The 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong has been cancelled, unfortunately, and so no ATM Championship or Grandmaster Quest points will be handed out this weekend. All our attention therefore shifts to the 2021 ATM Candidate Race that is also scheduled for this Sunday: Cau Dat Farm Ultra in Vietnam.
The corona virus situation is currently affecting a lot of countries already, but - touch wood - in the south of Vietnam there is no issue yet and the event can go ahead as planned. Cau Dat Farm Ultra is organised by the well-drilled team of Race Jungle led by Ms Tu Nguyen, who also set up the Tam Dao Mountain Trail a few years ago. On the programme are several race categories with the 55k as the main race featuring several of Vietnam’s finest and former Asia Trail Master champion Alessandro Sherpa.
The Singapore-based Italian decided a few weeks ago to replace 9 Dragons in favour of Cau Dat Farm Ultra as a heavy daily workload following his great second place at Tahura Trail in Indonesia prevented him from focusing on the very tough 2-stager in Hong Kong. However, Sherpa will be challenged on the trails near Dalat. Since MMTF in December, everyone who follows the ATM tour knows who Nhon Trong is and the talented youngster is looking forward to running with the 2018 champion. For Nhon Trong, 84km was the longest and toughest trail race ever and he finished without pressure in 6th place. That was one hour and fifteen minutes behind Sherpa, but Nhon Trong is comfortable with his speed on a shorter and more runable 55k course.
Another Vietnamese runner who could create an upset is Tan Hi. Hailing from Lam Dong, where he is a member of the Athletics Team. Podiuming in several local road races recently, Tan Hi is stepping up a level to compete with Nhon Trong and Alessandro Sherpa on the trails around the oldest tea farm in Vietnam, established and developed for nearly 100 years. In the women’s race we are happy to be seeing new faces, even when Thi Hai Yen Vo is probably the woman-to-beat.
Taking place early in the year, runners can expect cool Spring weather in green tea hills and immense flower fields, with gently sloping paths and unspoilt forests that adorn this plateau. It is also the cherry blossom season, blooming on both sides of the road, sometimes intermingling with a few white flower clusters.
ATM has Mark on the spot at Cau Dat Farm Ultra and we will be reporting live about the race developments throughout the weekend via our Facebook page as usual.
Nhon Trong was delighted with his 6th place at MMTF, his longest and toughest trail till that day
