The first ATM Candidate Race in Sarawak on the Malaysian side of Borneo delivered a great classic dual between Hisashi Kitamura and Milton Amat. On paper, the Jagoi Heritage Trail Run of 50km and 1250 hm looked ideal for the Japanese to assert his characteristics as a runner, but Sabah’s Milton Amat turned out not have any issues at all with the set pace and almost made his victory look easy by outgunning Kitamura in the final technical descent to the finish line. A significant psychological victory for Amat, or should we say ‘blow’ for Kitamura, in light of the upcoming Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 - one of the highlights of the ATM Championship season, and a race Kitamura has targettedr to win after a narrow defeat by the same Milton Amat in 2019.

The Jagoi 50k race was not a first edition, but the first time the competitive field was robust. The local organisers and local village community were also delighted to see some of ATM’s top stars taking part in their race - even though no points were up for grabs as it was a candidate race. It rained heavily the afternoon and evening before the race, which turned some of the trail sections muddy and more technical than previously anticipated. Ireland’s Malachy Kirwan - still relatively new at trail running - was struggling with the conditions and in the end had no answer to the pace set by Kitamura from the start. The Karate Kit was quick out of the blocks and tried to put pressure on Milton Amat straightaway. However, the Sabahan remained visibly relaxed and had no issue letting his classic trail rival go in front by 20-30 seconds. For about 20km they were joined by a third runner, in fact. Mark Steacy, also from Ireland and residing in Kuching, was the surprise of the day. Eventually Steacy had to slow down a bit, and saw Wilsen Singgin still catching him and overtaking him in that final descent for third place. Nevertheless, a great new name who will also compete at TMBT 100. Up front, Kitamura felt it coming at the last aid station before going up the longest and toughest hillclimb. Amat was still right on his tail (see video on facebook). Amat took over towards the summit and used his technical downhill superiority to win the race.

The women’s race was dominated by local hero Sally Yap and Sabah’s Mailin Salungin. Both runners stayed side-by-side all race and decided not to sprint it out for the overall win (both won their respective age groups). Afterwards, Salungin was all praise for the youngster Sally Yap, who is one of the new names in Malaysia post-covid. After winning BUTM 100, she will also try to score TMBT 100 in three weeks’ time, and in so doing secure her spot for Team Malaysia at the ATM Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December. An impressive third place in Jagoi went to Grandmaster Siokhar Lim, who was coming very close to the lead duo on the final hillclimb. 50k and 1250 hm are peanuts numbers for Siokhar, who typically excels in the long and tough mountains ultras, but yesterday she showed her general running pace has increased, too. Celeste Teo, third at MMTF 2021, also looked solid in taking fourth place yesterday.

You can replay the race of the leaders via our ATM DTA platform here: (laptop/desktop required)

On our Facebook page, you can find several videos and photos of the race, too.

There have been quite a few ATM Candidates in Malaysia already this season and this Sunday we have the next one, but it’s a rather unique one. The T8 Jagoi Heritage Run is the first trail event with an ATM logo in Sarawak. Originally scheduled for 2020, finally this event can take place roughly one hour south of Kuching. Jagoi features a 50k main race that has attracted some very strong runners from the region. Hisashi Kitamura and Milton Amat, for example, are set to race each other in what could be a great teaser for the big Borneo TMBT 100 clash in three weeks from now. Yet, Jagoi is only half that distance, and seemingly more runable than TMBT with just 1250 hm. Kitamura may thus have an advantage on paper this weekend, but for both ATM stars it is likely to be just a psychological game this weekend. And when two dogs fight for one bone, a third may run away with it. WIlsen Singgin is also at the starting line on Sunday, and also Singapore-based Irishman Malachy Kirwan. For ultra distance specialist Singgin the Jagoi 50 might be a bit too short to assert himself, but for Kirwan this distance and elevation chart looks ideal. Coming from road running, Kirwan suffered a knock of the hammer at the BTR Challenge in Bali to finish fourth, but he will have learnt from that experience and might as well put his name firmly in trail runners’ minds this weekend.

Also the women’s 50k will be an interesting one to follow. Home runner Sally Yap is present, and so are Mailin Salungin, Siokhar Lim, Laslin Sarawi and Celeste Teo - to name a few.

ATM will be covering the race live from Sarawak on our usual channels, and also via our live tracking platform.

Home favourite Sally Yap, number 1 in ATM Malaysia Ranking, will be keen to deliver a good run this Sunday

We are happy to announce our first ever Candidate Race in Sarawak, the Malaysian state to the south of Sabah and Brunei on the island of Borneo. Jagoi Heritage Trail Run is an ambitious project to the benefit of the Bidayuh ethnic group and its 3rd edition is scheduled for 4 October 2020 in Balai Kampung Duyoh.

Organised by Grit Event Management, Jagoi Heritage Trail Run will feature three race distance categories of which the 50km is the main event. Those who prefer shorter can opt for the 20km and 6km races. This is an ancient rainforest trail, but still with elevation gain of nearly 1300 hm for the 50km. This elevation comes very much at the end of the race with the ascent of Bung or Mount Jagoi.

Jagoi Heritage Trail Run takes  place on the Bidayuh ancestral ground of Jagoi located in Bau and is 50km away from the state capital of Sarawak, Kuching. That is also the international gateway. The lead objective of the event is encouraging the local residents to embrace ecotourism as another source of income. Bidayuh is a collective name for several indigenous groups of people living in the southern part of Sarawak. The name “Bidayuh” means “people of the land”. They are the second most numerous group of Dayak tribe after the Iban, and they also have their own language (see YouTube clip below).

For more details on this 2021 ATM Candidate Race, please check the website and join the event’s facebook page.

Those runners with more time on their hands could explore the Jagoi Heritage Trail Run as final preparation for the Malaysian points race in ATM, Ultimate Trails of Penang, the following week.