There was uproar just before last weekend’s Borneo TMBT Ultra when rumours came out that XTE Events in Hong Kong had secured a permit for a 45k real trail race on the Maclehose Trail on Sunday, 2 October. Several runners in the plagued city contacted us to please have the race as a last-minute addition to the ATM Championship calendar, as it has virtually been impossible for them to race or even leave the city at all. Today, we are happy to confirm that the 45k night race is ON , and that it will indeed be a points race for the ATM Championship ranking, opening the options for plenty of Hong Kong based runners to be part of this year’s ATM Final in December. We are grateful to Mr Felix Shum and XTE Events to make this possible at such short notice, and we are looking forward to a fantastic night of trail running in just under a fortnight from today!

XTE Events is known in our circuit from its HK 168 Ultra event, which was on our calendar until 2018 and until the new date made that too difficult. Earlier this season, it had already been announced that XTE’s other event - Ultramarathon de Sai Kung - would join ATM on 22 October. That event is also still on, albeit only regarding the 50k race. Hong Kong authorities currently still do no allow any race longer than 50km, so the 100K race in Sai Kung won’t happen. Lantau 70 one week later suffers the same fate. Hence, Ferei Dark 45 is a welcome gift for many runners in Hong Kong. At least, there’s the genuine possibility of 2 ATM race finishes, a prerequisite to be qualified for the Asia Trail Master Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December.

The start venue is Shui Long Wo, and the finish the Tsuen Kam Au Rotary Park. The race will be run on the Maclehose Trail in the New Territories. Race start is Sunday midnight, and there’s a very long cut off time of 15 hours. Stay tuned for more news soon. Registration goes via the official website, which you can access via the link below. Of course, the conditions of entry are still more cumbersome than before. Please be aware of these covid-19 mitigation efforts:

• 1. All runners must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (i.e. receiving THREE doses 14 days before the event day).

• 2. All runners are required to take COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and provide validated negative results within 48 hours before the start of the race.

• 3. All runners must conduct rapid antigen test (RAT) on the event day with their names written on the test device. They need to show the pictures of testing result to the Safety and Hygiene Officers at the start area.

Will we see the long-awaited return of 2019 ATM Champion John Ellis at Ferei Dark 45?

And Veronika Vadovicova, based in Hong Kong since early 2020 when it all started with covid. Will she make a return to the ATM scene?

After two covid-related cancellations, Borneo Ultra Trails could finally celebrate its 10th anniversary of TMBT - its flagship trail running event and a Southeast Asian classic taking place around Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, East Malaysia. For months, competitive trail running enthusiasts were looking forward to the 109km race, which promised to be a second big battle between local hero Milton Amat and the colourful Japanese challenger Hisashi Kitamura. In 2019 they created a thriller at the end, ultimately won by Amat. Kitamura wanted revenge this season. Both ATM protagonists had been performing exceptionally well in the course of 2022, but Kitamura showed signs of fatigue in his previous two races. It was a foreboding, and indeed, Kitamura did not have the pace last Saturday to even follow Milton Amat, who already went solo on the way to CP 2. Milton’s early move resulted in his third win at TMBT after 2017 and 2019. A very dominant run and a finish time of 15h15 approx for the 109k course this year. Despite now being 40 years of age, the forever modest Milton seems to be in the best shape of his life. On current form, he will certainly be one of the men to beat in the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship Final on Mt Apo in Philippines on 17 December! Not only does the Sabahan hero have the technical mountain skills, he has added extra running pace and an incredible dose of self-confidence. Last Saturday morning, he started totally at ease somewhere halfway the field of approx 1000 runners on the 100k and 50k race categories, while Hisashi KItamura and the other pre-race favourites immediately set the pace from the gun. The Sabahan then quietly ran his way to the front and took the lead in one go. He quickly built a gap towards his main competitors for the race victory, and when they suddenly came very close again at CP 8 (km 75) - he said because it was very hot in the afternoon, but also because he had received no pressure from the others - he just shifted to a higher gear again. Incredible stuff.

Hisashi Kitamura was happy to finish second on a day with 'bad legs'. He nevertheless fought bravely for another ATM podium. Kuala Lumpur-based Yakov Kozlov was a great third place on the podium, matching the pace of Kitamura and the others from the beginning. Kozlov is a former race winner in ATM, fastest in Tengri Ultra Trail in Kazakhstan in 2018, a race sadly no longer part of our series. Another Sabah star, Wilsen Singgin scored his third fourth place of the ATM season. He was followed by Ireland's Mark Steacy, who did well and proved that his 3rd place in the Jagoi Heritage race three weeks ago was no coincidence.

Below and on our ATM facebook page, you can find lots of videos, interviews and photos taken during the race. A few are pasted here below.

The women’s 109k race was won by ‘roadie’ Siet Fah Lim from Sarawak in 22h13. She was in front basically all day, as much as BUTM race winner Sally Yap, also from Sarawak, tried to catch her later on. The 53-minute gap at the finish made it clear that Siet Fah Lim was the strongest. Her first ATM race victory. In third place, only 14 minutes behind Sally Yap was 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Champion Izzah Hazirah, who is clearly getting back in top shape now. Norlela Ismail came fourth.

For the first time, also the 50km race on the TMBT programme provided points for our Championship ranking. The men’s race developed into a great competition between Pierre-Victor Morales, the surprising Yasbie Ismail, Muhamad Affindi and Sapirin Sumping. When the newbie Yasbie Ismail pushed hard halfway through the race, the group - also containing women’s star Vanja Cnops - splintered up. At the last checkpoint, however, Yasbie Ismail looked to be tiring and KL-based Frenchman Pierre Victor Morales caught him. Affindi and Sumping would be contesting third place. Morales and Ismail went head-to-head in the final very tough 10km, and it was the expat who reached the uphill finish line first. His first ATM race victory after some great showings in our virtual events at the beginning of this decade. Ismail held onto second and Affindi came in third, another podium for him and a now almost guaranteed entry into Team Malaysia for our ATM Final in December. Jude Maikol still managed to get ahead of Sumping to take fourth. That became third, however, as Yasbie Ismail received a time penalty at the renowned harsh post-finish mandatory gear check at TMBT. His hard-fought second place went up in smoke and he got relegated to sixth. Nobody contests the necessity of mandatory gear checks, but should it really be done after the finish line?

Vanja Cnops was in a league of her own in the women’s 50km. She finished 5th overall in a classy field.Law Guan Shin and Megan Davies were second and third on the podium , each with very nice runs of their own.

At last, we have the 10-year-anniversary of Borneo TMBT (‘The Most Beautiful Thing’) around Mt Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia this weekend. Cancelled twice due to covid, it’s been a rough two years for the event organisers of this Southeast Asian trail classic, and we are all delighted it’s back on, and with a large and attractive start list as well. The main event is of course the 109 km race, but for the first time runners will also score ATM Championship points on the equally competitive 50k race distance this year. Still, the eyes of most people will be on the meanwhile popular dual between local hero Milton Amat, winner in 2019 and 2017, and Hisashi Kitamura, second three years ago after a fantastic fight. The Japanese Karate Kit was in the lead at the last checkpoint, but had no answer when Milton Amat found an extra gear on the long moderate uphill climb to the finish line. Beforehand, Kitamura had announced he “would beat Milton in his home race”, which of course enhanced the spectacle for the Sabahan running communities and all the fans. This year, Kitamura has proven to be even better as a trail runner and has naturally again stated that TMBT is marked red hot in his race agenda of 2022. During the course of the season, Kitamura has proven to be more confident on technical trail courses, and running smarter and more tactical when the situation permits. But. There is a ‘but’. In August, Kitamura showed signs of fatigue, both physically and mentally, at the Punisher in Philippines and at the Jagoi Heritage Run in Sarawak, an ATM candidate race. In fact, the Jagoi 50k race course suited him perfectly, and yet it was … Milton Amat who won the race! Milton has been running exceptionally well this year, too, and clearly has increased his general running pace on flatter trails. The two went head-to-head until the finish at BUTM 100 in March half a year ago (Milton won after Kitamura got penalised for mandatory gear infringements), but since then it would appear that Milton has kept his top form and Kitamura’s has been slightly going backwards since winning Cameron Ultra 100 in mid-July. Was that planned and deliberate to take the edge off for several weeks? Kitamura is being coached, so it is certainly possible that we may see the very best Kitamura again this Saturday. And that would make for a superbly exciting race, which everyone can follow via our GPS live tracking platform (link https://live.asiatrailmaster.com/tmbt2022/).

There are of course other top Asian runners on the 109 km start list. To begin with the other Sabahan aces, Daved Simpat and Wilsen Singgin. Simpat has been running much better and consistent than before the covid crisis and has remained injury-free. A former winner of TMBT, can he score an upset tomorrow using all his experience and, who knows, his friendship with Amat should the latter have an off-day? The youngest of the Sabahan trail stars, Wilsen Singgin, has not yet shown the level of speed that is probably necessary to win a race like TMBT. But who knows? Singgin was an impressive winner of MMTF mid-December last year, and if the trails are indeed more wet, muddy and technical than usual following extensive rainfall of late- according to the race director- , Singgin might be in his element here.

From peninsular Malaysia, Akmal Adzmi is a podium contender, and so is Singapore’s Deric Lau, who was second in UT Chiang Mai just three weeks ago. Two other expats should be considered: Mark Steacy from Ireland living in Kuching, and Yakov Kozlov, Russian living in Kuala Lumpur. Steacy ran great behind Amat and Kitamura to third place in the previously mentioned Jagoi 50k race, and Kozlov is a known fast guy from the MKRC team.

In the women’s 109km, we can expect a battle for the victory between Sally Yap, this year’s new name in Malaysia, and Izzah Hazirah. Other podium contenders are on paper Isabelle Bedard, local hero Adelinah Lintanga, Laslin Sarawi and Siti Hajar Razali.

On the 50k start list, we find some big names of runners who have already scored wins in ATM races this season. Mohammad Affindi even already has two victories on his record. He will be up against Sapirin Suming, Malachy Kirwan and Moo Sat, but also Pierre Victor Morales, French but based in KL from the aforementioned MKRC Team. And in the women’s 50k, Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops will aim to get another ATM points race victory after BTR in Bali in May. Cameron Ultra 100 race winner Vincere Zeng is also on the start list, and so is TMBT’s arguably best-known ambassador: Jassica, aka Jess, Lintanga.

Running back in time… 2019 - Race Finish of Milton Amat

Muhamad Affindi has already won 2 ATM 50k races this season. Hattrick this Saturday?

Last week Ha Hau beat all the men during VMM 100, can Vanja achieve the same on TMBT 50?

Jess Lintanga has been one of the ‘faces’ of Borneo TMBT Ultra since many years. She has podiumed a number of times, this year she will try again on her favourite distance, the 50 km

Malnad Ultra on 26 November is the first ATM points race event in India. It is widely perceived as the most popular trail running event in the country and the organising team is highly welcoming runners from across Asia and and the ATM community. Malnad Ultra offers runable 100k and 50k points races, and also have a 30K for less ambitious and newbie trail runners.

To reach the event venue comfortably and without hassle, it is highly recommended to book a travel package. Malnad Ultra has tied up with Active Holiday Company, which will offer packages that include travel and accommodation on a shared basis. We strongly recommend participants to consider taking one of these packages and leave all the logistics to them. The event is conducted in a remote area and we request participants to plan their logistics well in advance. Please take a few minutes to look at the sample itineraries on the official website before you plan.

It is very tricky to try and reach the destination, 15km northwest of Attigundi, on your own. Please DO NOT follow instructions provided by Google Maps (they are wrong!) and use the instructions that are provided on the official Malnad Ultra website.

If you like new destinations and a bit more adventure in your trail experiences, Malnad Ultra is your pick of this season. Most international runners will arrive in Bengaluru (Bangalore), the capital of India's southern Karnataka state. The center of India's high-tech industry, the city is also known for its parks and nightlife.

A sensational Hau Ha (Hà Thị Hậu) beat all the men in the 100km race of her home race Vietnam Mountain Marathon at the Topas Ecolodge in Sapa. The 33-year-old wonder woman came back and dropped the first man in the race, Gaetan Morizur, in the last 6 km to finish line. Hau Ha had been amazingly confident from the beginning, but had a weak moment on the longest hillclimb of the race. Morizur put on the pressure and gained an advantage of over 20 minutes. But in a great show of mental strength, Hau Ha found her second breath in the descent afterwards and began chasing the Frenchman down. Morizur and Hau Ha know each other already from Dalat Ultra Trail in March, a 70k race where the man still had the clear upperhand over the woman. Last weekend, however, she astonished him and everyone else by returning to the front and immediately pressing forward. A definitive move that led to victory: a first in the history of the ATM Championship series. At Topas, the gap was 20 minutes for a finishing time of 15h15. The Vietnamese single mum delivered a show and performance reminiscent of Veronika Vadovicova in a couple of races in 2019, notably VJM against Hisashi Kitamura. It is her second ATM race victory of the season after Dalat, but certainly VMM is her breakthrough moment on the Asian scene. Hau Ha only started to take running seriously in 2020 in an attempt to lose weight and gain fitness while business slowed down due to covid 19.. We certainly have not yet seen the best of her. Despite her efforts to win the race overall, she looked fresh and anything but exhausted at the finish and the hours afterwards. In two weeks she will be competing at the next Vietnamese ATM race, Mu Cang Chai Trail 50 and her big goal is to win the Asia Trail Master Championship decider on Mount Apo in Philippines on 17 December.

Gaetan Morizur had nothing but respect for Hau Ha, and despite a psychological defeat went home as the winner of the men’s race - his second of the ATM season as well. It was a strong showing by all accounts, too, because the men’s field was competitive last weekend with several ATM race winners and podium placers at the starting line. Philippines’ coming man Larry Apolinario not in the least. The impressive winner of MUSPO 100 last July actually was running together with Morizur and Hau Hau until the halfway point. Sadly, Apolinario’s stomach began to rebel and he had to stop up to five times to throw up. Weakened and unable to digest anything decent afterwards, Apolinario was compelled to reduce his running pace and actually restored to fast hiking most of the second part of the race. Such was the leader’s early pace, however, that Apolinario still had enough time advantage to reach the finish line in 8th place. In so doing, he collected still a solid 330 points for his ATM Championship ranking, putting him on 830 total points. At present, that gives him some breathing space to qualify as one of five male runners for Team Philippines at the ATM Final in December.

The battle for second place in the men’s race was contested between Tomohiro Mizukoshi, Nhon Trong and Italy’s Lorenzo Revelant. Mizukoshi battled hard as always, and looked much stronger than in 2019 when he finished 6th in VMM, but Vietnam’s Nhon Trong found a last burst of energy to claim his best race result ever over the ultra distance.

In the women’s 100k, Nguyen Thuy Dung was a very good second, despite suffering an injury towards the end. She was comfortably in the top 10 overall for most of the race. Canada’s Rachelle Komarnisky completed the podium with third.

There was also an inaugural 100 miles race on the VMM programme last weekend. The timing of the race was perhaps a bit unfortunate, as male winner Quang Tran and second-placed Hung Hai delivered fantastic performances and a racing spectacle that went largely unnoticed due to finishing in the middle of the night. After a 4am start the previous day in pouring rain, Hung Hai had been in command for half of the race during the four initial loops that were introduced as a result of the poor weather making the trail conditions of the original route too dangerous. Afterwards, Quang Tran - winner of Mantra Summits Challenge in Indonesia two months ago - shifted to a higher gear. He caught Hung Hai with 35km to go and went on ahead by himself. Back at Topas just after 3am , he had an advantage of over one-and-a-half hours to Hung Hai. Tran’s race time was a superb 23 hours and 19 minutes for 162 km and over 7000 elevation on wet and slippery trails. In third place, as expected, was Nguyen Si Hieu in 27h53: his third ATM podium of the season. Lanh Le was fourth in 29h32 and Jean-Henri Haquenaut finished strongly to claim fifth half an hour later.

The women’s miler was a contest between Nguyen Phuong and Phuong Vy Le, after Filipino runner Emily Raga slowed down somewhat towards the middle of the race. Phuong Vy Le caught Nguyen Phuong halfway through, but apparently it cost her too much effort to keep up the same pace and Nguyen Phuong again went solo in the lead. Enough for the victory in 35h37. Phuong Vy Le was second two-and-a-half hours later, and Danang’s Le Xuan Suong still managed to overtake Emily Raga for the final podium spot.

Gaetan Morizur was putting pressure on Hau Ha on the long hillclimb, but the local young woman came back

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Quang Tran was equally superb in the 100 miles race, but his performance got ‘snowed under’ by his 3 am finishing hour and Hau Ha’s stunt on the 100km .

Nguyen Phuong was in command of the women’s 100 miles race from early on and withstood the pressure from Phuong Vy Le halfway through the race

We are happy to reveal the first set of national country team t shirts for the 2022 ATM Championship Final race in Philippines on 17 December. With special thanks to the designers and manufacturers of the Tees! All the qualified runners for the 75K ATM Final at the Mount Apo Sky Race in Santa Cruz, Davao, Philippines on 17 December will receive 2 pieces of this running tee. Wearing the T shirt during the race is mandatory.

This year’s ATM Final will for the first time be held in a winner-takes-all race and held in national teams of maximum five male and five female runners. Runners will be competing for the individual’s men’s title, individual women’s title and team title. The team result will be based on accumulating the best three male and best three female runner times of each team.

Overview national team tees:

• Team Philippines (by OTSO)

• Team Malaysia (by T8)

• Team Vietnam (by Mude)

• Team Thailand (by T8)

• Team Japan (by OTSO)

• Team Singapore (by UGLOW Sport)

• Team Indonesia (by Summit)

• Team Hong Kong (by T8)

• Team Korea (by OTSO)

• Team Australia (by T8)

Coming soon: Team Indonesia, Team China, Team India, Team Asia Expat

September kicks off with the two Southeast Asian classics on back-to-back weekends. Starting on Friday morning there’s the Vietnam Mountain Marathon in Sapa and next week we have the Borneo TMBT Ultra around Kota Kinabalu. Lots of the region’s top runners will be in action at either one of these two events, so we are looking forward to some great trail excitement. The VMM event this season has added yet another category to its programme with the 100 miles ultra, for the first time in Vietnam. It promises to be a brutal challenge with the weather forecast also predicting quite a bit of rainfall. The two dominators of the Mantra Summits Challenge in Indonesia two months ago, Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu, have accepted the challenge and will be joined by one of the country’s other trail stars, Hung Hai. All local experts agree that those three are the most likely podium candidates with Quang Tran expected to collect his second ATM points race win of the season. But in trail and over 100 miles, a lot can happen and there can always be an unknown face appearing at the front. Theoretically more competitive is the meanwhile traditional 100k race at VMM, which also offers ATM Championship points. Picking a winner in the men’s 100k race is certainly more difficult. Dalat Ultra Trail winner Gaetan Morizur will be there, together with Nhon Trong - hoping to finally score his first ATM race victory. But there’s others strong contenders from Philippines and Japan. Larry Apolinario will be making his international debut at VMM, and showed in MUSPO 100 two months ago he does not mind a bit of mud sliding. Can Apolinario do one better than his countryman and former ATM Champion Manoliton Divina in 2017? Given the competition he will face in Vietnam, it certainly would mean his Asian breakthrough. Two strong competitors from Japan are also in the mix of podium contenders, and who knows, the race win. They’re even both called Tomohiro by first name. Tomohiro Mizukoshi no longer needs any introduction to ATM followers. He will be doing his second VMM 100 and based on his Echigo performance in June, third -after a very difficult period of time with illness and injuries -, he could aspire for more than 6th in 2019. If it gets very wet, however, Mizukoshi might struggle more with the trail conditions than the likes of Apolinario, for example. The second Tomohiro, Tomohiro Machida, is the dark horse of this race. Machida has three ATM race placings under his belt, 6th, 4th and 14th in the highly competitive Izu Trail Journey 2018, 2019 and 2020. That means he is very fast on a tough, cold and runable trail. How will he perform on a hot, humid and slippery trail? The fact that the 100k race starts on Friday evening will probably play in his favour.

The women’s 100k race will also feature Hau Ha, who had a dominant victory in Dalat in March - her first appearance in an ATM race. Hau Ha is the local superstar in Sapa and betting against her this weekend is almost inconceivable. Nevertheless, it will be her first 100k trail ever, moving up from 70k in Dalat. In between she has competed mainly in road marathons with great success, yet often with digestive issues as well. In order to finish first you first need to finish, and it will be interesting to follow how she performs vis-a-vis the top men. In Dalat, she was fourth overall..

In the 100 miles category, there’s some strong women who will be going for it. Ultra distance specialist Emily Raga from Philippines/Singapore and Tamae Harada from Japan are serious contenders, along with My Cung Thi Tra and Trang Tran.

Vietnam’s female trail star Hau Ha is aiming to repeat her win at Dalat Ultra Trail in her first 100k race at VMM

Quang Tran looked very comfortable at Mantra Summits Challenge two months ago

Gaetan Morizur, here at VJM 2018, was a superb winner of Dalat Ultra Trail last March

Hung Hai switches between trail and duathlon and can never be ruled out for a race victory

Larry Apolinario was the dominant winner at MUSPO 100 and earlier Sierra Madre Ultra 75 this year

Tomohiro Mizukoshi returns to VMM 100, hoping to do better than 6th in 2019

Tomohiro Machida has had an impressive string of placings at Izu Trail Journey over the years

Andy Lee Chong Chi and Chong Mei Tze are the two winners of quite a runable Perak Ultra last weekend, the next ATM Candidate Race in Malaysia, organised by the crew of The Great Malaya Trail. The event featured several race categories of which the 100k attracted most attention. Heavy rainfall preceeding the event, however, forced a number of reroutes away from the trails deeper in the rainforest . As such, total distance was about 92km and a much more runable route with quite a bit of tarmac road, which played into the hands of ultra road specialist Chong Mei Tze. She led the race basically all day and won ahead of Siokhar Lim and Norlela Ismail in a very solid 11h06 and fourth overall. Siokhar Lim is a busy bee these days again, having just scored 3rd in last week’s Jagoi Heritage Run in Sarawak, too. Clearly in very good shape with a finish time of 11h27, the technical trail runner and ATM Grandmaster will be a big favourite in her home race next month, Ultimate Trails of Penang (UTOP).

The men’s race turned out to be very exciting with two runners going head-to-head. Japan’s Atsushi Ito and Andy Lee Chong Chi. Initially, Ito appeared to be the fastest of the two, but Lee Chong Chi came back and managed to drop Ito in the latter stages to win in 10h04, three minutes ahead. Impressive running by the duo. Seiji Morofuji completed the podium in third 50 minutes back, also one week after Jagoi.

Special thanks to our ATM reporter in Perak, Mark Jinmin.

The men’s podium: Andy Lee, Atsushi Ito and Seiji Morofuji

The women’s podium: Chong Mei Tze, Siokhar Lim and Norlela Ismail

We are pleased to announce that global beer brand San Miguel will be a popular sponsor at the forthcoming Mount Apo Sky Race, the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship Final event in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur. The Filipino company has its headquarters in Davao and will be refreshing all finishers with their selection of traditional beers, but also their new range of non-alcoholic beverages. The event will have its start and finish line set up at the Playa de Obuza Beach Resort, right next to the ocean, on 17 December.

Companies and brands that wish to sponsor our biggest event of the season are of course welcome to contact Asia Trail Master and Vertical To Sky to find out more about available opportunities. Please click the button below to connect to our dedicated ATM Final Webpage for further information.

Unfortunately, the V Trail in Vang Vieng, Laos, also has to be rescheduled following the earlier postponement of Luang Prabang Trail. The current situation in the country still does not warrant a successful event in November, and the organisers at Green Step have taken the precautionary step to move the V Trail back by a few months to the first weekend of February 2023. This implies it will be one of the first races of Season VIII of the Asia Trail Master Championship series, which may actually be a good thing. The event in Luang Prabang is being planned for its usual September slot in 2023. Laos was one of the new destinations in Asian trail running before the covid pandemic hit us all. In the last edition of V Trail, some local talent emerged as well and we are looking forward to seeing how these talented runners will develop themselves in the coming season.

Along with Ijen Trail in East Java, Indonesia, the two Laos events are currently the only scheduled ATM events not to take place after all. Lantau 70 in Hong Kong may be the fourth casualty of ongoing covid-related restrictions.

For any queries about the postponement , please contact Green Step directly.

You can now register for the Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Tinongdan, near Baguio, on 4 December. One of the classic events in our ATM series is finally making its long anticipated return after the covid crisis. The 50k race on Sunday is still the main event and will be the last chance for most runners to score points in an attempt to enter their country’s national team for the ATM Championship Final taking place two weeks later. The 50k is actually 47k and centred around Mount Ugo and has a whopping 3270hm. When the weather’s good, it is quite a runable mountain trail, though.

To reach the event you need time but your patience will be rewarded. Fly into Manila or Clark, from where event busses take you to Baguio City. Minibusses continue to the race site in Tinongdan, where runners can also book homestay accommodation. More details can be found when clicking on the button below. Further down you can also check our race summary video of the 2019 edition, held in March that season.

Credit: teelakow/UTCM

Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama repeated his 2019 victory at Ultra Trail Chiang Mai in Thailand last weekend and added 500 valuable ATM Championship points to his 2022 tally. Matsuyama was pushed nearly all the way by Singapore’s Deric Lau, who somehow was running even pace but could not come any closer than ten minutes. After a 5th place at Cameron Ultra last month, Lau now scored his first ATM race podium and certainly is one to watch in the upcoming races and potential leader for Team Singapore in the ATM Finals in December. Matsuyama finishing time was 13 hours. Third place went to Germany’s Olaf Stuermer, just ahead of Norway’s Eirik Knudsen in 14h46.. Malaysia’s Nancy Lem Chee Ng was fifth in a 105k points race where Thailand’s competitive home runners were remarkably absent. Not so in the women’s category, however, as Chonlada Kappiyanand scored her second ATM points race win of the 2022 season in 17h00’. She was clearly the strongest with a 3-hour gap to her compatriot Chanchaya Naphawanroed. Japan’s Maeno Yuuka took third on the podium.

A Thai woman also won the second and shorter 65k points race of the UTCM event. Sutinee Rasp was 25 minutes faster than Malaysia’s Halimatun Sa’adiah, who ended up on an ATM podium for the third time this season already. Sa’adiah is therefore also the new leader in the Malaysian ATM women’s ranking. Srinual Kanta from Thailand was third, just a minute behind Sa’adiah.

The men’s race was won in impressive style by Bangkok-based Indonesian Rama Astra Bramastana, nicknamed ‘Rambo’. A still young trail runner who has been steadily improving and who has used the covid crisis to become more competitive. He was 47 minutes faster on the 65k course than second-placed Hungarian Miklos Viczena and 1h25’ faster than third -placed Yuthakan Mana. Bramastana won in 8h02’ and is suddenly in the mix now for qualification in Team Indonesia for the ATM Finals.

Credit: teelakow/UTCM - ‘Rambo’ Rama Astra Bramastana wins the 65k race in impressive style

Credit: teelakow/UTCM - Halimatun Sa’adiah scores her 3rd ATM podium of the 2022 season!