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

The 100 miles began at 6 pm on Friday night, which gave runners about 90 minutes to get warmed up before nightfall. Henry Yang from Singapore, whose goal was to complete his Grandmaster Quest, arrived first at the 11km aid station. A rather usual fast start by him, which was brave given Henry DNFd in Penang Eco a few years ago. He knew that this race is much harder than it looks on paper. Eventually, Henry would overcome serious feet and blister issues to finish the 100 miles and achieve his ATM Grandmaster status! Saiful Anuar from Malaysia was also aiming to reach the Grandmaster finish, but he will have to wait a bit longer as Penang Eco did get to him and he did not finish this one. 

The battle for the race victory was decided by Wilsen Singgin and Amierul Amin, as was to be expected. Rasyid Salehuddin, Tuan Hafandi Bin Tuan Ismail and Chong Teck Shuin followed and would determine the third spot on the podium. It was the very experienced Tuan Hafandi who grabbed it in the end. Up front, Singgin and Amin digested the conditions and the distance together until the final 30km, when the experience and toughness of Singgin began to prevail over the freshness of Amin - one of the 2023 season revelations in ATM. In the very tough final 10 km of the race - described as ‘sadistic’ by many - Singgin proved he still had quite a bit of juice in the tank as he ran more than 1 hour away from Amin to take his 3rd career ATM win, his first since MMTF in 2021. Not that it means much, but his finish time was 33h55’. When Singgin is in shape AND focused on a race, he is always able to deliver something special - especially on long and tough mountain trails. 

Sally Yap felt in trouble, sprained her ankle and was strangely worried about the cut-off time for most of Saturday until a welcome heavy rainshower cooled her off, and she started to get some pace in the legs. At that point, however, she was somehow one-and-a-half hours behind race leader Celeste Teo, with Hong Kong-based Australian Meg Sterling between them in second place. Both the Sarawakian and Sterling were having their debut 100 miler. Sterling was the race winner of Dark 45 in Hong Kong last season, an event coming up again on 1 October. Amazingly, all three women would suddenly find themselves together at the 106km aid station before the second sunset of their race. Sterling was struggling with knee pain and was reduced to power hiking the rest of the distance - which she did, and so third place was hers. Behind, Yvette Chong was the last survivor as all other women pulled out, but Yvette also had to throw in the towel at km 136 suffering from gastroentretis. Unsurprisingly, Sally’s raw talent came to the fore and she completed the final 50 km in first place to win in 42 hours. A welcome victory for the 2022 vice-ATM champion, which will be confidence booster with a view to what is still coming later this year. 

Penang-based Briton Alex Tilley took the 100km race, his second ATM win of the season after V Trail in Laos in February. Tilley had to work for it especially in the first half, when Achmad Tanjong, Jeffery Budin, Lim Wen Shan and Hijazi Rija Bin Mat Juri were keeping up and even setting the pace. Budin won UTOP in Penang last year and had the confidence he runs well on these trails, Tanjong showed in Mantra last month to be in great shape and Lim Wen Shan was the short distance dominator in Malaysia a few years ago, but now moving up in distance.  For a while, it actually looked like Lim Wen Shan was going to drop the others.  Then, the additional kilometers  compared to what he is used to in race trim still proved to be a big ask. Tilley and Budin took over command, and soon after Tilley would be on his own. Budin did not give up easily and was hanging just six to ten minutes back for quite a while until he realised that he was not going to close the gap anymore. 

In the women’s 100km, Lim Siet Fah lived up to the expectations and won her second ATM race after last season’s Borneo TMBT 100. She was never really bothered by the others to obtain the victory. Her second result of the season after a fifth place in Sierra Madre Trail in Philippines, where she perhaps underperformed a bit. The battle for second and third on the podium was exciting to follow all race with many position changes between Roan Biguasen, Goh Pei Fen and Heliana Arshad. Their tussle continued right into the final section, and it was local Goh Pei Fen who outran the two others for second. Busy bee Biguasen scored her fourth ATM podium of the season in third. 

100km award ceremony for men

Award ceremony for 100km women

Award ceremony 100 miles men

This weekend we have one of the oldest ATM points races on the menu in Malaysia. Penang Eco - this year La Sportiva Penang Eco - was part of our very first season in 2015 and since covid alternates on our calendar with event management company Endurance Nature’s second Penang race UToP. Bukit Mertajam is still the host town and the programme still features a hot and treacherously tough 100 miles and 100 km as ATM points races. Both races have a great start list and we can expect a nice competition for the race wins.

Penang Eco’s victory list has a lot of former ATM champions on it, such as John Ellis, Alessandro Sherpa, Tahira Najmunisaa and Manolito Divina. It says something about the difficulty of the course, which perhaps does not really show when looking at the map and the profile. The sting is usually very much in the tail, with hard technical jungle sections following a very runable section that drains the legs - also due to the traditional sweltering heat in Penang. In previous editions, several top runners have completely disintegrated in the final 20 km of this race. Penang Eco is never over until it is over.

It is therefore a little surprising that Malaysia’s young star Sally Yap has chosen this race as her first 100 miles try ever. The tall Sarawakian and vice-ATM champion in 2022 has already proven to cope with 100km very well, and now wants to try the longer distance. But there’s easier options in ATM for a miler debut. This season, Sally has a 2nd place in Koboi 50 under her belt and actually needs to start collecting some more points to safeguard her position in Malaysia’s female ranking and get qualified for the ATM Championship Final in Central Java on 2 December. Siksorogo Lawu is a course that should suit her even better than Mount Apo last season. This weekend she can expect competition from, a.o. Australia’s Megan Sterling, based in Hong Kong. Sterling won the Dark 45 points race last October. Other contenders are experienced runners such as Celeste Teo, Cheryl Bihag, Siriporn Leumathong and Siti Hajar Razali. And last but not least Irish Glorioso. Irish went very well in UToP last year (2nd) and is eyeing qualification for Team Pilipinas again with another good showing this weekend.

The men’s 100 miles probably has Sabah’s Wilsen Singgin as the one to beat. Singgin has developed himself over the years as the long ultra specialist. However, there’s other talent on the start list that could make his life difficult. Amierul Amin is one of the surprising newcomers of this competitive season, and will use his debut 100 miles experience at Borneo Miler in June to try and challenge Singgin. Other contenders are Rasyid Salehuddin, Jit Shiang Ang, Ben Siong Lee and maybe Singapore’s Henry Yang - who aims to complete his Grandmaster Quest this weekend. Henry actually started Penang Eco before, but DNFd on that occasion. It will be a sweet finish if he succeeds this time around.

The 100 km race features Jeffery Budin - the stunning winner of UToP 100 last October. Can Budin repeat that feat also in Bukit Mertajam? He will be facing some strong other runners such as Britain’s Alex Tilley, a resident in Penang. Basically a home race for Tilley as well, and he is one of those who excel when the going gets tough. Ahmad Tanjong ran an excellent Mantra 65 last month, and could leap to centre stage this weekend - who knows? On the start list we also have Lim Wen Shan, a fast short distance specialist. In the women’s 100k, Roan Biguasen will be eyeing her fourth ATM podium of the season. Soh Sum Mei, Carly Balmforth and Mindanao’s Manilyn Mamugay are other challengers for podium placings.

We will be reporting live from La Sportiva Penang Eco from the start on Friday evening to the finish, on our usual channels.

Jeffery Budin won UTOP 100 last year. Can he repeat on the 100km of Penang Eco?

Abdul Rasyid Salehuddin is a fresh Grandmaster, and doing well in the Championship, too

Wilsen Singgin is hoping to score a new ATM race victory on the 100 miles

Alex Tilley returns to the ATM scene in his now-home area, Penang

Roan Biguasen is looking for another podium spot in this weekend’s 100 km

You can now watch our latest episode of Tale of the Trail, on the UTOP race in Malaysia on 8/9 October. The 105km very technical race had a surprising male race winner in Jeffery Budin, while local trail hero Siokhar Lim proved to be the strongest woman of the field.

Jeffery Budin was the surprising but well-deserved winner of Ultimate Trails of Penang 105km last weekend, while local trail hero Siokhar Lim confirmed her current top form with a clear victory in the women’s race. Budin’s success ranks among the greatest upsets in ATM race history. Having been around for a few years in the lower half of the Top 10, Budin rose to the occasion when most of the pre-race favourites weren’t paying attention early in the tough race and went off course. Apparently, a local marshal at an aid station to be used twice in the race, pointed them into the wrong of two directions. But surprisingly, most of the affected runners continued for plenty of kilometers before realising they were on the wrong of two different loops. Others trusted their GPS watches’ warning signals and turned back earlier. It’s a classic unfortunate situation, which ultimately demotivated some of them to throw in the towel all together and DNF. Wilsen Singgin, aware of the opportunity to safeguard his Top 5 spot in the ATM Malaysia ranking that qualifies him for our ATM Championship Final in December, did continue his race, however. According to Thimo Kilberth, who had a slow start with “blocked legs” due to a delayed travel from Europe, Singgin probably was only 40th when he saw him and rejoined an out-and-back section of the proper race course.

Meanwhile, Jeffery Budin, Seiji Morofuji, Ben Lee Ben Siong and Nem Chee Ng found themselves in the lead of the race with about 75 km still to go. This is where Budin earned his victory. He didn’t go the wrong way, suddenly found himself in a race leading position, then managed to stay cool and focused, ran with determination while, arguably, unlocking powers he did not realise he had himself, and brought it home in style. Not only is it Budin’s first ATM race victory, it’s even his first podium finish! A wonderful story for the humble and talented Malaysian, who has been supported by Sportlicious Malaysia for a few years already and who reportedly has very little chances to do any real training for races. Could this be a game changer for Budin? In any case, having been a busy bee in ATM already, his Top 5 spot in the ATM Malaysia ranking seems secure and Budin can expect to be part of his country’s team in the Final on Mount Apo.

The very experienced and solid competitor Seiji Morofuji was trying and hanging on about ten minutes back for most of the race, but eventually cracked and even still had the resurgent Wilsen Singgin pass him in the last three kilometers. Singgin’s Strava record read 121 km after the race, indicating he had been off course for a total of about 16 km… That’s 16 km of tough, technical hilly rainforest terrain. Kudos to the Sabahan for not giving up, his reward is big: it is actually his first ATM podium of the season after 3 fourth places earlier. Morofuji was all smiles, too. For the KL-based Japanese runner it was his second ATM podium finish after Merapoh Trail in 2019. His qualification for Team Japan at the ATM Final also seems secure. Pre-race favourite Thimo Kilberth eventually arrived in 7th place and was nevertheless a happy finisher.

Lem Chee Ng was in contention for the podium, too, but missed out by just 11 minutes. He crossed the finish line together with Siokhar Lim, who proved how much progress in running pace she has made since 2019. Being one of the most technically skilled female trail runners, Siokhar Lim, with this kind of form, could be a podium contender at the ATM Championship Final. The women’s podium was completed by Philippines’ Irish Glorioso, who ran a remarkable race herself, overtaking Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong in the final sections. Both scored their first ATM podiums, and Glorioso even placed herself in contention for the ATM Philippines Top 5.

Masafumi Yamamoto was another high profile finisher at UTOP, because the Ho Chi Minh City-based trail runner collected his 20th Grandmaster Quest point, and therefore has joined Hisashi KItamura as a 4-star ATM Grandmaster. Miri’s Yvette Chong Mi Chin accomplished her Grandmaster Quest, too, with her fifth ultra finish of 2022, following MMTF in 2019. And also Lim Jyh Horng completed his Quest at UTOP! Jyh Horng started with three races in 2019, the points of which are still valid this year, and added Cameron Ultra, Ultra Trail Chiang Mai and UTOP to it. Congratulations to all three great trail runners!

Masafumi Yamamoto: now a 4-star Grandmaster

Yvette Chong Mi Chin: Grandmaster *

Lim Jyh Horng: Grandmaster *

You can now watch our own race video summaries of the Moon 100 in Thailand and Penang Eco 100 in Malaysia, two races that produced quite some excitement and may later prove vital for the outcome of the Asia Trail Master Championship this year. Most of the video content was already published previously on our facebook page in separate clips, but the below is the entire race summary with some previously unreleased footage on top. Enjoy the show!

The 5th Penang Eco 100 in Bukit Mertajam once again caused quite a bit of drama in its two longest distance races that are labeled as the Malaysia SuperTrail in our Championship series. The very long flattish beginning and the very technical ending combined with heat, humid air and occasional downpours create a mixture that makes this race exciting to follow and quite special indeed. While the male winners on the 100 miles and the 100 km were probably not a big surprise, John Ellis and Alessandro Sherpa ran it in great style and most of all in a great finishing time!

T8 Ace John Ellis only required an incredible 22h 18 for the 170k course in hot and humid conditions for most of the second part! It was certainly one of the best and even aggressive runs of his trail career, proving every bit of the pre-race rumours about his training volume for this race. From the beginning, Ellis was amongst the top contenders and kept a close eye on Hong Kong’s Law Kai Pong, who took the lead early on with great speed and confidence. However, he never got more than 20 minutes. Mizukoshi, Kitamura, Ellis and at first also Sai Kit Cheng. Law Kai Pong began to feel the efforts and by km 100 he got reeled in by Ellis, Mizukoshi and Kitamura. They crossed the 100k barrier in just over 10 hours! Someone was going to pay the price for that. Hisashi Kitamura had never finished a 100 miler before and was first to let go. The ATM Championship leader admitted the pace was too fast for him and he began to focus on “just finishing”. Law Kai Pong began to suffer from stomach cramps, and dropped back. Mizukoshi resisted but Ellis just was in a class of his own. At the km 116 checkpoint, it was already clear that Ellis had the race under control (see video on facebook). Tomohiro settled for a superb second place, which is a great achievement after his ankle issues in the beginning of the season. The Tokyo runner got really fit again just at the right time! Law Koi Pang, unfortunately, did not make it to the finish. His digestive system a total mess, he had no chance to complete the final 35 kilometers. As such, Kitamura inherited third place, and that’s a great result for him in the context of the ATM Championship. While John Ellis takes over as points leader, the gap is just 75 points. For Ellis it was the second ATM race victory of the season after Dalat Ultra Trail, and he also beat the Penang Eco 100 course record set by Law Chor Kin last year by an incredible 4 hours, although even Tomohiro Mizukoshi said that this year’s course modifications made it even tougher. Ellis has cleared the important five-race-barrier for the ATM Championship and will now be taking a welcome break before returning to action in October. By being in the lead, he can see what the others championship contenders are doing before he plans his next move. In any case, his points total of 2475 is most likely not enough for the championship win at the end of the year. Alessandro Sherpa won it last year with 2600.

The women’s 100 miles race developed into a thriller at the end. Hong Kong-based French ultra runner Habiba Benahmed led the race for no fewer than 156 kilometres. Yet, Adelinah Lintanga from Sabah had a fantastic day and was able to keep up even on the flattish 110 kilometres. Lintanga is a Grandmaster and a known mountain goat, but her speed on the flat surprised many. She was never more than 25 minutes behind and stayed focused throughout. Going into the technical hilly jungle sections, Lintanga crept closer and closer to a fading Benahmed. Meanwhile, another Malaysian, Siokhar Lim proved to have recovered well from the Moon 100 in Thailand and also kept her chances for victory as technical trail suits her well. And then there suddenly was Hong Kong’s Macy Li, too. Li had started out slowly and didn’t really feature at the top of the leaderboard until passed 116 km when she took a shortcut - unwillingly - and ended up leading. Thanks to the excellent service by Dot Track Asia, the race director could intervene immediately and Li was told to return to the section where she went off course, similar to the situation with Sri Wahyuni a week ago in Thailand. However, while Wahyuni refused to go back, Li did… and then began a ferocious chase! Behamed had hurt her hip around the halfway mark and gradually became a bird for the cat named Narna. At km 156, the popular Sabahan runner from Team Malatra caught her and left her. Lintanga on the way to the biggest race win of her career. But then… the Macy Li dot on the map began to move ever quicker and with about 12km to go, the Hong Konger passed both Siokhar Lim and Habiba Benahmed and had 20 minutes to make up on Lintanga at the last checkpoint with 7km to go. For sure, Lintanga would not immediately know someone was chasing her down. And Macy Li was: the gap continued to narrow down. With just under 3k to go, the map interface from DTA showed that the difference in distance between the two was just 600 metres, coming down from over 1 km at the last CP. Eventually, Adelinah Lintanga was so fired up by emotions that - luckily for her - she kept on running herself whenever possible. And so she kept Macy Li at bay. Lintanga won the 100km of this race in 2016 and finished 4th in the 100 miles 2017. Now she wins it against two established Hong Kong race winners and Siokhar Lim. A great leap forward in performance, especially on this type of trail event. Afterwards, Adelinah explained how she had prepared for this 100 miles basically since new year. Well, dedicated training certainly paid off for her!

On the 100 km we witnessed the first ATM race victory of the season for Alessandro Sherpa in 14h 53 (approx). A relatively easy win, as he led from start to finish. Kwok Lun Ng from Hong Kong was second in a great effort as well. Alex Ang from Singapore took third, one week after doing Moon 100.

Lo Chin Ling - another Hong Konger - was third overall and first female. A fantastic ATM debut for the energetic young woman. Malaysia’s Faherina Mohd Esa was an impressive second. Esa has returned to form after being plagued by a hand injury last year. Sarah Pemberton claimed third place ahead of Izzah Hazirah.

Video of John Ellis winning race finish!

Video of Adelinah Lintanga’s winning race finish!

This weekend we conclude the first half of the year and of the Asia Trail Master Championship season with the traditional Malaysia SuperTrail, the Penang Eco 100 in Bukit Mertajam. It’s the 5th edition of this event, which has become renowned for its atypical race course and its unexpected twists in the stories of the 100 miles and 100 km races.  Both these distances are labeled as A-race SuperTrails and also this year we have a stellar line-up for each of them. 

To begin with, the current ATM Championship points leader and his closest rival are on the 100 miles start list. Four weeks after his popular maiden race victory in Vietnam, Hisashi Kitamura will now tackle his first ever 100 miles race. As he said in the post-race video interview at that time, the Japanese Uglow runner only has one objective and that is to stay close to John Ellis, who has developed into his key rival for the championship at this point of the season, but who is also his big example as an ultrarunner. Ever since Ellis, Australian but living in Hong Kong, appeared on the ATM scene in Penang Eco 100k last year, he has earned deep respect from Asian running communities. Ellis is going all-in to win this year’s Championship, but by now has also realised it won’t be as easy as one might have thought. Reports from Hong Kong say that Ellis has never been leaner as now, preparing himself for this weekend’s SuperTrail. He knows that this is a tough race, as he disintegrated in the final technical sections of the 100k last year and got passed by the stronger Alessandro Sherpa at the end. Now Ellis is doing the 100 miles, of which the first 100k are runable and nearly flat, before a very technical apotheosis on single trails in the jungle and likely run entirely at night time. Looking back a year ago, Tomohiro Mizukoshi came first at the checkpoint after 110km, but he finished the race in seventh place and 8 hours and a half behind winner Law Chor Kin (Hong Kong).  Another Japanese star runner, Sota Ogawa, ran out of steam after 110 km and -suffering from digestive issues- called it a day. Two years ago it was Isaac Yuen Wan Ho who set a blistering pace on the flat, only to break down as well in the final 50 km. 

Tactical running is a must in Penang Eco 100, and that is of course the trademark of John Ellis. Kitamura adopted this strategy to good effect in Vietnam, and with the championship in mind he indeed better focuses exclusively on arriving ahead of Ellis in the finish line - as he did in Sungai Menyala in April. The points gap is 390, but let’s not forget Ellis can score a full whack this weekend in his fifth race of the season, whereas for Kitamura it’s about eliminating his “worst” result (7th in Cordillera Mountain Ultra) as he has reached the five-race-treshold already. 

So who can run between them? Tomohiro Mizukoshi returns to erase the bad memory from last year, and his form has been steadily improving in recent weeks after his ankle injury early in the year. Malaysian ultra veterans Yim Heng Fatt and Liew Tho Fatt are podium candidates on the 100 miles, both of them also experts in energy management during a race of this length. Jeffery BUDIN from Team Malatra is also one to watch for. 

John Ellis (Team T8)

Hisashi Kitamura (Team Uglow Malaysia)

Adelinah Lintanga, sister of Jess, has been a podium contender for years here. Can she win this time?

Julia Nguyen Thi Duong

In the women’s 100 miles, it will be interesting to see what trail newbie Asuka Nakajima can do on this ultra distance. She won Tahura Trail 42km and came third in Sungai Menyala Forest Trail 50km, but now we are talking 100 miles for the Jakarta-based Japanese runner. In any case, if she manages to win this one, she will do a fantastic job for her ATM Championship ambitions. Sabah’s Adelinah Lintanga, Bali’s Lily Suryani both are Grandmasters and have been on the podium before in this race. The dark horse for the race victory is most likely Habiba Benahmed from Hong Kong. Benahmed has experience winning 100 miles races (eg HK 168), and even though still on the way back to top form after injury she would not come to Penang Eco 100 miles for a DNF… Siokhar Lim is another likely podium contender  - or more -, but how much is in the tank after last week’s gruelling Moon 100, which she finished in fourth place. 

On the 100km race distance, which starts on Saturday early afternoon, most attention will go to last year’s winner Alessandro Sherpa. The defending Asia Trail Master champion has returned from a training camp in his home region in Italy and seems ready to start his championship campaign in earnest. On paper he would have had to face off with Mohamed Affindi this weekend, but the top-ranked Malaysian in the ATM Championship has professional duties and will not make it to the start line - as we were informed. The women’s race will see the likes of Izzah Hazirah, who is reportedly training hard for Mantra Summits next month - a pure mountain race that should suit her more than Penang Eco. Also, multi-race runner Khat Visperas is on the start list. The Filipino is 4th in the points standings after already having completed five races this seasn.  Faherina Mohd Esa is a potential podium candidate, and certainly also Vietnam’s Julia Nguyen Thi Duong.

We will be reporting live from Penang Eco 100 on our usual social media channels. Dot Track Asia is also present, and you can watch all runners’ progress online here:

http://live.dottrack.asia/2019penangeco100/

Asuka Nakajima going for the 100 miles win this weekend

Joanna Kruk: 4th career ATM race win

Penang Eco 100 again delivered on its reputation as being probably the most underestimated event in Asia Trail Master. As last year, both the 100 miles and 100k SuperTrail A-races were filled with drama and unexpected twists. And even though, he did not follow into the footsteps of his compatriot Manolito Divina by winning the 100 miles, Philippines’ Wilnar Iglesia scored a great 3rd place that puts him on top of the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship. 

Normally there is always a solid rainshower at some point during Penang Eco, but this year it was just hot and humid all the way. It made everything just a bit more runable, but clearly some of the race favourites got too excited. A quartet of four runners took off on the 100 miles with a blistering pace. Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi, who is becoming a regular contender on the ATM tour, actually felt so good he went out in front by himself. Behind him were top favourites Steven Ong, the ATM champion and winner of Penang Eco 100K last year, Wilnar Iglesia and another Japanese ace, Sota Ogawa. Malaysia’s other iron in the fire, Sabah’s Milton Bin Amat, took a more conservative approach knowing his technical skills would be best applied 100% during the very technical final 60 km of the race. Australia’s Joanna Kruk made another trip to ATM from Adelaide, Australia, and was following the leading quartet as first woman. America’s Susan Swier was giving her a run of her money, though. Swier is known as a fast ultra road runner and found those initial flat runable sections very much to her liking. She won Merapoh Trail 70k last year, but otherwise she has had little credentials on the trail circuit. As it happened, after being passed by Kruk after approx 40k, she kept the pressure and was only losing minute-by-minute for most of the saturday. Swier would pay the price for that eventually, as she faded away in the final technical sections and ultimately finished third behind Law Lay Eng, from Malaysia also. Kruk was looking superb herself, as usual, and at some point the question was if she would manage to compete with the male leaders for the overall win. 

Sota Ogawa and Tomohiro Mizukoshi from Japan coloured the first 100k of the 100 miles race

The men’s 100 milers were blowing each other up. Steven Ong, not yet fully recovered from a flu attack a few days before the race, even decided he had enough after approx 65k. Being busy setting up his own running shop in Kuala Lumpur, Ong's ATM campaign will require a strong surge in the second half of the season if he is to retain his title this year. Next was Sota Ogawa. Not used to the heat and humidity of Malaysia, Ogawa suffered from major stomach issues that prevented him from absorbing anything just before sunset. The Japanese top trail runner was a DNF. Meanwhile, a runner from Hong Kong was slowly making up ground on the leaders… and at km 112 we had the unusual situation of having three 100 milers sitting at the checkpoint together: Wilnar Iglesia, Tomohiro Mizukoshi and Law Chor Kin! Indeed, it was the Hong Kong runner Law Chor Kin who appeared by far the freshest of the three. Iglesia had just lost valuable energy missing a marker and doing an extra hill, and Mizukoshi looked cooked. The scene did not lie. In the final 55km, Law Chor Kin quickly built up a solid advantage to grab a very intelligent and admirable victory in 26h15. A newcomer on the ATM tour, he scores 600 points for the championship. Behind him, Iglesia was increasingly struggling on the tough technical jungle terrain and Mizukoshi needed to catch sleep at a checkpoint in the middle of the night. Mizukoshi deserves a lot of applause for his very courageous race at the beginning, even when in the end it did not fully played out. He would cross the finish line in 7th place in 34h49. A loss of over 8h30 on 56km compared to Law Chor Kin says enough. But he made it, and he moves up to 6th place in the ATM championship! 

Law Chor Kin wins the 100 miles just before sunrise after a conservative first 100k

It was clear that a conservative start was the best strategy last weekend. Wilnar Iglesia stlll got himself overtaken towards the end of the race by local Malaysian veteran Liew Tho Fatt, who produced a fantastic and well-balanced effort. Milton Bin Amat finished in 4th place, the same result as in the 9 Dragons Ultra. He moves up to 11th place in the ATM championship and is also the first Malaysian. Experience counts big time at Penang Eco 100 miles. Lau Say Niong came home in sixth place, just ahead of Soo Kong Yong. 

Exhausted but satisfied: Wilnar Iglesia finishes 3rd and is the new ATM championship leader

The 100K race at Penang Eco is also considered an A-race for the ATM Championship and thus attracts a lot of strong runners, too. On paper, it was going to be a battle between several Asia-based expats and Mohamed Affindi from Malaysia in the men’s. In the women’s Vietnam-based Marieke Dekkers from the Netherlands was the top favourite, similar to Joanna Kruk on the 100 miles. Dekkers proved to be fastest, indeed. The training partner of ATM Champion Kim Matthews won her second ATM race of the season after Dalat Ultra Trail in 20h21. Dekkers climbs up to 4th place in the championship standings. Malaysia’s Siokhar Lim was a very happy second place last Sunday in 22h 25, as it happened to be her first ever 100k race. The podium was completed by another Malaysian, Lili Wong. 

Marieke Dekkers scored her 2nd ATM race win of the season on the 100k!

The men’s race started quite explosively, similar to the 100 miles earlier that day. Mohamed Affindi, Alessandro Sherpa and David Giannelli took off quicky. Affindi and Sherpa then went by themselves as Gianelli lost a bit of terrain. Hong Kong trail star John Ellis, meanwhile, was biding his time as he usually does. Running 10-15 minutes behind the leading duo in the early hours, it looked every bit of a standard Ellis strategy. Chin Yit Khiang, living in Hong Kong but born and raised in Penang, Britain’s Sam McGrath and Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura were keeping up also. Halfway, Ellis caught up and took the race lead. Drama unfolded shortly after for both Mohamed Affindi and David Gianelli. Affindi twisted his ankle badly in a downhill section and saw no other option but to retire from the race! Technical runner Giannelli, who had just begun to decrease the time gap to the frontrunners, missed a crucial marker and suddenly found himself two checkpoints further down the course. Demotivated, Gianneli retired from the race. All of this was happening in the middle of the night, and Ellis was steadily opening up a bit of a gap on Alessandro Sherpa, until suddenly he didn’t anymore. Sherpa clearly had not yet given up on the race win and, perhaps using his bigger experience of negotiating South East Asian trails, managed to fight his way back to a struggling Ellis in the last 15k! Something one rarely sees on an ultra trail, but it proved again what a treacherous and therefore almost unique race Penang Eco 100 is. The Singapore-based Italian dropped Ellis in the last 9k and cruised to a big victory in 14h25, three minutes ahead of John Ellis. A bit in the shadow of the leading duo, but by all means a stellar effort was third-placed Chin Yit Khiang in 15h30. Behind them it was three hours till the finish of Sam McGrath, Hisashi Kitamura and Beng Wan. 

Sherpa’s win over Ellis could prove meaningful later in the season when the ATM championship gets decided. Sherpa collects 550 to Ellis’ 500 and jumps to 4th place in the ranking with 3 results in the books, while Ellis is now 8th with 2 results. 

While all finishers of Penang Eco deserve a honourary mentioning, we would like to note that Japan’s Masafumi Yamamoto finished his 5th ATM race of the season already, of which 4 Grandmaster distances plus CMU 50, the Philippines’ SuperTrail back in March. Respect! 

The next points race in the ATM championship is the first of four races in Japan this season: Kushigata Wind Trail. It’s also one of the shortest on the circuit with 30 km , but also 2500 hm. 

Race organisers Seow Kong Ng and Allan Lee with Milton Bin Amat, 4th on the 100 miles

The Malaysia SuperTrail in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series promises to be another cracker this weekend as a long list of excellent trail runners from all over the region are lining up in Bukit Mertajam for the Penang Eco 100. An event with a very specific course, be it the 100 miles or the 100k (the two race distances that matter for the championship, and remember both are A-races also). Last year’s edition was full of last-minute drama with changing leads and positions in the final kilometres of what has become known as a very treacherous race. 

Looking first at the 100 miles, which starts at 4 a.m. on Saturday, we see Asia Trail Master champion Steven Ong making his second appearance of the season. Ong has been busy setting up his own running shop in Kuala Lumpur and keeping a low profile after his 13th placing in the -for him- too short Tahura Trail in Indonesia back in January. However, a lot of people will bet on him to win this weekend. Ong is famous for his racing intelligence and the longer a race lasts, the better it is for him. Moreover, Ong knows the Penang course: he won the 100k here last season and with hindsight already laid the foundation for his championship win in this race. This being a SuperTrail, the competition of course will be severe. Sota Ogawa is a Japanese professional runner who is making his debut in the ATM Championship after winning a Candidate Race in his own country last autumn. Ogawa is highly motivated and left nothing to chance in his preparation for Penang Eco. The big question to be answered this weekend is: how well can he handle the Malaysian heat and humidity? Another Japanese runner seemingly has few issues with the climate looking back at his great 4th place in Sungai Menyala Forest Trail last month: Tomohiro Mizukoshi . Ranked 16th in the current ATM Championship, Mizukoshi was 8th in Korea 50K a few weeks ago as well. He came to the foreground in our series last December, when he finished 18th in the Izu Trail Journey, a performance that underlines his potential perhaps the most given Izu is almost like a national championship race in Japan. All abovementioned races are short to medium distance trails, how well will Mizukoshi fare on the 100 miles? 

The Malaysians have another iron in the fire for the longest race this weekend. Milton Amat from Sabah is ready to tackle his second SuperTrail race of the season after finising the Hong Kong’s 9 Dragons in 4th place. Another great result can put Amat into the championship picture. He is the winner of Borneo TMBT 100 last year and that race is back in ATM this year on 1/2 September. With also the Magnificent Merapoh Trail still on the programme in Malaysia in August, Amat can in theory claim the spotlights for sure. 

Finally, also the Philippines is well-represented with Davao’s Rexell Aguirre and also Manila’s Wilnar Iglesia - 3rd in the current ATM Championship ranking - coming back for the 100 miles as well, after finishing second to Steven Ong in last year’s 100k race here. If Wilnar scores 400 points (= 11th place on the 100 miles) he will match the points tally of ATM leader Pablo Diago Gonzales. But the Singapore-based Spaniard will be active on the 100K this weekend, too. Remains to be seen, however, how fast he has recovered from. what has been a very busy late spring campaign with the gruelling Mt Apo Sky Race and last week’s hot and fast Tengri Ultra Trail in the legs. Another Asia-based European is Alessandro Sherpa. When there’s a race, Sherpa is there. But the Italian is still suffering from his ankle injury sustained in UTKC in February so 100 miles might be a mountain of a task this weekend. 

A number of women are also competing on the 100 miles with one big favourite: Australia’s Joanna Kruk. Flying in again from Adelaide, Kruk loves to race in South East Asia and has built up quite a record in doing so: winner of Thailand’s UT Chiang Rai and UT Panoramic and winner of Borneo TMBT 100 back in 2015 as well. Kruk is both blisteringly fast and tough. A former boxer and now police officer, Kruk may even put some of the top men under pressure again like she managed in UT Chiang Rai and Panoramic last December, when she finished in 3rd overall. Not being based in Asia, it is difficult for Kruk to challenge for the ATM Championship and score points in five races. But she is certainly making a name for herself here in the region. While Kruk seems to be the top favourite for the win, Grandmaster Lily Suryani - who claimed 3rd place here last year - and Vietnam’s Vy Le Phuong could flank her on the podium. 

The 100k in Penang is also an A-race, meaning all finishers score 150 finisher points on top of their performance points as well. The only difference is they do not get the 50 bonus points for finishing 100 miles. Hence, a lot of top regional runners are competing on this distance, too. Highly anticipated is the participation of Hong Kong-based Australian John Ellis. Winner of the 9 Dragons Ultra and plenty of other races in Hong Kong, Ellis is thinking about challenging for the ATM Championship and push his own boundaries. Known for running bare-chested, the Australian has little experience running in South East Asia, and just like with many Japanese runners that is an open question to be answered this weekend. Ellis will definitely face pressure from many other runners. Let’s begin with Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi. A man who burst onto the scene in the middle of last season. Affindi has scored one 2nd place after the other - also this year in Brunei and Sungai Menyala - but still waiting for his maiden victory in  ATM. Can it happen in Penang? Looking at the course profile and Affindi’s characteristics as a trail runner, most definitely yes. David Gianelli is another Italian who is back on the ATM circuit and with ambition. Gianelli won the Mt Apo Sky Race three weeks ago and will aim for nothing less in Penang. 

The women’s 100K race seems quite open although Vietnam-based Marieke Dekkers, training partner of Kim Matthews, could be the benchmark. Dekkers won the Dalat Ultra Trail in March and a second strong result this weekend can put her among the top performers in the ATM Championship. 

The event has a new participation record with close to 1000 participants spread over four race distances. 

We will be reporting live from the field in Penang all weekend during our usual social media channels. 

Kruk is back: the Adelaide police officer aims to collect another Asian race win in Penang

ATM Champion Steven Ong returns to the scene on his favourite distance: 100 miles

Mohamed Affindi: finally the big win this weekend? 

Definitely one of the most underestimated races on our Asia Trail Master calendar is Penang Eco 100. Runners look at the profile and elevation gain of the 100 miles and 100K and expect one of their easier ultras of the season. To their surprise, finishing Penang Eco 100, however, is a real challenge. Course-wise, the venom is in the tail and the unrelenting heat and humidity will teach you a thing or two about proper hydration during races. Penang Eco 100 is a well-deserved Malaysia SuperTrail race also in 2018.

The event stays on the same weekend in the middle of May, which means 13/14 May 2018. The two core distances for ATM points remain, 100 miles and 100K, and less ambitious runners can also opt for 50K or 35K. Please note that at this event, there are NO ATM championship points for the two just mentioned shortest distances.

Bukit Mertajam is still the host town, which provides comfortable accommodation nearby, but you can also just stay in Georgetown and Penang, and take advantage of shuttle bus options. 

For detail, please check our cover page or the official event website, where you can also sign up already.  

http://endurancenature.com.my/index.php/penangeco1002018/

XX/10 - Penang Eco (MAS)

The Penang Eco 100 again lived up to its reputation of being a seriously tough event for even the best trail runners in the region. The Malaysia SuperTrail in the 2017 Asia Trail Master championship series brought Hitchcock-like suspense and drama, with a number of turnabouts nobody saw coming in both the 100 miles and 100k races! 

If one major conclusion can be drawn after the event it is this: trail running experience and tactics outweighed sheer running pace. Sefli Ahar, Kim Matthews, and Isaac Yuen Wan Ho all set a blistering pace in the early and rather flattish part of their respective races, but none of them arrived first at the finish.

On the 100k, local Ultron runner Steven Oong grabbed his second ATM race victory of the season, after UTKC 100. The Malaysian overtook Wilnar Iglesia from Philippines after km 62 and found the technical hilly sections very much to his liking. Oong's race story could be printed unedited in a trail running guidebook. Unbothered and smiling when Brunei's Sefli Ahar took off like a bullet with Iglesia trying to keep up, Oong bode his time and balanced his effort in the hot and humid conditions of Penang. When the race went into the rainforest and the hills after about 40k, the number 2 in the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking began to focus and chase the front runners. Even Kim Matthews from Australia was running ahead of him at that point. Matthews herself ran like stung by a bee, which was amazing given she had started the race with a broken rib sustained in a household accident. Up front, Sefli Ahar discovered that technical trail running is very different from his maiden discipline: road running. The Bruneian won the Hong Kong Half Marathon a few years ago, and has developed an appetite for trail running after winning both editions of the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge in the past two years. Ahar has the ATM Championship in mind. He started the hilly section of the race with an advantage of approx 20 minutes on Iglesia, but his inexperience in trail cost him dearly. Ahar missed a marking, got lost and seemingly panicked. Unfortunately, he went on to end up at the start/finish arena rather than track back to the point he lost the right trail. The race director had no choice but to disqualify Sefli Ahar from the race result.

Iglesia took over the lead, but Oong charged forward, overtook the Filipino and finished in 15:47. In the end, thanks to his technical proficiency and stamina, Oong had even opened up a time gap of almost two-and-a-half hours over Iglesia, who did great in his ATM debut. Iglesia hails from the Manila area and will be back on the ATM circuit later this season. Oong now more than ever looks like a serious candidate for the ATM Championship. His Malaysian compatriot Yim Heng Fatt adopted a similar strategy than him. Fatt came also from behind, was never mentioned in the top five at checkpoints, but then reached the finish in a clear third place! Yim Heng Fatt in so doing retains his 4th ATM championship ranking with another great result. Singapore's Norman Koh was a popular and remarkable fourth place in the race - he ran on slippers! Man Kok Fai completed the top 5. 

In the women's, everyone at the finish was waiting to celebrate the victory of Kim Matthews, until Dong Minfei (China) appeared in the final strait instead! A new name on the scene, Dong Mingfei ran her first 100k and hails from Zhejiang Province. She had passed Matthews under the radar at CP9 with only some 10k left to go.  The Thailand-based Australian had suffered a knock of the hammer and got sick (like so many runners on the weekend). Matthews even fell asleep at the checkpoint, which allowed the Chinese girl to return. Dong Minfei obviously had a mental boost and managed to stay clear of a struggling Matthews by some 15 minutes.  The two female runners both had an outstanding performance nonetheless, considering they were also fourth and fifth overall in the race! The battle for the last female podium spot was interesting throughout the race and decided in favour of Katanya Kapelli (USA). Home runner Lynn Law won the battle for 4th place ahead of her compatriot Siawhua Lim. Shindy Patricia came in sixth, followed by her Indonesian compatriot Eni Rosita, who had clearly not recovered yet from all the ultras she did in the past few weeks.

Andres Villagran passed Yuen Wan Ho in the final stages to win the men's 100 miles

Dramatic turn of events as well on the 100 miles. Hong Kong's Isaac Yuen Wan Hong led most of the race but got sick in the final sections . He was ultra fast early on, running 105k in 12:20! Andres Villagran from Ecuador chased him down and eventually won the 100 miles race in 28:13! His first career race win after several podium finishes in the US, and a new course record. Villagran is 33 years old and this was his first race in Asia: "i m so happy with my first win," he said. "I did not expect it as the Hong Kong runner was so fast, but I saw him throwing up towards the end. Great organisation and a very tough race, which makes my win even sweeter." Isaac managed to hold on to second place. "This was so tough, especially the descents are very technical," said the visibly tired runner, who seems to have a subscription on second places. Yuen Wan Ho nevertheless did a good job for his ATM Championship ambitions, and deserves a lot of credit for his resilience. 

ATM championship leader Arief Wismoyono was third. The Bandung Explorer ace had taken the fastest start, in fact, until Yuen Wan Ho took over. Wismoyono kept a good pace throughout and never saw his podium place under threat. The Indonesian was also visibly battered, though. Liew Tho Fatt from Malaysia was fourth. Fedok Ompiduk (MAS) fifth. Hendra Siswanto eventually came in as number 6 and again accumulated useful points for his championship ranking. Shannon Lee was 7th, followed by William Beanjay.

First woman was Malaysia 's Christine Loh, ahead of pre-race favourite Ruth Theresia. Loh finished in 34:30 approximately, which was amazing in her first 100 miler! Loh was ahead from the beginning, with Theresia a few minutes further down until the Indonesian got lost. And she got lost for a very long time, which dropped her all the way down the leaderboard halfway through the race. To her credit, Theresia did not give up and began to fight back. She finished her first 100 miler still in second place, which is important for the ATM Championship as she now has 25 points more than defending champion Tahira Najmunisaa in as many races (3). Lily Suryani was another runner who proved that on 100 miles, experience counts. Suryani finished on the podium, ahead of the younger and faster-paced Adelinah Lintanga, who faded towards the end but also deserves applause for completing her own debut on the 100 miles.  

Christine Loh won the 100 miles for women! 

Second ATM race win of the season for Steven Oong in the 100k 

Isaac Yuen Wan Ho set an excruciating pace in the first part of the 100 miles, but eventually had to settle for second place

New girl on the block: Dong Minfei from Zhejiang in China. Winner of the women's 100k.

Malaysiá Yim Heng Fatt continues his brilliant trail season with a third place on the 100k

The 4 women who managed to complete the 100 miles within the cut-off time of 40 hours

Indonesia's Arief Wismoyono retains his lead in the 2017 ATM Championship ranking with 3rd place in Penang Eco 100 miles