Silabur Cave Trail in Sarawak, Malaysia, has been confirmed as a points race for the ATM Championship ranking and Grandmaster Quest also in 2025. The event, organised by Alpha Sports, will see some modifications, including the date. The event will move forward on the calendar by a few weeks and will be held on the weekend of 12/13 April. Also the start and finish site has moved a bit to allow for better mobile connectivity. It will be at Kampung Lubang Batu, Tebakang, which is roughly 40km from Serian town & 100km from Kuching. As usual, there is a bus shuttle service from Kuching for registered runners. Important also: ATM points seekers need to focus on the 100 km.

Silabur is quite a runable 100km , but if wet can be treacherously slippery in parts. Highlight is of course the Silabur Cave, a.k.a. the Jade Cave. Sabahan runners Gustin Tiam and Rejlen James were the fastest 100k runners here in 2024, in a race with considerable participation numbers for a long ultra. It’s mostly a Saturday day time race with the start set at 7 am in the morning. Cut-off time at the finish is a very accommodating 33 hours. As always, but especially in regions like Borneo, take a good look at the mandatory gear requirements and ensure you are prepared for hot tropical weather.

It’s only been a couple of years that Sarawak is claiming its stake on the Malaysian trail running map. Contrary to its northern neighbours Sabah and even Brunei, events and runners were few and far between. Sally Yap, ‘Alpha’ Siet Fah Lim, Celeste Teo and others have changed that, encouraging event promoters and organisers to build proper trail events, too. Alpha Sports is among those with several events in its portfolio. Silabur Ultra Trail, a.k.a. as Silabur Cave Trail is currently the biggest.

Registration for the event is open via Checkpointspot. The official hotel is in Serian, the Roxy Hotel. Runners could also opt to stay in Kuching, main city in Sarawak and where the airport is, and take the event shuttle bus early in the morning on Saturday.

The 5th anniversary of Ultimate Trails of Penang started with heavy rain on Friday noon, but ended in sunshine as the participants in all various distance categories enjoyed a great time out on the beautiful trails of the island. Beautiful, but tough. Especially the longer races again proved their reputation of being amongst the toughest on the entire ATM calendar. Of 66 starters on the 100 Miles, only 5 managed to finish. The experienced Aqmal Adzmi was fastest and scored his first ever ATM victory in 38h40’39”. Early in the long race, he was running together with Australian Andrew Farmers and the surprising Seng Lip Ku. However, already in the evening time, now dry, Adzmi took an advantage. In fact, Farmers would decide to retire at km 91 on Saturday morning, suffering from his feet and expressing his surprise of the technicality of Penang’s trails compared to those in Sabah, where he resides. Seng Lip Ku was joined by Tuan Hafandi Tuan Ismail, and at km 120 would likewise throw in the towel with knee pain. A sad conclusion of his great race until that point.

At the finish back at the Youth Park, Aqmal Adzmi was over five hours ahead of Tuan Hafandi Tuan Ismail as the rain again started pouring down at nighttime in Penang. David Khoo completed the podium in third place. It's Adzmi's first ATM race win ever after a podium spot at MMTF 2022 and several top ten placings.

Only six runners are still in the 100 Miles race. All women DNFd. Including Celeste Teo and Irish Glorioso, who both twisted their ankles in the same descent during Sthe first night.

Singapore's Chris Timms also took his first ever ATM race win on the 60km - the second points race for the ATM Championship ranking. The man-in-form led from the start and finished in 12h07'09", indicating once again what a tough course UTOP has. Timms preceeded Alex Tilley by nearly 40 minutes with Mohd Ammar Md Yazid taking third. Incidentally, nothing changed from the first checkpoint after 8,5km onwards. Kok Lam Yong was fourth. Zulharif Zakaria is fifth.

The women’s 60 km race winner was Siew Chen Tan in 17h33. She was pushed forward to the finish line by Peg San Tan who finished second 17 minutes later. In third place and completing the podium is Seoh Ling Tan. Also for Siew Chen Tan it was the first time she took top honours in an ATM points race.

The 100 km Grandmaster-only race (i.e no championship ranking points) was won by Gustin Tiam and Norlela Ismail.

Event Director Seow Kong Ng with 100 miles victor Aqmal Adzmi

Siew Chen Tan took the women’s 60km win

Peg San Tan was not too far behind the race winner in 2nd place

Chris Timms continued his fine performance streak with his first ATM race win on the 60km

This weekend’s doubleheader on our ATM Championship calendar begins very early already at noon on Friday with the start of the 100 Miles race at Ultimate Trails of Penang, better known as UTOP, in Malaysia. It is the first Malaysian points race event for Season 10’s Championship ranking, and also an anniversary edition. UTOP is celebrating its fifth edition.

This event has been alternating with Penang Eco on our calendar, as both are organised by Endurance Nature, led by ultra running legend Seow Kong Ng and Allan Lee. People who have run both long ultras argue that UTOP is the toughest one. Taking place on Penang island itself - contrary to Penang Eco - the 171km longest category has a whopping 9910 metres of elevation gain. This is a serious challenge when you also add the heat and humidity into the mix. Nevertheless, about six dozen of trail runners will be attempting to complete this beast on the weekend. The 100 Miles is also one of the two distance categories that matter for ATM Championship points, the other one logically being the 60km medium distance. Runners only keen on scoring a Grandmaster point always need to focus on 70+ km races, which in the case of UTOP means the aforementioned 100 Miles, but it can also be the 100km that is on the programme.

When we take a look at the start list of the 100Miles, two names perhaps stand out: Aqmal Adzmi and Andrew Farmers, both ultra long distance enthousiasts. Adzmi has taken a break from ATM since Season 8 and could be making a return in style. His best competitive performance so far was 3rd place at MMTF 90km in 2022. Let’s see how he fares against Andrew Farmers, the Australian who lives in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. Farmers was the joint winner with Amir Zaki of The Borneo Miler in 2023. Definitely not interested in 50k races, Farmers knows very well what he is getting into at UTOP and with the experience he has accumulated in ultra long races throughout the world, he may be the man-to-beat for Aqmal Adzmi and other contenders. Amongst those are e.g. Tuan Hafandi and Chong Teck Shuin.

Five women will be attempting the 100 Miles, including Sarawak’s Celeste Teo and Philippines’ Irish Glorioso. Both well-experienced in long ultras, they could both score their first ever ATM race victory this weekend, after so many podium placings already. Chong Yien Chin, Wong Siow Yen and Xu Liangdi may try to prevent that.

On the 60km most eyes will focus on the competitive performance of Alex Tilley. Residing in Penang, the British runner returns to the scene this weekend and is the winner of last year’s 100km of Penang Eco. Tilley was also tenth in the ATM Championship Final a year ago in Indonesia. Since then, he has become a father and UTOP is his first race back. Besides Tilley, the start list reveals many new names - both in the male and female category. We are looking forward therefore to getting to know some new trail talents.

Aqmal Adzmi will be one of the top contenders in the men’s 100 miles

Sabah-based Australian Andrew Farmers was the joint winner of The Borneo Miler last year

Last year Celeste Teo also tackled the 100 miles of Penang Eco

Two years ago, Irish Glorioso finished second in UTOP 100km

Alex Tilley returns to the trails in his new home this weekend: Penang

We are happy to announce that Trail des Gombak in Selangor, north of Kuala Lumpur, is a new Malaysian points race on our Season 10 ATM Championship and Grandmaster Quest calendar. Organised by the Projek Hijo team, the fourth edition of the event will be held on 21/22 June 2025 following a successful run as an ATM Candidate a few months ago. On the schedule are both a 100km and a 50km for Championship points.

Gombak is the name of the district located just 80km north of KLIA, Malaysia’s international airport. The area has been a drawcard for tourists thanks to the proximity of the Batu Caves. The venue of Trail des Gombak is located just to the north of the caves at Dewan Sergabuna. From KL Sentral, busses take you to Gombak and Grab cars are omnipresent as well.

“Exploring Possibilities” is the tagline of the event. The route of the race consists of jungle trails, river creeks, waterfalls, asphalt, rolling hills, and much more that Gombak can offer.The 100km course has an estimated elevation gain of 3500 hm, making it one of the more runable races on paper. The 50km offers 1700 metres of elevation gain. Please note that while the 100km starts at 8am on Saturday morning, the 50km is essentially a Sunday race with start at 3 am.

Last June, victory on the 100km went to the Singapore duo of Malachy Kirwan and Philippe Daniel in the men’s ahead of Tuan Afandi, and Grandmaster Carly Balmforth in the women’s ahead of Norlela Ismail.

The Top 25 in the overall men’s and women’s result score points for the ATM Championship ranking that lead to potential qualification for the Final later in the season. Grandmaster Quest point seekers need to finish the 100km race.

Registration for the 2025 edition is already open. Please check the official website linked below and follow the event’s facebook page to stay up-to-date with the latest news regarding Trail des Gombak.

 

After a thrilling race at Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, Hong Kong’s Jeff Campbell and Nepal’s Priya Rai crowned themselves as the new Asia Trail Master Champions. Both elite athletes came out on top of a star-studded field after over 80 km of racing on a treacherous course that saw various re-routes due to heavy rainfall preceeding the start. Campbell and Rai succeed John Ray Onifa and Rashila Tamang, winners of last year in the history of the ATM Championship, while Team Nepal claimed the ATM Team Championship ahead of Team Philippines and the home team Malaysia.

While Priya Rai turned out to be utterly dominant in the women’s competition, leaving Vanja Cnops and defending champion Rashila Tamang no chance, Canadian-born Jeff Campbell had to dig deeper than ever before to salvage an advantage he ran together halfway into the race. First 2022 Champion Arnie Macaneras, and then eternal competitor Hisashi KItamura, appeared hot on his tail in the final 10km , which is notoriously almost entirely uphill to the finish line.

After some early skirmishes following the 5:15 am race start , mostly featuring John Ray Onifa and four of the Nepalese runners, the men’s Final had a first decisive moment around aid station 4 (km 30). Nepalese runners Arjun Rai Kulung and Lokendra Rai missed a marker and went off course by a long way, effectively eliminating themselves from contention. Milan Rai, also still very young, paid better attention and arrived at the aid station in the lead with… Arnie Macaneras, closely followed by home hero Milton Amat, for whom the race seemed to be going perfectly. Jeff Campbell was just a minute behind, but Onifa came in later and visibly struggling with stomach cramps. Kristian Joergensen was next, not looking too happy either. Both Onifa and Joergensen would later throw in the towel at AS 6. Kitamura arrived 13 minutes after Campbell.

A long descent on a re-routed section, all on tarmac, proved ideal for Jeff Campbell to try a move. Gutsy, because we were not even halfway into the race yet. He opened up a substantial gap using his inherent road running speed and by aid station 6 even looked like he could cruise home with nobody really looking to chase him very hard. Not even Milton Amat, who by then showed signs of fatigue and was not in the best shape we had seen him in before when he won TMBT 100 in 2019 and 2022.

The last 28km loop was known to had the sting in the tail. Plenty of runners in the past have cursed the final 10km section over the years, known from the traditional 109km race course. That includes Hisashi Kitamura, who saw race wins go up in smoke there and who had never been able to make a fist anymore, having already burnt all his matches previously. Enter race strategy and race tactics, and the beauty of race pacing.

As a first-timer at TMBT, Jeff Campbell experienced what Kitamura and so many others had gone through before. His pace slowed, his legs began to hurt and the 15-minute gap was melting before the sun, which in fact managed to peak through the cloud cover as well on occasion. Arnie Macaneras had timed his last attack to perfection and came closer and closer as they started going uphill for the last 10km, as can be revisited via the GPS dot track asia platform. Campbell became aware of the threat, as he saw Macaneras arriving at the last water station just as he was leaving it again. However, what nobody had really noticed up until then was that Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura was also suddenly coming on strongly!

With 5km left to go, Campbell looked cooked, but so was Macaneras. Major cramps all of a sudden ended his challenge and attempt to secure the ATM Championship for the second time in his career. 'Arnie would settle for third, because Kitamura stormed by desperate to still catch Campbell in the dying moments of the race. In the end, Jeff Campbell managed to hold on to a slender advantage of just over two minutes to clinch his first ever ATM title, after scoring 9 race victories in our series already since early 2018. A wonderful achievement by someone who used to be the King of Short Distance, but has now fully grown into a long distance racer as well. Hisashi KItamura was nevertheless a happy second. His strategy nearly paid off, the question can be asked whether he left it a little too late.

The performance of the young Priya Rai should also be underlined as it was her first race of more than 50km. Winner of both Nepalese points races in April, she grabbed the bull by the horns nonetheless and immediately applied pressure on co-favourites Vanja Cnops and Rashila Tamang. Contrary to Jeff Campbell in the men, Priya did not slow down at all in the last uphill. A fantastic performance by another young talent of whom we have definitely not yet seen the last. Singapore’s Vanja Cnops again settled for second on the the podium, while Rashila Tamang took a solid third - being plagued by some leg discomfort. Rashila required her fighting spririt at the end to keep Vietnam’s Loi Leung at bay. South Korea’s Hee Joo Jang was a surprisingly strong fifth, finishing just over two minutes behind Loi Leung at the finish.

Photo by Priya

Outgoing champion John Ray Onifa and behind him co-favourite Kristian Joergensen both called it a day at AS 6 (km 55)

Season 9, the shortest season in the history of the Asia Trail Master Championship that ran from December 2023 to September 2024 will have an explosive conclusion this Saturday at Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia. The start list of the 78km long Championship race is full of regional trail elites, even to the extent that nobody can say for sure who will be the successors of John Ray Onifa, Rashila Tamang and Team Philippines as ATM Champions. In fact, we are happy to see that both Onifa (Philippines) and Tamang (Nepal) will be defending their titles so the likelihood of someone scoring a second ATM Championship victory are higher than ever - with also 2022 Champion Arnie Macaneras and 2018’s Alessandro Sherpa in the race along Mount Kinabalu on Saturday.

Borneo TMBT Ultra is one of Southeast Asia’s true trail classics and we are indeed delighted that the Borneo Ultras team led by Mr Claus Pedersen and Ms Aileen Yong decided to host this year’s ATM Final in cooperation with Sabah Tourism. TMBT hardly needs an introduction, it’s the 12th edition of an event where beauty and challenge go hand in hand. The runners in the ATM Final, who all qualified by scoring points in races on the ATM calendar throughout the season and finishing in the top five of their country’s points ranking, will embark on a modified and partially unique course of 78km with a separate 5am starting time. One hour later, at sunrise, there will be the flag off of the standard open public 110km and 50km races.

Trail fans can follow the race via the livestreams and video updates on Asia Trail Master’s Facebook and YouTube channels, with updates on Instagram as well. Moreover, a live GPS tracking platform allows anyone to follow one’s favourite runner in real time along the course.

John Ray Onifa is for several people still the top favourite to retain his title, but the Filipino star has been less dominant than he was last year. It is unlikely he will distance his closest rivals again by more than hour, as he did at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra in Indonesia last December. Still, Onifa is no stranger to TMBT - having won the 50km race here last year. He also returned from Europe two weeks ago with some frustration for not having achieved the results he had wanted. A competitive athlete whose pride got hurt can be double as dangerous. The fact that his compatriot Arnie Macaneras is also in the race on Saturday will motivate him even more. After all, Onifa and Macaneras both like to be considered the ‘number 1’ in their own country. In trail running, the top guys seldom compete against each other and, regardless of the others, Onifa vs Macaneras is a fantastic race-within-the-race that will keep Filipino trail fans on the edge of their seats this Saturday.

As long as they do not hurt each other so that someone else benefits to steal the bigger prize. Jeff Campbell managed to outpace Onifa in Singapore last June in his comeback race after a long injury break. Milton Amat is the home favourite in Sabah, having won TMBT 100 already twice in 2019 and 2022. In both races he managed to keep Hisashi Kitamura behind, the fast Japanese runner who has been chasing the ATM Championship title and a race win at TMBT for five years now. The ‘Karate Kit’ claims he is now in the best shape ever and has specifically trained on the last 10km of the course, the relentless uphill section where he got overtaken by Milton Amat the first time. Alessandro Sherpa is a pure Championship competitor and has been preparing himself in Bali and Chiang Mai since late July. After the title in 2018, 3rd place in 2022 and 2nd last year, the Italian hopes he will be the first runner to be crowned ATM Champion twice. Another expat, Kristian Joergensen from Denmark residing in Philippines, came third last year and is keen to improve on that result - having been successful in Malaysian races before. Joergensen had a wisdom tooth removed last week, so he may start with a handicap. The list of victory and podium candidates goes very deep, but one ‘dark horse’ is certainly worth mentioning still: Nepal’s Arjun Rai Kulung. The long ultra specialist will be making his debut in Malaysia and its heat and humidity levels, having qualified by doing both Nepalese ATM points races back in April. We know Arjun is strong and resilient. Does he have the fast pace to follow the others over 78km in the climate of Borneo? For sure, he is the biggest question mark of all the contenders in the men’s race.

The women’s race is projected to be equally exciting to follow. Rashila Tamang and Vanja Cnops will continue their battle of last year’s Final in Indonesia. While Cnops has the advantage of having already won TMBT 50km twice, Tamang also has some Malaysian racing experience under her belt. The defending ATM Champion seems fully recovered from the injury that plagued her early in the season and has been able to focus fully on her running over the months. Can she keep Cnops behind again? The Singapore-based Belgian is an outstanding short distance trail runner, but once beyond 50km her pace always seems to decline. Always smiling, Cnops does have a fighter’s spirit and after so many race victories in ATM, the motivation seems there to make 2024 her year. When the invitations were sent out to all qualified athletes, Vanja Cnops was the first to confirm her participation. However, it’s not only going to be between Rashila and Vanja. For starters, just like Onifa and his teammates, there are other Nepalese girls who might just as well win on Saturday! Priya Rai won both 50k races in Nepal in April and has been racing internationally before. One caveat: Priya has never gone beyond 50k in racing trim. That’s not the case for Padam Kumari Sunwar, winner of MTR 100km. And Chhoki Sherpa never finishes far behind Rashila when they race together. Could Vietnam’s Loi Leung take centre stage? Flying perhaps under the radar, let’s not forget she won Lam Dong Trail last year ahead of none other than Angelie Cabalo, who finished 3rd in last year’s Final behind Tamang and Cnops. By the same token, Loi Leung was pushed down to second place in Cuc Phuong 42km this year by Japan’s Akane Nemoto, another runner who should not be underestimated at TMBT. Small detail: Loi Leung and Akane Nemoto share the same coach as Hau Ha. What can we expect from the Philippines’ ladies this weekend? Julieann Morales won three ATM races this season and is faster than she’s ever been. TMBT will be her first race abroad, however. Also from Mindanao, Shally Yuson has probably been the young woman who has visibly been getting ever more competitive race after race. Clearly motivated for a good result in her first ATM Final, Yuson can be in the mix for the top positions on a 78km distance. The same applies for Cristine Montuya, another newcomer. Mary Joy Sumanda and the “reborn” Irish Glorioso complete a competitive and robust Filipino women’s squad, which gives them cards to play in their pursuit of also retaining the ATM Team Championship title. Team Malaysia will do everything they can to prevent that, of course. The 2022 Team Champions were off the pace a year ago, but now field a similarly strong team as the Filipinos. Rejlen James and Shamiera Auther are probably the two runners who can aim for the individual race win, with Adelinah and Lolita Lintanga, and Lynda Marylyn backing them up. Rejlen has been almost unbeatable on home soil in Sabah since the end of covid, and a year ago she had the better of Indonesia’s ultrarunning icon Shindy Patricia in TMBT 100. If Rejlen can keep her head together during the race, many people will be surprised how fast and tough she can be. But what about youngster Shamiera Auther? One of Malaysia’s greatest trail talents of late, Shamiera has been - wisely - restricting herself to 50-60k and shorter races, winning or podiuming them, but has accepted the opportunity to compete for Team Malaysia on the longer distance of 78km. Many insiders will be very keen to find out how she fares. She has been excellent in not attracting any attention to herself over the past weeks….

While Team Pilipinas and Team Malaysia are the obvious teams to watch for the Team Championship, one should not ignore some of the others. On paper, Team Hong Kong and Team Nepal are strong, and so is Team Japan. Also Singapore and Brunei have complete teams with three men and three women, the minimum requirement for a team ranking.

The outgoing and defending ATM Champions this Saturday: John Ray Onifa and Rashila Tamang

The home favourite: Sabah's Milton Amat has won TMBT twice already

Alessandro Sherpa: Champion in 2018, third in 2022, 2nd in 2023. Highly motivated to be number 1 again

The Dark Horse: Nepal's Arjun Rai Kulung runs in ATM for the first time outside his home country

After 3rd and 2nd the past two seasons, can Vanja Cnops win the biggest prize this Saturday?

Rejlen James: after covid she has been almost unbeatable on home soil in Sabah

Julieann Morales: pretty outstanding on home soil this season, can she also do it abroad?

Nepal's Priya Rai is used to 50km races. Can she keep her high level on Saturday's 78km?

The race course of the 2024 Asia Trail Master Championship Final at Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, has been finalised by the technical team of the event. The 78km long course will feature the usual highlights, such as Pineapple Ridge, plus a few unique and never before used trail sections. The start venue at Lingkubang and the finish venue at Perkasa Hotel in Kundasang are the same as for the 110km regular race, and the ATM Finalists will also pass by Kundasang already a first time for Aid Station 6, which is approx km 50.

As you can see on the map, runners go from the start in a mostly southern direction towards Kundasang, before entering a loop of 28km around Liposu (WS10) and Kibbas (WS11). From Kibbas it is basically uphill for 8km to the finish line, so contenders for the championship title still need a few matches to burn when they hit that final section! Remember local hero Milton Amat still passing Hisashi Kitamura for the win there in 2019!

Borneo is known to be potentially very hot and humid by nature. However, TMBT has always been more moderate in this context as the race course gradually goes upwards to above 1000m and even finishes at 1400m above sea level. The ATM Final also starts at 5am, one hour earlier than the open public race and therefore still in darkness.

Stay tuned in the coming few days for more updates on what promises to be a real nail biter this Saturday. Both the men’s and women’s race have several contenders for the victory and the title. Also the ATM Team Championship will likely see a tight battle between several country teams.

Malaysia’s top trail runner Milton Amat ran comfortably to victory in the 110km long ultra of a well-organised Kadamaian Ultra event , also known as KAR Ultra , and is virtually assured of qualification for his country’s team in the ATM Championship Final on 14 September. That will take place in his home State of Sabah as well. Moreover, Milton won the last two editions of Borneo TMBT he started in. The ever humble and timid Milton Amat looks ready to finally become the Asia Trail Master Champion - no doubt supported highly by his own community in Sabah!

In fact, the entire Team Malaysia can dream big. Both the male and female qualifiers for the ATM Championship look very strong on paper, with also Rejlen James again proving to be unbeatable on her home trails during KAR 110. Team Malaysia will certainly try to get the Team Champions title back from the Philippines, whose runners struggled a lot with the heat last weekend at the KAR event. Poy Brillantes summed it up when he finished outside the top 25 on Sunday early morning: “it’s rainy season in Philippines now, no heat training for over a month. We will be stronger in TMBT!”

Indeed, other top Filipino contenders such as Yoyong Sacaycle and Maynard Encornal also failed to feature in the 110k race. Yoyong had started very fast and was even second still behind Gustin Tiam at the second aid station, but then he completely disintegrated and suffered from stomach cramps and the excessive heat. The same for Maynard, who now may need to add The Punisher to his race schedule to make sure he remains within the top five of his country in the ranking. Yoyong himself already set up a plan B and will run Bali Ultra this weekend.

Gustin Tiam thus set the early pace, but by AS 3 Milton Amat had caught up with him. Interestingly, he decided to continue running his own pace for the rest of the day rather than run together with good old Gustin, who himself underlined once again what competitive a season he is having. Haziq Asyraf would eventually take third place , ahead of Jailani Juhili and Wont Kudin, who became a Grandmaster as well.

Rejlen James was dominant in the women’s 110k race from start to finish and looked every bit as different as in Mantra 116 three weeks ago. In Indonesia she struggled to even make the top ten, at home she never even looked back. Adelinah Lintanga initially kept the gap much smaller than usual in long ultras, which was promising as she tends to be more prominent in the second half of races. Accompanied by the impressive Shally Yuson from Mindanao in the Philippines, Lintanga lost more and more time to James, however, as the day went on. After 76km, Yuson actually looked the stronger runner for second place until she also succumbed to heat fatigue and dozed off at a late aid station. She fell back to sixth place. Nevertheless, for her first competitive appearance outside of Philippines, Yuson proved her racing talent and can be expected to use her KAR experience to go for a high placing in the ATM Final, which after all is also shorter at 78km. Behind Adelinah Lintanga, it was then Sabah’s newcomer Dazeree Joannes who completed the female podium. Joannes had started modestly, but ran consistently all day to gradually move up the leaderboard. Great pacing! Especially, given that she kept Mary Joy Sumanda behind in the end. Sumanda, also running for the first time outside of Philippines, scored fourth and that was the best race result of the entire group who came to KAR.

The 60km medium distance category saw a great battle for victory between the ever-improving young Oswald Maikol and Wilsen Singgin. Initially, several others like Jemson Daikin, Vitus Daimi, Yasbie Ismail and Tivel Peter mingled with the front runners as well. Maikol put Singgin under pressure all the time, even dropped him a few times. But Singgin is a warrior who doesn’t ever give up when there’s a potential victory on the horizon. By km 42, Maikol again had a 2-minute gap on Singgin. He then probably lingered a bit too long in the aid station, so that Singgin again had a visual on him as he approached the same station. Indeed, Singgin wasted little time and did not let Maikol to get out his sight anymore. Ultimately, Singgin’s own attack just a few kilometres before the finish proved decisive. Maikol had given too much of himself earlier on, and could not respond. Great win by Wilsen Singgin. Yasbie Ismail completed the top three a long way behind , showing the high level Singgin and Maikol were competing at.

In contrast to the men, Shamiera Auther just seemed to cruise to victory in the women’s 60km - her second win of the ATM season. Leading from start to finish, only a bee sting brought her out of her comfort zone halfway in the race. The still very young Auther will be an interesting runner to watch in the ATM Final. Given her young age and inexperience going beyond 50-60km, Auther won’t have any pressure to perform … but she might as well create a surprise. And she is from Sabah, too.

Lolita Lintanga underlined the competitive progress she has made over the past months to score her first ever ATM race podium. Just like her elder sister Adelinah, Lolita finished second. That’s ahead of Lynda Marylyn in third.

KAR Ultra was part of the ATM Championship calendar for the first time and proved to be a great addition, highlighted by the fantastic arena setting , abundant aid stations, some interesting innovations and welcoming atmosphere. After TMBT and BUTM, Sabah has another trail event to look out for every year.

This weekend is the last points race event of the current championship season in Malaysia, the country hosting the big final in September. Kadamaian Ultra, also known as KAR Ultra, even takes place in the same State of Sabah on Borneo island and can therefore be considered as a real dress rehearsal for Borneo TMBT Ultra. Taking place out of Kota Belud, KAR also has a great competitive field in both the 110k and 60k categories led by ‘usual suspects’ Milton Amat, Wilsen Singgin, Adelinah Lintanga and Gustin Tiam. It is the first time the event features on our ATM Championship calendar after a successful Candidate Race edition in 2022.

Team Malaysia is one the most difficult teams to qualify for given the large number of regular and competitive runners in the country. It is therefore no surprise that this weekend will probably be very decisive. While a few runners can already rest on their laurels achieved this season, e.g. Adelinah Lintanga and Mohd Sulhan, Sabah’s top star Milton Amat, and also Gustin Tiam and Shamiera Auther, are gambling to qualify with just 3 ATM races. Given their usual performance level, that may work out well, but it remains tricky nonetheless. Runners such as Teck Shuin Chong, Hijazi Rija and Wont Kudin, Chong Mi Chin, tend to collect decent amounts of points over four races and therefore may sneak into Team Malaysia. At KAR Ultra, Milton Amat therefore better gets the victory. Wilsen Singgin is in a better position with three good races under his belt this season, and should qualify without any problems - as long as he finishes with an okay result.

The battle for points is also still going on in the Philippines. The Punisher 80k is still coming up on 10 August, but quite a few Filipinos are making the trip to KAR Ultra as well this weekend. Maynard Encormal is one who could give the established Sabahans a run for their money. Also in the women’s 110k race, Rejlen James and Adelinah Lintanga will face a challenge for the victory by in-form Shally Yuson and Mary Joy Sumanda, amongst others.

ATM will be reporting live from KAR Ultra, with the 110k and 60k races starting at 5:20 am and 5:30 am on Saturday.

Milton Amat is the logical top favourite at KAR Ultra 110k this weekend

Already 2 ATM race wins for Gustin Tiam this season!

Leading the women’s ATM ranking: Adelinah Lintanga

Shamiera Auther will be looking to add another 50k victory to her record

Shally Yuson has been one of the revelations of the current ATM season in the Philippines

Looking to qualify for Team Pilipinas again: Mary Joy Sumanda

Trail des Gombak, a new ATM Candidate Race in Selangor, Malaysia, saw a 100km victory for the duo Philippe Daniel and Malachy Kirwan! Both Singapore residents finished in 14 hours 40 minutes, well ahead of third-placed Malaysian Tuan Hafandi. Frenchman Daniel and Irishman Kirwan ran the race in duo format.

In the women's 100km, another expat, Carly Balmforth took the win ahead of Norlela Ismail in 21 h 20. Balmforth is an ATM Grandmaster and a two-time finalist in 2022 and 2023.

The 50 km saw a nice battle between eventual race winner Mohd Aminuddin Musa and Mohd Hatta Wahab. Finishing time was 6h32. Ahmad Aqwa Bin Othman completed the podium. Filipino Ritzy Amor Ectin was the fastest female runner in 7h58. She was 27 minutes ahead of Federica Lara and Daniele Finocchi, both from Italy.

Carly Balmforth

Malachy Kirwan and Philippe Daniel

This weekend the third edition of Trail des Gombak will be held at Dewan Serbaguna Orang Asli, Gombak in Selangor, peninsular Malaysia. It is a new ATM Candidate Race. The route of this race consists of jungle trails, river creek, waterfall, asphalt, rolling hills and much more that Gombak can offer, including scenic views on Kuala Lumpur.

The event is organised by Projek Hijo and offers traditional race distance categories of 100km and 50 km , alongside shorter versions of 30 km and 15 km. The 100km can also be done in duo format.

Gombak is located near Kuala Lumpur and to the Batu Caves, a touristic hotspot, making it a very convenient event from a logistical point of view. The event location is the Orang Asli settlement. On paper, Trail des Gombak is not the most difficult with approx 3600 hm of elevation gain for the 100k and 1800 hm for the 50k, but as usual numbers never tell the whole story. The 100km starts at day time, 11am on Saturday, and there’s a cut-off time of 32 hours.

The start list features some well-known runners from Malaysia, including some whom we haven’t seen in recent months. Grandmaster Ben Lee is scheduled to run the 100km, and so is Norlela Ismail. Malachy Kirwan and Philippe Daniel, both Singapore residents, are an interesting entry on the 100km duo race. Malachy is one of Vanja Cnops’ training buddies and known for his fast legs. Gombak may even be his first ever 100km distance. Philippe Daniel on the other hand is very much used to the ultra distances already. No better guide, in other words. On the 50km, we have ATM Finalists Carly Balmforth, Izzah Hazirah and Nur Amaani .

Penang and Endurance Nature have been an integral part of the Asia Trail Master series since the very beginning and continues to be in 2024. On the long weekend of 18 to 20 October, trail runners will score points for the ATM Championship ranking and the Grandmaster Quest at Ultimate Trails of Penang, better known as UTOP. The 5th edition of the event takes place on the island proper and is widely regarded as one of the tougher races on our calendar. This year, there is also a 100 miler on the programme.

UTOP 100 Miles and the 60 km medium distance will be the two categories offering championship points. There is also a 100km category, which obviously offers a Grandmaster point for all finishers as it’s above 70km.

Since the covid crisis, UTOP and Penang Eco, also by Endurance Nature under event director Seow Kong Ng, have alternated on the ATM calendar. The trail courses of both events are completely different, but have one thing in common: they’re both very tough even if they don’t necessarily look so on paper. Easy runable sections are mixed with steep technical jungle trails, and some serious elevation. The 100 Miles comes close to a massive 10000 hm for 171 km, whereas the 60km (actually 64km) also has no fewer than 4300 hm - which is only 200 hm short of Grandmaster qualification. In other words, participants better come prepared.

Start and finish is at the Lapangan Memanah Youth Park, which is really just outside the city centre of Penang’s capital city Georgetown, making it convenient for a family trip as well. Georgetown also has an airport with a few international connections, and plenty of accommodation options at various levels. If flying to Georgetown is difficult, there are many comfortable busses per day from KLIA and Kuala Lumpur to Penang.

As described on the official website, Penang Island is blessed with amazing numbers of trails for many decades. Blazed by the local inhabitants of Penang, these trails link up various heritage sites and points of interests all over the island. Starting from Youth Park and Botanical gardens, the trails spread out from the north to central and southern part of the Island, from Air Itam, Batu Ferringhi, to Teluk Bahang and Balik Pulau.

Two years ago, Jeffery Budin pulled off his first ATM race victory at UTOP 100km, which was a very popular achievement. Budin did benefit from a few other contenders going off course, but managed to defend his position once he realised he could win. It was a liberating win, too, because since then Budin’s competitive performance has improved further and last month he grabbed his second ATM race win at Silabur in Sarawak. The strongest woman in 2022 was home favourite Siokhar Lim, during a season she proved that the post-covid Grandmaster had also become a very competitive runner.

Registration for UTOP is already open. Make sure you check all the details, including mandatory gear, before you sign up.

Jeffery Budin took his first ATM race victory at UTOP in 2022