For the first time in over 3,5 years runners will flock to Baguio and the smaller mountain village of Tinongdan for the Cordillera Mountain Ultra, a classic on the Filipino trail calendar that has also acquired a very positive reputation in the rest of Asia and even beyond. Event organiser JP Alipio has indeed managed to put together a unique ‘boutique-style’ trail weekend in the splendid scenery the area has to offer, including homestay accommodation and local culture. The main race, the 50km, features the ascent and descent of Mount Ugo, and is natural loop without any unnecessary or artifical switchbacks to add distance. CMU, as the event is now commonly called, is living proof that 50k trail races can be very attractive, fun and challenging, too.

Normally taking place in March, the covid-19 situation early this year made that impossible and so CMU is a late-season race for the first time. While tricky for many international trail runners, the local Filipino runners do not seem to bother as the start list looks filled with the nation’s top runners, especially those with ambition to be part of Team Pilipinas at the ATM Championship Final in two weeks’s time in…. Philippines, albeit on the other side in Mindanao: the Mount Apo Sky Race. Indeed, the male and female teams, consisting of maxium five each, is not yet fully confirmed today. In the men’s Larry Apolinario and Sean Aying performed well-enough at MMTF last weekend to be safe, but the remaining three spots are still quite open for a number of runners - even John Ray Onifa. The latter does not feature on the CMU start list, however, the race he won back in 2019 ahead of Kristian Joergensen (!) and Koi Grey. Joergensen is back this weekend, following-up after his joint victory with Milton Amat last week on the 90km of MMTF. Reportedly not in a position to race Mt Apo, Joergensen might influence the others’ chances by taking points away from them this weekend. But when all is said and done, we might find Davao’s Arnie Macaneras on the #1 spot after the weekend. After a difficult start of his ATM season with the DNF at MUSPO 100, Macaneras rebounded with second place behind Kitamura at The Punisher, and a solid 3rd place at MMTF 50 last week. He is doing CMU as well now, to make sure he can don the Team Pilipinas shirt for the Final at his home in Davao. Of all the ATM finalists in the men’s race, nobody will know the terrain better than Arnie Macaneras. That makes him a very dangerous outsider and certainly a podium contender.

In the women’s race, we can expect a battle between Angelie Cabalo and Aggy Sabanal, both of them keen to get into the Top 5 of the ranking as well. Mathematically difficult given Emily Raga, Ces Wael, Irish Glorioso and Rhea Batac are safe already. Remains Julie Ann Morales, but she is running CMU to make sure she stays in, being from Davao also. Morales, by the way, could challenge for the CMU victory outright, having shown competitive improvement all season. Sabanal has been selective in her races and might be the freshest of all contenders, especially as Caballo just won MMTF a week ago. Or will eternal podium placer Ces Wael finally get that big victory that has escaped her for so long?

The ATM team will be present at CMU and reporting live on the usual channels, connectivity permitting.

Always one of the most stunning vistas every ATM season

one of the suspension bridges on the 50k course

Following MMTF last weekend, the hard-fought battle to get into Team Malaysia for the Asia Trail Master Championship Final has come to a conclusion with some dramatic last-minute changes. There’s no Malaysian contenders signed up for the Cordillera Mountain Ultra and Izu Trail Journey in the next two weekends, so the ranking is basically final. In the end, the ten Malaysian men and women will be the top favourites to win the team championship, and some of them can also challenge for the individual ATM Championship title and the podium. In particular, Milton Amat will find Mount Apo in Davao, Philippines, very much to his liking.

Several runners such as Wilsen Singgin, Muhamad Affindi, Jeffery Budin, Sally Yap, Halimatun Sa’adiah and Norlela Ismail were already guaranteed of their team spot before MMTF last weekend, but for the remaining spots it was very tight between a number of athletes. The biggest ‘losers’, if we can use that term, are Beng Siong Lee and Trisha Yuen, who both dropped out of the top five and are not even first reserve. Beng Siong Lee suffered from illness going into the 90k race at MMTF and was basically already beaten before the start. He fought bravely, but got ranked outside the top 50 for which there are no more championship points. Also Amir Zaki was sick and struggled a lot. The winner of Doi Nhok 50k in Thailand three weeks ago finished as 25th last Saturday, which gave him 160 championship points and that proved to be just enough to stay ahead of Daved Simpat (2nd on the 50km at MMTF) and Aqmal Adzmi (joint 3rd on the 90km at MMTF). The difference between Zaki and the other two: he finished 4 ATM races compared to 3 for the other two, and ATM 2022 has a ‘best-four-count’ system. That is also the story in the women’s category: the combination of having finished 4 ATM points races with a great result is what you gets you in the top five. Especially in Malaysia where the men’s number five, Amir Zaki, collected no fewer than 1415 points and the women’s number five, Izzah Hazirah, 1150 points. You don’t even get there with two race wins.

The six reserves for Team Malaysia, in case someone in the top five cannot make it to the Mount Apo Sky Race on 17 December, are Daved Simpat, Aqmal Adzmi, Beng Siong Lee in the men’s, and Sum Mei Soh, Trisha Yuen and Wan Azzizah Wan Achmad in the women’s.

It should be noted that Muhamad Affindi is 2nd overall behind Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura in the 2022 ATM points ranking and Sally Yap is even the overall leader in the ATM women’s ranking today with two more points races to go. Both competed in four ATM races this season.

All details on the ATM Championship Final can be read here.

As a pure mountain runner and in the shape of his life in 2022, Milton Amat ranks among the top favourites to win the ATM Championship this year

Mountain runner Izzah Hazirah secured her spot for Team Malaysia at MMTF last weekend

There were quite a few Asian star runners at MMTF, but arguably John Ray Onifa was the one who stood out and impressed the most with his dominating performance in the 50k race. He was of course the top favourite, but to beat Daved Simpat by over 32 minutes, Arnie Macaneras by 1 hour and 10 minutes (!), Koi Grey by 1h 23 and Muhamad Affindi by 1h40 on essentially a 47 km course, was a true masterclass. It’s Onifa’s 4th career ATM race victory, scoring one every year since 2017. The Filipino runs mainly on the global stage, otherwise he would still be a serious contender for the Asia Trail Master Championship title.

Behind him, Simpat showed once more that 2022 has been a good year for him. The ‘original’ Sabahan trail star, now well in his forties, even earned his spot in Team Malaysia for the ATM Finals (to be confirmed once the MMTF 100k results are official). For Davao’s Macaneras, qualification for his country’s team is not yet guaranteed but 3rd was a great step in that direction. He is running this coming weekend’s Cordillera Mountain Ultra next to ensure his spot for the Finals in his home area. It was very nice to see Koi Grey back in action last weekend, and he did not miss his comeback. Fourth place and 12 minutes behind Macaneras is truly solid. Alessandro Sherpa also made his comeback in Asia, but reportedly just followed his training and preparation plan for the ATM Finals. Sherpa ran with fellow-T8 ambassador Ezster Csillag as they crossed the finish line behind Koi Grey. That shows you how fast Csillag is, of course. She is one of the three top favourites for the women’s ATM Championship title alongside Vanja Cnops and Hau Ha.

Kristian Joergensen and Milton Amat ruled on the 100km race category, which turned out to be ‘just’ 90 km in fact. While many were hoping to see a great battle between them for the prestigious race victory, they decided to cross the line together. The same happened almost two hours later with the very strong Aqmal Adzmi, who always does well at MMTF, and last year’s winner Wilsen Singgin. Singapore-based Chris Timms was next, just 12 minutes behind them. Remarkable performance by Timms. Milton Amat secured his spot on Team Malaysia, where he will be joined by Wilsen Singgin - who was already qualified before MMTF, just like Muhamad Affindi. For Adzmi, he will just come short on points as Daved Simpat, Amir Zaki and Beng Siong Lee also collected again in their fourth race of the season. Adzmi will be one of the reserves, however, in case one of the qualifiers cannot make it.

It has no major impact on the ATM rankings this time, but our regulations state that joint finishes will not be considered and a distinction must be made when awarding points. Because no clear distinction could be made at the last checkpoint of the race neither, Joergensen and Amat’s points will be rounded down to 450 (=2nd place) instead of 500 (winners), and the same applies for Adzmi and Singgin (400 points = 4th place, instead of 425 = 3rd place). The ATM Championship has had this rule for ‘joint finishes’ since the beginning (see ‘general notes’ on our ATM points system page).

The women’s 100k saw a surprising winner in Angelie Cabalo from the Philippines. Her country delivered a great string of results all weekend and it was obvious also in this race category with 4 Filipinos in the top 6, 3 in the top 4. Majo Liao returned to the ATM scene for the first time since many years and managed to stay just ahead of Malaysia’s Sally Yap for second place. The gap to Cabalo was 25 minutes. Cecille Wael was fourth, well ahead of last year’s winner Izzah Hazirah.

The MMTF races were stopped for safety reasons on late Saturday afternoon following a very heavy downpour. The big majority of 100k runners were still out on the course, and therefore only 7 women reached the finish line. Irish Glorioso and Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong were the last ones. The MMTF race director decided the others will be marked as finishers. Official results are pending.

Ezster Csillag was unbeatable in the women’s 50k

No sprint to see who’s best: Kristian Joergensen and Milton Amat cross the finish together

Philippines’ Angelie Cabalo was the surprise winner of the women’s 100km

India is growing as a trail running destination and Malnad Ultra illustrates that fact as the first official points race in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. The 6th edition of the very popular event in the heartland of Indian coffee in Karnataka, Western Ghats, has two traditional race categories that provide points: 100km and 50km. The terrain, through hilly coffee plantations, is quite runable and explains the tight cut-off times given the distances.

More than 1200 people signed up for the event, which is taking place in a very remote area northwest of Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore). As the RD told ATM, do not expect to be able to perform any video livestreaming. It is part of the charm of Malnad Ultra to be away from every-day mobile connectivity for a few days.

ATM Grandmaster Shashwat Rao will be among the competitors on the 100km, having just returned from a strong run in South Korea at the Ulju Trail 9 Peaks. Shashwat has been all over Asia in the years 2018-19 and it is great to see him back post-covid. With a good result this weekend, he can qualify himself for the ATM Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December. Another Indian running star who can achieve that is Nupur SIngh in the women’s category. Earlier this year, Nupur traveled to Saudi Arabia just after she resumed training and scored a very solid second place. She has had global running goals this year, such as the world championship ultra road running, which is why we haven’t seen more of her afterwards. Dengue fever also hampered her progress. Dengue is pretty serious, so Malnad Ultra will be a test case for Nupur to see how well she has recovered.

ATM will be on-site during the event and will be reporting as much as the mobile connectivity allows.

This weekend we have an unanticipated doubleheader in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. Malnad Ultra in Karnatika is the first points race event in India, and TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping is arguably the most competitive 100k race and 50k race of the season so far. Originally scheduled for last weekend, MMTF had to postpone by one week due to Malaysia’s General Elections, which caused quite a stir in the community. While many people, such as global elite runner Pau Capell, could not change their travel plans so last-minute, plenty of others found a way to still be there this Saturday. For many competitive Asians, MMTF is seen as the second-to-last opportunity to score enough points to get into their national country team at the ATM Final in Philippines next month.

This may be the case for 2019 MMTF race winner Kristian Joergensen also. Joergensen has had a solid year on the global scene, and now added both MMTF and Cordillera Mountain Ultra to his programme in order to try and qualify for the Mount Apo Sky Race in Davao on 17 December. Joergensen would immediately be a top contender for the ATM title, too. Another expat, and former ATM Champion in 2018, Alessandro Sherpa, is also back in Asia and keen to get his name on the board this weekend. Sherpa has been running in Italy and Europe for two years, and it will be interesting to see how he fares back in the hot and humid conditions of Southeast Asia. As a former champion, Sherpa only needs to finish two ATM races to get qualified for the Final, and reportedly that race on Mt Apo is also the only thing on his mind - competitively speaking. At MMTF, Sherpa will run the 50k to get the machine rolling.

Joergensen will have some challengers to repeat his victory from meanwhile three years ago, a megaperformance that turned him into the top trail performer he is now known as. Not in the least from Sabah’s Milton Amat, arguably the one-to-beat in Malaysia’s ultras this year. Amat needs the MMTF race to secure his spot in Team Malaysia, ironically enough. He has run often, but only two ATM points races (BUTM and TMBT), which is leaving him vulnerable against the many other Malaysians who are battling to get inside the country’s top 5 in the ATM rankings - based on a ‘best-four-count’ system. Wilsen Singgin, Muhamad Affindi and Jeffery Budin have already secured their team spot. Amat will be competing with mainly Amir Zaki, Ben Siong Lee, Daved Simpat and Akmal Adzmi for the two remaining spots. Amir Zaki is in great shape these days, having just won Doi Nhok Trail in Thailand, and Akmal Adzmi has always run very well at MMTF. Nevertheless, if Milton Amat can duplicate his performance from, say TMBT, he will be safe and in fact a top favourite to win the ATM Championship, too. Mount Apo is the kind of technical mountain terrain that will suit pure mountain runners.

Two more serious victory contenders on the 100k this weekend come from the Philippines: Larry Apolinario and Arnie Macaneras. Also in the Philippines, it’s a tight fight to get inside the country’s Top 5. Current points leader and MUSPO 100 winner Apolinario seems safe, as long as he finishes the race this weekend. It will only be his second race outside his home country. His first was VMM 100k last September, where he ran together with Hau Ha and Gaetan Morizur until halfway his stomach let him down. He did well to keep going and finish the race, which gave him the additional ATM points to now be leading the ranking. Macaneras on the other hand finds himself on the back foot after a DNF in MUSPO 100. The Davao ace returned with a second place behind Hisashi Kitamura in The Punisher 80 in August, but those 450 points of just 1 race are currently insufficient and places him behind Sean Aying (also at MMTF), Yojong Sacayle, Angelito Vertudazo and Poy Brillantes. Macaneras is a brilliant performer on technical trails, though, and expect a strong challenge from him to win MMTF 100 and lift himself into Team Pilipinas for his home race on Mount Apo.

We mentioned Hisashi Kitamura just now, but unfortunately the Karate Kit will not be competing this weekend in either the 100k or 50k race. Kitamura got badly sick during VJM last month - covid - and has seen his training schedule completely gone up in smoke. Already qualified a while ago for Team Japan, he does not want to risk anything and try to recover in time to be at his best at the ATM Championship Final - his main goal this season from the beginning.

A serious dark horse is Indonesia’s Arief Wismoyono, the 2015 ATM Champion who this season returned to peak form and showed that with a highly impressive win at Mantra Summits Challenge. This is Wismoyono’s first international in a long time, and it will be interesting to see how he fares. Similar with Milton Amat, Wismoyono will be a serious contender on the Mount Apo course next month. Akmad Nizar is another talented Indonesian who can cause an upset this weekend.

Other podium contenders on the 100k this weekend will be Singapore’s Deric Lau, Japan’s Seiji Morofuji and Sabah’s Safrey Sumping.

Looking at the 50k race, double ATM race winner this year Muhamad Affindi will be up against Daved Simpat and John Ray Onifa - the latter probably the man-to-beat. Onifa does not run a lot of races under ATM, but when he does he either wins or is very close to winning. One of his Filipino countrymen, Koy Grey, will return to trail racing for the first time since covid and his excellent 2019 season, in which he was one of the greatest stars. Let’s also watch out for Frenchman Herve Huguenot, a revelation at Cameron Ultra. Another great run could potentially even push him into Team Asia Expat for the ATM Final.

In the women’s races we will especially be looking at the performance of Hong Kong-based Hungarian Ezster Csillag, who recently scored 4th in the World Championships and who has her eyes set on the ATM title next month. Csillag won Ultramarathon de Sai Kung in October and MMTF 50k will be her second ATM race of the season.

On the women’s 100km we will see the best of Malaysia competing in the same race. Sally Yap, Halimatun Saaidah and Norlela Ismail are already guaranteed of their ATM Final qualification, and at MMTF they will face stern competiton from the likes of Adelinah Lintanga -back from Nepal- and 2021 MMTF race winner Izzah Hazirah, and also some strong runners from Philippines and Singapore. Cecile Wael will be at the start, along with Majo Liao - back from a long absence on the ATM scene - Irish Glorioso and Janet Halcon. Vincere Zeng is Singapore’s female number one at the moment, following her victory at Cameron Ultra. Can she repeat that feat in Taiping? It will certainly be interesting to see how she fares this weekend, also with a view to Mount Apo, which should suit her mountain skills very well. Let’s also keep an eye out on Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathing, who was a podium placer at UTOP, too, just a good month ago.

Alessandro Sherpa returns to Asia and the ATM scene for the first time since winning the ATM Candidate in Vietnam in early February 2020

Milton Amat has been dominant in Malaysia in the last months. Can he challenge Joergensen and co this weekend as well?

Second international outing for Filipino coming-man Larry Apolinario this weekend

Akmal Adzmi has always gone well in Taiping. What can he do this time?

Sally Yap became the woman-to-beat in Malaysian ultras this season

Ezster Csillag came back to Asia with a bang a couple of months ago and targets the ATM title

Norlela Ismail proves that consistency can get you a long way in the ATM Championship series

La Sportiva, official mountain running shoe partner of the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship series, has a wide range of trail models available again in its key stores in Malaysia and Indonesia. Popular models such as the Akasha II, but also the lightweight Jackal - favourite race shoe of Alessandro Sherpa - and Bushido. Check them out via the links below to Corezone Malaysia and Technical Outdoor Indonesia.

La Sportiva has a long history of growth and success in climbing, mountaineering, and alpine trekking cross country skiing, and increased its engagement in the blossoming sport of trail mountain running® about two decades ago. At first primarily in Italy and neighbouring European nations, but today La Sportiva’s footwear can be found in no fewer than 70 countries across several continents. Nevertheless, the company is still largely family-run and headquartered in Ziano di Fiemme with Lorenzo Delladio at the helm. In recent years, La Sportiva has received plenty of awards for its technical innovations, but also for its commitments in the environmental field and its development of sustainable products and processes. “Our driving force is passion, our passion is the mountains” is the slogan. A good number of global elite trail runners have taken up the brand and brought it to the foreground of the sport’s footwear and apparel industry.

Trail running shoes of La Sportiva come in a number of distinct models, each designed for specific requirements, and offer several colour options as well. The most popular model sold in Asia is the Akasha II. Designed for long-distance routes, UltraMarathons and prolonged use during training, the three key words are protection, comfort and cushioning. The wearing comfort is given by the cushioning, thanks to the Cushion Platform ™ footbed insert and the large internal volumes as well as the soft, breathable and enveloping upper with Slip-on construction that avoids compression points during the race. The Akasha II comes in various colour designs, so anyone can find his or her favourite match. Other models to check out are the Jackal (lightweight) and the Ultra Raptor II (robust and for technical long mountain ultras).

We are one month away from the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship conclusion, and the national country teams are beginning to take shape. Throughout the year, runners have been able to collect ATM points in all races on our calendar and many of them are, today, already guaranteed of a place in the top 5 of their country in the ATM rankings. For some other Asian top runners, there’s still work to be done if they want to be part of the Mount Apo Sky Race in Davao, Phlippines on 17 December, location of this year’s championship decider. The Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival and the Cordillera Mountain Ultra, Malnad Ultra and Izu Trail Journey, are the last chances to score points. Especially for a spot in the home team, Team Pilipinas, these last few races will have quite some significance. But even on the similarly competitive Malaysian trail scene, arguably the top guy is not yet guaranteed of his spot in the team for the ATM Final.

Let’s do a round-up for some of the leading country teams going into the final weeks of Season VII.

Philippines

The battle for the five spots (five for men, five women) is a tight one in the home country. Due to the covid crisis, organising events and traveling was difficult for Filipinos so quite a few competitive runners are banking on MMTF and CMU in particular to get inside their country’s team for the Mount Apo Sky Race 75 in Davao in Mindanao. The current men’s ranking is led by Larry Apolinario (830 points) and Sean Aying (825 points), but nobody is already guaranteed of qualification. Davao’s own Arnie Macaneras, in particular, sits in 7th place at 450 points and needs a good result at MMTF or he risks being left outside. Kristian Joergensen is signed up for both MMTF and CMU, and could still enter the game being a long-term resident in the Philippines. John Ray Onifa is registered for the 50k at MMTF, but even winning that one race won’t be enough anymore for him to qualify. Remember: race winners score 500 points, 450 for 2nd, 425 for 3rd and so on. Each runner’s best four results of the year are taken into account for the final ranking.

In the women’s ranking, busy bees Emily Raga and Rhea Batac have basically both secured their places already. The question is who will join them on Mt Apo: Julie Ann Morales, Ces Wael and Irish Glorioso are holding the spots for now, but Aggy Sabanal and Janet Halcon will be trying to sneak one away in the coming races.

Malaysia

The top 3 in the men’s and women’s ranking are as good as safe already. Wilsen Singgin, Mohamad Affindi and the surprising UTOP winner Jeffery Budin all scored enough points already. It’s not quite the case yet for Amir Zaki and, especially, Milton Amat. The Sabahan lead runner currently has only 2 ATM results this season, and even though it’s two big victories, his countrymen like to run a lot and it’s four results over a season that are taken into account. Milton will be competing at MMTF and can be expected to safeguard his place in Team Malaysia, however. As a matter of fact, several people argue Mount Apo is the ideal territory for Milton Amat to become ATM Champion this year. It may indeed be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for him. Other Malaysians who will still compete for a spot in the men’s team are Ben Siong Lee, Daved Simpat and Bernardo Linus.

In the women’s, exciting newcomers Sally Yap and Halimatun Sa’adiah already secured their spots, together with La Sportiva’s Norlela Ismail, who proves that consistency across four ATM races can bring you a long way. The remaining two spots will be contested between Chong Mi Chin, Trisha Thow (currently dealing with an injury, though), Izzah Hazirah, Sum Mei Soh and Siti Hajar Razali.

Indonesia

A complicated season for Indonesian trail runners, also due to international travel issues in the aftermath of covid. As in the Philippines, only three instead of four points races in 2022, so the rankings have been modest. One exception: long-term Bali resident Thimo Kilberth has made the step forward to ATM’s top tier and could be an important alley for former ATM Champion and in-form Arief Wismoyono on Mount Apo. Expected to be in Team Indonesia is also the young and promising Akmad Nizar. Nizar is also scheduled to compete at MMTF next week.

Shindy Patricia has emerged as the leading mountain runner in Indonesia this year, as former ATM champion Ruth Theresia returned from a covid-induced running break and selected her races carefully. Ruth will be missed in the Philippines, but Shindy finds a mountain that will suit her skillset very much. She may be joined by newcomer and talented Mantra Summits 75 winner Siti Nuraini and Novita Wulandari.

Japan

Hisashi Kitamura has been looking forward to Mount Apo and the ATM Final in particular since 2019, when he narrowly lost out on the title against John Ellis. Kitamura this year has focused on ATM and guaranteed his qualification already very early in the season. While he was outstanding in the period March to July, his form has dropped since, however. Also caught by covid during VJM mid-October, Kitamura has not been able to follow his training programme and finds himself on the backfoot going into December. Some say the additional resting time will do him good, and we will see the best Karate Kit again on Mt Apo. Time will tell. In any case, he has a strong team by his side - in theory. Yuta Matsuyama, Tomohiro Mizukoshi, Seiji Morofuji and Fuminori Kondo are all experienced trail runners and very familiar with Southeast Asian conditions.

The women’s team from Japan could offer some surprises. Most runners scored points in the Korean and Japanese races this season, and are less known in Southeast Asia. Tamae Harada is leading the ranking, but is for sure a DNS in the Philippines due to visa update reasons for her resident country Vietnam. Let’s watch out for Asami Kimio, Moeko Yasugahira and others!

Vietnam

The country that has seen enormous growth in trail running over the past few years will have two of the top favourites for this year’s Asia Trail Master title: Quang Tran and Hau Ha. While the former has been around already for quite some years, the latter is brand new onto the scene. Both are already secured of their spot in Team Vietnam, and they will be flanked by runners who can play a great supporting role as well. Nguyen Si Hieu won’t be able to join them despite his qualification, though. Thang Hoang Huu, Nguyen Duc Tuan Anh, Pham Duc Tuan and Bui Van Da are expected to join Quang Tran on Mount Apo, with Nhon Trong as first reserve.

Hau Ha will have the support of Thi Lan Huong Vu, Phuong Nguyen and Ngoc Lien Trinh. Vy Le Phuong is in the best position right now to secure the fifth spot.

Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia

Kim Jisub from South Korea and reigning and defending ATM Champion John Ellis will definitely be ones to watch out for. Ellis, Australian but long-term resident of Hong Kong prefers to run in the colours of his resident country. That gives Team Hong Kong a big name and arguably the only reasonable podium candidate this season. Kim Jisub is a 50k specialist who has not yet raced very often in Southeast Asia, but having won Seoul 50k and UNTP 45k in October there is no doubt he is a potential ATM Champion this year. The Korean team could actually turn out to be surprisingly strong with also Junghyun Lim, Jang Dong Kuk, Jae-Duk Sim and Youngmin Yoon qualified at this stage. Boyoung Jan, Gyesook Lee, Jung Soon Park and Hyunja Kim are very solid women in the team, too. Korea could turn out to be the suprise team champion.

In Thailand, Arnon Srimat and Chonlada Kappiyanond are arguably heading the team. Danon Rattanatumrong is a potential podium candidate, but his qualification is not yet fully guaranteed. In Singapore, Deric Lau has been a great newcomer this season, as is female mountain runner Vincere Zeng. Also Lem Chee Ng, Steve Chia and Trung Nguyen are already qualified, as is Chin Chin Lee for the women’s. For Australia, David Longo is qualified and could be a dangerman for the podium on Mount Apo, too. Longo has proven to be in the best shape of his trail life last month in the two Hong Kong races.

Team Asia Expat

The elephant in the room. The best-scoring expats across Asia will be united under Team Asia Expat and it is bound to have some big names and race favourites. Gaetan Morizur, Frenchman based in Vietnam, is leading this ranking but won’t be able to travel, however, as his wife is due giving birth around the time of the event. Jeff Campbell, Malachy KIrwan and Eirik Knudsen are basically all qualified already. Campbell just won VJM 70k in impressive style and has been focusing on Mount Apo, so whoever wants to become champion this season will need to get by Campbell. One former champion who is currently unranked but set to compete in both MMTF and CMU is Alessandro Sherpa. As the 2018 ATM Champion, it is sufficient for Sherpa to finish two ATM races this year to qualify for the Final.

In the women’s expat team we have Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops, who has won all her 3 ATM races this season so far. She is most likely going to be joined by none other than Hong Kong-based Hungarian Ezster Csillag, winner of UM Sai Kung 58 in October and about to race MMTF next week. Those two races should theoretically provide Csillag with enough points to hunt for the ATM Championship title alongside Cnops. Fascinating that will be! Especially with an exciting Vietnamese newbie who can’t wait to race against the two. Also in a good position to enter Team Asia Expat are Isabelle Bedard and Carly Balmforth.

Most likely we will still be welcoming qualified runners from Brunei Darussalam and India as well.

Apart from the individual championship, there is also a team championship. The race times of the fastest three men and women of each team will be added up to produce the team’s finish time.

All details on the Mount Apo Sky Race can be checked on our dedicated webpage. Runners are also advised to familiarise themselves with the race regulations and the mandatory gear requirements.

[This is an update of an earlier post published on 6 october]

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, 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 is building up gradually, and we are happy to confirm two more points races in the earlier part of the season.

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, Dalat Ultra Trail will be the first Vietnamese event on the calendar on the first weekend of March. Dalat is a very popular destination for trail runners in the country, but also for South East Asians in general as the climatic conditions are favourable. After Dalat, we are rapidly approaching fasting month, which typically implies a more quiet period on the event calendar. A note on BUTM in Malaysia, the event will be announced in due course, and is set for a complete redesign AFTER the fasting month. A second Vietnamese event is set to enter the series in April. Confirmed for early May is the second Filipino races of the 2023 season: Sierra Madre Trail Ultra 75. A Candidate Race in 2022, this event caters for elite runners in particular and takes place in another area of the Rizal Mountains east of Manila. Later in May, we can also expect the first Malaysian points race of the season as well as the quite special Bukit Lawang Orang Utan Trail in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

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

Their race victories were anticipated, but the manner in which they did was still impressive. Quang Tran and Hau Ha made it look so easy the 70km Lam Dong Trail seemed nothing but and advanced training session for them. Both Vietnamese elite runners from the Mude Factory Team did run their own pace, however, resulting in Quang Train crossing the line first in 7h44 with Hau Ha second overall in 8h15. The Lam Dong Trail in Dalat was a Candidate Race for the 2023 ATM Championship calendar, and did leave a fine impression.

The 70 km race started at 4 am just outside the city centre of Dalat in Vietnam’s Central Highlands with a solid field of runners. Very quickly the Mude Factory Team Trio that also includes Nhon Trong, who returned from a complicated foot injury, set the pace up front. Others such as Hoang Huu Thang, Bui Van Da, Stephen Barkey and Thailand’s Guntawee Tiwapong already had to appreciate a gap of over 30 minutes at km 18. Interestingly the three teammates ran by themselves, following personal training plans with a view to their bigger objectives next month that include the ATM Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December.

Hau Ha gradually lost terrain vis-a-vis Quang Tran, also due to some stomach cramps halfway in the race. Nhon Trong in his first run for 26 days did remarkably well and at CP 5 was still just 5 minutes behind the female star from Sapa. The injury-caused lack of training and heavy rainfall around lunchtime would slow him down in the final 20 km, but his second place in the men’s was never in danger. Guntawee Tiwapong in fact had arguably the best ATM race of his season and scored third place on the podium, ahead of Hoang Huu Thang and Bui Van Da. The latter two are also qualified for Team Vietnam in the ATM Final next month.

Quang Tran admitted he felt very comfortable all race and showed that he is one of the men to beat on Mount Apo for the ATM title. One caveat, he has scheduled to run a 100 miles race the weekend before, too. Not so for Hau Ha, who is determined to test herself as a female trail runner for real on Philippines’ highest mountain, competing against co-favourites Ezster Csillag and Vanja Cnops. Until today, even coach Guim Valles admits we have not seen her real limits yet in competition. Even when she beat Gaetan Morizur, Nhon Trong, Tomohiro Mizukoshi and others at the Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100k race last September, she didn’t have to go into the pain cave. Both her and Quang Tran are THE faces of the incredible growth that trail running in Vietnam has witnessed over the last five years. It would be the first time a Vietnamese runner becomes Asia Trail Master Champion, in fact none has ever made it onto the season’s podium.

Lam Dong Trail and Dalat Ultra Trail (the ATM points race in March every year) share the same race venue at the Valley of Love, but the race courses are different. Participants were treated with a great arena setting and welcoming dinner, amongst other benefits. Most runners who did both argue that the older event has a long distance course that is arguably a touch more technical in nature, and agree there is a place for both events on the ATM Championship calendar.

This weekend we have the final ATM Candidate Race of the 2022 season in Dalat, Vietnam. Lam Dong Trail is hoping to secure a spot on next year’s Asia Trail Master Championship calendar and as a new trail event organiser keen to leave a great impression. What might help with that is the presence of Vietnam’s two greatest trail stars of the moment: Quang Tran and, of course, Hau Ha.

On the menu we find four genuine race categories with the 70k as the longest distance. Both Quang Tran and Hau Ha are signed up for this one. Most likely they will not get a lot of competition and will it be a solid training exercise for their bigger goals in December, including the ATM Championship Final on Mount Apo on 17 December.

The Lam Dong Trail has the same start/finish venue as the Dalat Ultra Trail, but the running course is different. Dalat being a wonderful place to run with its cooler climate, most runners won’t mind returning to the same place anyway. The biggest hillclimb comes right after the start at 4 am, and Asia Trail Master will be reporting live from the 70k race from start to finish. Just tune in to our usual channels.

As previously announced, Ultra Trail Koh Chang (UTKC) will open the 2023 ATM Championship season on 21 January. Now we are happy to also announce the other three points race events in Thailand for next year’s Season VIII.

The quartet contains two events that will be part of our ATM calendar for the first time. Trail of Man is taking place in Chiang Mai on 24 June , and we are talking the city of Chiang Mai itself. In fact, it is held predominantly on the course of the world championship a week ago. The main race for points will be the 60 km category. One month later, on 15 July, we are heading to the Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park for the Rock 100 Evil Trail. The main race there is the 100k, said to be one of the more runable courses in Thailand. Finally, in October, we are delighted to be heading back to Chiang Rai for Ultra Trail Chiang Rai, which returns to the trail calendar in 2023. On offer there will be the Ultimate 250 and a 130k - something for the ultra trail runners. The Chiang Rai race venue and race courses will change, too.

But first UTKC in the south of the country, the classic early season event with its beautiful beaches but also very tough and technical hilly forests inland. ATM points seekers need to focus on the 100k or the 70k distance categories there - as usual.

Stay tuned for more updates on the 2023 calendar as more events are getting their dates confirmed.

We are happy to announce a new ATM Candidate in Brunei Darussalam on the weekend of 25/26 February 2023: Simpur Ultra Run. It will be the first ATM promoted race in the country since 2018’s Beach Bunch Trail Challenge, and a great opportunity to put the spotlights on the traditionally strong Bruneian trail running community. Simpur Ultra Run will take place in the nation’s capital city Bandar Seri Begawan and has a 50k course as the main race category. Total elevation gain will be around the 3000 hm mark, which is not nothing for a 50k and those who remember Beach Bunch know that the hills in Brunei are of the short but steep kind.

Flag off time will be midnight on the 26th, meaning the competitive and faster runners will be mostly running in cooler temperatures at nighttime.

The event is organised by Passion Ku and the Simpur Ultra event manual can be consulted via their website. There you can also register for the 50k, or for the 18k if you’re less ambitious.

The draft course map of the 50 km Simpur Ultra Run