The 3rd Bukit Lawang Orang Utan Trail in North Sumatra once again proved the depth of young trail running talent on the large Indonesian island. A clean sweep on the men’s 50k podium for local runners with Erwin Simanjuntak scoring his second consecutive race win in Bukit Lawang and even in a more impressive style than a year ago. In the women’s 50k it was wonderful to see our popular 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia returning to victory lane after six years and this for the 11th time in her ATM trail journey - a new female record.

Traditional sunny and hot conditions for the race after the previous night’s heavy rainfall. The 50km started earlier than in previous editions at 4:30am, but followed the same pattern with a very runable 20km+ through plantations before the runners went steep up into the rainforest, where they disappeared on tough and often very technical trails. Erwin Simanjuntak, Lindra Mulfanis and Noel Pakpahan were jointly in the lead at that more or less halfway point, and Hong Kong-based Australian David Longo following closely behind. No Andre Sinaga this year, but Mulfanis and Pakpahan replaced him as solid challengers for Simanjuntak. Still, the latter confirmed his amazing talent by outgunning the other two and finishing in 5h47 - no fewer than 20 minutes faster than his own time last year! Lindra Mulfanis arrived in 6h21 as second - a fine result as well for a newbie. For reference, last year Chris Timms ran 6h18 in this race. Noel Pakpahan completed the top 3 shortly afterwards, and then it was David Longo and Slamed Riyadi.

Ruth Theresia on her part was leading the race more or less from start to finish. Her 11th ATM race victory came 5,5 years after her previous one at UT Nan in Thailand, where she secured her championship title at the time. Ruth focused on other objectives after that, and the covid crisis was not kind to her neither. Her comeback was marred by injuries, but this year she had already showed a return to competitive form at the 9 Dragons Hong Kong. By winning Orang Utan Trail she scored her wild card for this season’s ATM Final at Borneo TMBT in September, and she took the lead in the all-time female victory list. She now has 1 ATM race win more than Malaysia’s Tahira Najmunisaa, now mainly a duathlete, and four more than Australia’s Kim Matthews and Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova.

2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia had to wait 6 years to add an 11th race victory to her record

Lindra Mulfanis is a great young newcomer on the ATM scene with a second place

For David Longo, fourth was the highest achievable in Bukit Lawang

The 3rd edition of Bukit Lawang Orang Utan Trail is set for Sunday morning, 12 May. The boutique event in the picturesque riverside town of Bukit Lawang in North Sumatra, Indonesia, has been one of the most popular newcomers on the ATM scene, offering a solid organisation in a great place featuring a fun arena with a big marquee tent, a varied running course and - of course - orang utans in the rainforest. Compared to last year, the start time of the 50km ATM points race has moved forward to 4:30 am, so more runners can avoid the heat of mid-day.

The race course is largely unchanged, which means a very runable first half around and through plantations followed by a technical second half characterised by single and hilly rainforest trails that can also be slippery. However, runners enjoy sliding on those descending trails in Bukit Lawang. The orang utans can be seen, too. They are roaming freely and approach the river in the early morning, so of course not every single runner may be fortunate to meet them. Incidentally, runners on the 25km and 10km short courses tend to have more luck in this.

The 50km race has seen the emergence of great young local trail talent over the past two years. Not in the least a year ago, when Erwin Simanjuntak and Andre Sinaga took the measure of a.o. Chris Timms and Luis Alvelais. Vanja Cnops was a very happy winner in the women’s race last season.

Accommodation is in local homestays, guesthouses or in one swiss-owned hotel on the other side of the riverbank for those looking for something more upmarket. It takes roughly 4 hours to reach Bukit Lawang from Medan airport and a shuttle bus will be arranged. For details on that you can contact the local organising team at Arras Adventures with info@asiatrailmaster.com in copy.

In Bukit Lawang we always discover new Indonesian trail talent

The 2nd edition of the Orang Utan Trail in Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra, again charmed all the event participants with its seemingly easy, yet surprisingly challenging 50k course, the brilliant arena with marquee tent and musical performances, and of course the wonderful orang utans in the grandstand, i.e. their natural habitat in the rainforest around the river village. And, just like a year ago, the local runners took the race by the horn and used the opportunity to show themselves in an international trail running context. As if to tell everyone: we are here, too!

Last year’s Candidate Race winners Ongki Saleh and Ina Lydia Utari did not join the 50k as they are both committed to the military marathon championship taking place next weekend. Their roles were especially taken over by two young boys, one military and one university student, by the names of Erwin Simanjuntak and Andre Sinaga. From the get-go at 6:15 am, they set the pace of the men’s race on the flat and runable wider trails, initially along with Singapore’s Chris Timms. The latter let them run ahead, however, just a couple of kilometres before the first aid station at km 10. Working assumption being they will drop back as soon as they hit the much more technical second half of the race inside the jungle on hilly and muddy single trails.

That proved to be underestimating the skillset and the stamina of these two boys, as Timms was unable to close the gap and had to settle for third ten minutes behind the winner. Simanjuntak turned out to have the fastest dash to the line as he attacked Sinaga on the final downhill trail section leading to a tarmac road towards the finish. A great victory in 6h07’51” for Simanjuntak. Sinaga arrived two minutes later. It is not easy for people on this large island to gain experience and even compete, but we surely hope to see them again soon on the ATM circuit. Especially with the Championship Final being in Indonesia on 2 December: Siksorogo Lawu Ultra in Central Java.

Penang-based Alex Tilley scored a superb 4th and kept even pace with the three guys in front during the second half, underlining he is one the best technical trail runners so far this season on our circuit. The winner of the V Trail in Laos, and 6th place in Cuc Phuong 42km in Vietnam, is now the new overall points leader in the men’s ATM Championship ranking. He already looks comfortable for a qualified entry into the ATM Finals. Another hilly jungle specialist, Jakarta-based Japanese runner Fuminori Kondo also showed his reputation is no joke, as he finished in fifth place after overtaking Jose Luis Alvelais, Mananakbo Washington and Thimo Kilberth. The latter actually suffered a heatstroke and was lucky to be able to walk to the finish in ninth place. Indonesia’s Rusmanto and John Sutanto sprinted for 7th ahead of him. Seiji Morofuji completed the top 10.

The women’s 50k race was dominated by Vanja Cnops, returning from a knee injury. It was her first race of the year, and she found a course she truly loved. She crossed the finish in 7h23 as 7th overall without needing to put extra pressure on her knee. For the SIngapore-based Belgian it was the 5th ATM victory in her running journey. Second place went to up-and-coming Roan Biguasen Gumangan, Filipino but living in Malaysia. It was her second podium of the season, and combined with a 7th place in Sierra Madre Trail a month ago that puts her ahead of Irish Glorioso in the women’s overall ATM points ranking. Gumangan is actually still new to running, having picked up regular training only during the pandemic. Third place went to Heroin Paraluan.

The next edition of the Orang Utan Trail is scheduled for the first weekend of July in 2024.

The next ATM points race in Indonesia will be Mantra 116 for the high mountain lovers, and two weeks later another altitude race, albeit shorter, Dieng Trail Run 50.

Live broadcast of men’s race finish

Finish of female race winner Vanja Cnops

Men’s Finish Compilation of Rank 4 to 9

Live Broadcast of the 50km start

Vanja Cnops was her usual smiling self in her first race of the year coming back from a knee injury

Chris Timms kept the pressure on the two local youngsters, but could not catch them inside the jungle

Penang based Briton Alex Tilley now leads the overall ATM men’s ranking with his 3rd result of the season

Malaysia-based Filipino Roan Gumangan is the new overall points leader in the ATM 2023 ranking

The 2nd edition of the Orang Utan Trail in Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra, marks the first of four ATM points races in Indonesia ahead of the Championship Final in the country on 2/3 December. Domestic runners therefore have a great and easy opportunity to score points in their own country and get qualfiied for Team Indonesia at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra. On Saturday, however, most will be absent and it’s international athletes who start as favourites on the 50km course in the home jungle of the Sumatran Orang Utan, who will undoubtedly be watching the show with curious interest again.

A year ago, Bukit Lawang and organiser Arras Adventures delivered a great newcomer on the trail calendar and put the large island of Sumatra on the ATM map. The Candidate Race gave us a bunch of new running talent with locals like Ongkeh Saleh even winning the main event of 42 km ahead of established competitors like Arief Wismoyono. Arief is out of action due to covid at present, so he won’t be taking revenge on Saturday. Thimo Kilberth on the other hand will give it another go. The Bali-based German was third last year and ranks among the top contenders tomorrow, having fully recovered from his ankle injury sustained in Vietnam two months ago. The Japanese tandem of Fuminori Kondo and Seiji Morofuji, both ATM Finalists last year, will be important challengers for Kilberth. Especially Kondo is very familiar with Indonesian trails, having lived in Jakarta for a while now. Coming into Sumatra from Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia are Chris Timms, Jose Luis Alvelais and Alex Tilley. Timms made a fantastic debut on the ATM circuit late last year with places of honour in the highly competitive MMTF 100 (5th) and the Mount Apo Final (9th). Technically, that means he was ahead of Kondo, Kilberth and Morofuji in that race. Different country and different trails, however. No high mountains in Bukit Lawang but a nice divide between a flattish and runable first half and a technical and bumpy second half on single trails inside the proper rainforest. Alex Tilley showed in February he can handle the latter very well by winning the V Trail in Laos, ATM’s season opener. A good result this weekend will put Tilley on number 1 in the overall ATM Championship ranking, which makes him very much a benchmark already for all expats wishing to qualify for the ATM Final. Alvelais was a great third podium placer on the runable 42km of Cuc Phuong Jungle Paths in Vietnam. For the Mexican of Hong Kong’s Gone Running squad it’s his third ATM race of the season, being one of the unfortunate DNFs at Korea 50k a month ago.

In the women’s competition we look forward to the return of Belgium’s Vanja Cnops. The Singapore resident had a stellar 2022 campaign with a.o. 3 ATM race wins, but suffered a tough injury in the beginning of the year whilst training. The Orang Utan Trail will be her return to racing. Cnops has always been outstanding on the short and medium distance, so if she’s fit it’s hard to bet against her. Other podium contenders are Roan Gumangan, Larissa Nelson, Desi Aryani and Ratna Sudarga. In the case of Malaysia-based Filipino Gumangan, a podium would propel to the overall number 1 spot in the women’s ATM Championship ranking ahead of her compatriot Irish Glorioso. Orang Utan Trail will be her third race of the season.

ATM will be reporting live from Bukit Lawang on Saturday via the usual channels. Livestream of the start and finish - subject to connectivity - and video updates throughout the day.

Check out the race summary of last year’s Candidate Race:

Singapore’s Chris Timms was 9th in last year’s ATM Championship. A podium in Sumatra is on the cards!

Vanja Cnops had a great 2022 season, but a tough injury kept her away from racing so far this year

Thimo Kilberth was 3rd last year and could use that experience to maximum effect on Saturday

Japan’s Fuminori Kondo knows Indonesia well and will be a contender on a 50k like Orang Utan Trail