A successful edition of Point Trail Ultra in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, as one several ATM Candidate Races this season. The 50km race had a big and interesting field and at the end we saw Jevie Cagatin and Shally Yuson come out on top of the result sheet. A great performance by both of them, showing competitive progress and also that their current high ranking in the Philippines’ ATM standings is not a coincidence. Both runners took the lead quite early, but could not relax if they wanted to secure victory. Ian Ray Hilapon, Jomarc Ferrer, Ariehmar Bardoquillo kept the pressure on Cagatin, while Shally Yuson had to fend off Mary Joy Sumanda, ATM Finalist and 10th on the extended championship podium last season. In the end, Yuson kept a nice 16-minute advantage over Sumanda. Both are aiming to qualify for this season’s championship final at Borneo TMBT. Yuson actually ranks 2nd at the moment with four results already. Sumanda is 7th with two races in the account so far. Jevie Cagatin is currently in fifth in the men’s ranking, meaning he is currently set to make his debut in the ATM Final in September. Also Jomarc Ferrer, third in Point Ultra, is qualified for the team at present after three top five placing in points races this season.

Within their own country Philippines, runners still have two chances to score championship points and qualify for Team Pilipinas. On 13 July at MUSPO 50 - also in Bukidnon - and finally on 10 August at the Punisher 80 on Babak Samal Island.

Jevie Cagatin is also going well in the ATM Championship: he is currently 5th Filipino and thus qualified

Shally Yuson finishing ahead of Mary Joy Sumanda was news of the day in the women’s race

The women’s top 5

Sabahan trail stars Wilsen Singgin and Adelinah Lintanga both claimed their third ever ATM race victories at Simpur 50 in and around Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan last Sunday early morning. In what was essentially a night race, both used their technical skills, race experience and great form this season to score comfortable wins over local Bruneian Alexander Chung and fellow Sabahan ‘Butet’ Lynda Marylyn. Simpur 50 was the return of Brunei on the ATM Championship calendar after six years. As anticipated, the race course was tough and technical, typical of Brunei - the relatively small country between the Malaysian States of Sarawak and Sabah on Borneo Island.

A wonderful start and finish setting in Bandar Seri Begawan saw about 100 participants for the 50k category take the start at 9 pm on Saturday night. Absent from the scene was Milton Amat, who decided last-minute not to travel to Brunei. This left the way open for Wilsen Singgin to try and take top honours for the third time in his running career, and the first time since Penang Eco 100 Miles last year. Singgin is anyway in great shape this season and he set the pace from the beginning. Alexander Chung, winner of the Simpur race last year when it was an ATM Candidate, was following him in second place. Chung is one of the more experienced and competitive trail runners, who operated a bit in the shadow of Sefli Ahar in 2016-2018. But last weekend he ran fully in the limelight, even trying his best to catch Wilsen Singgin again at some point during the race. His efforts made sure that nobody would come back from behind in the second part of the race. Malaysia’s Mohd Sulhan was by himself in third place , and behind him was another considerable gap towards Brunei’s Jonaidi Omar and Australia’s Toby Dharan Gibson. Those two would change position still towards the end.

If the top 3 positions in the men’s race were kind of cast in stone from the beginning, that was not the case in the women’s race. Surprisingly, it was Grandmaster Yvette Chong Mi Chin from Miri in Sarawak who appeared in the lead at the first checkpoint and beyond. Yvette is an ultra distance enthusiast, but was clearly in her element in Brunei and showed a running pace that few probably had expected. Adelinah Lintanga followed from a distance, with her sister Jess Lintanga in third initally. Jess, not feeling well, would eventually DNF, which may jeopardise her chances of qualifying for Team Malaysia in the ATM Championship Final. Adelinah, on the other hand, is already certain of that and she may even rank among the favourites for a top placing at Borneo TMBT Ultra. The entire season she has looked rejuvenated and after three podium placings she reached out for the win in Simpur. She caught and passed Yvette Chong and would eventually put and hour and fifteen minutes between herself and second place. That position eventually went to the young Sabahan Lynda Marylyn, who passed Yvette Chong towards the end. Chong suffered from bad stomach cramps in the final section, but managed to hold onto third place on the podium - her first ever. For Adelinah Lintanga it was her third ATM win, her first since Penang Eco 100 Miles in 2019 - five years ago. Previously she won the 100km at the same Penang Eco event all the way back in 2016. “Narna” has been around for so long , one tends to forget how difficult it can be to actually win a real race.

Brunei’s Norazimah Mohd Zin and Pg Mas Norazlin Pg Momin completed the top five, while Singapore’s Sophia Yee took sixth. Only 45 runners reached the finish line in Simpur 50.

Wilsen Singgin is cruising towards his third consecutive ATM Championship Final qualification

Fourth podium place of the season but finally another race victory for Adelinah Lintanga!

Experienced Alexander Chung defended Brunei’s honour with a fantastic 2nd place

Mohd Sulhan confirmed his talent with another podium finish

A great second podium finish of the season for Lynda Marylyn , aka Butet

Grandmaster Yvette Chong decided to test herself on a non-GM distance with a podium as result!

We are delighted to announce that Näak is as of now our new official nutrition partner! The international brand has been rising quickly as one of many ultra and trail runners’ favourite, and by connecting itself to the Asia Trail Master Championship series Näak hopes to also gain presence in Asia, and specifically Southeast Asia.

Fuel Your Ultra with Näak as it makes its journey with Sportlicious Asia & ATM this season lX.

Näak was born in Canada in 2016 with one mission: build the most efficient and sustainable fuel for endurance sports. Everyone can finish an ultra distance with the right nutrition. At Näak, we drive to ensure long lasting energy powered by high quality and sustainable ingredients to ensure performance and sustainability. All Näak products are designed and tested in close collaboration with world class pro athletes in the Näak Lab. Often, the question is raised what Näak actually means. As we can read on the official website, Näak stands for Adventurous Nutrition for Athletes who travel Kilometers. At ATM, we are genuinely pleased that Näak is joining us for the remainder of Season IX and for Season X, and we look forward to seeing more trail runners explore the brand across Asia.

In Southeast Asia, Näak is represented by Sportlicious, seated in Malaysia.

About Sportlicious Asia

“We started in 2012 to provide a better online and physical shopping experience for Malaysia trail, track, and road runners as well as multi-sport athletes,” as explained by KC Tan.

“Our aim is to provide key products to assist you in achieving a balance lifestyle by offering the best products (gear we use ourselves) as well as knowledgeable advice to make sure you get the kit and nutrition that is best for you. “

THRU SPORTLICIOUS ASIA ..new tag line “RACE ASIA WITH US” our goal is to reach out to wider Asian community…build stronger bonding in term of friendship, running experience and foster greater friendship.

Below you can find all details on Näak and Sportlicious Asia by clicking on the respective buttons. Also check out the very extensive Näak YouTube channel to get more acquainted with our new nutrition brand.

This weekend’s Simpur 50 ultra is the first ATM points race in Brunei in six years. A long-awaited return to the scene of the smallest country on Borneo island after the demise of the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge. Taking place in and around capital city Bandar Seri Begawan, aka BSB, Simpur has a treacherously tough course, which it has in common with its predecessor. Last year’s Candidate Race edition showed us that many runners were caught by surprise. Brunei lacks the high altitude mountains, but its hill zone goes up and down continuously and often very steeply so. In the past we made the comparison with the Tour of Flanders in cycling, and that remains valid for Simpur Ultra as well. Apart from a very enthusiastic local running community, the organising team of Passion Ku and Team Anakpanyuand is also happy with the presence of Sabah’s biggest trail stars on the start list: Milton Amat, Wilsen Singgin and the two best-known Lintanga sisters are all due to race this weekend.

Season 9 of the Asia Trail Master Championship has a big Borneo stamp on it, with points races in Brunei and both Malaysian States Sabah and Sarawak, before the big ATM Final at Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah on 14 September. It is testimony of and in celebration of the great trail running communities on the large island. Running at home, Milton Amat, meanwhile 40+, has a fantastic opportunity this season to finally win the ATM Championship title after two podiums in 2019 and 2022. He has already collected 950 points this season, winning BUTM 50 and scoring 2nd in Lantau 70, and in Brunei he starts as the man-to-beat for his 9th ATM points race victory.

Let’s see whether his younger compatriot Wilsen Singgin can put up a challenge. From a purely competitive point of view, Singgin went a bit through the motions last year, but has appeared refreshed and refocused in 2024. The gap between him and Milton Amat seems to have decreased. Singgin certainly has a bigger reputation on the long ultras, but Simpur 50 might just be tough and technical enough for him to stay with Milton. From peninsular Malaysia, Mohd Sulhan from Team Scott will also be a serious podium contender. Relatively new on the scene, Sulhan has been taking podiums at BUTM and Silabur already.

There’s also several local Bruneian candidates for a podium finish. Alexander Chung has a wealth of experience, but also Hidayat Metussin and Baharuddin Haji have shown good form this season. Ibni Nudin, who knows? Let’s also keep an eye out on the Thailanders, amongst whom 2023 ATM Finalist Amorn Kimnguan.

The women’s race features in-form and busy bee Adelinah Lintanga and Jassica Lintanga. Adelinah has just finished 3rd on the podium in Tioman 50 last week and is the #1 in the Malaysian ATM points ranking at the moment. She will be the first runner to score four results this season, and will normally speaking have her place in Team Malaysia at the ATM Championship Final fully secured this weekend. Her elder sister Jess will be doing her third race of the season and is also a potential qualifier for the final. Arguably the most competitive Sabahan female runner at present, Rejlen James, has her eyes set on Mantra in Indonesia next month.

ATM will be reporting live from Simpur 50 on our usual channels, with our facebook page being the one to get the latest updates on the race situation.

Going for ATM race victory number 9 this weekend: Milton Amat

Wilsen Singgin , always a serious podium contender

Amorn Kimnguan , experience and resilience from Thailand

Bukidnon Province in the northern Mindanao region of the Philippines is claiming attention for the next few weeks with MUSPO coming up on 13/14 July as the next points race event in the country, but first there is the inaugural edition of Point Trail Ultra this weekend. Point Trail Ultra is a Candidate Race taking place in the province’s capital city Malaybalay and is directed by Yoyong Sacayle, one of Bukidnon’s star elite runners who is part of last year’s ATM Championship winning Team Pilipinas. The main race category is the 50km with a total elevation gain of over 2300 hm.

As we wrote back in April, Bukidnon means “highlander” or “mountain dweller” so you know what to expect. In fact, the province is one of the country’s leading rice, corn and pineapple producers, too, and is stated as one of the Philippines’ fastest growing economies. Also in trail running, Bukidnon has developed as a genuine runners’ destination. Earlier this season, we have already had Mt Kalatungan Ultra, too.

While Yoyong Sacayle will be taking up RD duties, one of the other local protagonists features on the start list: Mary Joy Sumanda, also a member of Team Pilipinas last season and a Top 10 finisher. A start list for the 50k that has 174 names on it, by the way. Mary Joy and Shally Yuson rank among the favourites in the women’s race, but with so many new names we might as well see a surprise come along. In the men’s 50k, we have strong competitors like Kik Suello, Florence Alave, Ariehmar Bardoquillo, Jevie Cagatin, Carlo Chiong, the Amigleo brothers and last-but-not-least Jomarc Ferrer. Several of them are currently in the mix for this season’s team spots at the ATM Championship Final in Malaysia on 14 September.

ATM will be reporting from the Point Trail Ultra event as usual.

RD and 2023 ATM Finalist and winning Team Championship member Yoyong Sacayle

Local runner Mary Joy Sumanda finished 10th in last year’s ATM Championship Final in Indonesia

Vietnamese trail phenomenon and 2022 Asia Trail Master Champion Hau Ha delivered an absolute masterclass at the fantastic 2nd edition of Tioman Ultra 50 in Malaysia. Ever smiling, ever comfortable and ever self-confident, Hau Ha won the tough race overall in 7h14’ as if it were her usual Sunday’s fun run. Halfway into the race, at sunrise, she dropped the first male, local hero Yusof Ezkandar early on a lengthy and steep concrete road uphill. Ezkandar had to hike up, Hau could run it all the way up. The manner in which she performed that, and her dancing and playful moves in the ensuing descent even made her head coach Guim Valls raise his eyebrows. At least in an ATM-promoted race, this was the strongest she has ever been and she did not even have to push, despite a very crafty effort by Ezkandar, who exceeded his own performance level last weekend . Hau Ha’s limits have certainly not been reached yet and her Tioman showing bodes well for her ambition to win in Chamonix end of August. It was her 6th career victory in Asia Trail Master, made even sweeter by the second place of her compatriot and team mate at Team Mude Sports, Loi Luong.

Tioman Ultra 50 is the latest trail event project by Ewegene Tan and MMTF Consultant. It takes place on a relatively small but gorgeous tropical island, approximately two hours by ferry from Mersing on Malaysia’s southeastern coast. Logistical limitations put a cap on the total number of participants at the event (600), but that was certainly not a bad thing. Having learnt from the feedback of last year’s candidate race, the organising team has upgraded the event and racing experience to the highest level within the limitations of their budget. It takes time to get to Tioman, but once there, runners had an experience that the trendy among them would call ‘trail porn’. Proof, once more, that one does not need an overnight 100k to make a great and satisfying trail event.

You can re-watch a lot of livestreams and videos on our ATM facebook and ATM YouTube pages. Tioman 50 also made sure that worked and the result is one of the highest viewership numbers in ATM history.

The 50k race started at 3 am in relatively mild temperatures but with a high degree of humidity. Four runners quickly detached themselves from the rest: Singapore’s Chris Timms, last year’s winner Yusof Ezkandar, up-and-comer Lee Min Xiang and Vietnam’s Hau Ha as the first female. During the initial 7km on concrete roads that led to the ascent of Gunung Kajang, Tioman’s highest peak at just above 1000m, it was interesting to see the variations in Hau Ha’s pace. As if she was doing interval training. Afterwards, she did explain these short accelerations were to test her own legs, but also to see how the three guys responded. Timms had already raced Hau Ha before on Mt Apo in 2022. The two Malaysians knew her, of course, but were still amazed at what they were experiencing first-hand. Eventually, the quartet stayed more or less together until aid station 1 and the foot of Mount Kajang. On the climb, Ezkandar set the pace and would also reach the summit first - a bit ahead of Hau Ha. Ezkandar was first spotted as a young talent on the ATM circuit before covid, but had not been seen since. His professional duties do not allow him to compete very often - especially when long travel is involved. Freshly nicknamed as ‘the Flowerboy’ , Ezkandar was determined to try and give the Vietnamese girl a run for her money. His own split times were indeed considerably faster than he did last year. However, to no avail. In the descent of Kajang, Hau Ha used her technical skills to full effect and caught up with Ezkandar, who couldn’t hide his admiration upon arrival together at the second aid station. He took the punch with a smile of resignation, as they’d say in boxing, knowing the k.o. blow was coming. A few kilometres later, Hau Ha ran away from Ezkandar uphill.

From then on it was a true one-woman-show until the finish. Ezkandar did well in not giving up and keeping a steady pace of his own to finish some 35 minutes later as first male - which meant he had just won his first ATM points race. Lee Min Xiang arrived 45 minutes later for third place overall, second male. A great introduction to him, it was his first ATM points race. Chris Timms looked solid in third for a long time, but he ran out of steam in the last technical section - the ‘dragon back’. Experienced Malaysian Syahmim Nazmy caught him and managed to grab third away from the Singapore-based Britain. Seng Lip Ku was fifth in the men’s race.

Next was Loi Luong, the Vietnamese winner of Lam Dong Trail last year. Team mate of Hau Ha, Loi ran second female the entire race and finishing sixth overall is an impressive accomplishment for the young runner. Especially considering Adelinah Lintanga came third forty minutes after her. Lintanga did have a tumble in the descent of Kajang, but still. Loi Leung, who was also second in Cuc Phuong 42k earlier this season, will be among the favourites at Borneo TMBT Ultra in September - the ATM Championship Final. Obviously, that is considering Hau Ha is likely to give the ATM Final a pass, just two weeks after her only real goal of the year in France. Nevertheless, with UTSG 50 in Singapore next on her race calendar, Hau is in any case setting up a Plan B and looking to grab her wild card for the ATM Final as former champion.

‘Flowerboy’ Yusof Ezkandar: first ATM race victory in his running journey, even if it may not have felt like one

This Saturday on Tioman island off Malaysia’s east coast, Vietnamese trail phenomenon Hau Ha will be running her first race in the ATM Championship series since Dalat 2023, and her first race in Malaysia. Tioman 50 is a young event, it’s the second edition, and is organised by MMTF Consultant with a restricted field of 500 runners who can make the ferry crossing from Mersing in Johor to the island. Hau Ha starts as the favourite to win the race overall.

Now entirely focused on competing at the highest global level, our undefeated 2022 female champion is fitting in two ATM races on her personal race calendar - UTSG 50 in Singapore is next - to claim her wild card for this season’s ATM Final and have the option of a Plan B, if her summer goal in France for some reason does not work out. It will be great to see her back in action, while at the same time there should then be little doubt about the female winner on Tioman this Saturday. Still, to finish first you first need to finish and for sure Hau Ha will give herself the extra goal of trying to secure victory against the men in the field, too.

The battle for the female podium will in any case be exciting to follow with several candidates. Based on recent form, Sabah’s Adelinah Lintanga looks like a solid bet, coming from two podium places in the first two Malaysian points races of the current ATM season. On Tioman island, Adelinah can take a big step into her country’s team for the Final at her home race Borneo TMBT Ultra in September. However, ‘Narna’ has a bigger reputation on the long ultras than on the 50k distance, which is in contrast with her elder sister Jessica Lintanga. ‘Jess’ also features on the start list and with her you never really know. Often on the podium before covid, but since then much less consistent performance-wise. That has a lot to do with her jewelry art and Sabah cultural ambassador work, though. When motivated and in shape, she can still ‘fly’ - as she illustrated by finishing ahead of upcoming talent Shamiera Auther at TMBT last September. Other women to watch out for this weekend, as far as podium chances are concerned, are Siao Ai Lim, Faherina Mohd Esa and last but not least Loi Luong - teammate of Hau Ha at Mude Sports. Loi Luong is the winner of Lam Dong Trail in Dalat last November, ahead of a.o. Angelie Cabalo, and on the rise competitively speaking. Just as for Hau, it’s her first race in Malaysia. Reportedly, Loi Luong has her eyes set on the ATM Championship title this year.

The men’s race on Tioman also seems very open with no outspoken favourite. People who like to place a bet may do so on Singapore’s Chris Timms. Very fast by nature, the issue with Timms is his professional workload that can affect his running performance on weekends sometimes. Also for him, it’s been a while since he has raced on the ATM circuit, so we are looking forward to seeing him again in action. Especially on the men’s start list there’s a lot of unknowns, including from China and a number of western countries, who may surprise us this weekend.

ATM will be broadcasting and reporting live from Tioman island this weekend on our usual channels and depending on connectivity. For livestreams and videos, Facebook, YouTube and X, for photo and highlights there’s Instagram.

2022 ATM Champion Hau Ha: can she win the Tioman 50 overall, too?

In-form Adelinah Lintanga can take a big step into Team Malaysia for this year’s ATM Championship Final

Chris Timms from Singapore starts as a favourite to perhaps win his first ATM race

Loi Luong was the surprise winner of Lam Dong Trail in Dalat half a year ago

We are excited to announce that Scott Running is now the official trail footwear of the Asia Trail Master Championship series. Already for some six years, the black and fluo yellow outfits and shoes of Team Scott runners have been a shiny presence on the Asia Trail Master trails. Headquartered in Switzerland and with a history that goes back all the way to 1958, Scott has been a trendsetter with revolutionary innovations in a range of outdoor endurance sports such as skiing, motorcross, triathlon, cycling, mountainbiking and of course trail running. At ATM, we are genuinely pleased that Scott is joining us for the remainder of Season IX and for Season X, and we look forward to seeing more trail runners explore the brand across Asia.

In Southeast Asia, Scott is represented by Sportlicious, seated in Malaysia.

‘Sportlicious begins a journey with Asia Trail Master for Year 2024. As we venture Asia with ATM, we bring along SCOTT RUNNING as the official shoe partner,” says KC Tan.

‘NO SHORTCUTS" DEFINES THE SCOTT SPIRIT OF DOING THINGS THE RIGHT WAY, FOR THE RIGHT REASONS. We have always believed that TRACTION MATTERS, and have ensure our product design embodies this belief in the shoes we produce.”

Several of the Scott trail shoe models fit very well with the humid and often muddy terrain runners find in the rainforests of Southeast Asia. You can find and purchase them on the Sportlicious Asia store linked below.

About Sportlicious Asia

‘We started in 2012 to provide a better online and physical shopping experience for Malaysia trail, track, and road runners as well as multi-sport athletes.’

‘Our aim is to provide key products to assist you in achieving a balance lifestyle by offering the best products (gear we use ourselves) as well as knowledgeable advice to make sure you get the kit and nutrition that is best for you. ‘

‘THRU SPORTLICIOUS ASIA ..new tag line “RACE ASIA WITH US” our goal is to reach out to wider Asian community…build stronger bonding in term of friendship, running experience and foster greater friendship.’

Scott Running shoes

We are happy to announce that the Santa Cruz Trail Ultra event in Davao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines has obtained the ATM Candidate Race label. The event, with Grandmaster and double ATM Finalist Sean Aying as Race Director, is scheduled for 28/29 September and comes in celebration of the 140th Araw Nang, the legal formation of the Santa Cruz Municipality.

The trail event offers three race categories: 60km, 25km and 10km. Expect a tough course taking you through the central mountains of Santa Cruz, but avoiding the summit and boulderface of Mount Apo. The highlight of the 60km course will take you to the rugged terrains of the 8 peaks in the foothills of Mt. Apo, namely Mounts Loay, Baryara, Tagaytay Ridge, Tinako, Dinor, 796, Fortune and Tagaytay Peak. Mount Tinako is the highest point of the course at more than 1,300 m above sea level. Total elevation gain is estimated at 4500 hm, 2500 hm for the 25k and even 1000 hm for the 10k, so do no expect an easy walk in the park. The mountains section of the 60k course is part of the “trailblazer” program of the Sta Cruz Tourism. Whilst challenging, the races are open to all levels of runners whether you are a beginner in trail, a trail running avid-fan, an enthusiast or a hardcore. The cut-off time for the 60km is 18 hours.

The event has a strong emphasis on showcasing the area as a sports tourism destination, and also wishes to encourage participants to appreciate and respect the environment they’re running through. This can include initiatives like minimizing waste, promoting responsible trail etiquette, and supporting local conservation efforts.

Santa Cruz is quite a familiar location on our ATM calendar. Located just about half an hour outside Davao City, it is among the easier trail venues to get to. Alongside Davao’s, Santa Cruz also has a large trail community of its own.

Registration for the event is open. You can access and see al details via the official webpages, and stay up-to-date via the event’s facebook page.

The latest ATM Candidate Race in Philippines was last Sunday’s Mt Karilongan Trail Marathon, organised by Vertical To Sky in Davao. Local runners competed with each other in three distance categories of which the 42km marathon was the main event. The men’s race resulted in a strong podium with youngster and relative newbie Eldy Bulod again taking victory in an ATM Candidate Race. Bulod also won SC 70 a few months ago. At Karilongan, he finished with an advantage of 35 minutes over Grandmaster and double ATM Finalist Sean Aying, and 42 minutes over 2022 ATM Finalist Angelito Vertudazo. Another well-known name and ATM race winner, Rexell Aguirre, had to settle for 6th place.

In the women’s race, it was Jahen Bonhoc taking top honours ahead of Dolly Joy Alonzo.

Mount Karilongan Trail Marathon was a “Plant & Run” charity race , wherein runners had to briefly stop and plant a new tree at aid station 1, in support of the reforestation program of the EGIP Foundation. Mount Karilongan is a relatively small mountain at 1102m above sea level, featuring duran fruits, but especially the 1083 steps to ‘God’s Hand’. Proceeds of the event went to the materials and equipment of Indigenous Obu-Manuvu Forest Guards and for the smart development of their still young eco-tourism project in Mt. Karilongan. The Obu Manuvu are looking to promote environmental awareness and create an additional source of needed income, so they can bring their ancestral traditions back to practice. The area is also included in the recently opened Koontayan ‘to Obu Manuvu Eco Adventure Park.

1. Eldy Bulod - 6:06:46

2. Sean John Aying - 6:41:48

3. Angelito Vertudazo - 6:48:48

4. Randy Pascua - 8:19:00

5. Earl Nasual - 8:36:02

6. Rexel Aguirre - 8:37:16

7. Michal Canubas - 10:31:11

8. Jay Ofonda - 11:32:36

9. Jahen Bonhoc (female) - 10:57:17

10. Dolly Joy Alonzo (female) - 12:05:07

11. Francis Ian Gilayo - 12:05:08

12. Richard Sastrellas - 12:42:21

13. Melvin Mig Clamor - 13:24:07

14. Mario Raymund Yap - 13:57:00

Sean Aying congratulates Rexell Aguirre

The 3rd Bukit Lawang Orang Utan Trail in North Sumatra once again proved the depth of young trail running talent on the large Indonesian island. A clean sweep on the men’s 50k podium for local runners with Erwin Simanjuntak scoring his second consecutive race win in Bukit Lawang and even in a more impressive style than a year ago. In the women’s 50k it was wonderful to see our popular 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia returning to victory lane after six years and this for the 11th time in her ATM trail journey - a new female record.

Traditional sunny and hot conditions for the race after the previous night’s heavy rainfall. The 50km started earlier than in previous editions at 4:30am, but followed the same pattern with a very runable 20km+ through plantations before the runners went steep up into the rainforest, where they disappeared on tough and often very technical trails. Erwin Simanjuntak, Lindra Mulfanis and Noel Pakpahan were jointly in the lead at that more or less halfway point, and Hong Kong-based Australian David Longo following closely behind. No Andre Sinaga this year, but Mulfanis and Pakpahan replaced him as solid challengers for Simanjuntak. Still, the latter confirmed his amazing talent by outgunning the other two and finishing in 5h47 - no fewer than 20 minutes faster than his own time last year! Lindra Mulfanis arrived in 6h21 as second - a fine result as well for a newbie. For reference, last year Chris Timms ran 6h18 in this race. Noel Pakpahan completed the top 3 shortly afterwards, and then it was David Longo and Slamed Riyadi.

Ruth Theresia on her part was leading the race more or less from start to finish. Her 11th ATM race victory came 5,5 years after her previous one at UT Nan in Thailand, where she secured her championship title at the time. Ruth focused on other objectives after that, and the covid crisis was not kind to her neither. Her comeback was marred by injuries, but this year she had already showed a return to competitive form at the 9 Dragons Hong Kong. By winning Orang Utan Trail she scored her wild card for this season’s ATM Final at Borneo TMBT in September, and she took the lead in the all-time female victory list. She now has 1 ATM race win more than Malaysia’s Tahira Najmunisaa, now mainly a duathlete, and four more than Australia’s Kim Matthews and Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova.

2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia had to wait 6 years to add an 11th race victory to her record

Lindra Mulfanis is a great young newcomer on the ATM scene with a second place

For David Longo, fourth was the highest achievable in Bukit Lawang

The third edition of Bukit Lawang’s Orang Utan Trail in North Sumatra this weekend is also Indonesia’s first ATM points race of the season. ‘BLOT’ is one of our series’ most exciting boutique events taking place in a remote but scenic river town catering for adventure, outdoor and - of course - orang utan enthusiasts. The race for ATM Championship points is the 50km, which is more or less a copy of last year’s with a runable first half through plantations followed by a technical second half through the jungle and into the orang utan’s natural habitat.

It’s an event that has always had a great vibe with a big marqee tent on the city square surrounded by local shops and restaurants and the wide range of sponsor booths. In order to minimise exposure to potential sun heat , the race start of the 50k has been moved forward this year to 4:30 am. Over the past two seasons, we have gotten to know several great trail talents from Sumatra, proving that there’s more to Indonesian trail running than just Java and Bali. Runners such as Erwin Simanjuntak and Andre Sinaga, last year’s excellent 1-2 in the men’s race ahead of established ATM protagonists such as Chris Timms, Jose Luis Alvelais and Thimo KIlberth was testimony to that fact. Unfortunately, it remains difficult for Sumatrans to take part in races elsewhere. Travel expense is often the main stumbleblock - even within Indonesia.

Andre Sinaga is confirmed as a participant again this weekend, at least on the start list. He will face David Longo, the Hong Kong-Australian from T8, in the battle for race victory in the men’s. Unless, as usual, there’s again new faces appearing on the scene. Risqi Kurniawan is unable to start due to injury sustained in another race two weeks ago. In the women’s 50k race, we will see 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia back in action for the second time this season. Finishing this weekend means she gets the wild card for the ATM Final at TMBT on 14 September. She is the logical favourite to win as well, although Bangkok-based American Tara Savage may keep her focused during the race.

Stay tuned for our coverage of the event this weekend on our usual channels. The 50k race is scheduled for Sunday morning.

Vanja Cnops truly enjoyed her race last year

Local Sumatrans Andre Sinaga and Erwin Simanjuntak stole the show in the men’s race last year