A smart run by Dedy Yusuf landed him a first ATM race victory in the inaugural Jember Hills Classic in East Java, Indonesia, yesterday afternoon. Starting from the Rembangan Hills outside the city, the 70k trail race was controlled by three runners who stayed together from the second aid station onwards: Yusuf, Akhmad Nizar and Thimo Kilberth. In the final couple of kilometres, Yusuf - who had been saving energy throughout the day - had too much speed left on the road towards the centre of university city Jember. An impressive win by the 36-year-old from nearby Lumajang, especially given the two guys next to him on the podium. Nizar was second and Kilberth third - for the third consecutive time in an ATM points race this season. He is practically assured of a place in Team Indonesia for the ATM Final in December. Kilberth has been living in Bali for over ten years.

Jember Hills Classic offered a varied and green course with nine bukits or hills as guideline. The vistas on some of these summits were impressive given the clear weather, which of course also resulted in elevated temperatures after 10 am. Adrian Tuankotta, I Dewa Geda Astawa, Hadi Mustofa and Fuminori Kondo were chasing the lead trio most of the day, but in particular Tuankotta and Kondo suffered as they went off course after 18km for some time. Tuankotta and Kondo recovered strongly and finished fourth and fifth. The same occurred to Shindy Patricia in the women’s race, which placed Indah Wardhani, Rhea Batac, Mila Marlina and Trisha Yuen ahead of her on the way to AS 3. Shindy recovered, however, and was able to distance the other women again on the way to her second ATM race victory of the season. After the finish, Shindy did admit it was time for a bit of rest after a very busy race schedule in the past couple of months. She is basically already guaranteed for her place in Team Indonesia for the ATM Championship Final on 17 December, and Mount Apo in Philippines is exactly the kind of mountain that Shindy likes…. Rhea Batac secured a great second place, equalling her best ever race result on the ATM circuit (2nd in V Trail in Laos in 2019). That’s a rather unexpected big points haul for her Team Pilipinas ambitions for the same ATM Final in December. Third place went to Bali’s Indah Wardhani and fourth to Trisha Yuen, also a very busy trail bee of late and her best race result on the ATM circuit.

Jember Hills offers some amazing vistas along the varied course around the university city

Nice getting to know you: ‘clever’ Dedy Yusuf wins the inaugural Jember Hills Classic

Shindy just keeps on going: busy bee scored her 2nd ATM points race victory of the season beside all the local candidate races

Talented Akhmad Nizar opened his 2022 account with a 2nd place after his misfortune at Mantra Summits

Thimo Kilberth was happy to have scored his third consecutive third place in an ATM points race

Rhea Batac scored a great 2nd place and does a wonderful job for her ATM Championship ranking in Philippines

This Sunday we have the third and potentially last Indonesian points race of the 2022 ATM season in East Java. The Jember Hills Classic is new on the trail calendar and is produced by the crew of Ijen Trail, an event that is unlikely to take place this year as the region is still recovering from the covid crisis. Jember Hills is part of a bigger running festival that also features a road marathon, half marathon and 10k fun run. The trail race is 70km in length , has 9 bukits or hills for a total elevation gain of just over 3000 hm.

With the high likelihood of Ijen Trail’s cancellation, and Tahura Trail not being scheduled for this year at all, there may indeed be only three ATM Championship points races in Indonesia this season. A good occasion therefore for the Indonesian runners to boost their ATM points total with a view to qualification for the ATM Championship Final in Davao on 17 December. One runner who has his eyes firmly set on just that is Bali-based Thimo Kilberth. A busy runner with lots of races under his belt, but one who plans and prepares his targets carefully. Kilberth will be one of the men to watch this Sunday, alongside Nizar. In the women’s, we may be looking at the first ATM dual in a long time between in-form Shindy Patricia and 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia, who has returned to high level trail racing. Shindy can do a good job for her ATM Final qualification this weekend, and as a former champion Ruth just needs to secure two ATM race finishes this season.

After a difficult period during the covid crisis, Ruth Theresia has returned to competitive level this summer

Brought to you by the team that has been doing Ijen Trail since 2015 is the new Jember Ultra in East Java, which is part of a grand running festival on 20/21 August. The 70 km long trail race will be a points race for the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking, the third Indonesian one this season. Jember is an important university town in East Java, and the surrounding region is characterised by a beautiful beach area and the typical hilly and volcanic scenery when you go further inland. The event, highly supported by local authorities, has big ambitions: alongside the 70km trail race there will also be a road marathon, half marathon and 10k fun run. Something for everybody in other words!

Those familiar with Ijen Trail, which is one of the most runable mountain ultras on our calendar and remains tentatively scheduled for late October, should be aware that Jember Ultra is tougher on paper, offering a great mixture of runable sections with quite seriously techical bits. Total elevation gain does not exceed 2700 hm for the 70km , but gradients are often short and steep. Do not be fooled by the numbers and prepare yourself for a challenging trail.

Details and the confirmed course map and elevation profile will be released in due course following last week’s final route inspection. The start of the race will be in the hills, at the very popular hotel retreat in Rembangan. Runners will also be able to stay there. The finish line will be at the central square in Jember City. The last 4 km of the race will therefore be on tarmac, but the good news is this stretch goes slightly downhill.

The start will be at the Hotel Rembangan in the hills, the finish smack in the city centre of Jember