Autumn in the southeastern mountains around Uljusan in South Korea can be cold already and that’s what runners experienced in this year’s edition of Ulju Trail Nine Peaks. The 9 Peaks race, with 121 km and well over 9000 hm elevation gain, is a genuine test of physical and mental strength. Korean runners completed the male and female podiums, with Junghyun Lim and Sunyeon Lee celebrated as race winners. The 5 Peaks of 45 km went to Ko Minchul and Hyunja Kim. Pre-race favourites Kim Jisu and Kim Jisub both did not start.

Junghyun Lim was in the lead for most of the second half of the tough race and had an advantage of more than one hour over Changsik Choi. Sung Jin Jang and Jong San Park were battling for podium with the former taking it. The women’s 9 Peaks actually saw Jung Soon Park on top of the leaderboard, but she got disqualified for apparently missing CP 9. Also Paulina Svoboda got disqualfied over halfway for not having her power bank on her as a mandatory item. Yonok Song claimed second and Ji Ho Hwang third place.

Ko Minchul grabbed his first ATM victory after two podium places, the last one this season in Korea 50k (third). Ko Minchul is therefore qualified for the ATM Championship Final. Kim Jongyol was second sixteen minutes later and Gyojeong Gu third another eight minutes later. Fourth overall and first woman was Hyunja Kim after an impressive performance. Sun Hwa Lee was second and Boyoung Jan third. The latter is now also automatically ensured of a spot in Team Korea for the ATM Final.

Singapore’s Trung Nguyen and Deric Lau were running in the lower half of the top ten for most of the 9 Peaks race. Trung scored 8th place in the end, and Lau 12th. Also Nguyen Hong Son from Vietnam and Takashi Wakiya got themselves into the top ten as non-Korean runners.

Deric Lau finished in 12th place

Boyoung Jan scored another podium - third - and is automatically qualified for the ATM Final

David Longo was comfortably inside the top eight until he went off course

Nguyen Hong Son and Trung Nguyen warming themselves up at CP 7 water boiling station

This weekend we have the second South Korean points race event on the ATM calendar in Uljusan. Ulju Trail 9 Peaks and Ulju Trail 5 Peaks are genuine mountain races engulfed in beautiful autumn colours. It makes for a wonderful trail experience, but also a very challenging one. The 9 Peaks race is 121 km with an elevation gain of well over 9000 hm. Even the 45km medium distance race has a whopping 3500 hm.

Korean runners are not often seen in the rest of Asia, and the number of trail events in the country is also quite modest then one would expect with so many quality distance runners around. It makes UTNP an event to look forward to with great interest. Looking at the start list of the longest race category, we see the name of Kim Jisu stand out among the local race favourites. Second in Korea 50k earlier this year, Jisu tends to be even more competitive on the longer distances. Last year, he also scored a second place in Seoul 100. Jisu will face some fast and well-experienced runners from Singapore as well, including Deric Lau, Trung Nguyen and Lem Chee Ng. Lau scored two Top 10 placings in ATM this season so far, in Dalat and Sierra Madre. Trung Nguyen had a very good VMM race last month ending in a fourth place. The question is can he sustain that level of effort for another 50km. The women’s 125km appears wide open with Singapore-based Chech Paulina Svoboda an established international name on the start list. Svoboda was running together with Shindy Patricia for over 50km in the very technical Cuc Phuong race in Vietnam before dropping out, but since then she has been very active.

On the 45km start list, the familiar name of last year’s winner Kim Jisub stands out. Question is how well he has recovered from an injury that plagued him for most of the year, even to the extent he has not been able to score any ATM points yet. Jisub won’t get the victory on a silver platter in any case, because there’s other competitors with a pedigree. Byeungwon Park is always solid on the medium distance, and so is Ko Minchul - second behind Jisub last year, and third in Korea 50k last April. Then there’s Hong Kong-based Australian David Longo, who has just scored second in Dark 45 behind Onifa. Longo can set himself up for the ATM Championship Final once again (last year he was 10th). Boyoung Jan and Gyesook Lee are among the favourites in the women’s 45km. Lee won last year’s Nine Peaks, but now doing the Five Peaks.

Stay tuned throughout Friday and Saturday on our Facebook and Instagram channels for updates from the races in Uljusan

We are happy to announce that the inaugural Danao City International Ultra Trail in Cebu, Philippines, has acquired the ATM Candidate Race label. The new event takes place on 27/28 January and is keen on entering the trail running scene with a big bang. It will be the first time Asia Trail Master is involved with an event on Cebu island.

Bitbit Marites Sotto is one of the founders of Danao City International Ultra Trail, and many will remember her as one of Southeast Asia’s best female mountainbikers, adventure racers and trail runners not so long ago. Marites lives and breathes outdoor sports and is very determined to develop Danao as a premium trail event in the Philippines and the wider region. The first edition will likely see the participation of some of the country’s most celebrated runners.

The event offers four distance categories to runners, of which the 100km and 50km are the main races. There is also a 30km and 15km for the slightly less ambitious. The 100km Ultra Trail covers Danao’s four breathtaking peaks: Mt. Licos, Manghilao Peak, Mt. Lantawan and Mt. Mago . Podium placers can expect cash prizes and product prizes.

Danao City has emerged as a prominent destination for sports tourism. With its beautiful landscapes, challenging terrains, friendly locals. and strong commitment to outdoor sports. It will be a place for cultural exchange, friendly competition and the spirit of adventure that Danao City stands for — offering unique and unforgettable experience while respecting the environment and preserving its rich heritage.

Registration is open and you can access via a click on the button below. More details on the event can be obtained via the Danao City facebook page. You can also watch the teaser video and the press conference that took place on 25 October further down below.

The 2023 edition of Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in Thailand turned into a complicated one due to heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday morning, affecting the three longest race categories of which the 250km and 115km offered ATM Championship points. In particular, swollen rivers and flash floods forced a number of runners to stop for a whlle and there was also a minor last-minute re-route. As a result, only twelve runners were marked as official finishers within the 71h cut-off time of the Ultimate 250km race. This cut-off time had been extended mid-race by one hour due to the conditions. Meepoom Mongkolsuksri took the victory in nearly 63 hours, three hours ahead of Chanil Thainguan and Surayos Chuepanich. One female runner made it to the finish at the Sandu School, Patchara Buagun in 70h41 - meaning only 19 minutes within the time limit. Ann Jilian Pulanco looked like she was going to finish as well, but the very tough last 25km proved too big an ask - with the cut-off in mind. A very costly DNF for her, by the way, as she could have assured herself of a spot in Team Pilipinas for the ATM Final.

While the 100 miles category was impressively won by Filipino Rexell Aguirre, runners on the 115km had a good battle for the race win and the ATM championship points. In the rain, Malaysians Amir Zaki and Jeffery Budin built up a nice gap by km 33 and the fourth checkpoint. But the slippery conditions made it tougher than anticipated, and young Thai talent Thosaeng Kunno worked his way back to the front in the second part of the race, hereby also overtaking Filipino Ivan Macosa. Later than expected, Kunno reached the finish after midnight in 19h31, ten minutes ahead of Jeffery Budin and twenty ahead of Amir Zaki. This was a solid victory for Kunno, who burst onto the ATM scene just four months ago in Chiang Mai, winning the Trail of Man 55k race and backing that up with second behind John Ray Onifa in Akha Trail. Kunno looks like the leader for Team Thailand in the upcoming ATM Final, and one of too few Thailanders keen on proper competition. Budin and Zaki did a great job for their chances of qualification for Team Malaysia. The 77km race of Siksorogo Lawu Ultra is also a course that will suit both runners very well. In fourth and fifth in Chiang Rai we had the Italian Giacomo Giovannini, who made a wonderful remark five hours into the race, saying it’s “trail surfing” and not “trail running” when asked about the condition of the trails in the very wet weather at that point. Giovannini held of the Thailand-based Filipino Ivan Macaso, who did a great run in one of his first 100k+ races. For quite a while the duo was joined by the first female competitor in the race: Tara Savage. Living in Thailand already for a long time, the American started her race very fast and quickly put the other women on the backfoot. Singapore’s Vincere Zeng - known as a high mountain specialist - was the closest challenger for Savage but never really saw her during the race. Vincere nevertheless scored a solid second place in this race and is looking forward to the ATM Final, Gunung Lawu being a mountain she has climbed before. Third place in the women’s race looked like it was going to be assumed by Indonesia’s Qheiza Wiranda Edelwise. Born in Sumatra, living in Singapore, Edelwise has put together a nice string of race results this ATM season and will be part of her country’s team in Siksorogo Lawu. A third place in Chiang Rai would have been the cherry on the pie for her season in ATM, but it got denied by what appears to have been a confused race marshal who sent her on the wrong course (the 100 miles course). Eventually, Edelwise - understandably frustrated - threw in the towel, which gave the third spot on the podium to a surprised Malaysia’s Rija Anak Gunes, herself just ten minutes ahead of Pey Luan Ng. Race marshals are often well-meaning volunteers, and ultra trail races are very long with sleepless nights included, yet these kind of situations happen too often in trail events the world over.

Thosaeng Kunno arrives at CP 4 in the 115km race, half an hour down on then-leader Amir Zaki

Jeffery Budin used his ultra experience to grab a very good second place

Early race leader Amir Zaki eventually had to settle for third place, also due to some miscommunications

The Ultimate 250 was tougher than ever before. Meepoom Mongkolsuksri was clearly the strongest

The only female finisher on the Ultimate 250: Patchara Buagun

Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in the north of Thailand again features on the ATM Championship calendar for the first time since the magical edition of 2019, when a.o. John Ellis and Hisashi Kitamura went head-to-head for dozens of kilometres in what turned out to be that year’s championship-deciding race. This time, UTCR is the last points race of the season and so the last chance for Thai runners to collect ATM points within their own country in an attempt to qualify for their national country team at the ATM Final in Indonesia on 2 December.

UTCR has a new venue this year: the Bandu School grounds, closer to the city of Chiang Rai itself. The Ultimate 250 is still the longest points race in our series, and the 115km remains the second choice for points seekers. There’s also a 100 miles category, but that one only matters for the Grandmaster Quest.

On the start list of the 115km we have a lot of Thai runners whom we have not yet seen on the ATM circuit, so we might see a few surprises from a competitive point of view. From Malaysia, however, we have a serious candidate for the race win: Amir Zaki. Already a winner in Thailand a year ago at Doi Nhok Trail, Zaki is in full preparation mode for the last big races of the season, normally speaking for him culminating in the ATM Championship Final on 2 December. While previously a short to medium distance specialist, Zaki has proven this season he should no longer be afraid of the long ultras. In June, he won the inaugural Borneo Miler in a solid fashion and time. His teammate at Sportlicious Malaysia, Jeffery Budin, will also be running the 115 and is himself certainly a podium candidate. Thailand’s upcoming youngster Thosaeng Kunno will be cementing his ATM ranking and could be the biggest challenger for the Malaysians. Kunno was second behind John Ray Onifa in Akha Trail and won Trail of Man in Chiang Mai in June. Japan’s Seiji Morofuji might also find himself close to the podium this weekend.

The women’s 115km sees well-known ATM protagonists such as Singapore’s Vincere Zeng and Indonesia’s Qheiza Edelwise, with Grandmaster-seeker Rija Anak Gubes and also Thailand-based Tara Savage as a potential race winner.

The Ultimate 250km is a challenge not made for everyone, but some runners have made these extreme distances a bit of their specialty. Philippines’ Ann Jilian Pulanco, for example, could be grabbing her second ATM victory of this season after Sierra Madre 75, which could put her in a strong position to qualify for her country team in the ATM Championship Final. Thailand’s Patchara Buagun will be challenger. Malaysia-based Thai Siriporn Leumathong, Malaysia’s Yvette Chong and Manila’s Rhea Batac also can eye a potential podium. In the men’s Adrian Lee, Kittisak Pakton and Chanil Thainguan may be contesting the victory.

ATM will be reporting live from UTCR as of Saturday morning 4am local time, start of the 115km race.

A little later than usual due to very heavy workload over the past few weeks, here is the Tale of the Trail video of the 11th Borneo TMBT Ultra from just over a month ago in Sabah, Malaysia. The 100 km and 50 km races were points races for the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking. Local Sabahans Daved Simpat and Rejlen James gave the home crowd great wins on the 100km, while John Ray Onifa and Vanja Cnops were unbeatable on the 50k. For Simpat it was his third 100k victory at TMBT after 2015 and 2018. Hisashi Kitamura bit the dust in second place for the third consecutive time. For Cnops it was her second consecutive victory on the 50k. Rejlen James successfully concluded her ‘Sabah Triple’ as this season she had already won BUTM 100 and Borneo Miler. Onifa broke the course record on the 50k, despite just ‘warming up’ in the first 15km of the race - leaving good old Bruneian Sefli Ahar, making his comeback, alone out in front for half of the race before reeling him in and dropping him by over fifty minutes. TMBT 2023 had a lot of big stories!

Borneo TMBT Ultra was part of our original series in 2015. After a brief hiatus, the event returned on our calendar in 2018 and has been there ever since.

Organised by Borneo Ultras, TMBT will return to ATM also in mid-September 2024 as well as BUTM in March.

We are happy to announce the latest new ATM Candidate race in Brunei, scheduled for 17/18 February 2024: Brunei Darussalam Ultra Trail Marathon, abbreviated as BDUTM. The event is organised by HJ Khai Event Management and is centred around the Tasek Lama Recreational Park. On the programme are four race distance categories, of which the 50km is the longest. Less ambitious runners can also opt for the 30k, 15km or 5km. Note: this a race with loops, which means the 50km is 10 loops of 5 km. BDUTM is part of the ‘Brunei Loop Series’ .

BDUTM is meant to promote the country as an outdoor and trail running destination with the Tasek Lama Park being the most iconic region to do so. Estimated elevation gain for the 50km is 3100 hm. People who have been running in Brunei before know the hills are often quite steep and more technical than expected. Heat is another obstacle, as of course in many Southeast Asian races. At BDUTM the decision has been made to have the 50km flag off at 21:00, implying most of the race will be held at night with cooler conditions. The looping of course allows for a fun and entertaining event for fans and friends as well, given runners will be passing by on a regular basis.

Registration is open and can easily be done via the official website linked below. The website also has English contact details and everything you need to know in terms of mandatory gear, cut-off times and other race regulations and entry conditions.

Tasek Lama is close to Brunei’s capital city Bandar Seri Begawan, where there’s plenty of accommodation options. BBS also has an international airport.

The BDUTM Loop of 5km around Tasek Lama Recreational Park

It’s been a long time coming, but at least The 9 Dragons is returning on the trail calendar in Hong Kong and in the Asia Trail Master Championship series! The unique event, with its main competition combining two separate races of 50 miles on Saturday and 50km on Sunday, is scheduled for 16-18 February 2024 - five years after its last edition in 2019. The organisation is still in the capable hands of RaceBase, and the concept has not changed either for the fifth edition of The 9 Dragons. ATM championship points seekers should focus on the 50/50 , or Sunday’s single 50km. Grandmaster runners could also opt for the single 50 miles on Saturday.

The 2024 edition will also be sponsored by ATM’s official apparel partner T8, itself also headquartered in Hong Kong. A special edition of the T8 ice tee and shorts will be available for purchase.

The 50 miles race starts at 11:59 pm on Friday, 16 February at the Po Leung Kuk Jockey Club Holiday Camp near Yuen Long and finish at Tai Po Tau Playground. The cutoff is at 19:00pm on Saturday 17 February. The 50km race starts on Sunday at at Tai Po Tau Playground and finish at Shing Fung Studios. The cutoff will be at 20:00pm on the same day. The two courses are not really a secret anymore and can be checked, alongside all other details, on the great new website of the 9 Dragons (click on the button below).

Registration is open, and keep in mind that the spots for the 50/.50 category are restricted to 250 only! No time to lose in other words.

Kaizufumi Ose was the big winner in 2019

Even in Hong Kong, Hisashi Kitamura and Milton Amat have been inseparable..

Hong Kong of course means a lot of staircases..

The 70km race at the second edition of Matanao Mountain Marathon was held in mostly sunny conditions and saw a first ever ATM race victory for Yoyong Sacayle and a second one for Cecille Wael. Both pre-race favouirites came out on top at the end, but had to fight for their wins. Matanao was the final Filipino points race in this season’s Asia Trail Master Championship.

The 23-year-old Isaiah Paraiso made an excellent debut on the scene, as he topped the leaderboard at many early checkpoints. Former Mt Apo race winner Ronnie Torlao was also very much in the mix in the early stages of the nighttime after the 9 pm start. But as sunrise approached, Yoyong Sacayle appeared first to win in 10h33, fifteen minutes ahead of Paraiso, who held onto a very promising second place. Angelo Maynard Encormal again managed to run a great second half to grab his third third place of the season, along with the important points that come with that. Maynard is looking good to join Yoyong, Arnie Macaneras (who was a DNS in Matanao), John Ray Onifa and Sean Aying (sixth this weekend) in the men’s Team Pilipinas. The sixth runner (Macaneras as defending ATM champion has scored a wild card) is still very much up for grabs in the remaining ATM points races in Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam and India.

The early leaderboard of the women’s 70km race in Matanao, showed Cecille Wael only in sixth place. Shally Yuson, Julie Ann Morales and Manolyn Mamugay were setting the pace. Later it was discovered that Wael had gone significantly off course and thus had to play catch-up for a long time. Especially as Shally Yuson, another newbie from Bukidnon, turned out to be a serious opponent for the victory. Even Morales had to let Yuson go ahead. On the last of the main climbs, Wael returned and attacked, knowing the remaining downhill to the finish would suit her more than the young and inexperienced Yuson. Thanks to her first ATM victory since CMU last year, Wael moves up to third place in the ATM Philippines’ ranking. She could have been safe already for ATM Final qualification, but her VMM race last month proved to be an unexpected struggle. The five slots for the team will remain highly contested until at least Lam Dong Trail on 11 November. Only Roan Biguasen is already secure with four strong results during the season.

The women’s podium with Cecille Wael in the middle

Mindanao’s Yoyong Sacayle has assured himself of a spot on Team Pilipinas for the ATM Final with his debut race victory in ATM

After a disappointing VMM, Cecille Wael bounced back with a solid race win in Matanao

The men’s podium with Yoyong Sacayle on the far right

The second edition of the picturesque Matanao Mountain Marathon in Mindanao, Philippines, is the final chance for Filipino runners to score ATM Championship and Grandmaster points within their own country this season. Places for Team Pilipinas are hard-fought, and several of the ten regular spots, such as Arnie Macaneras, John Ray Onifa and Roan Biguasen, are already secure. Matanao Mountain Marathon - MMM - will shake up the rankings nonetheless with many of the country’s protagonist runners this season featuring on the start list of the 70 km race.

Matanao is located in the province of Davao del Sur on Mindanao, approximately 90 minutes car drive from Davao City and airport. It is a flourishing town and area for tourism and leisure activities and those who have been there already understand why. Runners in the event this weekend will enjoy lush green scenery, plenty of impressive waterfalls and beautiful rolling hills. In the context of trail running, locals refer to the race course as ‘trail porn’. Natural trails, most of them single trails, will provide technicality to the race and the rollercoaster up and down the hills can make the 70k quite tough, indeed. MMM was an ATM Candidate Race last year and is part of the extensive portfolio of events of Vertical To Sky and Doi Calbes, who also does, amongst others, the Mt Apo Sky Race in December and The Punisher in August.

Reigning ATM Champion Arnie Macaneras, who is from Davao, is scheduled to run the 70k as part of his late season campaign that should lead to the defence of his ATM title at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra on 2 December. Just three weeks ago, Macaneras very much looked the part in Vietnam Mountain Marathon, where he demolished the rest of the competitive field on the 70km race distance. Based on that performance, it is hard to see who can follow him in Matanao this weekend. Still, there’s quite a lot of other podium challengers and recognised race winners in the field to give it a go. Yoyong Sacayle has been in great form this season, having collected three ATM race podium finishes so far already. Maynard Encormal scored two himself and is reportedly very determined to ensure he gets qualified for the ATM Final. So is the 22-year-old youngster John Ivan Zonio, a surprising second behind Jeff Campbell in the Sierra Madre Trail 75 in May. Zonio also finished his first 100 at the very competitive TMBT early September inside the top ten. Angelito Vertudazo was an ATM Finalist last year and always strong in Mindanao. Avelino Versola III and Iasias Tonog II have been running very well this season, reflected by their current sixth and seventh place in the ATM Philippines ranking. Sean Aying had an off-day in Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100, but has otherwise been a regular top placer with third on the podium at Mantra 116 as a highlight. Ronnie Torlao is a former Mt Apo race winner and always in the mix for a solid result. Ariehmar Bardoquillo finished fourth in Sierra Madre, and Richard Akol came 8th in TMBT 50.

The women’s 70k race is likely to develop into a battle between Davao’s Julie Ann Morales, who knows the trails, and Cecille Wael. Morales was a great newcomer on the scene last year, culminating in a great fifth place in the ATM Championship Final on Mt Apo. She has won two ATM races so far: The Punisher in 2022 and MUSPO 100 last July. Wael has been around since 2018 and collected many race podiums before her stand-out competitive performance in winning CMU 50 last year ahead of many other ATM protagonists. She does a lot of races, but if she is fresh Matanao offers a great opportunity to bag another 500 points in her quest to be part of Team Pilipinas in the ATM Final this season. Manilyn Mamugay is arguably the dark horse in this race and never to be underestimated. Mary Joy Sumanda can do a great job for her ATM Final chances, and so does Irish Glorioso, winner of the first ATM race this season in Laos.

Julie Ann Morales and Sean Aying during a course check end of last year

Plenty of eye candy in Matanao!

Three weeks after a dominating performance in VMM70, reigning ATM Champion Arnie Macaneras will be looking for his second race win of the season

Cecille Wael won a local ultra just a week ago, and is looking to add Matanao to her ATM record this weekend

Tioman is a small island roughly 30km off the Malaysian east coast and as of this weekend an official new trail running destination. MMTF Consultant, the company behind the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping, has successfully established Tioman Ultra, a tough 50km trail race on the island. Measuring only 39 km long and 12km wide, Tioman nevertheless has a mountain peak of over 1030m : Gunung Kajang. The island is sparsely populated and covered by dense rainforest.

Event venue was the beachfront of Kampung Air Batang.

The longest race category was the 50km, which had some of Malaysia’s better known runners in it. Yusof Abdul Manan proved to be the fastest man, covering the course in 9h17’47”, a solid 35 minutes faster than Mohamad Syahmim Nazmy and Seiji Morofuji. The finisher times indicate the high degree of technicality of this race. In fourth and fifth we had the first two women, with the highly experienced ultra runner Siokhar Lim having to push a bit to stay ahead of the surprisingly quick Norhani Mohd Jaffar. Norhani has been around for several years, but is known as a short distance specialist. Her performance in Tioman shows that she is growing on the 50k medium distance as well now. The gap between her and Siokhar Lim was just 9 minutes, and Siokhar herself has increased her standard running pace a lot compared to pre-covid years. In third place we had Guan Shin Law, another useful podium for her this season. Guan Shin Law also managed to stay quite a distance ahead of Halimatun Sa’adiah , fifth, for example. Succy Lee was fourth in between them.

Images courtesy of MMTF Consultant

The men’s overall winner Yusof Abdul Manan

Siokhar Lim was fourth overall, but pressed forward by Norhani Mohd Jaffar to win the women’s race

On 10 February 2024, Bagtit Ultra will open the points accounts for many Filipino runners in the new season of the Asia Trail Master Championship series. Organised by The Pace Republic, the former Candidate Race replaces Santa Ines on our calendar and features 100km and 50km categories valid for championship points. The 100k of course also offers a Grandmaster point.

“Bagtit’ is the Ilocano translation of the word “crazy”. Ultra trail runners are often called ‘crazy’ , but what makes this event crazier is the difficult and technical trails of Mt. Damas and Mt. Sem-ilya. Mt. Damas is situated near the border of three Tarlac municipalities: Mayantoc to the southeast, Camiling to the north and San Clemente to the west. The usual trek starts at Barangay Papaac in Camiling known as the Papaac Eco Trails. One can experience a panoramic view of the Tarlac and Pangasinan plains and Mt. Arayat from afar. Mt. Damas may arguably have the distinction of being the most scenic mountain in Tarlac. On the other side, not far from Mt. Damas summit is Mt. Sem-ilya which was less explored. There are also trails from Sitio Dueg in San Clemente that would lead to Barangay Labney in Mayantoc, the jump off of the Mt. Tapulao Traverse route. These trails will be the highlight of this event. This year, the route will be extended to Anzap Twin Falls in Mayantoc and Sitio Tala in San Jose, making the longest category to 100km, instead of the 80km half a year ago.

Flag off is in Mayantoc and the 100km has a total elevation gain of nearly 5000hm. The 50k has about half of that. Mayantoc is located just under 2 hours drive from Clark international airport, itself a few hours north of Manila. Guidelines on how to get there are mentioned in detail on the website linked below.

In the Candidate Race last June, Julius Iglesias came out on top together with Arnulfo Aquino. Shekinah Velasquez was the strongest woman.

The event will help in promoting tourism and healthy lifestyle in the community. The Pace Republic is also active in the discovery of local talents in trail running and provide them with more racing opportunities and venues. Registration is open via the website linked below.