After another wonderful edition of the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival last weekend, the curtain has fallen on yet another ill-fated year for the mass participation running event industry. MMTF was, indeed, the only championship points race that actually took place in 2021. A few Candidate Races in the last month notwithstanding, nothing else happened this year. Everyone is longing for 2022 to begin, and just like a year ago, optimism characterises the mood of most. Nobody can predict developments concerning covid-19 in the next months, but most event organisers are now more hopeful given the fact that authorities have established protocols for the event industry. Some of these may be strict and may not be very pleasant, but at least they would allow for races to take place. Let’s be honest, runners have had enough of virtual races since a long time already now.

For obvious reasons, the 2022 event calendar tilts heavily towards the second semester. Chances of international participation remain very small until then. As announced already some time ago, the 2022 ATM Championship concept and regulations have been changed to reflect the current difficulties of people crossing borders. In a nutshell, runners will score points according to the traditional system to try and enter themselves in the top 5 male or female of their own country (or resident country in the case of non-Asian expats). Doing so will lead to an invitation to participate as part of a country’s national team in the winner-takes-all ATM Final in December.

The intended 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship calendar begins on the first weekend of March. Two events are scheduled for that weekend: Dalat Ultra Trail in Vietnam and The Punisher in the Philippines. Two events taking place at the same time is not ideal for anyone (read: runners must choose and media needs to split attention instead of focusing on one event only), but in 2022 ‘double hits’ will be unavoidable and covid-related postponements can never be excluded from today’s point of view.

March will be busy, because the following week we will be in Thailand for the classic Ultra Trail Koh Chang, and a week later we welcome Borneo Ultra Trail Marathon in Sabah as a newcomer on the ATM Championship calendar.

Several events will still be added to the 2022 calendar in weeks to come, as soon as there is more certainty about them. We are, amongst others, hopeful to add two points races in India to the below calendar, which would be a first for ATM. Discussions are ongoing between three organisers in three countries for the ATM Championship Final in December.

The intended 2022 ATM calendar is as follows:

5 March - Vietnam, Dalat City - Dalat Ultra Trail (70 km)
5 March - Philippines, Babak Samal Island, Mindanao - The Punisher (80 km)
12 March - Thailand, Koh Chang Island - UTKC (100 km & 70 km)
19 March - Malaysia, Sabah - BUTM (100 km & 50 km)

23 April - South Korea, Dongducheon - Korea 50K (59 km)

19 June - Japan, Nagaoka, Niigata - Echigo Country Trail (55 km)
XX June - Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Central Java - Coast To Coast Night Trail Ultra (70 km)

9 July - Indonesia, Malang, East Java - Mantra Summits Challenge (116 km & 75 km)
16 July - Malaysia, Century Pines Resort - Cameron Ultra (100 km)
23 July - Philippines, Lake Apo, Mindanao - MUSPO 50 (100 km)

20 August - Indonesia, Bondowoso, East Java - Ijen Trail (100 km)
27 August - Thailand, Chiangmai - UTCM (100 km & 60 km)

XX September - Vietnam, Yen Bai - Mu Cang Chai Trail Ultra (50 km)
17 September - Malaysia, Sabah - Borneo TMBT Ultra (100 km & 50 km)
24 September - Vietnam, Sapa - Vietnam Mountain Marathon (100 Miles & 100 km)

8 October - Malaysia, Penang - UToP (100 km)
15 October - Vietnam, Pu Luong - Vietnam Jungle Marathon (70 km)
22 October - Japan, Hakuba, Nagano - Hakuba Trails (52 km)
29 October - South Korea, High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju (100 km & 50 km)
29 October - Hong Kong, Lantau Island - Lantau 70 (70 km)

5 November - Thailand - Doi Nhok Trail (100 km)
19 November - Malaysia, Taiping - MMTF (100 km)
26 November - India - Malnad Ultra (100km/50 km)
27 November - Philippines, Baguio, Luzon - Cordillera Mountain Ultra (50 km)

December: subject to the allocation of the ATM Final and its event date

The Punisher on Babak Samal Island offers a great mix of beach and hilly rainforest

Dalat Ultra Trail is known for its mild climate and the pine forests

UTKC 2020 was the last international points race before the first lockdown. Paul Dunn and Fredelyn Alberto won the main race of 100km.

TMBT’s sister is growing up: BUTM joins the ATM Championship as a points race in 2022

Wilsen Singgin and Izzah Hazirah crowned themselves as the 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Champions in the winner-takes-all 84km long race at the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival (MMTF) in Taiping. The event was the first major mass participation trail event in the country in more than 20 months, and saw 1500 participants follow a strict safety protocol to finally be able to enjoy a proper trail running competition again.

While Izzah Hazirah ran solo in the lead for nearly the entire race, Wilsen Singgin had to deal with his fellow-Sabahan Daved Simpat. A winner of this race in 2018, Simpat wanted to reconnect with his old form after injury hampered him considerably in 2019. However, Simpat is no longer the youngest of elite runners and Singgin was ready to fight after his surge to the top of the ATM scene was interrupted by covid. Indeed, Singgin was the hottest newcomer two seasons ago and even a 230k race winner at Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in Thailand. As runners took off at 6 am, Simpat immediately set the pace and, as usual, was in no mood to wait for anyone. Singgin hung on, Hisashi KItamura tried but could not. The KL-based Japanese vice-Asia Trail Master champion in 2019 already said at RPC on Friday that all the covid-related uncertainties and lack of races meant he is not yet in peak form. Joining in the mix up front were Akmal Adzmi and Yusof Eskandar, and initially also 2017 ATM champion Steven Ong.

Coming down from Maxwell Hill, the toughest section of the race course, just over half way distance, Singgin decided to up the ante and dropped SImpat by a few minutes. It turned out to be the decisive gap, as Singgin built further on it on the ensuing second ascent. Simpat realised his younger adversary was too fast and let go. At the finish, the gap had grown to about 40 minutes. In fact, Simpat only had 5 minutes advantage left over Akmal Adzmi and Kitamura, the latter battling hard to get that third podium spot. However, all the good things that were said about Adzmi’s current form before the race turned out be hundred percent true. Adzmi held on by some 40 seconds and grabbed his first ATM race podium spot! Sazuziam Bin Zakaria completed the men’s top five.

Wilsen Singgin’s finishing time was 10:59:46, which is impressive. While slower than Kristian Joergensen, race dominator in 2019, it was 13 minutes faster than then-second placed Alessandro Sherpa. Admittedly, this year’s race course was almost 5 km shorter, but the conditions last weekend were much wetter.

In the women’s race, Adelinah Lintanga tried to catch up with Izzah Hazirah for a while and limited the damage, until it became clear it was to no avail. Lintanga remained strong to grab second place ahead of the surprising Celeste Teo. Ultra road specialist Chong Mei Tze took fourth and Lynn Law fifth.

It was Hazirah’s second victory at MMTF after 2018. Her finishing time was one hour faster than when she finished 4th in 2019… proving she has not been sitting around during the pandemic.

Watch our video footage of the MMTF event on our facebook and YouTube channels.

Izzah Hazirah and Wilsen Singgin win the 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Championship at MMTF in Taiping

Leechmania. Nearly everyone had to cope with those bloody suckers during the race, elite or non-elite

Hisashi Kitamura fought hard, but came just too late for a third place

Exciting up-and-comer: Akmal Adzmi was 11th in 2019, and secured 3rd place on the podium this time!

Tomorrow’s Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping in the State of Perak will be as usual very tough, but most runners will forget about the pain and the difficulty of climbing up-and-down the wet jungle trails of Maxwell Hill. Such is the joy today at race pack collection at the Esplanade that, finally, there is a real race on again! Event organiser Ewegene Tan has not had an easy time over the past months to make his prime trail event happen this weekend, with Malaysia having only recently relaxed covid-related restrictions. There’s a strict safety & mitigation protocol to follow for anyone involved in the event - runners, event staff, volunteers -, which causes extra pressure and stress, but what matters most now is: the race is on!

For most participants it will be a step in the dark, no matter what. Most of even the most experienced trail runners in Malaysia have not been in a competiton for nearly two years. Will the established guard complete the podium once again, or will we see the emergence of fresh, young and new talents?

MMTF ranks among the toughest races on the Asia Trail Master calendar. Its main race, the 84km - this year 80 km, in fact - is a serious test of physical and mental strength. The respectable elevation gain number of 4610 hm does not tell the whole story. It’s steep at times, it’s narrow, it’s wet, it’s pure rainforest. At the 2019 ATM Final here, most elites were completely drained at the finish. Hisashi Kitamura not in the least…

The first runner-up in the 2019 ATM Championship will be back on Saturday, but for him it is also a major question mark how good his current form is. In our pre-race chat (see our social media channels and upcoming live broadcast), Kitamura downplayed his chances of success and instead will focus on enjoying the trails after 22 months of no competition. The path to victory will lead passed some other Malayia-based trail stars such as 2018 MMTF race winner Daved Simpat and Wilsen Singgen, both from Sabah on Borneo island. An important race for Simpat, as that victory three years ago was the last time we saw him at his best. Injury plagued him in 2019, resulting in DNFs at Borneo TMBT Ultra and MMTF that year. Meanwhile no longer the youngest elite runner, the ever-friendly Simpat will certainly give it his best tomorrow to reclaim the top step of the podium. What can Wilsen Singgen do about that? Singgen was the up-and-coming Sabahan in 2019, after coming back from a serious dehydration episode at Moon 100 in Thailand, which left him hospitalised. Wilsen bounced back with a strong race win at the 230 km long Ultra Trail Chiang Rai, his first ever under the ATM umbrella. How has he coped with the corona pandemic? In any case, Wilsen Singgen was incredibly enthousiastic when he found out he could race again!

The top-ranked Sabahan in the ATM Championship two years ago, Milton Amat, will not be running tomorrow. But Steven Ong is. The 2017 ATM Champion has kept himself very busy with running around his country Malaysia. He must be in top shape endurance-wise, the question is: has his body recovered already enough to compete with the younger trail runners on Taiping’s technical terrain. Yet, when the body refuses, Steven Ong can always still rely on his tactical race brain, which brought him plenty of success in his championship-winning year in ATM.

Other podium candidates for the men’s race are expected to be Seiji Morofuji, Yuzof Ezkandar and Aqmal Adzmi. The latter, 11th in this race in 2019, is said to have improved significantly as a trail runner during the corona crisis..

The winner of the 80km race will also be celebrated as the 2021 Malaysia Trail Master champion.

The women’s race is equally open on paper. Izzah Hazirah might be considered the top favourite, given her 2018 win at MMTF, and her 4th place a year later. Hazirah loves tough mountain trails. In fact, the tougher the better and the higher her placing in the race results. The runner from Team Malatra might face strong competition from Penang Eco 100 miles winner Adelinah Lintanga. That miler was a break-through race win for Narna, and today - two and-a-half years later - she will be keen to add MMTF to her record. And then there’s Chong Mei Tze, arguably the fastest ultra runner on road in the list of female participants. On the technical trails, she has been on or around the podium for a couple of years, but an ATM race win has eluded her so far. HOKA ambassador Chong Mei Tze might also still be in a recovery phase after a long ultra two months ago. And yet, if she starts tomorrow’s 80k trail she must feel confident enough. Let’s also pay attention to Alyssa Ong, Lynn Law and Lynil Martinez as podium candidates.

ATM is on-site in Taiping and will be providing race coverage throughout the day. A livestream broadcast on our facebook and youtube channels is being planned for the afternoon and the arrival of the race winners.

ATM 2019 vice-champion Hisashi Kitamura downplays his chances for victory tomorrow after a long break

Chong Mei Tze has been a contender for some time in ATM races, time for a win?

Daved Simpat, winner of MMTF 2018. Can he return to that sort of form tomorrow?

2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong: always a force to be reckoned with. Did we mention his tactical brain?

Next week is the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival, for the first time in two years. For many runners it will be the first race after well over one-and-a-half years, and we are looking forward to seeing everyone again! The 2021 edition of MMTF obviously still comes with strict covid-19-related protocols, but at least we will have that feeling again of toeing a start line with hundreds of likeminded runners and adventurers. Participants are requested to read-up on the protocol before traveling to Taiping to avoid unpleasant surprises. Please check the MMTF event channels for the latest information.

Meanwhile, why don’t we take a look back at the documentary video produced after the 2019 event. It was a brilliant apotheosis of the Asia Trail Master Championship season. John Ellis and Veronika Vadovicova crowned themselves as ATM Champions, while Kristian Joergensen won the race in convincing style. After that performance, one wondered who was going to beat Joergensen in ATM 2020… but alas, we will never know.

MMTF is the last race of the year on our calendar. The male and female winners will be heralded as the Malaysia Trail Master champions of 2021. It’s a winner-takes-all race.

Thimo Kilberth and Emma Payne are the great winners of the inaugural Batur Trail Challenge in Bali last weekend. Both arrived at the uphill finish line in KIntamani da solo with a clear advantage over their nearest competitors Michio Yoneda and Shindy Patricia, respectively. The new event, organised by Bali Trail Running headed by Ms Indah Immortel, was an ATM Candidate Race for the 2022 Championship series and received widespread praise from a diverse field of participants.

Covid 19 is of course still around us all and the event could only take place with a set of extra regulations and mitigation efforts to be adhered to. These were gladly accepted by the runners, most of whom toed a starting line for the first time in almost two years. That’s a long time without races, and it was no surprise to see several new faces at the front of the Batur Trail Challenge, which offered a 30 km course with the ascent and descent of Mt Batur as central piece. The organiser does have a longer course of about 55-60km already designed for 2022. Last weekend, again partially due to covid restrictions, runners had to make do for 30k. Despite the 1200m of elevation gain, it meant that competitive runners could go flat out from the gun. Having a quick default running pace therefore boosted one’s chances for a podium finish.

And familiarity with the race route. Jakarta-based Japanese “road” runner Michio Yoneda, who holds a 2:37 marathon PB, pushed Bali-resident Thimo Kilberth, who is fast on the road as well, forward until the summit of Batur. Then came the long descent, where Kilbert was able to use his technical skills and knowledge of the trails to open up the gap to Yoneda. Kilberth ran clear for over ten minutes, but not knowing how far ahead he actually was kept pushing hard to the finish and reached it in just over 3 hours. Yoneda secured second in a great debut at this level in an ATM-race. In third came another surprise, as Malang’s Mikha Tanujaya scored his first ATM race podium. Tanujaya stems from the ever-growing Mantra community by Heru Prabowo and Ivan Citraya, who have been doing excellent work in promoting trail running and required skillsets to local runners throughout the pandemic. In fourth, we had the second Japanese runner Fuminori Kondo and Indonesia’s Freda Wardana came fifth.

Shindy Patricia, arguably the best-known runner from Malang, was the top favourite in the women’s race. People who follow her on instagram know Shindy has kept on training consistently since the start of the corona situation, so if anyone was still going to be in shape it would be the 2019 Cameron Ultra winner. And yet, Shindy Patricia is a reputed ultra trail mountain runner and 30k might just be too short and too fast-paced. Elite triathlete Emma Payne, also known as Em J, felt like nothing to lose and immediately applied the pressure after the start, distancing Shindy and the other women already before the ascent of Mt Batur. Payne retained the gap on the mountain and cruised to the finish to score her maiden victory on the ATM circuit. Shindy secured second place, and France’s Manon Janin completed the podium in third place.

A comprehensive race summary of the Batur Trail Challenge can be watched on our YouTube and Facebook pages, or just here below. The broadcast includes a.o. fantastic footage of Mount Batur, shot by Santosh Vasan and Vincent Chalias, and interviews of several of the protagonists.

Watch our BTR Challenge race summary