This weekend trail runners arrive in Laos for the first time since the covid crisis. Vang Vieng’s V Trail returns to the calendar as an early season event, as the traditional November slot was still not feasible in 2022. The 3rd edition is built on the foundation of the 2018 and 2019 experiences, with a technical and hilly jungle trail of 85km as the longest race category. New this year is the addition of the 55km category as a second points race for the ATM Championship alongside the aforementioned 85km.

Green Step as organiser of V Trail is confident that 2023 will finally see the return of several Laotian events. The Luang Prabang Trail has now also been scheduled for mid-September, giving especially local trail runners in Laos a golden opportunity to get involved in the ATM Championship and qualify for the finals in December.

Due to the shock last-minute cancellation of UTKC in Thailand two weeks ago, this weekend’s V Trail is the de facto ATM season VIII opener. An unexpected development, given that originally V Trail came third on the calendar. Sadly, Indonesia’s very popular Tahura Trail in Bandung has also been called off for the second year in a row in what can already now be regarded as yet another indicator of the current difficulties organisers in several countries in Asia face to make their events happen.

The Vang Vieng races will see quite an international mixture at the start line. On paper it looks like an open competition with several candidates in with a shot to win in the men’s race. Thai runners Amorn Kimnguan, Supeeraphan Sreeduangjan and Wasin Mongholmalee have scored podiums in ATM long ultras before. In the women’s race, Philippines’ Irish Glorioso, one of the ‘new faces’ on the ATM scene last year, could be the one to watch for the race victory.

On the 55km start list we see the names of Sawangjit Saengow and Narin Kongsiri as proven podium runners. We are looking forward to following the performances of many local Lao runners in the race. It’s been more than three years since they last had a chance to do so on home soil.

We are happy to announce Janda Baik as a new ATM Candidate Race on the weekend of 17/18 June. The 5th edition of the peninsular Malaysian event in the Pahang region has been gradually gaining prestige and popularity over the years. The lush green mountain scenery and the relative proximity to Kuala Lumpur (approx 30km) are two key assets, as well as the cool breeze that tends to go through Janda Baik making temperatures somewhat more agreeable for long distance running. Janda Baik is a small village that has been developing itself as a nature resort destination for weekend trips from KL and Putrajaya.

Janda Baik Ultra has four race categories with 100km, 50km, 30km and 16km. The longest distance starts at 4am on Saturday, with the 50km one hour later. Cut-off times at the finish is 30 hours and 12 hours respectively.

Registration is already open and can be accessed via the link below. All details including the GPX files are also available on the official event website.

One of the more eye-catching ATM Candidate Races last year was undoubtedly North Sumatra’s Bukit Lawang Orang Utan Trail. A new event in the spirit of Tahura Trail, which name wasn’t chosen for clickbait: runners were literally entering the forest inhabited by the sumatran orang utans, who presented themselves as interested spectators of the trail race. On the weekend of 27/28 May, runners are again encouraged to join the Bukit Lawang Orang Utan Trail event, now part of the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. BLOT offers a 50km points race and two shorter categories for less ambitious participants.

Bukit Lawang is the name of the host venue, in a picturesque setting by a lake. The event has a similar feel to Vietnam Jungle Marathon in Pu Luong and Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Tinongdan. Local homestays and guesthouses are kindly being offered as the go-to accommodation option for the weekend. Bukit Lawang is situated roughly 3 hours by bus from Sumatra’s biggest city Medan, which is internationally connected by air. The forest is part of the vast Mount Leuser National Park.

The 50 km race will largely but not entirely follow the course of 2022, when it was a 42k distance. The main characteristic of the race course, namely a flattish and very runable first half followed by a technical second half in the deep jungle on single trails remains. Competitive athletes therefore need to manage their efforts well to prevent a knock of the hammer in the final hour. The Orang Utans will only watch you struggle, they are unlikely to assist you :-) .

Registration is open via the official website linked below.

What was supposed to be a great trail running festival turned into a bitter last-minute cancellation. The 7th edition of UTKC cannot take place this weekend as a result of a dispute between event organiser teelakow and the management of the national park that is part of the race course. An official announcement explaining the precise reasoning of the decision to cancel the event is still pending, but teelakow has invited runners already to apply for refunds.

We will publish more information as soon as we receive them from relevant official sources.

UTKC was meant to be the opening race of the 2023 ATM season. That honour now goes to V Trail in Laos on 4 February.

.

We are delighted that the 2022 season VII took place without major hiccups in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic. A few events still could not take place, and may in fact never return. It was a difficult year for many organisers, also under ATM, but it all concluded with two new wonderful champions, Arnie Macaneras (Philippines) and Hau Ha (Vietnam), with Team Malaysia scoring the inaugural team championship win.

We changed the ATM Championship regulations for the 2022 season and have a winner-takes-all race with qualified runners in national country teams, which turned out to be a big success on the basis of feedback received from all parties: runners, organisers, fans and sponsors. In 2023 we will continue down this chosen path.

So, in 2023, runners will again score the usual points in designated races at each event on our ATM calendar. The best performing runners will be invited to join their national country team for the Asia Trail Master Championship Final in December 2023. Per country maximum five male and five female runners will get the honour.

The key points

• The way in which runners score ATM Championship points does not change, except that just the top 25 men and top 25 finishers in an official ATM points race collect 100 ‘finisher’ points, plus x number of ‘performance’ points according to the usual points table). In essence, male and female race winners go home with 500 points in their bags. Second place gets 450, third place 425 and so on until rank 25.

• In trail running events there’s typically several race distance categories. Normally, the longest race is the one to focus on as the A-race for the ATM Championship. However, this is not always the case! It can be that there are two A-races at the same event. Therefore, always check our race overview to find out which race offers how many Championship points.

• One stubborn misconception is still that you must do long ultras to become ATM champion. Not true: you can select medium distance races of 40 to 70k and get just as many points as for a long ultra of 100k or more. The best example of this is Veronika Vadovicova, who became ATM champion in 2019 although her longest race was “only” 84 km. Runners choose the race distance that fits their qualities best. The ATM Final race aims to compromise between medium and long ultra, with a race distance of approx 75 km.

• In 2023, again due to the ongoing pandemic, we will work with a “four-best-count” system. Only a runner’s best four race results will count for his or her points total before the ATM Championship Final in December. In other words: even if you run 10 ATM races in 2023, only your best 4 results will be retained in the points ranking.

• The bonus points system remains unchanged. The Abroad Bonus (50 points for finishing at least 1 race outside of one’s resident country) and the 100 Miles+ Bonus (25 points) remain.

• Penalty points. Organising the ATM Championship Final is a big effort and is projected to be in the interest of everyone in the Asian trail running scene. Runners who do not turn up despite being qualified to be part of their country’s national team will be penalised by a symbolic 100 points in the final ATM points ranking of 2023 (except proven illness/injury).

• Joint finishers: An important distinction will be made as of the second quarter of each season, i.e. 1 April (now as of 1 April 2023): If runners cross the finish line together hand-in-hand, their ranking relative to each other at the last timing checkpoint before the race finish will be consulted to determine who scores the most performance points. 
If no distinction can be made, both runners will receive the points linked to the lowest of the two positions. E.g. joint winners will not get 500 points, but 450 points equivalent to 2nd place.

We also like camaraderie and people enjoying successes together, yet the ATM Championship is a sporting competition and we must avoid a situation whereby, late in the season, a joint finish of two or more championship contenders could be done deliberately for tactical reasons.

The ATM Championship Final

The 2023 Asia Trail Master Championship Final will be a winner-takes-the-title race as in 2022. The male and female finalists who cross the finish line first will be the new ATM Champions.

However, you do need to qualify to be able to take part in that last race, the ATM Final. In each country, maximum five male and five female runners who score most ATM points during the year will qualify and be invited to enter their country’s National Team for the Asia Trail Master Championship Final.

The Final is therefore projected to be a race with selected elites-only, who are members of National Teams. Maximum five male runners and five females. Apart from the Individual Championship there will also be a Team Championship. The latter will be based on the accumulated finish times of the best three male runners and best three female runners in each team (= 6 finishing times in total)

The number of runners per team is subject to there being an ATM points race in the country.

• Minimum 1 ATM points race —> 5 male runners, 5 female runners

• no ATM points race —> 4 male, 4 female

Runners who are ranked 6th to 8th in their country are the eligible reserves in case anyone in the top 5 cannot take part in the Final.

ATM Championship Final Event: The venue of the 2023 ATM Championship Final will be announced soon. The projected weekend date is 2/3 December 2023.

Expats working and residing in Asia: if the expat is an Asian passport holder, he will represent his native country and not his resident country. If the expat has a European or American passport, or any other non-Asian passport, he will be eligible to join Team Asia Expat. Exception: expats who have resided in one and the same Asian country for 8 years or more can join their resident country team.

Minimum requirement of 2 ATM race finishes: runners in the top 5 of their country ranking must have completed minimum 2 ATM races to be eligible to join the ATM Championship Final and represent their country.

Wild cards: former ATM Champions get a wild card to take part in the 2023 Final, provided they have scored points in minimum two ATM points races during 2023. Also, the team of the host country can at any times be represented by 5 male and 5 female runners, provided these have scored points in minimum two ATM points races during 2023.

Equal points: if two runners have the same points total in the country ranking, a distinction will first be made on the basis of highest ranking obtained in a race (e.g. a 3rd place race result is better than a 5th place race result). If that still does not divide them, the number of kilometres run in the relevant races will determine who receives the highest place in the country ranking.

A new entry on our 2023 Asia Trail Master Championship calendar is Cuc Phuong Jungle Paths in Vietnam on 1/2 April. An event organised by Race Jungle who previously brought us the Cau Dat Farm Ultra in early 2020 won by Alessandro Sherpa, and Tam Dao Mountain Trail in Hanoi in 2017 - won by Steven Ong during his amazing season back then. Cuc Phuong Jungle Paths is in its second edition this year and brings runners to the popular national park, on the trekking and hiking itinerary of many since over two decades. Accessible via Ninh Binh in the north of the country - not too far from Hanoi - CPJP offers a 100km and 42km as points race categories for the ATM Championship ranking. For Grandmaster Quest runners, there is also a 70k option to choose.

Cuc Phuong National Park (or Cuc Phuong forest) is a nature reserve, a special-use forest located on the boundary of three provinces: Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa. This national park has a diverse flora and fauna system featuring tropical rainforests and was also introduced as the first national park in Vietnam.

The race courses are generally quite runable, which explains the rather tight cut offs. The 100 km needs to be covered in 22 hours, for instance. Start of all catgeories is at the Ho Mac Area. Long distance runners need to be aware that the start time of the 100km is on Saturday night , 10 pm. Many will thus run mainly at night. The 42 km race starts at 7 am on Sunday morning with a cut off of 13 hours. If you arrive in Vietnam early, there will be an option to collect your race kit already on Thursday in Hanoi city.

Accommodation and transportation options are available, please check the link to the official website below.

 

Bali Ultra Trail on and around Mount Batur in the beautiful Kintamani region is confirmed for the weekend of 19/20 August this year. After a successful edition as a Candidate Race last year, we are pleased to announce that both the 100km and 50km race categories are new points races for the 2023 ATM Championship ranking. Registration opens soon.

Popular tourist attraction Batur is rapidly gaining a reputation as a prime trail running destination as well. The old volcano is not the highest and also not the most technical to climb, but it is a challenge nonetheless and the views from the mountain are astonishing. Bali Ultra Trail has Grandmaster Dendi Dwitiandi as race director and the second edition will build further on the experience of 2022. The 80km becomes 100km and will retain the mentally tough out-and-back section towards the beach in North Bali. The 50km wil stick to the Batur area itself. Precise course details for the upcoming edition will be revealed in due course.

Meanwhile, book your weekend for Bali in August and prepare for another exciting race weekend!

Last year Arief Wismoyono won the 50k race at Bali Ultra Trail

We are happy to announce our latest media and communications platform that is now officially introduced for the upcoming 2023 ATM Championship season: Telegram! Most of you are certainly already aware of the growing mobile messaging app, often seen as an alternative to whatsapp, and may have already installed it on your smartphones, but note it can also be used via laptop/desktop.

You can easily find the Asia Trail Master channel on Telegram via the shown QR code ,or just via the link on the button below.

The ATM Channel will feature all the latest news updates and videos concerning ATM, easily accessible via your phone. Please note it is an Info Channel and not a messaging channel. So if you like to stay up-to-date on all the main ATM news, subscribe for free to our ATM Telegram Channel now.

Dalat Ultra Trail is an early season classic in our Asia Trail Master Championship series, taking place on 4 March this year. The longest distance of the Vietnamese event is the traditional points earner, and for 2023 the organising team offers a 85 km course. Dalat typically has quite runable terrain in pine forests and across a number of hilltops. What makes the event so loved is the cool temperatures of the Central Highlands and the impressive organisation.

Many of ATM’s top performers have run Dalat over the past years, such as John Ellis, Hisashi KItamura, Mohammad Affindi, Kim Matthews, Tahira Najmunisaa and last year the event gave us a first hint of the incredible trail talent that is Hau Ha, now of course also the reigning Asia Trail Master champion. The race venue is not far from the city of Dalat, a tourism hub in the south of the country as well.

Registration is open and you can find all details via the website , also in English.

We are delighted to announce a new Japanese entry in our Asia Trail Master Championship series for this year: Deep Japan Ultra is the latest event by Hiroaki Matsunaga, the original race director of ATM classic Echigo Country Trail and a long-time elite trail runner himself. The 2nd edition of the event in Niigata region on 23-25 June is food for ultra distance runners as the focus is on the 100 miles category. From a purely Asia Trail Master perspective, there is an enticing option for travelling runners of combining Echigo 63k with Deep Japan Ultra 100 miles as both races are expected to take place back-to-back. 

The event’s name already says it: runners will venture deep into Japan’s countryside during the race, far away from the famous megacities and all their glitter. Niigata Prefecture lies to the northwest of Tokyo and north of the Japan Alps. It is premium trail running territory. The 100 miles course has a lot of climbs and descents as you run in a big national park, known for heavy snowfall in winter. No snow in summer, however, as the race takes place at the end of June. Elevation gain is serious: estimated at 10,000 hm! The cut-off time has been set at 46 hours to complete the course. Important: the race start is at 11 am on Friday!

The event venue is the Mountain Inn in Asakusa-Sanso, located in Uonuma City, two hours from Niigata aiport. You can also travel from Tokyo by shinkansen (bullet train), approx 2 hours as well. 

Deep Japan Ultra has a long-term strategy to make the event an internationally renowned event to support the local economy and demographics, needed in Niigata due to the population ageing factor. The team around Hiroaki Matsunaga is also actively engaged in school classroom activities teaching local children and teenages about the virtues of making your living doing things that you love, and how to lead a meaningful life in the mountain countryside of Japan. 

All details and registration can be consulted on the comprehensive website of Deep Japan Ultra, also in English.

 

Fervent followers of our ATM channels may have already noticed a new entry on our 2023 Championship calendar called ‘The Borneo Miler’. A lot of speculation has been going around, and we are happy to confirm that the new event is indeed scheduled on the long weekend of 3 to 5 June and features a proper 100 miles race in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. In fact, The Borner Miler is not entirely new and is roughly based on the 100 miles race of the BUTM event in March 2020, just before the lockdowns. Rather than include it again under the BUTM event programme in March, event organiser Claus Pedersen from Borneo Ultra Trails decided to turn the 100 miles into a stand-alone event in early June. A real and dedicated feast for the ultra long distance trail runner, in other words. There won’t be any 100km, 70km or 50km that weekend. At ATM, we support the idea and have included the Borneo Miler as a points race for the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking, replacing BUTM.

According to the event director, planning for the Borneo 100-Miler is progressing well. An indicative course profile is provided below, ranging from almost sea level up to 600 m with spectacular views over the surrounding hills and river valleys as well as to the sea and Mt. Kinabalu. The course is mostly on runnable dirt tracks and gravel roads with some sections on smaller trails. The course passes through a variety of terrain ranging from paddy fields and wetlands to open ridgelines with spectacular views.

Stay tuned for more details and the opening of registration in due course. Meanwhile, if you like 100 miles races, mark this one hot red in your race calendar for 2023.

Traditionally, most of the Malaysian trail events take place in the second half of the year but we have a great teaser on 19 March already, with the SIlabur Ultra Trail in Sarawak, a new ATM Candidate Race. Organised by Alpha Sports Events and hosted by Kampung Lobang Batu Tebedu, Silabur offers four different race categories of which 60km is the longest. Key feature of the event are the impressive cave complexes, such as the magnificent Silabur Cave aka Jade Cave.

Nature lovers and adventure seekers have long traveled to Sarawak in East Malaysia, Borneo Island, to explore the many caves the state has to offer. The Jade Cave is located roughly 100km away from Kuching - your gateway by air. The 60k race may have modest elevation gain of 1400 hm, but do not be fooled - there’s technical single trail sections with thick jungle included. Accommodation is via hotel or local homestay and arrangements can be made from Kuching to the race venue as well.

Registration is open. Follow the event’s facebook page linked below to stay up-to-date with the latest developments.