The 4th edition of Ijen Trailrunning takes place this weekend in Bondowoso, close to Banyuwangi in East Java. It has become one of Indonesia’s iconic ultra races with a good share of international participation, yet has very much retained its local east javanese feel. Ijen is still a remote place, and while the newly opened Banyuwangi airstrip hosts flights from Jakarta and Surabaya, participants do need to bring a good sense of adventure when they attend the event. Having said that, Ijen offers cut-off times (e.g. 32 hours for 100k, 4300 hm) according to common international best-practice and that gives many domestic runners also an opportunity to complete their first 100k race. The event offers four race distances in total, of which the 100k and 70k provide ATM Championship points and Grandmaster Quest points.

As last week in Vietnam, most attention will go to the women’s 100k race at Ijen. Indonesia’s leading lady in trail running, Ruth Theresia, will attempt to win her fifth ATM race of the season and lay claim to the 2018 Asia Trail Master title. It has only been two weeks since Theresia won her home race in Bandung. A narrow victory, one should say, as plagued by an ankle injury Theresia was not at her peak level and received a stern challenge by Jocelyn Cheung. However, this week she feels recovered enough to give it a go. Should it not work out this weekend, Theresia has another chance for a 5th win at Plataran X Trail Bali next week.

A fifth race victory would mean she eliminates her off-day at Cordillera Mountain Ultra last March from the ATM total points ranking. The five-best-count system is in place, and with five victories - including two SuperTrails with 50 bonus points each - Ruth Theresia would raise her score from 2388 to a massive 2650 points. Mathematically speaking, that boost her chances of becoming the 2018 Asia Trail Master Champion to over 90%. In sports, however, it is not over until it is over and - even when unlikely - a few other race winners this season could potentially still tie with her… or overtake her on points. There’s still quite a few points races left on the calendar, including the Japan SuperTrail - Izu Trail Journey - and a 100 miles race - HK 168 - both of which offer 50 bonus points on top of the regular 500 for the race winner. Theresia needs to keep an eye out in the next weeks what other race winners this season such as Carole Fuchs, Corinne Williams and Evelyn Lek will still do. Fuchs, who recently moved from Thailand to Japan, won the Philippines SuperTrail and needs 4 more race wins, including at least Izu Trail and HK 168 to jump ahead of the Indonesian. She got injured in Hakuba earlier this month, though. Corinne Williams won the Hong Kong SuperTrail, 9 Dragons, and Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 last month. She needs 3 more race wins, including Izu Trail and HK 168. In Sabah, however, Williams indicated other life priorities may prevent her from racing again this season. Singapore’s newcomer-on-the-scene Evelyn Lek needs 3 more wins, including the two abovementioned key races to tie with Theresia. Bottom line: mathematically-speaking, Ruth Theresia will only be 100% sure of having won the ATM title after the CM 50 Ultra and Compressport Trail Blazer race weekend on 25 November, but the stars look bright for the always smiling trail runner, who - let’s not forget - only became competitive two years ago. Last year, she missed the ATM title only by a small points margin and after putting up a great fight with Kim Matthews at CM 50 Ultra. If she wins this year’s championship, it will be truly well-deserved!

Bandung’s Ruth Theresia has scored 4 ATM points race victories so far in 2018

Back to the race-at-hand: Ijen Trailrunning. Ruth Theresia will of course not run by herself, and she also needs to win again if the scenario described above were to unfold. This weekend she may be pushed ahead by Surabaya’s Sri Wahyuni as in Mantra Summits last July. Sri Wahyuni had to forfeit from Bandung Ultra with injury, but feels strong enough to start on the 100k tonight. Also Bali’s Grandmaster Lily Suryani returns to the Asian scene after a long excursion to Europe mid-year. Given the beauty of the Ijen volcano and its famous blue fire, the event every year attracts runners from other parts of the world who may turn out to be podium or even victory contenders as well. Let’s see if that is the case also now on the 100k, but it certainly is for the 70km. On the second Grandmaster distance, Spain’s Salva Rambla will be a serious candidate. Rambla came third in the more technical Bandung Ultra 100 and will find Ijen closer to his characteristics as a trail runner coming from Europe. A lot of international runners like Rambla will be at the starting line for the 70k, including from Japan, Malaysia, China and South Korea. Yohanis Hiareij from East Java was second on the 100k in this home race of his, but will now try to achieve one podium step higher on the 70 km. For all the internationals, Hiareij could be the benchmark. The 100 km is wide open could see the emergence of new names. Surabaya’s Suparmin will be a contender, but Davao’s Rexell Aguirre will be a serious opponent. Aguirre has been preparing very well for this race, which reminds him of his home area and Mount Apo. Let’s not forget: Aguirre finished second in the Mt Apo Sky Race last year.

Stay tuned all weekend for the action from Ijen!

Both the 100k and 70k start at midnight time

SuperTrail races are important in the context of the Asia Trail Master Championship as they provide 50 bonus points to all finishers, and that can make a difference down the line. SuperTrails of course also tend to have a very strong field of participants, so scoring a top placing is by no means a given. Also in the upcoming 2019 ATM season, we will have 6 SuperTrail races in 6 different countries. The first one will be Hong Kong and the only stage-race in the championship, the 9 Dragons Ultra on 1-3 February 2019.

RaceBase Asia has scored a hit with the 9 Dragons Ultra in the very competitive world of trail running in Hong Kong. While it is relatively easy to set up ‘the toughest race’ in the territory, it is much harder to also add meaning to such a project. The event is built upon a popular Chinese legend featuring boy emperor Bing of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century. As the event website describes:

“Legend goes that Kowloon was named in the year 1278 by the boy Emperor Bing, of the Southern Song Dynasty. Noticing the eight hills of Kowloon (Kowloon Peak, Tung Shan, Tate's Cairn, Temple Hill, Unicorn Ridge, Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Crow's Nest), the emperor was pleased to name them the “Eight Dragons”—but a quick-witted courtier pointed out that the emperor was a dragon himself, making it nine dragons.”

The 9 Dragons Ultra covers the 8 hills and is looking for the 9th dragon, the winner of the 50/50 stage race in particular.

The 50/50 concept makes the event very special, as it is rarely done in the world. 50 miles on Saturday, 50 km on Sunday. This is also the main event, although people can also opt to run either the 50 miles or the 50 km as a single race. For the ATM Championship, the 50/50 stage race and the 50 miles single stage are recognised as SuperTrail races.

At midnight on 1 February, the 50 Mile course starts at the Po Leung Kuk Jockey Club Tai Tong Holiday Camp near Yuen Long, and finishes at Tai Po Tau Playground, an 8 minute walk to/from Tai Wo MTR (East Rail line). It crosses Kowloon and the New Territories in Hong Kong from West to East. This course is serious business with more than 5000m of elevation gain! The cut-off time is 7 pm, which implies you have 19 hours to complete the 87 km trail course.

The 50km course starts at the same Tai Po Tau Playground, and finishes at Shing Fung Studios in Kowloon, running from North to South. This is not a cooling down run at all with more than 3100m of vertical gain as well. You have 12 hours and 30 minutes of time to complete the distance.

Registration for the event is going well and places are limited. Secure your spot as soon as possible via the online registration system. All details about the event can be checked on the informative event website.

The 50 miles race starts at midnight, so there’s quite a bit of nighttime running for everyone in this HK race

John Ellis crowned himself as the 9th Dragon this year, winning the 50/50 stage race

Top runners on the 50 miles single stage with Harry Jones as the great winner

17/02 - The 9 Dragons Ultra (HKG)

As in the past two years, Tahura Trail will once again open the new Asia Trail Master Championship season in 2019 at the Taman Hutan Raya on 19-20 January. It is one of the most popular events of the entire calendar, as a matter of fact, and ideal to begin a new year of trail running as the long distance remains wisely restricted to the meanwhile classic course of 42 km, or a marathon distance. Registrations for the event are already open.

Mr Agung Adijani from IBA is the organising force behind Tahura Trail, an event that is a bit atypical for Indonesia, a country renowned for its many monster ultras. Convinced there’s a place for less challenging trail races on the domestic calendar, he has seen Tahura grow to one of the biggest trail events in the country, if not the biggest. Other than the ATM Championship distance of 42 km, there’s also a 21 km, 17k night run and more ‘family-targeted’ races. Close to 2000 runners will be visiting the beautiful surroundings of Taman Hutan Raya. Mind you, less challenging does not imply it is an easy race. Tahura Trail is often wet in parts, causing a few trails to be muddy and slippery, and 1600 metres of elevation gain in 42 km still needs to be conquered first before you can relax your muscles in of the several spas and relaxation resorts in the area.

It being the opening race of the season, the Asia Trail Master champions usually join Tahura Trail to open their new campaign. Many other international stars do likewise. This year, global medium distance trail star Jeff Campbell traveled to Bandung, and it was great to see how he was being pushed by a.o. local Bandung runner Margono. Kim Matthews was outstanding in the women’s race. Unfortunately, it would prove to be her only ATM race of the 2018 season, as the Australian is plagued by a delicate and persisting hip injury.

There’s direct flights to Bandung from a few Asian cities, notably Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur. You can also fly into Jakarta, and arrange bus/minivan/car transport (Grab) from the airport to Bandung. Travel time fluctuates a bit depending on road traffic, but the distance isn’t that far.

You can sign up for the 2019 Tahura Trail via the official website.

The ATM Champions always enjoy coming to Tahura Trail to begin another campaign

 

11/03 - Tahura Trail (INA)

The 6th edition of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon took place in generally fine conditions with almost 3000 runners spread out over the various race distances. The women’s 100k attracted a lot of attention as it had a class field of regional top runners, several of whom are also in contention for the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship. And one of them just added her name to the list of contenders for the title: Evelyn Lek. After winning her debut on the ultra trail distance at Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia last month, the Singaporean now also claimed top honours in Vietnam Mountain Marathon. Intermediate race updates did not have her leading, yet Lek arrived solo back at the Topas Ecolodge in 17:57. In the end she had a comfortable gap over second-placed former winner Nathalie Cochet. The French runner had been leading earlier on, but finished in 18:40. In third place was Vietnamese Australian Hoa Banh, and another half hour back was Marieke Dekkers. Philippines’ Aggy Sabanal had an off-day and retired from the race at km 64 feeling unwell.

The men’s race was quite tight with 3 runners finishing within 30 minutes. Local star Hung Nguyen Tien had taken the bull by the horns from the beginning, but had to stay focused as in-form Hisashi Kitamura was never far behind. Kitamura runs a lot of races, this was his sixth ATM points race of the season and his third 100K in six weeks. Yet, the Kuala Lumpur-based Japanese shows no sign of fatigue as 2nd in VMM is his best result of the year. In fact, by eliminating his 19th place in 9 Dragons Ultra - his worst this season - Kitamura jumps ahead of his compatriot Tomohiro Mizukoshi in the ATM standings. France’s David Fontaine grabbed third place on the podium in Sapa last weekend.

The 70 km race was won by Vietnam’s Si Hieu Nguyen and by Hong Kong’s Ngon Sin Fang in the women’s.

The 6th edition of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon at the Topas Ecolodge in Sapa proves this event has become a true Southeast Asian classic alongside Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah. It has become much more than just a race with more than 3000 runners registered for one of the five race distances. In the context of Asia Trail Master, as usual the Grandmaster distances of 100k and 70k are the ones that count for the championship, and the participants’ field is fantastic.

For once we start with the women’s 100k, because it is jam-packed with talented runners who are challenging for the women’s Asia Trail Master Championship to boot. To recall, Indonesia’s Ruth Theresia took an important step towards the ATM crown at her home race in Bandung last week, but despite four victories in the bag her fifth was an off-day (CMU in March). So the title battle is certainly not yet over. Philippines’ Aggy Sabanal is one of her main challengers at this moment. The very young Filippino, 22, has scored wins in Rizal and Mt Apo in her home country this season and currently ranks 3rd in the championship. Interestingly, also for Sabanal, CMU was not her greatest race as she came in sixth. What is guaranteed is that the tough mountainous jungle course of Vietnam Mountain Marathon is ideal for Sabanal. The question is: will it also be for Singapore’s Evelyn Lek? A fast newcomer on the scene last month, Lek looked very composed in winning the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia early August. That was her debut on the 100k trail distance. Of course, Merapoh is considerably more runable than VMM, so let’s find out what Lek can do on this type of terrain. There’s a few Asia-based expats who are also in the mix for the podium battle. Ho Chi Minh-based Dutchwoman Marieke Dekkers, for instance, won the Dalat Ultra Trail and the Penang Eco 100k this year. As for Sabanal, a third victory would create options in the ATM title chase. France’s Nathalie Cochet is based in Thailand where she won Ultra Trail Panoramic 100k last December, but more importantly she won the Vietnam Mountain Marathon already once in 2016! This season, Cochet has not yet been active on the ATM tour. More contenders for the female 100k podium this weekend are Malaysia’s Siokhar Lim and home runner Vy Le Phuong.

The men’s race last year saw a fantastic victory by Quang Tran over ATM champion Manolito Divina. This season, the local Vietnamese star is opting for the 70km race, where he will obviously be the one to beat. However, he might face stiff competition from South Korea’s Kim Jisub. The latter won the Korea 50k race last April, and certainly has the speed over hilly terrain as well. Can he cope with the South East Asian humidity?

On the 100k, the men’s race seems more open on paper and who fills the podium may depend very much on the form of the day. Based on recent performances, Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura will be close, although it remains to be seen how much is left in the tank after TMMT 100 and Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 in just six weeks. Kitamura, of course, ranks 4th in the ATM Championship at the moment, having already achieved five races. His worst result is 19th in the 9 Dragons Ultra, which means a podium result at VMM this weekend may see him jump ahead of his compatriot Tomohiro Mizukoshi. France’s Regis Cabaret is the second race favourite with an extra star behind his name. Cabaret is a very experienced technical mountain runner, whose 4th place on the 50km of Borneo TMBT Ultra three weeks ago show his legs are fine these days. What to expect of Italy’s David Gianelli? Having recently moved to Thailand and work as a diving instructor, the Mount Apo winner has not had as much training time as he would have liked. Let’s find out where he stands this weekend. Other runners who could envisage a podium finish are Robert Butcher and Guillaume Degoulet, and of course several other local runners who make their debut on the international ATM scene.

Aggy Sabanal has won 2 tough races so far this season

Evelyn Lek was impressive on her 100k trail debut at TMMT last month

Kim Jisub won Korea 50k this year, what can he do in Southeast Asia?

Quang Tran was the big winner last year, this year he is on the 70 km

Amazing views along the VMM course

Home star Ruth Theresia won the women’s 100k and extends her ATM points lead

While Bandung’s own home star Ruth Theresia managed - narrowly, though - to score an important victory on the 100 km last weekend, Arief Wismoyono had to accept Sabah’s Milton Amat was the faster man. The Bandung Ultra 100, also the Indonesian SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship series, was the first ever ATM points race win for Amat, after three four places earlier this season including Borneo TMBT 100 just two weeks ago. His success in Bandung propels Amat into the top five of the Championship and with a genuine chance to compete for this year’s title during the final stage of the 2018 season.

As usual, Milton Amat took off fast. But contrary to the 9 Dragons and Borneo TMBT, he managed to keep a consistent high pace and did not allow anyone to come back. He crossed the finish line in 15:10:41, also indicating how tough this race course is. In his home race 2 weeks ago, Amat came 4th in 13:37 and that after breaking down in the final kilometers. Arief Wismoyono spent most of the race in the company of Spain’s Salva Rambla. A newcomer on the ATM scene who has come straight from his home country and will be living and running in ATM points races for almost six months, gathering intelligence for the trail market in Spain. Rambla was surprised of the technical difficulty of the Bandung race, but nevertheless satisfied with his first result. Even when he had to let Wismoyono go in the last part. Brunei-based Canadian Michael McLean grabbed fourth place in 18:03, or just over 2 hours slower than when he took 6th in Borneo TMBT. Last year’s winner Fandhi Achmad finished in 7th place in 23:16.

Ten minutes later Ruth Theresia entered the finish arena as winner of the women’s race, and therefore extends her points lead in the Asia Trail Master Championship. It is her fourth victory of the season, which means the championship crown is very much within reach. She could wrap things up with another - fifth - strong result, which would eliminate her off-day at CMU in Philippines (33th place). One of her biggest contenders for the title, Aggy Sabanal, is running this weekend’s Vietnam Mountain Marathon.

However, Ruh Theresia had to struggle to obtain this success last weekend. Having injured her ankle during training two weeks ago, the local Bandung star was unable to run full power. As such, Hong Kong’s Jocelyn Cheung kept up with Theresia nearly all the way to the finish! Cheung - third in Magnificent Merapoh Trail in August - found a trail course much to her liking in Bandung, being a great technical runner. She arrived just four minutes behind Theresia in second place. The podium was completed by Poh Suan Pah. Shindy Patricia decided she needs more recovery time after UTMB and did not take part in the race.

Arief flanked by his wife comes in 2nd

Spain’s Salva Rambla opens his ATM account with a 3rd place

It has been a while since the last one in Malaysia, but this weekend is SuperTrail weekend in the Asia Trail Master Championship. Bandung Ultra 100 is the Indonesia SuperTrail, which means all finishers on the 100k distance score 50 bonus points for the points championship. Important also for home runners Arief Wismoyono and Ruth Theresia, who will be giving it their all on familiar terrain.

Bandung Ultra 100 entered the scene with a bang last year. Along with Mantra Summits Challenge in East Java, the event captured the imagination of hardcore technical trail runners especially. The 100k has well over 6500 metres of elevation gain and a tight cut-off time of 32 hours. Twelve months ago, Fandhi Ahmad won both new races. He is back at the starting line tomorrow and will certainly act. as the benchmark for Arief Wismoyono and others with victory ambitions. One of those is Spaniard Salva Rambla. Having arrived in Asia just a week ago, Salva Rambla will be competing in at least six ATM races in the second part of this season with a mission to increase understanding and spread awareness of our events in his home country Spain, which is of course one of the top nations in global trail running. Salva and his partner will also be working on a TV documentary, and he will of course also run the races for what he is worth. Spain is not Asia, and Bandung Ultra 100 is definitely not the easiest race to start an Asian campaign, but he is no rookie neither.

It will be interesting to see where Abdul Aziz Dermawan ends up this weekend. A talented young runner who scored great results even on the steps of Hong Kong a few years ago, but it has been a while he has competed at top level in Indonesia. Aris Sopiandi Muklis is a podium candidate, having done well in this race last season as well.

There’s a few Japanese runners who could cause an upset, and there’s also Rexell Aguirre from Davao in Philippines who always does well on technical terrain, having placed second on Mt Apo last year as an example. Brunei-based Canadian Michael McLean was a very impressive finisher at Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 only two weeks ago. McLean passed six runners in the final 10 km to end up 6th in the race result. In Sabah, McLean looked surprisingly fresh at the finish compared to all others and can certainly be regarded as the dark horse for this weekend’s race in Bandung. Amazingly, there’s another top performer of Borneo TMBT Ultra on the start list: Malaysia’s Milton Amat! The sympathetic Sabahan was running in front together with Daved Simpat for most of the race, until he got. a knock of the hammer and slided down the order to arrive in fourth place at the finish. Earlier this season, Amat scored 4th in the 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong and 4th in Penang Eco 100 miles. He is indeed the highest-ranked Malaysian in the current Asia Trail Master points standings in 8th place with 1400 points. Let’s hope for him he can do one rank better in BDG 100 and finally get a podium. He would be knocking on the door of the ATM Fab Five as well then.

In the women’s race, championship leader Ruth Theresia is the clear favourite on paper. Competiting smart and much less than in 2017, Ruth is eyeing a championship win, indeed. Surabaya’s Sri Wahyuni has come closest to pushing Ruth in ultra races this season, yet overtaking her has not been on the cards so far. Wahyuni is on the start list again for Bandung, however reports indicate she is injured and won’t be competing for a few weeks - denting her chances in the championship. Ruth may therefore receive most pressure from another East Javan, Shindy Patricia. Riding the wave of her success in Chamonix, Shindy is a highly skilled technical runner who will find herself at ease on the trails in Bandung. If Ruth doesn’t find her fastest legs, Shindy won’t be far away. And neither will Eni Rosita be. Rosita might not have the sheer trail speed as the likes of Ruth and Shindy, but her stamina counts for two. When the going gets tough, Rosita could be competing for more than just the podium. Hong Kong’s Jocelyn Cheung will be another podium candidate, as she showed again last month with a third place in the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia.

Arief Wismoyono is currently in 6th place in the ATM Championship

Ruth Theresia: on the way to her first ATM Championship title?

An incredible finish at Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 2 weeks ago: Michael McLean

3 times 4th: can Milton Amat score an ATM podium this weekend?

Impressive winner last year: Fandhi Achmad

As announced some time ago, the second Mindanao points race in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series has decided to upgrade its flagship race to a 50 miles distance. Trail Fifty Mapawa thus not only gets a new name (the event used to be called Ultra Trail Mapawa) but also a new face.

Trail Fifty Mapawa will now criss cross the entire Mapawa Nature Reserve, as you can see on the map below. The new 50 miles race is arguably also the biggest roller coaster you can find, as the trails go up and down continuously to reach an elevation gain of over 4500 hm. Asia Trail Master Championship and points chasers should be aware that the “old” 50 km race remains on the event programme as well. Moreover, it has been decided that - this year - the ATM points allocation will be the same for both 50 miles and 50 km distances. Winners on both distances will thus score 500 points.

Last year at Mapawa we witnessed the emergence of John Ray Onifa, who took the measure of 2016 ATM Champion Manolito Divina. It was also the race where current young female protagonist Aggy Sabanal appeared on the ATM scene for the first time. Aggy finished third and this season has built on that performance to become a race winner at Rizal and Mt Apo. One of the most popular running events on Mindanao Island, Trail Fifty Mapawa in Cagayan de Oro not only has an extraordinary profile, it also every year gives us a glimpse of new trail talents.

Registration remains open and is convenient via raceyaya.

Trail Fifty Mapawa

This Sunday the Asia Trail Master Championship series touch base in Japan again for the Hakuba International Trails, a new entry in our series after being a successful Candidate Race last season. Hakuba is close to former Olympic Winter Games host Nagano and takes place in and around a famous ski resort. It is a very popular race of 53 km with a good mix of runable and technical terrain - almost typical Japanese - and in the trend of Echigo in June, it is an event that is about more than just running. 

The 53 km race is the main event and has attracted nearly 900 runners of the 2000 event participants in total. There's also a medium and short distance race on the programme catering for beginning trail runners or athletes from other sports disciplines. Among the latter are even some olympians! Daichi Suzuki was a gold medalist swimmer at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. He is now the Director General of Ministry of Sport in Japan, and he will be having his first trail experience ever! In addition, nordic skier Akito Watabe, who scored silver in this year's Olympic Winter Games in Pyeungchang. And also Aiko Uemera, a four-time olympian in mogul skiing. 

This being the first time in the area, we will get to know a lot of new names this weekend. Tokyo's Tomohiro Mizukoshi and Niigata's Jun Kaise on the other hand are already established runners in our series. Jun Kaise is the double winner of Kushigata Wind Trail (2017 and 2018) and also a third-place finisher in Echigo Country Trail last season. Tomohiro Mizukoshi, of course, is the current number three in the Asia Trail Master Championship, having led the standings for a short while a few months ago. He has been running mainly in South East Asia and was second in Magnificent Merapoh Trail 100 only a month ago. 

In the women's we will be paying attention to the performance of France's Carole Fuchs, winner of Cordillera. Mountain Ultra in March, and 2nd in Echigo three months ago after climbing Mount Everest. Can Fuchs - back in training since weeks - take a win in Japan? If she does, she also becomes a serious contender for the Championship later in the year. 

We will be reporting live from the action at Hakuba Trails via our usual social media channels. 

Currently 3rd in the ATM Championship, Tomohiro Mizukoshi is at it again this Sunday

Niigata ace Jun Kaise is always a podium candidate in 50 km races

Local running hero Daved Simpat has scored a new victory in his home race Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 after 2015. In fact, it was a very successful weekend for the Sabahans with more wins and podium places in the other categories as well. There was a major upset at km 29 as well, when ATM Championship leader and last year's TMBT winner Alessandro Sherpa pulled out of the race with knee pain - after leading the proceedings in the first 25 kilometres. 

Simpat ran most of the race together with his fellow Sabah runner Milton Amat, until the latter began to fade on the way to CP 7. Philippines-based Dane Kristian Joergensen caught up and passed a fading Amat in the final 20 km to take a strong second place. Joergensen had been running more or less at the same pace as the leaders all day, yet could not seem to bridge the gap to Simpat. Another local Malaysian runner from Sabah, Wilsen Singgin, was third in the finish and thus took away the final podium step from Milton Amat. Singgin was running a very consistent pace all day and passed Amat at the end. Milton Amat himself was still happy to come home fourth and become the best-ranked Malaysian runner in the ATM Championship.  Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura, recently 3rd in TMMT 100 and 7th in the ATM Championship, was proving his ultra credentials again and moved up to 5th place in the second half of last weekend's race. Kitamura also leaps into the top five of the ATM ranking. Canada’s Michael Mclean overtook 5 people in the last 10k and finished in sixth! Koh Kian Ti from Malaysia was 7th. Sam McGrath was 8th. 

In the women’s race, Corinne Williams overtook Britain’s Lucy Scott after about a third of the race. The Okinawa-based American won her second ATM race of the season after 9 Dragons, although a dog bite still threatened to spoil her party at the end. Malaysa’s Malin Salungin is third. Kuala Lumpur-based Filippino Jefferlyn Castellano scored another good result with 4th. Hong Kong's Jocelyn Cheung decided to stop halfway, while home favourite Adelinah Lintanga did not have the legs to compete with the frontrunners and finished as 19th woman.

On the 50 km, which was not a points race but had a lot of quality runners in it, home-favoruite and Grandmaster Jassica Lintanga took a good race win ahead of Brunei's Erin Liam. In the men's race Julian Baker crossed the line first ahead of Daniel Fernandez and Sahaban Safrey Sumping. However, later Baker would receive a 1-hour time penalty as a mandatory gear check revealed he only carried one lamp instead of the required two. 

After 2015, local hero Daved Simpat wins Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 again in a commanding way

Corinne Williams takes her 2nd ATM points race victory at TMBT 100

Milton Amat is now best-ranked Malaysian in the ATM Championship

Wilsen Singgen is another Sabahan on the podium of the 100k, passing Milton Amat in the final kilometres

Also for Daniel Fernandez it was a tough day: 2nd on the 50 km behind Julian Baker

Home-favourite Jassica Lintanga won the 50 km race

After his great and relatively easy victory in the Magnificent Merapoh Trail three weeks ago, Alessandro Sherpa returns to the scene where it all began for him 12 months ago. Borneo TMBT Ultra was his maiden trail run, having come to Malaysia with a solid background in mountainbike racing. Sherpa not only took part, he even won the 100k together with local star Milton Amat. Tomorrow he enters the race in Sabah again as points leader in the Asia Trail Master Championship - and Amat, who is doing well by himself in ATM this season - will again be one his rivals for the win. 

Borneo TMBT Ultra is now back in Asia Trail Master after a three year hiatus. Back in 2015, David Simpat and Joanna Kruk took the 100k race wins. Interestingly, both feature on tomorrow's start list as well. Simpat for sure will be one of the main competitors for Sherpa. Kruk, however, has had to withdraw from the event. The police woman in Adelaide did not manage to get leave from her professional duties this weekend. 

This is one of Southeast Asia's oldest events and attracts runners whom you do not often find back in other races during the year. Surprises can therefore always occur, although Manila-based Dane Kristian Joergensen won't finish far from the podium tomorrow. Japan's Hisashi Kitamura could get close as well, three weeks after a very strong run and third place in Merapoh. Kitamura is seventh in the current points standings, and another strong result could propel him up to as high as fourth. Brunei's Alexander Chung has always been good in his country's Beach Bunch Trail Challenge. How will he fare in Sabah? 

In the women's we have of course the Lintanga sisters on home soil. Adelinah will be the only one on the 100k, though, as Jassica opts for the 50k this weekend. Adelinah got second in Merapoh three weekends ago, proving her good form, but most likely the Okinawa-based American Corinne Williams will the one to beat in the absence of Kruk. Williams won the 50/50 9 Dragons Ultra earlier this year and also got third place in the Izu Trail Journey last December. Victory in TMBT would push her inside the women's championship top ten. 

Kristian Joergensen returns to the ATM tour

Grandmaster Adelinah Lintanga ready for another tough 100k 

The Asia Trail Master series venture beyond the politically established boundaries of the continent for the first time for the Nerang 200 in Queensland, Australia, scheduled for 27-30 September. A very special type of trail event for ATM, also because it will be run on 25k loops and has 200 miles as the longest race distance! The popular Nerang 200 is credited as a 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race.

Ian Cornelius, CEO of Gold Coast Ultras, is a big fan of our Asia Trail Master Championship series and is himself based most of the time in Philippines. After a long period of reflection and open discussion, we have accepted the application of Nerang 200 and have provided it with Candidate Race status this year. This means the event is set to appear on our official championship calendar in 2019, pending a positive evaluation of the upcoming edition. The official press release of Nerang 200 features a paragraph that sums it up nicely:

"Although not strictly part of the Asian continent, Australia is in much the same time zone as Asia and, of course forms part of Asia for the world cup (soccer) and various other sports. Both Asia and Australia are integral parts of the Asia Pacific region and the term Asia Pacific or Apac has been used for the past three decades when discussing trade, finance, politics and sport. Although Australia traditionally has a strong bond with Europe, the migrant intake from Asia for the past decade now exceeds that from Europe." 

Australian trail runners have been quite successful since the beginning of Asia Trail Master in 2015. Just two examples, Joanna Kruk from Adelaide has scored four race victories throughout the years in Thailand and Malaysia, and Melbourne-born Kim Matthews is our current Asia Trail Master women's champion - unfortunately out of action for the rest of this season with a complicated hip injury. By having Nerang 200 inside the ATM framework, we are excited and looking forward to seeing even more interaction between Australian and Asian running communities.

While the 200 miles race attracts attention due to its massive length, several shorter distances are of course also on the programme. Runners can choose to do 100 miles, 100k, 50 miles, 50k and 25k as well.  There's even a 4x25k relay for teams. The 25k basic loop has 885m of elevation gain in it, so this is by no means a walk in the park. By going round in loops, race logistics are of course easy and participants can carefully plan their nutrition and race strategy while spectators cheer them on all day and night. Indeed, Nerang 200 is known also as a great party event with camping options, bbq and music. 

International access is quite straightforward with Brisbane and Gold Coast airports just an hour's drive away. Airfares have recently been cheap compared to what they used to be. 

More details available on the event website and facebook page:

https://www.nerang200miler.com and https://www.facebook.com/Nerang200miler/

The official singlet for this year's Nerang 200 event