Ulju Nine Peaks Trail is a serious mountain running event in the southeast of South Korea, which for the first time offers two points races valid for the ATM Championship ranking. The massive 125 km race across “9 Peaks” and covering 9200 metres of elevation gain, and the shorter 45 km race across “5 Peaks” and 3500 hm. Event and race director Jey Jang is known from the Korea 50k event, which was part of ATM before for three years, and she hopes to make Ulju Nine Peaks Trail an annual must-do trail event for runners in Asia.

It is a beautiful region outright, but what makes it even more stunning this time of year are the autumn colours of the forests in and surrounding the Yeongnam Alps. Especially for people from Southeastern Asia, the large variety of colours is not an every-day sight. Moreover, autumn typically implies cooler and less humid weather conditions, too. Excellent for endurance athletes.

The 125 km was flagged off on Thursday morning, the 45 km will be on Friday.

Poy Brillantes is one of the Filipino runners running the 125 km of Ulju Nine Peaks Trail

A really tough mountain trail on the programme this weekend!

There have been plenty of ATM Candidate Races this year, and also in the early months of next season we already have a few nice events lined up. Silabur Ultra Trail is another new event in Sarawak on Malaysian Borneo on 19 March 2023. It proves that many event organisers wish to be part of our Asia Trail Master Championship calendar in the near future, and that event organisation and management is bound to improve even further as spots-per-country on our main calendar are limited and will not increase in number.

Silabur Ultra Trail will take place at Bidayuh Kampung Lubang Batu, Tebakang, roughly 40km from Serian town & 100km from Kuching, the main city with international airport connections. The trail courses cover natural mountain trail & the magnificent Silabur Cave aka Jade Cave. The longest race distance is measured at 60 km with race start at 3 am, but less ambitious runners can also opt for 30km, 15k mand 8km.

Highlight of the event is of course the Silabur Cave, which is a truly impressive sight and the main tourism attraction. It’s a limstone cave with huge vertical cliffs and a jade colour scheme. Accommodation is in homestays as the nearest bigger town or city is Kuching, 100km away. In fact, Silabur is not so far from the border with Indonesia’s Kalimantan.

Test

 

The second Hong Kong points race of this year’s ATM season was won by the still reigning men’s champion John Ellis and Ezster Csillag, who finished second overall and first woman. Ultramarathon de Sai Kung in the New Territories had a rather small field of participants on the 58km course, but the quality was there. For Ellis and Csillag it was the ideal form-test before some bigger goals in November and December.

Three weeks ago at the Dark 45 event, Ellis was still struggling quite a bit and had to battle hard to just make it to the podium behind Jeff Campbell and even his Australian T8 buddy David Longo. Last Sunday, however, Ellis looked like he is nearing peak form again as he managed to push till the finish and drop Longo by a margin of 47 minutes no less. Longo himself did not have the best of days, came second, but behind Ezster Csillag, who has just returned back to Hong Kong from her home country Hungary. As an ATM Champion, John Ellis has now got two ATM race finishes under his belt this year, which means he receives a wild card already to defend his title on Mount Apo in December. Ezster Csillag is hoping to secure her spot on Team Asia Expat in one of the coming ATM races, while David Longo is as good as safe to get his place in Team Australia.

The run for third place on the men’s podium was contested between Samuel Lee, Bogdan Onyschenko and Arnaud Courtin. It was decided in Lee’s favour. Second and third female were Filipino Dolores Sales and Siat Tjhui Djie.

There’s still ATM points races every weekend, except on 12/13 November, giving competitive runners a chance to qualify inside their country’s top four or five and get a spot on the team for the ATM Championship Final on Mount Apo in the Philippines on 17 December.

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Three weeks after Ferei Dark 45 we already have the second ATM points race in Hong Kong on Sunday. Ultramarathon de Sai Kung by XTE Events has been on our calendar since the early part of the season, and although the 100 km has had to be scrapped due to the ongoing covid restrictions in the city, the 58 km is the longest real race in Hong Kong in quite some time. The field of participants is not big for this one, but there’s a couple of international stars scheduled to race and collect relevant ATM Championship points in the persons of a.o. John Ellis, David Longo and last-but-not-least Eszter Csillag. The latter has just returned to Hong Kong from her native Hungary in Eastern Europe, following motherhood and a sensational 5th place in UTMB last summer. Csillag has competed on our ATM tour before, winning the 2019 edition of the 100k at Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia. For the remainder of 2022, supported by T8, she aims to go for the ATM Championship title in December. Qualifying for Team Asia Expat requires ATM points, and UM de Sai Kung looks like the perfect race to open her account.

Reigning ATM Champion John Ellis will be hoping to score better than his 3rd place at Dark 45 this weekend, but in any case will be happy to know that a race finish means automatic qualification for the ATM Championship title race in Philippines on 17 December. Past ATM Champions get a wild card as soon as they have finished two ATM points races in 2022.

It will be very interesting to watch if Ellis can keep up with his fellow-Australian David Longo, who was a very strong 2nd three weeks ago. Longo clearly made a leap forward in competitiveness during the covid years, the question is whether that can result in a first ever ATM race victory.

We will be following the race via our usual channels this Sunday.

David Longo was a strong 2nd in Dark 45 three weeks ago, can he score his first ATM race win this Sunday?

It was a busy weekend with two ATM Championship points races in South Korea and Vietnam, plus an ATM Candidate in Sabah, Malaysia. The most striking performance was signed by Jeff Campbell at the Vietnam Jungle Marathon in Pu Luong. The Hong Kong-based Canadian went out of his comfort zone by tackling the 70k long race, but it hardly showed as he beat two-time race winner this year Gaetan Morizur and 2019 VJM winner Hisashi KItamura in a hard-fought battle. The lead trio were in a league of their own with Campbell finishing in a time of 7h03 (for 70k and 3000 hm) , half an hour ahead of Frenchman-in-Vietnam Morizur, who himself managed to pass Kitamura in the dying moments of the race for second place. All three class acts deserve applause for their spirited performances on Saturday. Far behind them, Ivan Grigorev took a solid fourth place, ahead of Vietnam’s Hoang Huu Thang, who has been very busy this season - last week he still completed the gruelling UTOP 105km in Malaysia. He will be rewarded with a quasi guaranteed qualification for Team Vietnam in the ATM Championship. Most of the big names in Vietnam were absent from the race last Saturday.

Not absent, and placing herself nicely between the top 3 and Grigorev was Vanja Cnops. The Belgian had no competition in the women’s race and as such could set her own pace throughout. Her winning time was 9h08. Vietnam’s Vu Thi Lan Huong was a good second, boosting her ATM points total into a safe zone for ATM Championship qualfication. Hoàng Xuân Vân Anh completed the podium in third place.

The trails around Pu Luong were quite dry and more runable than ever, which partially explains the very fast times. Kitamura was 50 minutes faster than his winning race in 2019. Vanja was more than 1h30’ faster than three years ago.

Over in Seoul, global trail star Gediminas Grinius delivered a fine performance by winning the 100k race in 12h53, almost 45 minutes ahead of Korean ace Kim Jisu. In third place we had Sim Jae Duk in 14h04. Among the ATM Championship protagonists we noted a nice 7th place for UTCM winner Yuta Matsuyama. Tomohiro Mizukoshi was a DNS after suffering from a bad cold late last week. The women’s 100k race saw a Korean success with Jung Soon Park having the better of Japanese duo Tomomi Bitoh and Kanna Suzuki.

The 50k was dominated as expected by the fastest Korean trail star since years, Kim Jisub. He finished the race 1h13’ faster (!!!) than second-placed Heeseong Noh. Seung Jae Min and Sangmin Chung were together in third and fourth. Japan’s Moeko Yasugahira won the women’s 50k, ahead of Boyoung and Yunmin Lee.

There’s been quite a few new events in Sabah this year, and Kokol Ultra is the latest one keen on getting a place on the ATM Championship calendar in the near future. The new 50k race could count on nearly all the big names in Sabah and they did not disappoint. Milton Amat was a clear winner once again, cementing his position as one of ATM’s best performers this season. Imagine he had been at VJM this weekend…. Barely a week after his 126km slog in Penang, WIlsen Singgin toed a starting line again and managed to get second place ahead of a surprisingly strong Jude Maikol in third.

In the women’s Kokol 50 race, we saw a nice resurgence of Jassica Lintanga as a competitive racer. “Jess” recent training efforts are paying off as she had the better of her younger sister Adelinah Lintanga and Aslin Sarawi.

Vanja Cnops: fourth overall and another easy win in the women’s 70k race

Moeko Yasugahira, 7th overall and women’s winner of the 50K in Seoul

Yuta Matsuyama (7th) and Kanna Suzuki (3rd) had solid runs in Seoul

Men’s podium at Kokol; 50: Milton Amat wins, Wilsen Singgin 2nd and Jude Maikol 3rd

Jess Lintanga was a bit faster than her sister Adelinah in the women’s 50k, Aslin Sarawi takes third

You can now watch our latest episode of Tale of the Trail, on the UTOP race in Malaysia on 8/9 October. The 105km very technical race had a surprising male race winner in Jeffery Budin, while local trail hero Siokhar Lim proved to be the strongest woman of the field.

This weekend’s doubleheader also features Seoul 100K in South Korea, an already established event but a new entry on our ATM Championship calendar. Two points races are included, a 100k and a 50k, providing the local runners with a choice to collect ATM points with a view to potential qualification for the Finals in December. In two weeks, there’s another mountainous event taking place in Korea, Ulju Nine & Four Peaks, and so Korean runners can meet the minimum requirement of two ATM race finishes. Unfortunately, it has until today not been easy to travel abroad for Korean people as covid testing requirements and the related uncertainties remain in place.

It is perhaps no surprise that quite a few Japanese runners will also take part in Seoul this weekend, along with all kinds of nationalities. The event does take place in and around the Korean capital, which makes it very convenient. Being around the city does not mean it is a flat race, however. The 100k has over 4600 hm and also the 50k has 2600 hm.

The Korean Alpine Federation, event organiser, has invited a global trail star in the name of Lithuanian Gediminias Grinius. He is signed up even for the full 100k race. Obviously, he is the top favourite and a runner who has been competing in Asia a few times before with success, and with lots of respect for local Asian organisers. Tsuyoshi Kaburaki is one the Japanese trail names on the start list, and Kazuyuki Takahashi can also be ranked among the podium contenders. Better known for ATM followers is Yuta Matsuyama, recently winner of Ultra Trail Chiang Mai in Thailand, and someone capable of producing the upset. Matsuyama is also ranked in the ATM Japan Top 5 at the moment, which qualifies him for the ATM Championship Final in December. Another Japanese runner on the start list we all know very well is Tomohiro Mizukoshi, but he has reported to be not starting this weekend as he fell ill with a bad cold. Especially on the 100k race, we are likely to get to know a lot of new Korean names, as it has indeed been four years since the last ATM points race in the country.

The 50K could see a great battle between the best known Korean runner Kim Jisub and Singapore-based Frenchman Vincent Casanova. Jisub is a 50k trail specialist with wins in, for example, Borneo TMBT 50 on his record, and Casanova is a 2:35 marathon runner, his PB actually dating from earlier this year! The tall Frenchman from Corsica may be more of a roadie than a trail runner, but if the weather is dry on Saturday he could give Kim Jisub a genuine challenge.

Kim Jisub winning TMBT 50k in 2019

Vincent Casanova during the virtual ATM 500 in his resident country Singapore

Yuta Matsuyama getting ready for his 3rd ATM race of the season in Seoul

This weekend’s Vietnam Jungle Marathon is the last of three ATM points races in the country that have succeeded each other quickly. And has the best one been saved for last? One could say so looking at the men’s start list in particular: Jeff Campbell and Hisashi KItamura, Hung Hai and Gaetan Morizur. That’s serious trail dynamite for the 70k race in Pu Luong and the type of competitive race that warrants a good bet. In the women’s race eyes will be focused on Vanja Cnops in the absence of Hau Ha, resting after a busy number of weeks.

The 2019 edition of VJM was one of the biggest classics in ATM racing history, culminating in a very entertaining battle between Kitamura and Veronika Vadovicova, whose star was rising very quickly that spring. Indeed, VJM used to be held in May, but the annual scorchingly hot temperatures have convinced the organisers to move things to mid-October since then. It was the Karate Kit’s first ATM race victory, and for sure he will need to dig deep this Saturday to repeat that feat. Especially as he has not been looking very fresh in his last ATM appearances. Jeff Campbell on the other hand was his usual dominant self at the Ferei Dark 45 two weeks ago. The interesting thing is that Campbell will be leaving his comfort zone at VJM: 70 km is not a race distance he entertains very often. Similar to Vanja Cnops in the women’s, Campbell prefers the shorter distances and run them at very high speeds. Gaetan Morizur has been the man-to-beat in Vietnam’s trail races this season, and is a runner who is very familiar with VJM. Morizur beating Kitamura and Campbell would perhaps be kind of surprising, and yet it cannot be excluded at all - especially if the others go head-to-head from the start, a dangerous tactic that was applied by Hung Hai in that 2019 race. Hung Hai ran away from everyone early on, but got reeled in over halfway and finished half an hour behind Kitamura. Hung Hai is in great shape, he came second behind Quang Tran in VMM 100 miles last month, and beating the others this weekend would raise his international trail profile quite a bit.

Normally speaking, in-form Vanja Cnops will be tough to beat in the women’s 70k race. For the Singapore based Belgian, this race is also a bit of an advanced training for the 75k race on Mount Apo in December, the ATM Championship Final. Vietnam’s Julia Nguyen Duong Thi and Thi Lan Huong Vu are also podium contenders.

In 2019 Hung Hai attacked early, but got reeled in by Hisashi Kitamura.

Gaetan Morizur at VJM 2018. Since then, the Frenchman has metamorphosed into a multiple race winner!

Jeff Campbell and Hisashi Kitamura raced each other before at Tahura Trail 2020. Campbell won, and Alessandro Sherpa put himself between the two.

Julia Nguyen Duong Thi can safeguard her ATM Final qualification this weekend

The women’s 2019 podium with Vanja Cnops on 2 behind Veronika Vadovicova on 1 and the late Fredelyn Alberto on 3.

We are happy to announce the Lam Dong Trail in Dalat, Vietnam, as a new ATM Candidate Race from 11 to 13 November 2022. Organised by VietnamJoy and the Green Hat Joint Stock Company, the new event features several race categories of which the 70k is the flagship. Host venue of the event is the Valley of Love, not far from Dalat City.

Lam Dong is the name of the province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, already very popular among trail runners due to the moderate climate and cooler temperatures. The event is part of a bigger community initiative called VietnamJoy, which was born with the desire to bring people back to nature through forest paths, climbing waterfalls or magical cloud-piercing peaks. Running terrain is not only a test of the toughness of the body, but also a connection with nature. Every breath, step by step opens up every beautiful scenery of Vietnam.

Despite the estimated elevation gain of 2850 hm, the terrain in and around Dalat is known to be quite runable. November marks the start of the colder season, and runners will be treated by mystic foggy landscapes in vast hilly pine forests. If 70k is too long, runners can also choose between 45km, 21km or 10km race categories.

Dalat is well-connected via air and road from Ho Chi Minh City. It is a tourism destination in its own right, which has plenty of accommodation options and things to see and experience.

All detailed information can be found on the official website, in both Vietnamese and English.

Jeffery Budin was the surprising but well-deserved winner of Ultimate Trails of Penang 105km last weekend, while local trail hero Siokhar Lim confirmed her current top form with a clear victory in the women’s race. Budin’s success ranks among the greatest upsets in ATM race history. Having been around for a few years in the lower half of the Top 10, Budin rose to the occasion when most of the pre-race favourites weren’t paying attention early in the tough race and went off course. Apparently, a local marshal at an aid station to be used twice in the race, pointed them into the wrong of two directions. But surprisingly, most of the affected runners continued for plenty of kilometers before realising they were on the wrong of two different loops. Others trusted their GPS watches’ warning signals and turned back earlier. It’s a classic unfortunate situation, which ultimately demotivated some of them to throw in the towel all together and DNF. Wilsen Singgin, aware of the opportunity to safeguard his Top 5 spot in the ATM Malaysia ranking that qualifies him for our ATM Championship Final in December, did continue his race, however. According to Thimo Kilberth, who had a slow start with “blocked legs” due to a delayed travel from Europe, Singgin probably was only 40th when he saw him and rejoined an out-and-back section of the proper race course.

Meanwhile, Jeffery Budin, Seiji Morofuji, Ben Lee Ben Siong and Nem Chee Ng found themselves in the lead of the race with about 75 km still to go. This is where Budin earned his victory. He didn’t go the wrong way, suddenly found himself in a race leading position, then managed to stay cool and focused, ran with determination while, arguably, unlocking powers he did not realise he had himself, and brought it home in style. Not only is it Budin’s first ATM race victory, it’s even his first podium finish! A wonderful story for the humble and talented Malaysian, who has been supported by Sportlicious Malaysia for a few years already and who reportedly has very little chances to do any real training for races. Could this be a game changer for Budin? In any case, having been a busy bee in ATM already, his Top 5 spot in the ATM Malaysia ranking seems secure and Budin can expect to be part of his country’s team in the Final on Mount Apo.

The very experienced and solid competitor Seiji Morofuji was trying and hanging on about ten minutes back for most of the race, but eventually cracked and even still had the resurgent Wilsen Singgin pass him in the last three kilometers. Singgin’s Strava record read 121 km after the race, indicating he had been off course for a total of about 16 km… That’s 16 km of tough, technical hilly rainforest terrain. Kudos to the Sabahan for not giving up, his reward is big: it is actually his first ATM podium of the season after 3 fourth places earlier. Morofuji was all smiles, too. For the KL-based Japanese runner it was his second ATM podium finish after Merapoh Trail in 2019. His qualification for Team Japan at the ATM Final also seems secure. Pre-race favourite Thimo Kilberth eventually arrived in 7th place and was nevertheless a happy finisher.

Lem Chee Ng was in contention for the podium, too, but missed out by just 11 minutes. He crossed the finish line together with Siokhar Lim, who proved how much progress in running pace she has made since 2019. Being one of the most technically skilled female trail runners, Siokhar Lim, with this kind of form, could be a podium contender at the ATM Championship Final. The women’s podium was completed by Philippines’ Irish Glorioso, who ran a remarkable race herself, overtaking Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong in the final sections. Both scored their first ATM podiums, and Glorioso even placed herself in contention for the ATM Philippines Top 5.

Masafumi Yamamoto was another high profile finisher at UTOP, because the Ho Chi Minh City-based trail runner collected his 20th Grandmaster Quest point, and therefore has joined Hisashi KItamura as a 4-star ATM Grandmaster. Miri’s Yvette Chong Mi Chin accomplished her Grandmaster Quest, too, with her fifth ultra finish of 2022, following MMTF in 2019. And also Lim Jyh Horng completed his Quest at UTOP! Jyh Horng started with three races in 2019, the points of which are still valid this year, and added Cameron Ultra, Ultra Trail Chiang Mai and UTOP to it. Congratulations to all three great trail runners!

Masafumi Yamamoto: now a 4-star Grandmaster

Yvette Chong Mi Chin: Grandmaster *

Lim Jyh Horng: Grandmaster *

The 4th Malaysian points race in the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship series provides an opportunity for a few competitive runners to bring themselves in a more comfortable position towards qualification for the ATM Final in December. Team Malaysia is certainly one of the tougher teams to get a spot on, given the vast elevated level of trail runners in the country. Race favourite for the tough but beautiful UTOP 100km race on Penang island is Wilsen Singgin, a busy bee and always at his best on tough courses. Singgin will be running his fourth ATM points race of the season and with another good result would basically be assured of qualification. This year’s points ranking is based on a ‘best-four-count system’. Singgin and Mount Apo also sounds like a good match!

Buff Epic Ultimate Trails of Penang is organised by Endurance Nature, the event management team around Malaysian ultra legend Seow Kong Ng and Allan Lee. ATM followers know their other, older, event Penang Eco in Bukit Mertajam already very well. Before covid-19 hit, it had been agreed that we would be alternating Penang Eco with UTOP as ATM points race event in the coming years. It has taken longer than expected, but finally we will now have UTOP making its debut on our ATM Championship calendar. Runners who have done it already, argue that UTOP is a step-up in terms of trail technicality but the overall difficulty is counterbalanced by incredible vistas of the island and the ocean around it. Some even claim UTOP 100 is on paper the toughest trail race in Malaysia.

The dominator of Borneo TMBT Ultra 100, fellow Sabahan Milton Amat, is sitting this weekend out and will thus not add any points to his total. Amat currently has 1000 points out of two races and can be overtaken by Jeffery Budin and Bernardo Linus, both also competing in their fourth race of the year in Penang. Malaysian points leader Muhammad Affindi, like Amat, won’t be running this weekend.

Wilsen Singgin probably needs to watch out most for Aqmal Adzmi at UTOP 100. The tall runner is very keen on earning a spot on Team Malaysia as well and this weekend’s race could give him a great shot at collecting a podium and a big points haul for that purpose. Not entirely satisfied with his performance at TMBT three weeks ago, Adzmi had barely crossed the finish line and already talked about UTOP that night. What can Sarawak’s Abang Jamadi do on a technical 100k? Jamadi is probably best known as a 50k podium competitor, but will be going for it tomorrow on the double distance. 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong features on the start list as well, but having recently completed TOR in Italy he is reportedly changing to the 60k race category, which at UTOP does not provide any points for the ATM ranking. Ong has had global event ambitions this year and is not a factor in this year’s ATM Championship. Andy Lee and Jack Oh are outsiders for a podium spot this weekend, and last but not least also Thimo Kilberth. The Bali-based German is returning from a stint in Germany, where he a.o. ran the Cologne Marathon, and will be testing his resilience on the 100 km in Penang. Kilberth has been competing almost primarily on Indonesian trails, so UTOP is also a bit of a step into the unknown for him. Similar with Wilsen Singgin, it’s his fourth ATM race of the season so his qualification for Team Indonesia will be cast in stone if he finishes. Another Indonesian, Abdul Rahman Muhammad Ishak, is currently sitting third in his country’s points ranking and is also doing his fourth ATM race already. Not immediately a podium contender, but a decent race finisher nonetheless who has been collecting points left and right this season while some of his better-known compatriots have been idle.

In the women’s race we can probably expect a battle for the win between Halimatun Sa’adiah, one of the exciting newcomers on the scene this year, and Grandmaster Siokhar Lim, who is running at home. Can the youngster keep the very experienced and ultra distance specialist behind as the finish line approaches? We already know from Cameron Ultra that Sa’adiah can grit her teeth together if she must, but we have also seen a very fresh-looking and consistently strong SIokhar Lim over the past couple of months. We can imagine she’d like to win UTOP this time.

Looking at the Malaysian ATM ranking, points leader Sally Yap is absent but quite safe with 1400 points in 3 races. For Sa’adiah it’s her fourth race, so she should normally be assured of qualification after this weekend, too. The numbers 3 and 4 are also competing for the fourth time: Norlela Ismail and Chong Mi Chin. That will put some pressure on others who are currently just with two or one race behind their name.

After UTOP 100, there are still many points races left this season. In Malaysia itself, of course MMTF 100 and 50 is still around the corner in Taiping on 19 November.

UTOP 100 takes place on the island proper and is genuinely tougher than it may look at first sight!

“Mr 4th place” this year. Can 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Champion Wilsen Singgin finally get on the ATM podium this weekend… and why not even win the race?

Halimatun Sa’adiah has been making a name for herself this season. Can she claim her first race win this weekend?

Aqmal Adzmi is looking for a better run than TMBT three weeks ago. If he finds his best legs, watch out!

Grandmaster Siokhar Lim : it’s her home race this weekend

Back from Germany, Thimo Kilberth will be eyeing a great result on unfamiliar territory

Season VII of the Asia Trail Master Championship series is currently in full swing and the tension towards the winner-takes-all Final race between qualified runners in national country teams has been building up gradually. Nevertheless, the start of the new Season VIII is not that far away neither. As usual, there’s five weeks between the end and the beginning. The ATM event calendar for 2023 is taking shape bit by bit, not as fast as we would like but it seems the nature of today’s world to have a shorter horizon to work with. In fact, several event organisers are still waiting for official permits by their local or regional authorities. In total, the ATM Championship calendar will again feature between 25 and maximum 30 points races in which runners can score points for the Championship qualification and/or for their Grandmaster Quest. The complete calendar will be revealed in due course, but for planning purposes we are happy to reveal the first four events that will open proceedings in 2023.

The new season will begin with four weekends-in-a-row. Thailand has the honour of having the opener with the classic Ultra Trail Koh Chang - UTKC - event in the south of the country and reachable via Bangkok, on the weekend of 21-22 January 2023. As usual, both the 100km and the 70km race categories will offer ATM points. One week later we move to Bandung in West Java, Indonesia, for Tahura Trail. Another classic and very popular for trail runners who prefer a shorter race distance (42 km) or for those wishing to prep themselves for longer races afterwards. Going into February, we find the V Trail in Laos on the schedule. A new date in the early season for the tough and technical race of 85km around Vang Vieng in the south of the country. From Laos we will head to Manila for the first Filipino race of the 2023 season and it’s a new entry on our Championship calendar: Santa Ines Mountain Adventure. A pretty spicy 80km in the Rizal mountains east of the Manila metropole, a successful Candidate Race last April.

After this quartet of events, we will have a break for two weeks until the new Candidate Race in Brunei, the Simpur Ultra Run on 25 February. Looking into early March, we can expect the traditional first Vietnamese points race event on the calendar: Dalat Ultra Trail, which should be officially announced soon.

Stay tuned for more updates on the 2023 ATM Calendar coming very soon.