John Ellis winning the ATM title in Thailand on Saturday seems to have inspired several other runners to excel in Japan during Sunday’s classic Izu Trail Journey. Veronika Vadovicova took an unprecedented victory as a non-Japanese athlete on the 68km course from Matsuzaki to Shuzenji Onsen Town in a time of just over 7 hours, cementing her position as the leading candidate for the women’s Asia Trail Master title to be decided at the TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival next weekend. Hisashi Kitamura adjusted his mindset timely, switched goals and succeeded in scoring a Top 10 placing in the men’s race - a feat no man directly competing in the ATM Championship had achieved previously.

Two months ago one of the country’s biggest typhoons of the last decade swept through the Izu Peninsula and destroyed a lot of the nature and hiking trails in the process. To the extent that afterwards, Izu Trail event organiser Tatsuo Chiba sent out a warning that his famous event, which is seen as a national team qualifier, may need to be cancelled this year. His team’s hard work and creativity paid off, though. The route of the 72km race had to be changed considerably by shortening it by four kilometres and replacing damaged areas with road sections, but at least the race could go on with these amendments. As the weather and temperature last Sunday turned out to be close to ideal after the early morning chill, the race -a runable 68km and 3300hm- was faster than ever before.

Izu Trail Journey is the Japan SuperTrail and therefore stimulates some of the ATM Championship contenders to chase those bonus points. Especially Veronika Vadovicova, making her return to the circuit after moving back to Slovakia following her race win Vietnam Jungle Marathon in May. The 29-year-old wants to get the title, but finds herself under some pressure by Christine Loh and Asuka Nakajima. Both have been piling up points and winning races in her absence. Despite some knee worries, Veronika was therefore determined to collect the 550 points and put on a good show in Japan, knowing how competitive races are in the land of the rising sun.

After 16km, lauded Japanese trail star Shunsuke Okunomiya, winner of Echigo Country Trail last year, was in the lead by himself, closely followed by Yutaro Yokouchi and the colourful Jumpei Yamaguchi. Yokouchi was announced locally as the man to beat, a marathon runner with a PB of 2:09... Tamaguchi is a newcomer to the scene and one who makes an impression by more than his great running ability. Hisashi Kitamura was in the top 20 at this point, with Tomohiro Mizukoshi not far behind him. The Roppongi runner is back 100% fit and showed himself very upbeat before the race. Mizukoshi is fourth in the ATM Championship ranking and will try to get in the top 3, like he managed last year. Veronika Vadovicova was already leading, but the experienced Yumiko Oichi stayed close. Tokyo-based French mountaineering woman Carole Fuchs, the impressive winner of the Cordillera Mountain Ultra last year, looked strong in third place at this point. However, not long afterwards Fuchs began to feel cramped up and stopped her run. Having just returned from another mountain expedition in Nepal, she did not have the best preparation for a fast trail run like Izu. Meanwhile, Maki Tanaka, the winner of Hakuba 2018, turned out to be a DNS.

At the incredibly scenic Nishina Pass, Okunomiya had been reeled in and passed by Yokouchi, with Tamaguchi and Hirokazu Nishimura. At the checkpoint, km 41, we had an interesting situation with hindsight. A confused Yokouchi spent quite some time looking for his personal food, Tamaguchi decided to have a longer break - inexperience? - and Nishimura saw all that and continued running straightaway without stopping! This put him suddenly in the lead with a nervous Yokouchi chasing him. Tomonori Onitsuka then took third place as Yamaguchi was slow to leave the checkpoint and aid station. Kitamura arrived here in 12th place. Veronika was 28th overall and together with Tomohiro Mizukoshi, but Yumiko Oichi was still only 10 minutes behind her.

The last 27km on the rolling hills with breathtaking views on Mt Fuji saw a great battle between Nishimura, from Kansai, and marathon ace Yokouchi. In the end, Nishimura had the upper hand and won the race in 5:53, seven minutes ahead. Onitsuka claimec third in 6:08. Yamaguchi still had to give fourth place away to Tomohiro Machida. Early leader Shunsuke Okunomiya took sixth ahead of Richard Coghlan - a familiar face in Izu and first non-Japanese.

Hisashi Kitamura had dropped to 14th place at the last checkpoint at km 53, but dug deep and incredibly enough managed to accelerate again to catch anc overtake four runners to claim his desired top 10 placing! It was a testimony of the fighting spirit he has displayed all season but also of his continuous improvement as a trail runner. While he was being interviewed, Tomohiro Tsuji - Izu Trail Journey winner two years ago - crossed the finish line in the background... Kitamura’s time: 6:28.

A year ago, Tomohiro Mizukoshi still finished ahead of Kitamura in this race. Now he was 35 minutes behind him. It’s all Kitamura’s improvement, because Mizukoshi ran a solid race at his best level to come in 25th and ahead of Veronika Vadovicova. That did not happen in spring this season... Important for him was also that he beat Daisuke Kobayashi in those final kilometres. Kobayashi was one of the runners eligible for championship points. (Note: ATM regulations stipulate that to score championship points in Izu and UT Panoramic you must have done minimum 1 ATM race this season).

Veronika Vadovicova accomplished a unique feat by winning the women’s race, something no foreigner has done before in this race. Yumiko Oichi kept chasing hard and in the finish the difference was still “only” 14 minutes. Only American top trail runner Laura Kline stayed closer to Vadovicova this season in the Cordillera Mountain Ultra 50k (3 minutes, also due to the Slovakian missing a turn in that race, though). On pure speed, it is hard to see anyone beating her at MMTF. However, to finish first you first need to finish and Vadovicova does sound concerned about her knee, the tough course and the 84km race distance. Plus, UT Panoramic winner Christine Loh is in pole position with 2600 points versus 2530 points. Asuka Nakajima has 2475 and can still reach 2600 if she wins MMTF. Those three will contest the ATM title, as Fredelyn Alberto (2nd in UT Panoramic but behind Loh) and Siokhar Lim (5th in UT Panoramic) can no longer reach the 2600-benchmark set by the Malaysian Pocket Rocket.

ATM#6 and recently crowned Grandmaster Carrie Jane Stander ran to 36th place in Izu and will collect some extra points for her ATM ranking with that result. For Stander it was the last race of the season, as work commitments prevent her from running in Malaysia next weekend.

Finally, worth mentioning here is the fine result from 2017 ATM Champion in 71st place in a time of 8:01. As a true Southeast Asian, Ong suffered from the cold temperatures at the 6:00 am race start (4 degrees), but as soon as he warmed up he executed his own game plan and ran very well to make up fifteen places in the last 13 km! Visibly pleased with his own performance, Steven Ong could create a few surprises next ATM season..

Credit: teelakow officials

John Ellis is the new men’s Asia Trail Master Champion following his fourth victory of the season at Ultra Trail Panoramic 100 miles in Pai, Thailand. The 42-year-old Australian living in Hong Kong was untouchable last Saturday and left his main rival for the title, Milton Amat from Borneo, behind on the relatively runable course in mostly cool temperatures. Ellis added 125 extra points to his ATM total and with 2775 points he is out of reach for both Amat and Hisashi Kitamura with one race left on the calendar, next weekend’s TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping.

Ellis, who is part owner of the popular apparel brand T8, did not want to wait till next week’s ATM Final, fearing its technical 84km course suits his opponents more than him. Only a week ago he suffered a setback, though, when both Kitamura and even local Davao runner Arnie Macaneras beat him in The Punisher on southern Philippines’ Babak Samal Island. As such, Ellis went back home empty-handed, but quickly shifted focus on the Thai race and the 100 miles race, a distance he probably negotiates better than most runners in Asia. Before the weekend, the Sabahan duo of Team Uglow Malaysia, Milton Amat and Wilsen Singgin, were optimistic about their chances to deny Ellis the first two places on the podium. That would drag the ATM title challenge to TNF MMTF and to Milton’s favourite type of trail terrain. But last Saturday, Ellis already quite early looked to have the race under his control, even when fellow Australian Damian Smith, who was not a ATM Championship contender, was still up front.

Thailand’s Yotchai Chaipromma actually led the race in the early stages. That was surprising, yet Chaipromma is one of those Asian runners who has been improving his performance throughout the year. Damian Smith followed and took over at some point, while Wilsen Singgin and Milton Amat were unexpectedly laying back. In fact, Amat had to let Singgin go and had difficulty keeping up with Ellis.

Our beloved Sabahans were apparently not in their element on the trails around Pai. Things got worse when reports came in of Singgin having hurt his knee around halfway. A DNF was being rumoured. The winner of Ultimate 230 in Chiang Rai in October kept on going, however, and eventually would still finish fourth. Now, Singgin’s participation in MMTF is in doubt. The 28-year-old is a raw diamond for trail and ultra running, but doing a 115k road ultra six days before an important trail 100 miler seems a recipe for getting injured. The knee issues of course also prevented him from challenging Ellis when the latter spurred on his engine.

Damian Smith began to feel the effort after 100km, and when Ellis caught him he had no real response anymore. John Ellis therefore had the perfect situation to celebrate his ATM Championship title in the final 50km of the race. He arrived in Pai after 20 hours and 20 minutes, relieved that all his efforts this season had eventually paid off. His current total score of 2775 is also a new ATM record. Throughout the season, he focused mostly on the SuperTrails and collected the 50 bonus points in each, which helps even if you don’t win the race. This is where Ellis had the better of especially Kitamura this season. His Japanese foe beat him twice, but in standard races and not in the SuperTrails.

Milton Amat suddenly found an extra gear in the last 25km and nearly caught Damian Smith still at the finish. The Sabahan will compete with Kitamura and Mizukoshi for second place in the ATM Championship in Malaysia on Saturday. Japan’s Yasuo Watanabe came into the finish behind Wilsen Singgin as a great fifth, indicating his leap in performance.

The women’s ATM Championship was always going to be decided next weekend, but after UT Panoramic we only have three out of five contenders left. Malaysia’s Christine Loh won her third consecutive Thai race and once again by outpacing Fredelyn Alberto. Unfortunately for the Filipino runner, that also meant the end of her title ambition. Nevertheless, she was delighted by finishing her first ever 100 miles despite hallucinations and what have you. Loh, who dropped Alberto after CP3 already in Pai, boosted her points total to 2700 and that’s a number Alberto cannot reach anymore. Even if she wins MMTF - not unlikely given the course - she can maximum hit 2689.

Also Siokhar Lim is mathematically out of the title challenge following her fifth place in Panoramic. “Steel” struggled a bit in the final sections and had to accept Pimprapai Ninsuwan and Montha Suntornwit ahead of her. Mostly this season it was the other way around. Siokhar Lim had a nice price of comfort, however, as she was announced as the winner of the 4 Trails Thailand series ahead of Alberto and Ninsuwan.

Asuka Nakajima and Veronika Vadovicova are the only women left who can dethrone new points leader Christine Loh next week in the final race. Nakajima needs to win in any case, while Loh and Vadovicova have a few more options.

Christine Loh won for the third time in a row and is the new points leader going into the final week of 2019!

Fredelyn Alberto was happy to come second in her first ever 100 miles

Pim Ninsuwan was a fantastic third place: her first podium in an ATM points race

Siokhar Lim won the 4 Trails Thailand Trophy, but lost the chance to become Asia Trail Master Champion

Yasuo Watanabe ran a great 100 miles race and finished fifth no less in 23:53

Also for Grandmaster and Sabah ambassador Jess Lintange it was the first 100 miles race ever: she finished in seventh place!

The Izu Trail Journey to the south of Tokyo has been a decider in the Asia Trail Master Championship since 2017 and this year it could again make or break the chances of Veronika Vadovicova and Hisashi Kitamura in the context of the Asia Trail Master Championship. Vadovicova, the early season dominator, has returned from her native Slovakia in Eastern Europe to get the title. But to achieve that, she will need to be at her best here in the Japan SuperTrail and next week in TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival.

Due to the gigantic typhoon that struck the Izu Peninsula in October, this year’s race will deviate from the traditional course in a few parts. The total distance now will be 68km instead of 72km and elevation gain is also reduced to a still substantial 3300 hm.

The fact is that Veronika Vadovicova can pull of quite a stunt by winning this renowned Japanese race, often used in the domestic scene to determine the places on the national trail running team. If she is any way as fast as in spring, she stands a real chance against the Japanese elite such as Maki Tanaka and Kaori Asahara. Last year, France’s Carole Fuchs scored 6th place in this race and she will be back also - reportedly in better shape than twelve months ago, too. Fuchs is a mountaineer athlete, who on a good day can be outstanding in a trail race - remember CMU 2018.

Here it is important to note that only runners with minimum 1 ATM result in 2019 are eligible for more points in Izu Trail Journey. That means, Vadovicova doesn’t really need to worry about the Japanese elite and even Fuchs as most of them did not compete in ATM this season. One runner on the Izu start list who did is Canada’s Carrie Jane Stander. Recently crowned as a Grandmaster, Stander is 7th in the ATM Championship and another good result could still get her a top 5 placing by year’s end.

The men’s race will be illuminated by the traditional Japanese national team seekers such as Ko Ito, Katsuhiro Matsubara, Nobuya Tani, Shunsuke Okunomiya and Tomohiro Tsuji. From an ATM point of view, Hisashi Kitamura is the runner to watch. He needs a win of the ATM eligibles to retain his chances for the ATM Championship win in Taiping next weekend. A difficult ask and by the time he goes to the starting line on Sunday morning he will know the outcome of the Ultra Trail Panoramic in Thailand and the performance of title rival John Ellis there. Kitamura therefore cannot control his own fate, something he did so beautifully in The Punisher in Philippines last weekend. One contender he needs to watch out for is his compatriot Tomohiro Mizukoshi. The latter was faster than Kitamura in Izu a year ago, and himself engaged in a battle for the top five of the ATM Championship with Koi Grey and Sukrit Kaewyoun.

Another man to watch in Izu will be 2017 Asia Trail Master Champion Steven Ong. The Malaysian is clearly coming back to his best form after a full year of injury and other issues, and could be a serious contender, indeed. The weather forecast says not too cold, which also plays into the cards of the Southeast Asian runners.

We will be reporting live from Izu Trail Journey all day on Sunday via Facebook and Instagram.

Tomohiro Mizukoshi aims to consolidate his Top 5 placing in the ATM Championship in Izu

A year ago, Hisashi Kitamura beat Pablo Diago Gonzales for 4th place in the ATM Championship. Now he runs with the title on his mind, even when he has no control over John Ellis this weekend...

2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong will run Izu for the first time

Veronika Vadovicova: ATM title favourite but there’s injury worries

Apparently unhappy it did not work out in Philippines last weekend, John Ellis has now formally decided to start the 100 miles race of Ultra Trail Panoramic by boarding the plane to Thailand this Thursday afternoon. The ATM Championship points leader is worried the last race on the calendar next week, TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival, suits his main challengers better and cannot wait to wrap things up beforehand. Hisashi Kitamura won’ t be there to stop him this time (he is running Izu Trail Journey, the Japan SuperTrail in his own attempt to still boost his ATM total) , but the Sabahan tandem of Milton Amat and Wilsen Singgin are determined to make it hard for the Hong Kong T8 ace.

Siangpure Ultra Trail Panoramic has been redesigned for this year and is now totally centred around Pai in the northwestern corner of the country. Both the 100 miles and the 100k race offer points for the ATM Championship and the Grandmaster Quest. It is not exactly and easy miler , with a total elevation gain of 8800 hm. The latter increases the victory chances of the Malaysians against the faster runner Ellis. Last October, in fairness, Milton Amat did not have the speed to compete with Ellis and Kitamura. But on technical mountain and thick jungle trail, Milton Amat has been absolutely dominant the whole season. Precisely why John Ellis fears him more than Hisashi Kitamura: the ATM Final in Malaysia next week is Amat’s cup of tea, especially if it is wet like last year.

Currently third in the ranking, Milton can still hit a total of 2700 ATM points if he wins Panoramic and also wins MMTF. Ellis has 2650 today and that means he needs 51 points to get the job done. As we analysed last week before The Punisher, Ellis has a 425-pointer as his ‘fifth and worst result’ so a win (550 points) or a second place (500 points) would suffice for him to jump out of reach by taking his total points tally to above 2700. Hisashi Kitamura can only reach a maximum of 2675 anymore and needs to win Izu and MMTF for that.

In conclusion, Milton Amat and Hisashi Kitamura need to score race wins this weekend, and have to hope Ellis won’t come second. That’s why all Malaysians are hoping for youngster Wilsen Singgin to keep up and protect Amat knowing that next week all bets would be off. Footnote: by collapsing on the beach of Koh Phangan 3km before the finish of Moon 100, Singgin jeopardised Amat’s championship chances as Job Tanapong took advantage of the situation to take that race win ahead of Amat. Points Amat is surely missing now, but all the more reason for Singgin to do his best in defence of his friend this weekend! And let’s not forget Singgin was the big winner of Ultimate 230 in Chiang Rai last October….

Other potential spoilers for Ellis could be local top runners Sukrit Kaewyoun, Nikom Tongjai and Yotchai Chaipromma. Sukrit himself will be running the best he can to get into the top five of the ATM Championship again. The difference in points between him, Tomohiro Mizukoshi and Koi Grey is minimal.

Note that since last year, the ATM championship regulations stipulate that only runners who have scored minimum 1 ATM result in 2019 can still score points in UT Panoramic and Izu Trail Journey. This measure is meant to enhance fairness between the title contenders and prevent one of them from, say, recruiting Jim Walmsley or Francois D’haene to come and run and take points away from the other title contenders.

The women’s Asia Trail Master Championship is bound to continue all the way to MMTF next week. We analysed the situation thoroughly last week, and The Punisher did not affect the title challenge of the five protagonists. Hong Kong’s Jcy Ho ran herself in the top five, though, and she might be keen to stay there but she can no longer score the required points to become the new ATM champion.

In UT Panoramic, three of the five title contenders will square off against each other and - in fact - not for the first time this season. The 4 Trails Thailand series have proven to be a good form determiner this season. While points leader Asuka Nakajima is biding her time and waiting to see what happens, Christine Loh, Fredelyn Alberto and Siokhar Lim will go at it on the 100 miles. It’s a tough ask one week before the ATM Final… For Fredelyn Alberto it will even be her first miler ever! Contrary to Christine Loh, who won Penang Eco 100 miles in 2017. Loh and Alberto have been competing fiercely over the past few months and in the last two races it was the Malaysian who got the upper hand, albeit only just. Either one of them has the best chance to enter next week’s Final at MMTF as the championship points leader and therefore woman-to-beat. However, to finish first you first need to finish and Siokhar Lim is the only one who has proven not to suffer from multiple tough-races-in-a-row.

What about the fifth contender for the title? Veronika Vadovicova will be running Izu Trail Journey on Sunday (preview coming tomorrow).

As usual we will be reporting live from Pai this weekend starting tomorrow on our ATM Facebook Page.

Christine Loh could do a monsterjob for her ATM Championship chances this weekend

Fredelyn Alberto has not given up on her ATM Championship ambitions just yet

The dark horse: “Steel” Lim will run her own race and is capable of producing the upset

Smart move? Sukrit Kaewyoun goes for the 100k race win and the 500 points that come with it

One of the big returnees in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series is Ultra Trail Koh Chang, perhaps best known abbreviated as UTKC. The 5th edition of the popular southern Thailand event is set for 15/16 February 2020 and is back on the calendar after a one year break. In fact, the event did not take place at all in 2019 and it is therefore no surprise that most places are already sold out. UTKC is renowned for having some very technical hilly jungle sections and for the heat, yet it easily draws up to 2000 runners spread out over several race distance categories of which the 100km (A race) and 70km (B race) matter for the ATM Championship points and the Grandmaster Quest.

To get to Koh Chang, you need to make your way to Trat. You can do that via highway bus from Bangkok or via a short domestic flight. From Trat you take a ferry for roughly 45 minutes to reach Koh Chang island. There’s plenty of guesthouses and hotels in the area. For details on logistics, please contact teelakow and check the event website.

Thailand’s Jay Jantaraboon and Sanya Khancia were the big winners of the 2018 100km race, with an Indonesian top 3 in the women’s: Ruth Theresia, Shindy Patricia and Lily Suryani. A year earlier, it was Malaysia on top with Steven Ong who carried Wataru Iino the finish in the men’s, and Tahira Najmunisaa who was at the peak of her running form to claim the women’s race. That year Kim Matthews came to the foregound as well and won the 70km race. It does look like winning UTKC is a good omen for the rest of the women’s ATM championship.

In the first quarter of 2020 the spotlights will shine on various islands of the Philippines quite a few times. Culiminating in the Cordillera Mountain Ultra on 7 March - the country’s SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship series - no fewer than three Candidate Races will be held in the months of January and February. Local runners therefore have no excuses not to be in shape for CMU!

Last week we already announced the Philippine Mountain Run in Kibungan, Luzon on 11 January and the Mt Kalatungan in Bukidnon, Mindanao on 1 March, this week we are happy to add the Alicia Ultra as a 2021 ATM Candidate Race on the island of Bohol on 23 February. This will be Bohol Island’s first trail ultra marathon, happening in the beautiful town of Alicia, 3 hours away from the province’ capital Tagbilaran City. Bohol is the island to the east of Cebu.

The trail course is set over the luscious green rolling hills of the Alicia Panoramic Park also known as the Binabaje Hills, oil palm plantations, river banks, rice paddies, and the Batong Puti Cliffside Park. The highlight of the race is the chance to gaze upon the panoramic views of the Binabaje Hills at sunrise. Though the highest point of the route is just about 350masl, the short steep ascents, slippery descents, and sun‐exposed terrain offer a good amount of challenge even to the most seasoned trail runner.

The 50KM Trail Ultra will start on Sunday, 1:30AM at the Alicia Gymnasium followed by the 25KM Trail Run at 3:30AM. The 12KM Fun Trail will start 5:30AM.

More details can be found on the official website and facebook page.

Hisashi Kitamura has won the race he had to win to retain his chances to become Asia Trail Master champion and prevent John Ellis from becoming it last weekend at The Punisher on Babak Samal Island in Davao, Mindanao, Philippines. A hot Uglow runner led practically the whole race and finished in a blistering time of 8:49.21. It is Kitamura's third ATM race victory of the season after Vietnam Jungle Marathon 70 and Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia 100. Local favourite Arnie Macaneras was strong as expected and stayed with him for about 20km on a dry and runable course. Macaneras claimed second place at the finish in 9:35 (quite a big gap!). Hong Kong's ATM Championship leader John Ellis, who was trying to clinch the title in this race but had to win to do so, had to settle for third place in 10:35. That's a huge margin to Kitamura. In the post-race interview (see the video on our facebook wall), Ellis confirms his Japanese rival was just too fast and at the end he preserved energy for the next two final races to come. Third place means no extra championship points for Ellis, which means it ain’t over yet! He stays on 2650. KItamura anyhow could not improve his total tally in this race and stays on 2575. 

Sabah’s Milton Amat will draw a lot of courage from this going into his own crucial race next week in Thailand: Ultra Trail Panoramic. In it, he might meet Ellis while Kitamura will aim to win Izu Trail Journey in Japan. 

Arnie Macaneras finally delivered a strong result that has been in the tank for a long time. He could become one of the runners to watch out for in the 2020 ATM season. He is not alone: 19-year-old Godwin Lachica Mirar from Bukidnon on Mindanao was equally impressive by finishing in fourth place while another local Davao runner, Joemar dela Cruz, arrived as fifth. Canada’s Michael McLean secured sixth place.

The women’s race was dominated by Hong Kong’s Jcy Ho, who scored her second ATM race victory of the season after VMM 70. The podium was completed by very experienced Grandmaster Cheryl Bihag and Manilyn Mamugay, a former winner of The Punisher.

A great 2nd ATM race win for Jcy Ho! She consolidates her top 10 ranking in the ATM Championship

The two race winners of the Punisher 80: Jcy Ho and Hisashi Kitamura

Arnie Macaneras delivered on all his promise: 2nd place!

19 years old and fourth place: Godwin Mirar!

Cheryl Bihag can never be underestimated: a well-deserved second place for arguably the most experienced female filipino trail runner

While John Ellis is running The Punisher in his bid to become the 2019 Asia Trail Master Champion, why don’t we listen to the excellent Endurance Asia podcast with last year’s champion Alessandro Sherpa? Scott talks to Alessandro who shows himself as very open-hearted in this fascinating interview. As his year as champion is coming to an end, we can be certain that Alessandro will not bow out without a strong performance in TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival on 14 December, the ATM Final that he still has on his agenda for 2019. Should Ellis fail to clinch it tonight in Philippines, we can rest assured that Sherpa will play a role in the conclusive battle in Malaysia in a fortnight.

In any case, we are looking forward to seeing a fully fit Sherpa back in action on the ATM circuit in 2020!

The 5th edition of The Punisher, a pretty nice trail race on Babak Samal Island off the coast of Davao CIty on Mindanao in the southern Philippines, could see the crowning of the new men’s Asia Trail Master Champion. John Ellis decided not to sit around and wait till the big ATM FInal in Malaysia in a fortnight and try to wrap things up already tomorrow. To achieve that he must do one thing he actually is pretty good at: winning the race! It would boost his total ATM points tally to 2725 (see our news piece earlier today), which would be out of reach for his two remaining title rivals Hisashi Kitamura and Milton Amat.

However, Kitamura wouldn’t be the ‘Karate Kit’ if he were going to let that happen without a fight. The Kuala Lumpur-based Japanese changed his plans for the weekend and re-directed his flight from Osaka to Davao with the purpose of giving Ellis once again a good solid run for his money. Those two have been going head-to-head for most of the season, mostly with Ellis gaining the upper hand at the end, but their epic battle in Ultra Trail Chiang Rai is likely to be remembered as the ‘race of the season’. Kitamura made the Hong Kong-based Australian suffer like hardly ever seen before. Tomorrow on the 80km course on Babak Samal, it’s the rematch! It matters for Kitamura, because he cannot afford Ellis to add more points to his total at all or his own championship chances are virtually over. The race course is generally quite runable - which suits Kitamura - but has its share of technical sections as well to pay attention to.

The Uglow ace may get some help, however, as one local runner is keen to make a name for himself on home soil this weekend: Arnie Macaneras. He was the man who bravely followed John Ray Onifa at CMU for a good while before breaking down. Macaneras learnt from his over-enthusiasm in the Cordillera and came back on Mt Talinis to push Kristian Joergensen to the limit. It is fair to say that Macaneras has the potential to be a spoiler for Ellis’ ambition to conclude the ATM Championship. The young Filipino has nothing to lose and wants two big scalps on his trail record. It will be interesting to see how the two ATM title contenders are going to deal with him.

Other podium contenders in the men’s race this weekend if the dice rolls right for them are Michael McLean, last year’s race winner Rexell Aguirre and who knows Grandmasters Richard Akol and John Eruel Oquino, the latter not for nothing the number 8 in the ATM Championship ranking this year.

In the women’s Punisher 80k. race we will be looking out for Hong Kong’s Jcy Ho. The Oxsitis ambassador will aim for her second ATM race win of the season after scoring the 70k at Vietnam Mountain Marathon last September. Jcy Ho is 9th in the Championship standings and not a title contender, but as she will also run TNF MMTF in two weeks could still earn herself a final spot in the top five by the end of the season.

Jcy will be competing for the win and the podium against Rhea Batac, recently podium in the V Trail Laos, former Punisher race winner Manilyn Mamugay Grandmaster Cheryl Bihag and Karen Widmer from Switzerland.

Just a month ago at UTCR, Ellis and Kitamura ran each other to pieces. Will they do so again now with the ATM Championship title very much at stake on Babak Samal Island this Saturday?

John Ellis, also known as a co-founder of the popular T8 brand

He enjoys the competition with his “idol” Ellis a lot, but he certainly prefers to beat him too: Kitamura!

Popular local runner Manilyn Mamugay is a former winner of The Punisher.

After her impressive series of performances in September, Team Oxsitis’ Jcy Ho is a victory candidate this weekend as well in her bid to climb into the ATM Championship top five by year’s end

John Ellis and Asuka Nakajima enter the final fortnight of the 2019 Asia Trail Master Championship as points leaders and therefore the runners to beat. On Saturday The Punisher 80k race In the Philippines marks the start of the ultimate points rush that culminates in the TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping, Perak, on 14 December. It is wonderfully exciting that both the men’s and women’s championship have not yet been decided until now. Nothing and nobody is certain yet. More, the women’s title campaign is bound to continue all the way to the last race in Taiping with no fewer than five amazing contenders for the throne. The men’s campaign, however, could conclude prematurely as Hong Kong-based Australian John Ellis has decided to take the bull by the horns and punish his rivals at … The Punisher!

So what are the potential scenarios to unfold in the next two weeks? Here’s the lowdown on the 2019 ATM Championship:

The Men: John Ellis can wrap it up this weekend thanks to SuperTrail wins

Today’s ranking:

1. John Ellis (AUS/HKG) - 2650 points (5+ races)

2. Hisashi Kitamura (JPN/MAS) - 2575 points (5+ races)

3. Milton Amat (MAS) - 2525 points (5+ races)

4. Tomohiro Mizukoshi (JPN) - 2290 points (5+ races)

5. Koi Grey (PHI) - 2264 points (5 races)

6. Sukrit Kaewyoun (THA) - 2200 points (5+ races)

Every single contender has reached the plateau of 5 races, so according to the rules of the ATM Championship - the Five Best Count system - it is or has been all about eliminating a runner’s ‘worst’ points performance during the season in order to still add more to his total points tally. (All six runners meet the other key conditions: at least one race abroad, and at least one SuperTrail). It is therefore significant now to look at each runner’s remaining ‘improvement potential’ in the four remaining races on the ATM calendar. As a reminder, the top 3 in the last races get:

• The Punisher: 500 points - 450 - 425.

• Ultra Trail Panoramic 100 miles: 550 points - 500 - 475

• Izu Trail Journey: 550 points - 500 - 475

• TNF MMTF: 550 points - 500 - 475

And so we arrive at the following:

Only John Ellis, Hisashi Kitamura and Milton Amat remain in the game. Tomohiro Mizukoshi is too far behind on points already to still surpass Ellis’ current total of 2650. Mizukoshi, who will run Izu Trail and MMTF, has an improvement potential of +300 in those two races, which puts him at 2590 - theoretically enough to finish second in this year’s Championship. Last year Tomohiro ended the season in third place. Koi Grey only has MMTF on the agenda, in which he can up his total to 2400 max (+136). For the colourful Flipino, it will be key to stay ahead of Sukrit Kaewyoun at MMTF, as the Thailander - who also runs UT Panoramic - still has an improvement potential of +250 to put him in the best case at a total 2450. So what about the Big Three:

• John Ellis: will run Punisher and MMTF for sure, and leaves UT Panoramic optional. If he runs all, his improvement potential amazingly still is +150 as he can still eliminate his 3rd place in Sungai Menyala Forest Trail (425 points) and 3rd in the 9 Dragons (475 points). Maximum Total: 2800 points.

• Hisashi Kitamura: will run Punisher, Izu Trail Journey and MMTF. His improvement potential in those three races is ‘only’ +100, putting him on a max total of 2675 points. Clearly, for Kitamura it is key that Ellis does not score any more points, which is why the spectacular Uglow runner has decided to skip his planned Osaka Marathon and fly to Davao instead to go head-to-head with John Ellis once more to prevent his idol from scoring a decisive victory…

• Milton Amat: will run UT Panoramic and MMTF. Has the biggest improvement potential of the Three with +175, and that puts him at a theoretical maximum total tally of 2700 points.

Conclusion: if John Ellis collects the 500 for winning Saturday’s The Punisher and eliminates his 425 points from Sungai Menyala, he climbs +75 from 2650 to… 2725 total points, which is out of reach for both Amat and Kitamura.

Ellis had a brilliant game plan before the start of the year with a clear focus on performing in the SuperTrails and collecting all the bonus points along the way - even doing the 100 miles at Penang Eco. This is now proving to be Kitamura’s achilles heel, as he scored fewer points than Ellis in those particular top races. As for Milton Amat, we mentioned it in our race report of The Moon 100 back in June: his laudable fair-play gesture to help and assist his collapsed friend Wilsen Singgin and giving away a certain race victory while doing so is now costing him. The difference between winning and second place is 50 points, and had he scored the win in Moon 100, there would be no way for Ellis to become ATM champion already this weekend. Cruel, but alas. Nobody can blame Milton for what he chose to do: he most certainly deserves the “Fair Play Prize” of the season!

And yet, it is not over until it is over. To finish first, Ellis first needs to finish :-).

Below is our lowdown on the women’s ATM Championship conclusion.

The Women: Wide open battle with Nakajima setting the benchmark

Today’s ranking:

1. Asuka Nakajima (JPN/INA) - 2475 points (5 races)

2. Fredelyn Alberto (PHI/HKG) - 2414 points (5+ races)

3. Siokhar Lim (MAS) - 2400 points (5+ races)

4. Cecile Wael (PHI) - 2240 points (5+ races)

5. Montha Sunthornwit (THA) - 2205 points (5 races)

6. Carrie-Jane Stander (CAN/CHN) - 2069 points (5+ races)

7. Christine Loh (MAS/SIN) - 2050 points (4 races)

8. Veronika Vadovicova (SVK) - 1980 points (4 races)

We highlight the top 8 because the two runners in 7th and 8th respectively are among the Female Five to watch out for especially in the context of the Asia Trail Master title battle. Ces Wael, Montha Suntornwit and Carrie Jane Stander may all still compete in the next two weeks, but they can no longer match the current benchmark of 2475 points set by Asuka Nakajima.

Asuka Nakajima, Fredelyn Alberto, Siokhar Lim, Christine Loh and Veronika Vadovicova are the five contenders for the 2019 ATM title.

Let’s take a closer look at those five runners’ improvement potential in the remaining four races of the season. In fact, we have more flexible scenarios than in the men’s and for sure it will remain an open battle until the final 85 km race in Malaysia on 14 December. Asuka Nakajima leads with 2475. Her 5th and ‘worst’ result is 425 points (also for 3rd place in Sungai Menyala - like John Ells), so in MMTF she can improve still by +125 to 2600 total points. Mind you, that is if she wins MMTF. Nakajima is recovering from injury sustained at Borneo TMBT and is hoping to be fully fit for MMTF as it will indeed be a hit-or-miss for the always smiling Japanese runner, who switched from road to trail and emerged on the scene back in January by winning Tahura Trail in Indonesia, the ATM season opener. In any case, it is unlikely Nakajima will go into MMTF as the Championship points leader…

Hong Kong-based Filipino Fredelyn Alberto is second in the current ranking with 2414 points. She will run UT Panoramic first and could already hop ahead of Nakajima right there in northern Thailand next week. Alberto’s 5th result ‘to eliminate’ is also 425. Winning the 100 miles would mean +125 and that would put her on 2529 before MMTF. If she finishes 2nd in Panoramic, she ends up with 2489 points, still more than Nakajima today. Scoring the race victory in MMTF would deliver another+100 to Alberto so she as maximum total potential of 2629 points.

Veronika Vadovicova is for many the top favourite, despite she ‘only’ has four results so far and her fourth was a B-race (Tsaigu 80). The Slovakian said goodbye to Shanghai in July and went back to live in her home country, but she is back to complete her ATM campaign with Izu Trail Journey and MMTF. She does need those 6 results, because the 380 for winning Tsaigu 80 won’t be sufficient. If Veronika were to win Izu Trail Journey she would collect 550 and enter the Championship Final with 2530 points in the bag. On a side note, that means if Veronika wins Izu and Fredelyn wins UTP 100 miles, the difference between them is 1 single point in favour of the European… If Vadovicova then proceeds by claiming the race win in Malaysia, she obviously earns the ATM title as well with a total of 2700 points. To remember here is therefore that winning only Izu Trail Journey won’t be sufficient.

Now about the two Malaysian matadors among the Five: for many it might be surprising that Siokhar Lim is a genuine candidate for the ATM title, but if you look at her track record of the 2019 season it should tell you enough. Not for nothing did she earn herself the nickname “Steel” when she finished and battled for the podium in both the gruelling Moon 100 and Penang Eco 100 miles within six days. For Siokhar Lim, it cannot be long and tough enough: her ‘worst’ performance was 7th in the 70km long Vietnam Jungle Marathon - by far the shortest race she competed in. Collecting bonus points in several races, Siokhar Lim has scored 2400 points so far and lies third in the current ranking. She is set to run both Panoramic 100 miles and MMTF, with a total improvement potential of +300 to finish with a maximum total of 2700 - same as Vadovicova. In all fairness, winning any one race will be a hard ask for Siokhar but if the others fail to deliver for whatever reason the Malaysian Grandmaster can certainly pick up the spoils. The women’s dark horse is known!

Finally and perhaps most importantly comes Christine Loh. The “Pocket Rocket” has had an amazing season illustrated by clever race planning and two great victories in Chiang Mai and in Chiang Rai. With only four results in the bag, she can still collect a full whack in UT Panoramic next week. That could boost her total from 2050 now to 2600 if she wins it. Even if she finishes the 100 miles race behind Alberto, she would still take the points lead with 2550! Christine Loh could then still boost it to 2725 if she grabs the win in MMTF.

In conclusion, the women’s championship is anything but decided and it may very well be Malaysian “Pocket Rocket” Christine Loh sitting in the hot seat as we reach the big final 85km race in her home country, TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping, Perak, on 14 December!

The Full ATM Championship Ranking can be consulted on the site of our partner Race Timing Solutions.

There’s three 2021 ATM Candidate Races in the Philippines in the first quarter of next season. Yesterday we highlighted the Philippine Mountain Marathon on Luzon, today we feature the Mount Kalatungan Trail Ultra on Mindanao. Scheduled for 1 March 2020, the event has a 80 km (50 miles) as main race.

Mt.Kalatungan is the 5th highest mountain (2880 Masl) in the Philippines which is located in the municipality of Pangantucan, Province of Bukidnon. Set up by a.o. ATM Grandmaster Rene Amigleo, this is another beautiful event in the region of northern Mindanao, which is becoming a hub for runners who like to train and race.

The race course of the Mt. Kalatungan Trail Ultra is a 98% trail, a combination of dirt roads, farm roads, single tracks( mostly going to the summit). Aside from the peak of mt. Kalatungan and Mt. Wiji, the route will take the runners to some of the tourists spots of Pangantucan like the Lake Napalit, Kidanggin Hot Spring, Bukal Blue Water(Kimereges) with the amazing views of the mountains, vallies, hills, grasslands, plantations and local villages along the way..The 80km is good for experienced trail runners only..

Please check all details via the event website

Distances/ Gunstarts/ Cut-offs

• 80km- March 1, 12:01 a.m- 25hrs

• 42km- March 1, 2:00 a.m- 16hrs

• 21km- March 1, 5:00 a.m- 8hrs

Registration period:

October 24, 2019 to January 20, 2020 at https://bit.ly/2MWIJGk

We are happy to have received a lot of new applications for our Asia Trail Master Championship series in the past couple of weeks, so apart from the regular championship points races, we will also announce plenty of Candidate Races in the coming time. The first 2021 ATM Candidate Race takes place on Luzon in Philippines and will in fact be the first race we will pay attention to in the new year. It takes place on 11 January 2020 - one week before Championship season opener Tahura Trail.

The Philippine Mountain Marathon is organised by Team Malaya in Kibungan and offers a 42km marathon distance roughly 60km or two hours north of Baguio, main town in the Cordillera mountain range. The race route has no overlap with the big Cordillera Mountain Ultra event in March. Other than the main 42km, there is also a 25km and 15km option.

Kibungan is known in the province of Benguet as the town with unique mountains resembling those of Switzerland. Deep ravines and cliffs separate and isolate many sitios and some barangays. Although some plateaus, hills and small valleys can be seen in the locality, Kibungan is dominantly mountainous. This is also illustrated by the elevation gain of the 42km race: well over 5000 hm! The Philippe Mountain Marathon is therefore clearly a race for mountain goats.

The nearest international airport is Clark. But Manila of course also works. First up is a bus or Grab car anyway to reach Baguio. From there you can connect to Kibungan.

Registration can be done online via the website of Kibungan Mountain Run and Team Malaya. More details can also be found via the event’s facebook page.