an event he likes. “For example, there is a MTB race in Spain that I have done 13 times, even twice when I had already moved to Singapore! So, a year after winning Apo, I went back to try and win it again, but David Gianelli and Jag Lanante were stronger on the day.  This year I’m finding it difficult to plan with all the event cancellation/deferrals, Mt Apo is one of the options I’m considering at the moment and if I go I’d like to be competitive.”

2018: David Gianelli

“It was a really beautiful day. Winning was just the cherry on the pie”

— David Gianelli

Do you remember David Gianelli? Before Alessandro Sherpa entered the ATM scene, he was the first Italian making headlines in our series with a strong 100K race win in Indonesia prior to attacking the Mount Apo Sky Race in April 2018. As Pablo Diago Gonzales mentions above, two years ago the sympathetic David Gianelli was just too strong for everyone else. With hindsight, it was also his last moment of glory in trail running.

“I had always wanted to visit the Philippines,” David Giannelli says. “My girlfriend is Philipina, and the timing in April 2018 was perfect with me leaving Australia, where I had been working, around then. Going to the top of the highest mountain in Philippines was atttractive, so the choice to run was quite easy to make. But I never expected anything before a race. I never thought about the finish line until I actually crossed it, because you never knew what could happen. I can't deny that I was pretty confident after my race preparation, but I was concerned about the heat. So I went in with an open mind.

2018 was an edition that had its fair share of unforeseen circumstances. In one area of the course, political unrest developed on race day and a few runners, including Gianelli, even came face-to-face with army soldiers. “The race for me started really well. I felt good and the chilly temperature of the night really helped me to keep a good pace. I was just keeping steady behind two local runners. Thank God I had decided to stay with them at first because when we suddenly faced the soldiers, those local runners were able to communicate properly with them so there was no bigger problem and we are allowed to continue. The Apo climb then, there was some passage really steep and technical, but really nice. I don't exactly remember when I took the lead, but it was still before halfway and going up the mountain. Unfortunately, during the climb a race steward - I guess - sent me in the wrong direction so I followed the signs of another multisport competition that was taking place on the same day. I lost 20 minutes or so , so when I came back on the right trail I pushed soo much because I thought I lost some positions. For me the real challenge then started when the sun came out and started burning. I got really exhausted by the heat until I approached the summit where luckily it was slightly windy. That last part of the Apo climb was so hard that I really couldn't enjoy the beautiful view. I did it for only a few seconds and I started to descend.

Once back down the race was halted by race director Doi Calbes at the km 80 mark for security reasons. Nobody complained, and in any case David Gianelli was far ahead in the lead.

“it was a beautiful day with friends, and where I met beautiful people, with really incredible hospitality I couldn't have asked for nothing more. Winning was just a cherry on top of the pie!,” says the Italian, who reshuffled his life not long after adding his name to the Mt Apo record book.

“Today, I am in Koh Tao in Thailand. Since I started my career as a diving instructor I have given up running. After the disappointing adventure in Penang Eco 100 about a month after Apo (where he DNFd after losing the right trail but was never in contention for a podium finish, kvdv), I decided that I don't have the motivation anymore… I don't think I'll ever run a competition anymore. I may restart running but I think I'll not race anymore in a competitive way.. even though I do miss the feeling at times.” .

2019: Ronie Torlao

Pic: Ronie Torlao

“It was my first 100km race!”

— Ronie Torlao

Last year saw the emergence of Ronie Torlao as a new ultra force to be reckoned with in Philippines and beyond. Ronie was the fastest using his experience of the terrain as a mountain guide on Mt Apo.

“It was my dream to run a 100km trail race, not just the Mt. APO Skyrace but also other races outside the Philippines. I did not expect anything when I went to the starting area. All I wanted was to finish. I would already have been happy with that,” says Ronie Torlao. “After flag off, for the first ten kilometres I was with the 10 frontrunners. I still had no intention to lead by myself because it was my first 100km trail race ever. Koi Grey and Julito were with me. After aid station 5 around 40km, that was the time I broke away even though I felt tired and already had quite some body aches. But I was able to build a gap. Reaching the summit of Apo, I was enlightened and felt rejuvinated because there was a clear blue sky and a perfect view.”

It was indeed quite amazing that Ronie Torlao left behind an established top runner as Koi Grey in his first try at a 100k trail race. “For me it was a dream come true and it was really a great achievement to win”
Will Ronie be back to try and win it again this year? “I will try my best and hopefully I can do it again!