As in BUTM 100 early March, the Sabah runners Gustin Tiam and Rejlen James were fastest in the 100k long ultra of Silabur Cave Trail in Kampung Bedang, just under two hours drive east of Kuching near the Kalimantan border. After being ahead early on, good old Gustin tolerated the company of Hijazi Rija and Haziq Asyraf until the dying moments of the race. That’s 1000 ATM points in the bag out of two races, Gustin is on the way to qualification for Team Malaysia in the ATM Championship Final by the looks of it! The same goes for Rejlen James, who had to dig a little deeper to score the win last weekend, even though she also looked very composed and in control of proceedings. Still, Hong Kong’s Rachel Chan, ATM Finalist last year and 7th in the Siksorogo Lawu race, proved to be in great shape and was challenging James. Rachel loved the runable terrain in the hot weather and was even leading after the first third of the race. When the trails turned more technical and muddy, James felt more at ease and took command. Rachel did well to keep second place, ahead of Adelinah Lintanga, who at some point seemed to be closing in - as she did in BUTM in March, too. However, stomach cramps stopped Lintanga’s hunt. In fourth and not far behind was local hero Celeste Teo in what was a very spirited effort from her. Siriporn Leumathong overtook India’s Ashwini Bhat in the last 10k for fifth place.

Very high temperatures characterised the first day of the 100k race, before rainshowers gave the 126 participating runners a welcome relief on Saturday evening and night. The downside was, of course, that the trails also became much muddier and therefore more slippery. Experienced trail runners suddenly also had to cope with unexpected blisters.

Temperatures were a lot cooler on Sunday morning for the 50k and the shorter distances. Jeffery Budin, returning from a competition break, felt great and immediately set the pace with his teammate Mohd Sulhan. The duo would create a big gap towards the rest with Singapore-based Richard Hall Jr in third place. Budin’s pace was too high for Sulhan, and so he scored his 2nd ATM race victory after UTOP 100 in 2022. What a good rest can do with some runners!

The women’s 50k was exciting to follow with a number of runners genuinely contesting the win and the podium places. Singapore’s Dening Lo went ahead with youngster Shamiera Auther, until the latter had a slip that caused a small gap between them. Deeper into the race, just when Dening Lo had thought she had the victory in the bag, Auther reappeared. Still, the Singaporean proved too quick and took her first ATM race win. Behind Auther, there was a nice battle between Lolita Lintanga and Kona Liau, but at the end it was Singapore’s Joy Sim who had the last laugh and the fastest dash to the finish. Sim was delighted with her first ATM race podium, the just as young Lolita Lintanga had to settle for her second fourth place in a row.

Gustin Tiam collected his 2nd ATM race win of the season!

Rejlen James and Borneo : it seems an unbeatable combination the past two seasons

Rachel Chan gave Rejlen James a run for her money, and can be satisfied with a strong second place

Unexpectedly impressive: Jeffery Budin takes his 2nd ATM race win after a 6-months break from competition

Singapore’s Dening Lo took her first race win in the ATM Championship series

Joy Sim was a delighted third on the 50k podium!

The second Malaysian ATM points race event of the season takes place in Sarawak, Borneo, this weekend and this for the first time in our series’ history. Silabur Ultra Trail , aka Cave Trail, takes place at Kampung Batu Bedang, approx 1,5 hours drive from Kuching and near the border with Indonesia’s Kalimantan. On the programme are both a 100k long ultra and a 50k medium distance race featuring a number of caves that Sarawak is known for in adventurous travel communities. For once, the list of participants for the 100k is longer and in both the male and female categories we see the top duo of BUTM 100 in early March. Gustin Tiam, Mohd Sulhan, Rejlen James and Adelinah Lintanga will again face off this weekend with start at 10am on Saturday. There’s less elevation gain compared to BUTM, and with several other podium and victory candidates this could turn into an exciting and tight competition.

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 was a a Candidate Race last year, and in this season’s “Borneo Year” has been offered a spot on the ATM Championship calendar. The caves around Batu Bedang have attracted quite an internation field with several runners from, a.o. Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong and even India.

Good ol’ Gustin Tiam and up-and-comer Mohd Sulhan may be the men’s favourites on the 100km, but there’s quite a few others who can challenge for a podium result - or more. Wont Kudin, for instance, has already banked a great 4th place in BUTM this season. Phua Cho Ka and Kenneth Mun Keat Yow are two others. In the women’s 100km, it’s all eyes on Rejlen James and the once again in-form Adelinah Lintanga. But Celeste Teo may be very motivated on home soil. Mailin Salungin is another strong and experienced trail runner, who recently won the BDUTM Candidate Race in Brunei. Rachel Pui Hung Chan from Hong Kong was 7th in last year’s ATM Final and 3rd in MMTF 100, ahead of Celeste Teo and Rejlen James - the latter having had an off-day, admittedly. India’s Ashwini Ganapathi from Bengaluru is known as a long ultra specialist, having been part of her country’s team in the Asia-Pacific 24h championships (she ran 181 km!). She was also the only female finisher in the Everest Extreme Ultra in 2022. It will be interesting to see how she fares against Rejlen James and co on the trails in Sarawak.

The 50k for men seems wide open and we are bound to discover some new names this weekend. On the female side, the Lintanga sisters Jessica and Lolita could both eye the highest prize. Both are in good form, as shown already at BUTM with a fourth and fifth place respectively. Singapore’s Dening Lo was a surprising third in Bali Ultra last year and may be their main competitor for the win, along with Kona Liau - second in BUTM 50k and so ahead of the Lintangas in that race. Joy Sim, originally from Sarawak, is still a rather young trail talent who could pull a surprise, too.

ATM will be reporting live from the Silabur event all day on Saturday (100km) and Sunday (50km) on the usual channels.

Adelinah Lintanga has returned to her best level, as shown with a great second place in BUTM 100 in March

Gustin Tiam finally won his ATM race at BUTM 100 in March

Mohd Sulhan is an upcoming trail talent who already was a great 2nd at BUTM 100.

Celeste Teo is from Sarawak and always a podium candidate on the long ultras

Last weekend’s ATM Candidate Race, Silabur Ultra Trail in Sarawak, Malaysia, saw a strong race victory on the 60km by Willy Wilson Jafry in 6:28:01. A new name in our series, who stayed 25 minutes ahead of Ireland’s Mark Steacy - fifth place in TMBT 100 last season. For the third place on the podium saw Richard Ahim taking it just ahead of Wei Soon Lee, albeit more than an hour behind Steacy.

Fastest woman was Noor Zuharniza Junaita in 9:42:38, which was 25 minutes quicker than Celeste Teo. Fiffy Tiffney Rapieng claimed third place on the podium.

We have some exciting Championship points races ahead in Hong Kong and Vietnam in the coming weeks, but first we head to the State of Sarawak on the Malaysian side of Borneo island for Silabur Ultra Trail. It’s the second ATM Candidate in Sarawak after Jagoi Heritage Run, which this year is on our reserve list and taking place in early October. Trail running is hot on Borneo, and we do not just refer to the temperature.

Silabur Ultra Trail has a lot of things going for it to become a successful international event. Key feature of Silabur are the impressive cave complexes, such as the magnificent Silabur Cave aka Jade Cave. We are certainly looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds this weekend.

Organised by Alpha Sports Events and hosted by Kampung Lobang Batu Tebedu, the event offers four different race categories of which 60 km is the longest. The race may have modest elevation gain of 1400 hm, but do not be fooled - there’s technical single trail sections with thick jungle included. On the start list, we may not see a lot of big names as many are recovering from last weekend’s BUTM - also on Borneo, but in Sabah. One interesting name from a competition point of view is Ireland’s Mark Steacy, who lives in Kuching and had two great performances in ATM last season with a 5th place in TMBT and 3rd in Jagoi Heritage. By all means, any man who wants to win Silabur this weekend will need to pass Steacy. ATM Candidate Races are always fine occasions to get to know new running talent, especially early in the season with the first Malaysian points race this year still two months away: Koboi Malaya Classic 50k in Pahang on 13 May.