Kristian Joergensen has won his second ATM points race win in his running career in a difficult Mt Talinis Mountain Ultra on Negros Oriental in the southern Philippines. The Manila-based Dane ran together with Davao’s surprisingly quick Arnie Macaneras for 50k, until the Filipino left aid station 7 at the end of the mountain descent half a minute slower than Joergensen. Macaneras apparently felt the pressure and then somehow took a wrong turn, which eliminated his chances for victory. Joergensen’s time was 10:14 unofficially. It was a pity to see Macaneras quitting the race after going the wrong way. A second place would have been his and a podium picture alongside Joergensen and Sherpa would have put him on the Asian trail map with opportunities to come. Unfortunately, now he is just a footnote in the race story. Asia Trail Master Champion Alessandro Sherpa therefore finished in second place, adding 450 useful ATM Championship points to his tally. As in Borneo TMBT, the Italian was only a minute, two minutes behind the leading duo for the first half of the race, yet somehow did not bridge that gap and eventually lost more terrain. Still, for Sherpa it is an important result as he keeps his title ambitions alive, even though he will be needing a win soon and preferably in a SuperTrail (Thailand or Japan, or the ATM Final in Malaysia). Baguio’s Koi Grey is the highest ranked male Filipino runner in this year’s ATM Championship and after a conservative early phase, made his way up the leaderboard. Nobody descends a mountain faster than Koy Grey but even Talinis was a tough one for him. He caught the very solid Noy Gentoleo only after the most technical parts but still he stormed to the podium and grabbed third place. Koy Grey moves back into the Championship top five. Noy Gentoleo came in as fourth. 

The women’s race saw a first ATM career win for Ces Wael from Manila. Ces Cornista Wael was also the dominant force in the race, but she made her own life hard by taking a wrong turn towards the end and losing heaps of time. As such, Bangkok-based Elviemma Catabay actually managed to catch up still. Nevertheless, Ces Wael claimed victory and she is now a superb third in the ATM Championship ranking. That’s impressive as she has been working very hard to get to this competitive level. A lot of people were very happy to see the women’s podium being completed by Grandmaster and Filipino trail icon. Cheryl Bihag. When the going gets tough, Cheryl’s always right up there at the end. Even established and younger podium runners such as Melanie Hingpit were unable to match her pace on and around Mount Talinis.

Before the start, Kristian and Alessandro were already discussing war strategy

First ATM race victory for the ever-improving Cecile Wael

Koi Grey managed to overtake Noy Gentoleo at the end to grab third place

Hydration and nutrition were key this weekend. Grandmaster Richard Akol did well and scored solid

One group of the 333 runners who started the 70K and 50K race categories this weekend

Talinis is a technical mountain, so no wonder even Spartan athletes are joining the race

It is commonly said that a true champion never buries the hatchet until the fight is really over. After a difficult start of his 2019 campaign, recovering from a surgical measure that took longer to heal than expected, Asia Trail Master Champion Alessandro Sherpa certainly wants to live up to the stereotype as he enters Mount Talinis Mountain Ultra in Negros Oriental, Philippines, this Sunday. Already written off by several people, the charismatic Italian has a lot of points to catch if he wishes to retain his ATM title, but mathematically it is still possible and so he races. After a strong victory in Penang Eco 100K at the end of June, Sherpa suffered two DNFs (Mantra Summits Challenge and Magnificent Merapoh Trail) that have made his ATM championship journey a tough one. A third place in Borneo TMBT, albeit behind his title rivals Milton Amat and Hisashi Kitamura, were a sign of hope but he will need more and better race placings. Still, more than anyone else perhaps he knows that a succession of strong results in the last three months can do wonders. A year ago it was Spain’s Salva Rambla who did just that to take the battle to Sherpa all the way until the final in Izu Trail Journey. That is the mindset Sherpa - already in Philippines since a few days - will bring to the start in Valencia, a town not far from Dumaguete, the main city on Negros Oriental, an island in the southern Philippines that hosts an ATM points race for the first time ever.

A popular Candidate Race last season, the 70k race across one of the country’s biggest mountains (peak at 1903m) is a technical one if the weather turns wet, which is always a possibility. The main race starts at an unusual time of 11 pm Saturday night, making it a predominantly dark race for the protagonists. Sherpa will not get the victory presented on a silver platter. In the southern Philippines we have seen the sudden emergence of great running talent over the past years in ATM, and there’s some established contenders on the start list in any case. Manila-based Dane Kristian Joergensen is in the best running shape of his life this year and will definitely push Sherpa forward - if not put him on the backfoot. Joergensen so far has only 1 ATM result behind his name, 2nd in Cordillera Mountain Ultra, so he currently plays no role in the Championship. However, what counts for Sherpa also counts for him: it ain’t over until it’s over. Nevertheless, the highest ranked male in Talinis will be Luzon’s Koi Grey - who himself is also running better than ever since his surprise comeback ten months ago. Koi Grey is sixth in the point standings and is keeping the filipino honours high in the men’s competition this season. Koi is best on the medium distance, so Sherpa and Joergensen better watch out.

Roy Gentoleo is by all means a podium candidate on a good day. Carlo Chiong and Arnie Macaneras: the same.

In the women’s, we will be looking at Ces Wael to propel herself back inside the top five of the ATM Championship. Third place if she scores a race victory this weekend, which would be her first ever. If she finishes second in Valencia, she will move alongside Malaysia’ Siokhar Lim in the ranking. Ces Wael, from the northern Philippines, is one of those runners who keeps getting better and more competitive by the month. This weekend she will need to compete with Melanie Hingpit and Maria Sepe, amongst others, for that maiden race victory.

We will be reporting live from the Mt Talinis Mountain Ultra on Negros Oriental all weekend via our usual social media channels.

Kristian Joergensen is always a dangerman in his resident country Philippines

Alessandro Sherpa has not given up on his 2019 ATM title bid just yet

Koi Grey, now 6th, will aim to get back into the ATM Championship Top 5 as leading Filipino male runner.

In-form Ces Wael could very well be scoring her first career ATM points race victory on Sunday

Outsider: Roy Gentoleo

Outsider: Melanie Hingpit

The inaugural edition of the Mt Talinis Mountain Marathon, a 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race, was a success with participants applauding the organising team of established trail runner Rhodel Sarande for the course and technical management. Mt Talinis is one of the highest volcanic mountains in the Philippines at an altitude of nearly 2000m above sea level. It is located roughly 20km from Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, a province located in the Central Visayas. It was the first time an ATM labeled race took place in this part of the Philippines.

The climb of Mount Talinis is quite foresty, often foggy and has several mountain and crater lakes. The region has a very rich biodiversity but unfortunately also suffers from illegal logging - one of the reasons this event has been put up with support from local authorities, who like to drive up regional eco tourism and create alternative revenue streams for the communities. Runners had to dig deep into jungle forest - as images by Eskapo Mountaineers below show - during the ascent. The main race was indeed very technical over a length of 50 km.

Fastest runner was Joseph Gentileo, a known athlete on the ATM circuit. His findings were described in an interview linked below. He finished in 9:46, roughly 15 minutes ahead of Carlo Choing. The male podium was completed by Jomar Buclay in 10:39. The women’s race saw Zha Malana take the victory in 14:40. She was followed by Maria Luisa Jaugan and Lyra Valles.

Race Director Rhodel Sarande has confirmed the event will take place on the same weekend in 2019, i.e. 5/6 October 2019. Following the positive feedback we are also happy to lift the option and develop the Mount Talinis Mountain Marathon as a new points race in the 2019 Asia Trail Master Championship series. More details on next year’s event will become available in due course.

LINKS:

Press article about race winner Joseph Gentileo.

Video trailer of Mt Talinis Mountain Marathon

Mt. Talinis Mountain Marathon 2018 from Tatsuo.Cham on Vimeo.

We are happy to announce another 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race that will increase the diversity even more in our series, and particularly in the Philippines. The Mount Talinis Mountain Marathon is organised by an experienced team of runners and event managers in the Negros Oriental region of the southern Philippines. Effectively, this will be the first time ATM ventures outside of Luzon and Mindanao and giving local runners in the Visayas an opportunity to shine on the international stage. Host town is Valencia Public Plaza on Negros Oriental. Mt Talinis Mountain Marathon of course features the ascent of the volcano Talinis as highlight of the 50km race this year on 6/7 October. Talinis, also known as Cuernos de Negros (Horns of Negros) is 1903m high and is located roughly 20km from regional capital Dumaguete City. The climb is quite foresty, often foggy and has several mountain and crater lakes. The region has a very rich biodiversity but unfortunately also suffers from illegal logging. Another good reason to mark this event in your calendar and show the local communities that the national parks are a major asset long-term. 

This year it's a 50 km race (CUT 18 hours) that starts at 11 pm. For 2019, a Grandmaster Quest distance is envisaged of 70 km. 

There's two airports nearby: previously mentioned Dumaguete and also Mactan, which even hs international flights. 

More details via the facebook page of the event:

https://www.facebook.com/UTMTNEGROSORIENTAL/