It is a true pleasure to announce the launching of a new Youth Classification under the Asia Trail Master umbrella effective immediately. T8 - the meanwhile famous brand from our current male and female champions John Ellis and Veronika Vadovicova - approached us with the idea early this year to stimulate and develop young running talent to engage in trail running competitions. The T8 Youth ATM Trophy has been set-up for runners under the age of 29 (U29), which means runners who are born on or after 1 January 1992.

The male and female runners who score the most ATM Championship points under the abovementioned age restriction will be crowned as the “T8 Youth ATM Champion” and receive a cash prize of USD 500,- after the final Asia Trail Master points race of the 2020 season on 19 December. In addition, a T8 voucher prize with a value of USD 200,- will be added into the mix!

The current Asia Trail Master Championship points system will be used for the T8 Youth ATM Trophy. Essentially, it means the ATM ranking will be filtered by age to produce the U29 ranking.

Runners who meet the age criteria are kindly requested to flag their date of birth to info@asiatrailmaster.com , as not all event time-keeping providers enter this information when they send us the race results.

By creating more incentives for young and talented Asian runners to train and compete, we hope to contribute to the further development of our beloved sport throughout Asia.

Asia Trail Master is very grateful to the T8 team for coming up with this great proposal and we are happy to make this happen!

We are happy to announce a new cooperation with the Andorra-based apparel brand OTSO as event customisation partner of the Asia Trail Master Championship series. Quickly making its entrance in the whole of Asia these months, the young brand is pushed on the continent by Sportlicious Malaysia.

OTSO is a brand born in mountainous Andorra, an independent principality situated between Spain and France. Designed by athletes for athletes. At OTSO they specialize in integrating the best design and the best technologies to make specific products that are suitable for multi-sport athletes from all over the world. Our products are ultra light, breathable, has thermo regulator and incorporates the highest and latest technology in it’s fabric. The range of product varieties ranges from socks, headband, swim wears and shirts.

Customisation for ATM promoted events and event-specific merchandise is the lead objective with no necessity for large quantities. No design is impossible and your creativity can run wild.

For more information, please see the international website.

Website:

OTSO Sport: http://bit.ly/OTSOSPORTmsia

Despite last week’s positive announcement that said the popular Cordillera Mountain Ultra had been given an official approval from the authorities to go ahead as planned, JP Alipio of the Conservation Trust now needs to postpone his flagship event nevertheless. The envisaged new event date is 27/28 June with the 50km on Sunday, 28 June. As the new date does not conflict with any other ATM race on the calendar, CMU remains the Philippines SuperTrail with bonus points for all finishers on the 50km.

In an emergency meeting with Brgy Tinongdan, the host of this year's Cordillera Mountain Ultra 2020, it was raised that despite the the increased risk mitigation CMU management was undertaking and despite the permit given by the Mayor of Itogon to conduct the race, many in the village are afraid of the effects of the COVID-19 virus and have raised this concern with the local Barangay officials. Many are also afraid now to offer their homes as homestays for foreigners because of fear of the COVID-19 despite CMU’s due diligence in risk mitigation. As CMU hosts over 30 nationalities they cannot possibly hold the race without the homestays, which is an integral part of the reason they do the race each year in order to provide opportunities for the locals communities.

The local council and CMU have decided to postpone the Cordillera Mountain Ultra 2020 to JUNE 27-28, 2020 once the COVID-19 threat is in hand. They have temporarily suspended registration but will reopen once everything is sorted. CMU will uphold and transfer all registrations to the new date of the race, this will include any merchandise purchases as well as transportation reservations any of you have made. For those who cannot come for the race CMU will offer a 100% refund of your registration [we will be posting the refund process here for those who choose to refund their reg] A non-competitive trail run will be held on a few sections of the CMU course on March 8, 2020 for those who cannot change their travel plans.

Given the postponement of CMU and also of Dalat Ultra Trail, there are no points races for the Asia Trail Master Championship until late April and the duo Korea 50K and Mt Apo Sky Race. All elites can therefore take a prolongued training break (stay positive!).

The 2021 ATM candidate race Mt Kalatungan Trail Ultra in Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines is going ahead on 1 March. The event organiser has let us know yesterday that they have received the approval of the local authorities and do not expect a similar situation as now with CMU.

The other scheduled Candidate Race, Alicia Ultra on Bohol island in the southern Philippines, has been re-scheduled for early April or early May with date confirmation expected later this week or early the next.

UTKC in Thailand is back on the programme and participants have felt it: this is one very technical jungle race! It is one of those that is never over until it is over, and last weekend drama struck for Arnie Macaneras. After taken an amazingly big lead over the likes of Paul Dunn and Hisashi Kitamura, blisters forced the Filipino to hike most of the last 35 km. Paul Dunn - second on the 70km of UTKC two years ago - smelled blood and caught Macaneras in the final 10 km of the race and took away the victory. Dunn’s finishing time was 18:21:07. Macaneras, who is only 28 and running trail abroad for the first time, still had to conceded 40 minutes in those final kilometres and fend off a late-attack by Kitamura but managed second by nine minutes over the Japanese Uglow ace. Kitamura was the birthday boy last Saturday, but the greatest gift was never really within reach. Belly flu had seriously affected his preparation for UTKC and also on race day he had to make several unforeseen pit stops. Nevertheless, Karate Kit is the first of the big names who has done his second ATM points race of the 2020 season already and two third places are enough to put him in the lead of the ATM Championship after three races.

Sanya Khancai was on the start list, but the Thai favourite did not start. The first Thai male runner was Narongwit Piroonpaisarn in fourth place. Another contender from Japan, Tomohiro Mizukoshi, was totally uncomfortable on the jungle trails of Koh Chang island and finished well down in 34th place after he had decided it was not going to be his day. Also Nikom Tongjai was not in his element and arrived just before Tomohiro in 29th place.

A runner who was certainly very much in her element on the raw trails of UTKC was Fredelyn Alberto. The Hong Kong-based Filipino runner of Team T8 led the women’s race from almost start to finish and was even unthreatened all day. Alberto finished fourth overall (!) in a time of 20:03:01 - that’s 55 minutes behind one Hisashi KItamura. She certainly has not missed the start of her 2020 ATM campaign! It was to be expected that Fredelyn Alberto would do well in Koh Chang, as last year she also conquered Moon 100 on Koh Phangan island - another brutal hilly jungle race in Thailand taking place in June. Still, prior to the start she was not the top favourite. Australia’s Joanna Kruk was there, the second-placed woman of UTKC in 2017 and unbeaten on the ATM tour after that. But it had been a year-and-a-half since we last saw Kruk, and it turned out she has been suffering from tendinitis. When she arrived at CP1 after around 10 km, Kruk had too much pain and - wisely - decided to pull out not to wreck her knee entirely.

Montha Suntornwit had a good run to come in as second woman behind Alberto, as she managed to stay ahead of Loretta Henderson. Montha is very skilled on technical ultra trails as well and not for nothing 6th in last year’s ATM Championship. But last weekend, the gap with Fredelyn Alberto was huge: more than three hours. It illustrates just how strong the Filipino was, and yet she explained in the post-race interview (on our facebook page) that she sprained her ankle very early in the race and felt it all day..

UTKC traditionally also has a 70K race category, which also offered ATM Championship points as well as the Grandmaster point. In the men’s we had a surprisingly exciting race between Hong Kong’s Ryan Whelan and Thailand’s trail star Pharait Varesin. The top duo was a league on their own and they really set those trails on fire. Whelan had come to Thailand following the cancellation of most races in Hong Kong in recent weeks, and because the runner from Team Gone Running-Joint Dynamics has the ATM Championship on his mind. Whelan will certainly have gotten a confidence boost when he managed to drop Varesin just before halfway the race and managed to retain a gap of five-six minutes all the way to the line. A great cat-and-mouse race that resulted in a finish time of 9:23 against 9:29. No need to say more. Ryan Bonfield completed the podium but found himself over three hours behind.

In the women’s 70km, it was Philippines again to celebrate victory. Elviemma Catabay scored her first ATM race victory in a tight competition against Thailand’s Laksamee Duangjai. Supaporn Nakkawat was third.

A fantastic performance by Fredelyn Alberto on the technical trails of Koh Chang island

The two big winners: Paul Dunn and Fredelyn Alberto

The podium in the men’s: Paul Dunn, Arnie Macaneras and Hisashi Kitamura

Ryan Whelan took a fantastic victory over Pharait Varesin on the 70km race.

Elviemma Catabay made the Filipino success even bigger by winning the women’s 70km.

Ultra Trail Unseen Koh Chang was the first big Thai hit in the Asia Trail Master series and we are certainly happed that after a one-year-hiatus the event in the south of Thailand is back on the agenda - and on the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. UTKC was sold out very quickly and already several months ago proving that runners, too, were hot hot hot to return to this technically challenging but great island race. The event still features the traditional 100km and 70km as points races, and also offers shorter categories for the less ambitious. In a period where many races in Asia are getting cancelled due to the corona virus epidemic, we can warm ourselves up for a hot battle between Sanya Khancai, Hisashi Kitamura, Arnie Macaneras and between Joanna Kruk, Fredelyn Alberto and Montha Suntornwit.

The 100km is the classic distance and is known to be very technical in parts, as well as very hot in daytime. Sanya Khancai knows very well as he chased Jay Jantaraboon all the way to the finish two years ago. Khancai, now age 45, is one of those very talented trail runners in Thailand who is hardly known outside his home country. Hisashi Kitamura and Arnie Macaneras will certainly learn quickly this Saturday. The Japanese Uglow ace is still seeking his best shape after a stomach bug prevented him from training properly since Tahura Trail a month ago. Macaneras is entering uncharted territory: UTKC will be his maiden race outside the Philippines. For those wondering: Macaneras is the guy who put himself between Kitamura and John Ellis at The Punisher race at the end of last season.

Tomohiro Mizukoshi is opening his ATM season this weekend as well, and this is a race that - for once - he has been preparing exclusively for for quite some time. When fully fit, Tomohiro can cause the upset at UTKC - especially if he gets away well in the first kilometres.

Nikom Tongjai was a top 10 finisher in the ATM Championship last season and you do not achieve that without reason. A solid trail runner throughout, Nikom is one to pick up the spoils when the others drop out.

In the women’s we are happy to see the return to the ATM Tour of Joanna Kruk after more than a year. The police officer from Adelaide won this race back in 2017 and in fact has gone undefeated in our circuit with race victories in UT Chiang Rai, UT Panoramic and Borneo TMBT as well. Who can stop Kruk? If she is still as fast as in 2018, it might be an uphill task for the likes of Fredelyn Alberto, Ann Jilian Pulanco, Montha Suntornwit and the other women. Fredelyn Alberto is very keen to get her ATM campaign going and word is she has been working on her pure running speed in the off-season. A 100K race always needs to be run first, so who knows Alberto gets it together against Kruk just like she did in Moon 100 against Cartoon Wipawee on Koh Phangan last year.

The 70km on the programme of UTKC is also offering ATM Championship points as well as a Grandmaster point for all finishers. The winner scores 370 points for the Championship, and the hot favourite in the men’s is Hong Kong-based Britain Ryan Whelan.

We will be covering the UTKC races live via our social media channels, in particular facebook, as usual.

Three years after winning a first time, Joanna Kruk is once again a hot favourite to win the women’s 100k

Arnie Macaneras launches his 2020 ATM campaign with UTKC

Will Sanya Khancai be able to do another salto like he did when winning UTCR 2018?

The inaugural edition of EcoTrail Al Ula in Saudi Arabia saw American runners take victory in the first international trail running event in the country. Michael Wardian and Amy Sproston emerged from the rocky sand desert back in the Sahary Resort in Al Ula after 8h 19 and 10h02 respectively. EcoTrail Al Ula saw four race categories of which the 83km was the longest. Elevation gain was limited but after a very runable 65km the terrain got more technical with a few rock climbs. That race was also a points race for the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship, the first of its kind in the Middle East.

Belgium’s Pierre Breuer finished second behind Wardian and 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong from Malaysia completed the podium in third. Trung Nguyen -with an injured right knee - struggled home in fifth behind Jordan’s Salameh Alaqra.

Indonesia’s Ruth Theresia, the 2018 ATM women’s champion, was a solid second behind Sprotson. Third place was for Rachel Bessette.

After the cancellation of 9 Dragons in Hong Kong and the postponement of Ultimate Tsaigu, now we have also received the official confirmation from the organiser of Dalat Ultra Trail that their event has been postponed from March to 19-21 June 2020. Regarding the implications about this for the Asia Trail Master Championship, we will communicate more in due course. Below is the statement from the organiser:

Dear all Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 Athlete,

The health and safety of athletes (athletes), Audience, Volunteer and Staff Ultra Trail 2020 are always placed on top priority of Dalat Ultra Trail 2020. Standing Committee. before the sudden outbreak and complex of pneumonia epidemic caused by Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), carried out by Article 102 / TCTDTT-VP dated 03 July 2020 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, General Department of Sports on prevention, prevention of respiratory infections due to the new infections caused by Corona virus in sports activities; Board (BTC) Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 is sorry to announce the Dalat Ultra Trail International Super Marathon 2020 on 13-15/3/2020 will be moved on 19-21/06/2020 with a non-change location.

The BTC will follow the stars of the situation against respiratory infections, and will update details with the Athletes in April if any next changes.

All registrations will be automatically switched to new race day, athletes do not have to make this transition by themselves. If athletes are unable to participate in the new race, please email directly to info@vietnammtbseries.com for further support.

Athletes can refer to common questions about delay the Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 at: http://bit.ly/DUT2020postpone

BTC Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 is appreciated by the support and enthusiasm of the athletes participating in the tournament. The decision to reschedule the competition is given, in order to support the prevention of translation and ensure the safety of the community through practical measures in a complex disease crisis.

Once again BTC Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 sincerely apologize to athlete for any inconvenience caused from this change and thank you for the understanding of all athletes for this decision.

Sincerely,
BTC Dalat Ultra Trail 2020

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Due to the sudden outbreak of the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), in accordance with the Vietnam Government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the upcoming Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 from 13th - 15th of March 2020 will be tentatively postponed to 19th-21st June 2020. 

We will be reviewing the situation and will provide updates when they become available, with confirmation of the new race date expected by April.

All registered runners will be automatically deferred to the new event, with no action required by runners. If you cannot make the new race date, please contact us at info@vietnammtbseries.com for assistance. 

Runners may refer frequently asked questions regarding the postpone of the Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 here: http://bit.ly/DUT2020postponeEng

Please know that the safety of our racers, spectators, volunteers and colleagues is our number one priority. 

Best regards,
Ultra Trail 2020 Organizer

The 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong has been cancelled, unfortunately, and so no ATM Championship or Grandmaster Quest points will be handed out this weekend. All our attention therefore shifts to the 2021 ATM Candidate Race that is also scheduled for this Sunday: Cau Dat Farm Ultra in Vietnam.

The corona virus situation is currently affecting a lot of countries already, but - touch wood - in the south of Vietnam there is no issue yet and the event can go ahead as planned. Cau Dat Farm Ultra is organised by the well-drilled team of Race Jungle led by Ms Tu Nguyen, who also set up the Tam Dao Mountain Trail a few years ago. On the programme are several race categories with the 55k as the main race featuring several of Vietnam’s finest and former Asia Trail Master champion Alessandro Sherpa.

The Singapore-based Italian decided a few weeks ago to replace 9 Dragons in favour of Cau Dat Farm Ultra as a heavy daily workload following his great second place at Tahura Trail in Indonesia prevented him from focusing on the very tough 2-stager in Hong Kong. However, Sherpa will be challenged on the trails near Dalat. Since MMTF in December, everyone who follows the ATM tour knows who Nhon Trong is and the talented youngster is looking forward to running with the 2018 champion. For Nhon Trong, 84km was the longest and toughest trail race ever and he finished without pressure in 6th place. That was one hour and fifteen minutes behind Sherpa, but Nhon Trong is comfortable with his speed on a shorter and more runable 55k course.

Another Vietnamese runner who could create an upset is Tan Hi. Hailing from Lam Dong, where he is a member of the Athletics Team. Podiuming in several local road races recently, Tan Hi is stepping up a level to compete with Nhon Trong and Alessandro Sherpa on the trails around the oldest tea farm in Vietnam, established and developed for nearly 100 years. In the women’s race we are happy to be seeing new faces, even when Thi Hai Yen Vo is probably the woman-to-beat.

Taking place early in the year, runners can expect cool Spring weather in green tea hills and immense flower fields, with gently sloping paths and unspoilt forests that adorn this plateau. It is also the cherry blossom season, blooming on both sides of the road, sometimes intermingling with a few white flower clusters.

ATM has Mark on the spot at Cau Dat Farm Ultra and we will be reporting live about the race developments throughout the weekend via our Facebook page as usual.

Nhon Trong was delighted with his 6th place at MMTF, his longest and toughest trail till that day

Video teaser Cau Dat Farm Ultra

Racebase has just announced publicly that this weekend’s The 9 Dragons Ultra - the Hong Kong SuperTrail in our Asia Trail Master Championship - cannot be held. The organisation cannot guarantee safety of all participants due to the situation with the corona virus that is holding mainland China and also Hong Kong in an ever tightening grip.

The official statement on facebook reads: “We write this with heavy hearts. It is with great regret that we announce the cancellation of The 9 Dragons Races in 2020.

Based on the conversations and the recent announcement of the closure of all LCSD facilities, we no longer have access to the 50 mile finsh/50k start line and also unable to access certain checkpoints which require WSD gate access. We feel that we cannot organise this years’ race in an environment that is first of all safe but also guarantees that you all have a good racing experience. We realise that this is short notice and will come as a disappointment to you.

Please know that as a passionate team of race organisers we are equally disappointed.

There are a few practical items we would like to inform you about:

- We will reserve your application for this years’ race for participating in 9D 2021. - You will not need to pay the application fee for the 2021 race, registration will be carried over to 2021.

- We will transfer your registration for 9D 2020 to 9D 2021 under the same course you registered. Resubmission of registration will therefore not be required. As such, if you have collected your bib & wristband, please hold on to these to be used for the 2021 race.

- Next year you will receive a confirmation email during the application period. Participants will be allowed to make amendments to their entry for a designated period, including transfer to another runner.

- If the amendments concern change of course / category / participant, it will in effect require the issuance of new number bib and wristband. If this applies to you it will be necessary for you to return the relevant bib and wristband to us after the amendment deadline for issuance of new ones.

- If you lose your bib/wristband, bibs replacement charges will be $50 for number bib and $150 for wristband. You are welcome to collect your bibs and any purchased items from Escapade until Friday 31st January, 2021. If your bib is uncollected, this will be available during the 2021 bib collection. All purchased clothing items must be collected. Any other purchased items such as bus tickets, tracking timer will be transferred to your 2021 registration. We plan to hold an informal run on the 9 Dragons Course this coming weekend, as well as a drinks gathering and will announce those plans soon. Stay safe, happy trails and see you all for 9 Dragons 2021.

Warm Regards, The Nine Dragons Organizing Committee

The 9 Dragons would have been the first SuperTrail of the 2020 season with a stellar cast on the 50/50 and 50K categories.

The next points races on the schedule are the EcoTrail Al Ula in Saudi Arabia next week and Ultra Trail Koh Chang in Thailand the week after.

Now open for registration with early bird rates until 16 February: Mantra Summits Challenge! The renowed high mountain event in East Java is having its 5th edition on 11/12 July and remains the Indonesia SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship with 50 bonus points for all finishers on the 116km and 75km - both distance categories also labeled as A-races. Mountain goats across Asia: this is your event!

Hosted by the great Malang trail running community and the authentic Kaliandra Eco Resort, Mantra Summits Challenge will test your resilience as a trail runner. For a lot of people, the 116k and 75k are the toughest race courses in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. However, they are also recognised as among the most beautiful of the whole year. You are going up to well over 3000m altitude on Mount Welirang and Mount Arjuno. With its peak at 3339m, Arjuno is the third highest peak in East Java after Semeru and Raung, and the fourth highest on the entire island of Java.

In 2019 MSC was the playground of Sabah’s Milton Amat, who won the 116k race with a gap of FOUR HOURS to second-placed Hisashi KItamura. Just to emphasize how a specific race course can have an impact on performance. Asuka Nakajima was the women’s winner last year, a feat that proved she is indeed now a serious trail runner and not only a road runner.

While the 116km and 75km are serious challenges that you should be prepared for, less ambitious runners can also aim for the shorter categories. There’s something for everyone at this event to enjoy.

Logistics: best is to fly international to Surabaya, from where it is a 90-minute drive to Malang. Shuttle busses are scheduled from the airport terminal 2. If you are based in Indonesia, there’s a few domestic flights that go to Malang itself as well. Accommodation is highly recommended at the Kaliandra Eco Resort, which prices are very reasonable. Homestays around the area are also possible.

Alessandro Sherpa suffered a DNF last year. He was not the only elite runner to DNF.

Former winner Fandhi Ahmad keeps returning to Mantra Summits Challenge

A troubled Tahira Najmunisaa made her to-date final appearance on the ATM circuit in Mantra last year and did not finish. Will she return to East Java to set the record straight?

We are happy to announce that the 50km of the Great Malaya Trail on 26/27 September will be a points race for the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship. The longest distance on the programme - 100km - will also be valid for a Grandmaster Quest point, but not for Championship points. The inaugural edition of The Great Malaya Trail in Malaysia last October suffered from horrendous weather conditions that forced the organisers of Team Pacat to cancel the two shortest race distance categories and change the event date for 2020. An act of bravery that received widespread acclaim by the Malaysian running community. The two longest categories went ahead as planned, but the foul weather made the 100K sheer hardcore and quite extreme resulting in a high DNF rate. However, the 50K race was in fine balance and enjoyed a high finisher rate. With the ‘trail speedway’ Sungai Menyala Forest Trail in Malaysia disappearing from the race calendar in 2020, fast medium distance specialists can now look forward to the Great Malaya Trail 50 to score their ATM Championship points in a period of the season overwhelmed by tough 100K races. Mind you, it is not an easy race. 2600 metres of elevation gains means plenty of climbing for a 50k.

The event is set around three states in Malaysia: Pahang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan and the race in 2020 will be set around Kem Ghafar Baba, Kemensah. The 50K will skip Negeri Sembilan, but the 100K runners will thus cross three state borders. The trails are for more than 90% pure natural and participants will cross several water streams and rivers. Here and there are also waterfalls to be enjoyed.

Registration for the event is opening soon.

Compression is a very hot topic among runners and especially long distance and ultra runners. We are happy to announce that patent holder BV Sport is now the official compression partner of the Asia Trail Master Championship series in 2020. BV Sport will be active in and around ATM calendar events throughout the year in support of our series but especially in support of you runners.

BV SPORT is a well known compression brand from France. Dr. Micheal Prufer, an multiple time Olympic champion and a vascular doctor spent years of researching ways to improve the performance of top athletes. Together with his partner, they invented a new revolutionary concept of compression support designed specifically for athletes: the Booster Veins Sport system. Patented by BV Sport, both the Booster Elite Calf Sleeves and Booster Elite Recovery Socks are produced to Boost Your Performances and Speed Up Your Recovery. They are recognized and used widely by athletes worldwide.

In Asia, it is easy to obtain BV Sport’s key products via Sportlicious Malaysia . A few examples of what BV Sport has to offer are below.

Website:

BV Sport: http://bit.ly/BVSportMY