The 10th anniversary of The Punisher on the holiday island of Samal in Davao Del Norte will see some fantastic racing between Filipinos trying to make their country’s team for the ATM Championship Final in Malaysia next month. Nearly everyone will be on the start line of the 80km, except John Ray Onifa who has a wild card already. Even Arnie Macaneras, who also collected his wild card at MUSPO last month, is joining the party. After all, this was Macaneras’ breakthrough race in 2019, when “out of the blue” he finished between Hisashi Kitamura and John Ellis here on Samal island. Great to see the Davao runner paying respect to his roots, and to Doi Calbes’ event, which is one of our series’ most underrated events. The Punisher has a great combination of runable and technical sections, demanding trail runners to use their full arsenal of skills. 80km, or 50 miles, is not nothing, but this course is doable for those who like to give an ultra distance a first try , too. The race starts at 3am , so there will be some 2,5 hours before sunrise, too.

While Arnie Macaneras is the logical top favourite in the men’s race, it will be very interesting to see who can stay close to him tomorrow. Several protagonists such as Jevie Cagatin, Maynard Encormal, Eldy Bulod, Isaiah Paraiso, Sean Aying, Kik Suello and Jomarc Ferrer are all still in the game to join Onifa and Macaneras in the team next month. Yoyong Sacayle completed his campaign last week in Bali and has a slender points lead over the others. However, Sacayle had a tough day at KAR two weeks ago, not giving him any points, and his 9 Dragons early in the year was also not great-great. That means his position in the ranking is vulnerable as the others will now do their fourth race, or try to eliminate the worst result of their previous four races. Florence Enciong Alave is the only one of the contenders not running this weekend. Private commitments prevent him from competing in Borneo TMBT anyway.

On the female side, we will have similar scenario in tomorrow’s all-deciding points race. Everyone at the top of the ATM ranking is competing: Shally Yuson, Cristine Montuya, Julie Ann Morales, Ann Jilian Pulanco, Irish Glorioso, Mary Joy Sumanda, Manilyn Mamugay and last but not least Angelie Cabalo. The latter is coming to Davao having just won Bali Ultra 80 in impressive style a week ago. Cabalo does need the points, as The Punisher will only be her third race of the season, while the others will end up with four, five or even six ATM races. It’s a’best-of'-four’ system, so Cabalo has put herself in a complicated situation. She may start the race as the one-to-beat, based on her performance a week ago. However, she will have to deal with last year’s winner Julie Ann Morales, who is from Davao and unbeaten in this season’s ATM points races. Morales looks like a certain qualifier for Team Pilipinas next month - provided she add a few points to her total this weekend. What can in-form Shally Yuson do tomorrow? She looked strong at KAR 110, before a knock of the hammer due to heat exhaustion threw her off the main podium at the very end. If she has recovered, it will be interesting to see how she fares against Cabalo and Morales. And what about Montuya and Pulanco, the last two female winners of Sierra Madre Trail 75k? They will probably mainly focus on Glorioso, Sumanda and Mamugay.

As usual, there’s also several international competitors in The Punisher. These can be important this weekend as they can take points away from the Filipinos. Risa Kamiya from Japan, a Mantra 116 finisher in fourth place last month, is one example of those. Kamiya herself is trying to get herself qualified for Team Japan next month, and so are a few runners from Brunei, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Lantau 70 organiser Jeremy Ritcey, for instance, is a very solid competitor who will certainly aim for a podium spot or a top five placing at The Punisher.

ATM will be broadcasting and reporting live from The Punisher event on Samal island starting at 2:45 am local time.

2022 ATM Champion Arnie Macaneras returns to the event that made him known in 2019: The Punisher

Jevie Cagatin is one of those promising Filipino runners who can get himself assured of the ATM Final

Can previous Punisher winner Julie Ann Morales score a 4/4 this season?

Three Top 4 placing early this season put Ann Jilian Pulanco in a great spot to make the Championship Team

The 3rd edition of Bali Ultra saw one of the most international fields of our Asia Trail Master season, but nevertheless it were the expected runners who battled for the race wins on the 80km and 50km courses. Going up and down the Batur volcano again, these trail courses turn out to be quite underestimated as quite a lot of participants - particularly those on the 80km discovered the hard way. Temperatures were very modest and excellent at the start at 6am , but once the fog cleared up and runners began the first ascent of Batur it got hot. South Korea’s Kyuho Lee was the fastest starter, but already by km 5 Alessandro Sherpa caught him and set the pace from the front. Sherpa had just returned from Europe and will be staying in South East Asia to prepare for his next bid to regain the ATM Champion title at Borneo TMBT now just over a month ahead. As some of his rivals for the championship, Sherpa looked the part in Bali. In the end he was not truly challenged, although Banyuwangi’s newcomer Dedi Furqoni kept the Italian on guard for the first 33km, until muscle cramps threw him a bit further down the leaderboard and even off the podium. Sherpa cruised home in 6h38 to take his first ATM race win of the season, his sixth in total. Behind him we saw the ever more remarkable Aurore Dacier taking second overall as the first female finisher. Based in Singapore, Dacier won Lantau 70 in March and also MMTF 50 last November. This was her third ATM race win therefore, and ever more impressive given she overtook celebrated male runners such as Yoyong Sacayle and Akhmad Nizar towards the end of the 50k race. She will certainly be one of to look out for next season. Borneo TMBT does not fit into her previously planned racing schedule this year. Mindanao’s Yoyong Sacayle ran very well given he had such a hard time and finishing outside the top 25 in KAR 110 just a week ago - suffering from a heatstroke there. Always in the mix for the podium, he was faster than Akhmad Nizar at the end. The 450 points will be very welcome for him in his bid to get into Team Pilipinas next month. Akhmad Nizar, 8th in last year’s ATM Final, is once again qualified for Indonesia with his second podium of the current season after Mantra 68. Bali’s I Made Budiana ran a smart and consistent race to claim fourth place, ahead of Furqoni and Jesse Wilkinson. Thimo Kilberth finished in eighth, and secured his spot for Team Indonesia once again.

Aurore Dacier was a class on her own, with the second and third female podium placers finishing a while later. Hong Kong’s Flora Ching Wing Yee took it ahead of Joanne McNamara and Alison Gauthier.

On the 80km, it was a three-man-battle at the front until the second ascent of Batur, when Dedy Yusof no longer had the pace to keep up with last year’s Bali 100 winner Rachmat Septiyanto and season revelation Ma’Mun Khariri - the surprising winner of Mantra 116 last month. Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama, already third here last year, was never far back but also never managed to bridge the gap to the front. Meanwhile, first female Angelie Cabalo from Philippines was having her own nice day out on the trails. Cabalo, in only her second ATM race of the season, was no match for all the other women in the race and had her eyes set on the overall top three. Catching Matsuyama in the second half of the race, when the 80k runners return from the beach in North Bali, Cabalo looked like she was going to reach that goal. The Japanese runner, however, still had something in the tank and finished slightly ahead of Cabalo. He is qualified again for Team Japan next month, for Cabalo it remains to be seen. Many Filipino runners have been competing for the points all season, and so she finds herself in a tight spot to get into the top five. In any case, next weekend’s The Punisher race will be required. Especially since Irish Glorioso proved once again that she is back on-form , as she was in 2022. Glorioso finished second , a long way back from Cabalo , but nevertheless second and ahead of some very solid competitors such as Hong Kong’s Rachel Chan - who was second in Silabur 100 in May and qualified for the ATM Final again. Carly Balmforth ran a great race, too, also showing increased competitiveness. Balmforth ran second for a while, but eventually came in fifth, shortly behind India’s Ashwini Bhat , who got herself qualified for the ATM Final with her second top six finish of the season. Indonesia’s Yustina Wardhani, an ATM Finalist last year, came in seventh, behind Hong Kong’s Yin Kwan Cheng.

Rachmat Septiyanto and Ma’Mun Khariri in the end produced the most exciting battle of the event as the two went head-to-head on the final ascent and descent of Batur. Septiyanto opened up a small gap in the descent of about seven minutes. Khariri did not throw in the towel ,though, and chased Septiyanto all the way to the finish in those treacherously tough last five km on the road back up to the Geopark Museum. Septiyanto did hold on for his third ever ATM race victory. Still, Khariri showcased his trail talent again. Taken into account he ran and won Mantra 116 four weeks ago, and had another 100k road ultra afterwards, his performance raises eyebrows. With all that hard racing mileage in such a short timeframe, of course let’s hope he doesn’t burn himself out as happens ever so often in Indonesia… Fresh and on form, he could pull off a surprise at the ATM Championship Final next month!

Hong Kong’s Flora Ching Wing Yee grabbed a nice second place on the 50km

Ma’Mun Khariri narrowly lost out on his second ATM race win of the season after Mantra 116

With this weekend’s Bali Ultra in Indonesia we have already arrived at the penultimate weekend of this season’s qualifying period for our Asia Trail Master Championship Final at Borneo TMBT Ultra on 14 September. After Bali 80 and Bali 50 on Saturday, runners can only still score ranking points at Akha Trail in Thailand and The Punisher in Philippines. That means it’s crunch time for those keen to get a spot in their team for the ATM Final. Angelie Cabalo is among those, and no surprise she is lining up for the 80km this weekend. Cabalo was 3rd in last year’s Championship Final in Indonesia, and so has great memories of her last running visit here. On paper, the Bali 80 course, quite runable but with some pretty technical sections in it, should be ideal for the Filipino. Besides, contrary to last year, participants in this event are once again permitted to climb and descend Gunung Batur. Political disagreements have been solved, and so the famous ‘sunrise’ mountain is back on the course. For Cabalo, the 500 points for victory would be highly welcome. At present, she has only one result on her record this season and with so many ambitious Filipino runners in the mix, it will not be easy to still get a spot in the Top 5 of the women’s ATM ranking for her country. In any case, after Bali, she would also need to compete at The Punisher next week. It would certainly be a pity if Angelie Cabalo fails to qualify this season, as the TMBT course should suit her just as well in what promises to be quite an open women’s championship title race.

The men’s 80km will see the return of last year’s winner Rachmat Septiyanto and Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama. The latter probably has a higher pedigree, but often Matsuyama struggles with heat and humidity. Let’s see if this Saturday will be different. Also Dedy Yusuf will be a contender.

But arguably the 50k race will capture most attention this weekend, with Indonesian star Risqi Kurniawan scheduled to face off against 2018 ATM Champion. Alessandro Sherpa. Last time they met was at last year’s ATM Final on Gunung Lawu. Risqi had tried to follow eventual winner John Ray Onifa early on, but blew up and when Sherpa caught him a bit later he threw in the towel all together. Since that wake-up call, having realised that dominating all Indonesian races doesn’t mean you can do the same on an international competitive level, Risqi rehabilitated himself in February at The 9 Dragons 50km in Hong Kong, taking third place. An injury stopped him in his tracks for several weeks afterwards, but in Mantra 68 he proved to be back with another win ahead of Hilman Maulana and Akhmad Nizar. The latter will also be racing at Bali 50 and is always a dangerman for the podium. Alessandro Sherpa spent nearly four months back in Italy, but has now returned with a view to the ATM Final. Having finished third and second in the past two years, Sherpa really wants to try and get that second ATM Championship title this season, six years after his first - time flies. More podium contenders could be Yoyong Sacayle, provided he recovered from last week’s KAR Ultra, and Luis Alvelais. As always in Bali Ultra, there is very international start field and it is not excluded we get to see some unknown runners appearing at the front.

No longer unknown, however, is France’s Aurore Dacier - based in Singapore and winner of Lantau 70 in March, and MMTF 50 before that. Dacier has the competitive spirit and will be the top favourite on the 50km for women this Saturday. That would technically qualify her for the ATM Championship Final as well, but Aurore has already stated that she cannot make it this season. Yustina Wardhani is one of the local Indonesian runners who could think of a podium finish.

ATM will be reporting live from Bali Ultra from start to finish on ATM Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Singapore-based Aurore Dacier won Lantau 70 in March and is now aiming for Bali Ultra 50

Angelie Cabalo is going for the 80k win in her attempt to still qualify for Team Pilipinas 2024

Risqi Kurniawan will face Alessandro Sherpa on the 50k. Last year in SLU, Sherpa made him to DNF

After a few months’ off, Alessandro Sherpa has returned to Asia to be fully prepared for the ATM Final

Also Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama is back in Bali

Last year, Rachmat Sepiyanto won the 100k. He is back this year to try and do the same on the 80k.

Malaysia’s top trail runner Milton Amat ran comfortably to victory in the 110km long ultra of a well-organised Kadamaian Ultra event , also known as KAR Ultra , and is virtually assured of qualification for his country’s team in the ATM Championship Final on 14 September. That will take place in his home State of Sabah as well. Moreover, Milton won the last two editions of Borneo TMBT he started in. The ever humble and timid Milton Amat looks ready to finally become the Asia Trail Master Champion - no doubt supported highly by his own community in Sabah!

In fact, the entire Team Malaysia can dream big. Both the male and female qualifiers for the ATM Championship look very strong on paper, with also Rejlen James again proving to be unbeatable on her home trails during KAR 110. Team Malaysia will certainly try to get the Team Champions title back from the Philippines, whose runners struggled a lot with the heat last weekend at the KAR event. Poy Brillantes summed it up when he finished outside the top 25 on Sunday early morning: “it’s rainy season in Philippines now, no heat training for over a month. We will be stronger in TMBT!”

Indeed, other top Filipino contenders such as Yoyong Sacaycle and Maynard Encornal also failed to feature in the 110k race. Yoyong had started very fast and was even second still behind Gustin Tiam at the second aid station, but then he completely disintegrated and suffered from stomach cramps and the excessive heat. The same for Maynard, who now may need to add The Punisher to his race schedule to make sure he remains within the top five of his country in the ranking. Yoyong himself already set up a plan B and will run Bali Ultra this weekend.

Gustin Tiam thus set the early pace, but by AS 3 Milton Amat had caught up with him. Interestingly, he decided to continue running his own pace for the rest of the day rather than run together with good old Gustin, who himself underlined once again what competitive a season he is having. Haziq Asyraf would eventually take third place , ahead of Jailani Juhili and Wont Kudin, who became a Grandmaster as well.

Rejlen James was dominant in the women’s 110k race from start to finish and looked every bit as different as in Mantra 116 three weeks ago. In Indonesia she struggled to even make the top ten, at home she never even looked back. Adelinah Lintanga initially kept the gap much smaller than usual in long ultras, which was promising as she tends to be more prominent in the second half of races. Accompanied by the impressive Shally Yuson from Mindanao in the Philippines, Lintanga lost more and more time to James, however, as the day went on. After 76km, Yuson actually looked the stronger runner for second place until she also succumbed to heat fatigue and dozed off at a late aid station. She fell back to sixth place. Nevertheless, for her first competitive appearance outside of Philippines, Yuson proved her racing talent and can be expected to use her KAR experience to go for a high placing in the ATM Final, which after all is also shorter at 78km. Behind Adelinah Lintanga, it was then Sabah’s newcomer Dazeree Joannes who completed the female podium. Joannes had started modestly, but ran consistently all day to gradually move up the leaderboard. Great pacing! Especially, given that she kept Mary Joy Sumanda behind in the end. Sumanda, also running for the first time outside of Philippines, scored fourth and that was the best race result of the entire group who came to KAR.

The 60km medium distance category saw a great battle for victory between the ever-improving young Oswald Maikol and Wilsen Singgin. Initially, several others like Jemson Daikin, Vitus Daimi, Yasbie Ismail and Tivel Peter mingled with the front runners as well. Maikol put Singgin under pressure all the time, even dropped him a few times. But Singgin is a warrior who doesn’t ever give up when there’s a potential victory on the horizon. By km 42, Maikol again had a 2-minute gap on Singgin. He then probably lingered a bit too long in the aid station, so that Singgin again had a visual on him as he approached the same station. Indeed, Singgin wasted little time and did not let Maikol to get out his sight anymore. Ultimately, Singgin’s own attack just a few kilometres before the finish proved decisive. Maikol had given too much of himself earlier on, and could not respond. Great win by Wilsen Singgin. Yasbie Ismail completed the top three a long way behind , showing the high level Singgin and Maikol were competing at.

In contrast to the men, Shamiera Auther just seemed to cruise to victory in the women’s 60km - her second win of the ATM season. Leading from start to finish, only a bee sting brought her out of her comfort zone halfway in the race. The still very young Auther will be an interesting runner to watch in the ATM Final. Given her young age and inexperience going beyond 50-60km, Auther won’t have any pressure to perform … but she might as well create a surprise. And she is from Sabah, too.

Lolita Lintanga underlined the competitive progress she has made over the past months to score her first ever ATM race podium. Just like her elder sister Adelinah, Lolita finished second. That’s ahead of Lynda Marylyn in third.

KAR Ultra was part of the ATM Championship calendar for the first time and proved to be a great addition, highlighted by the fantastic arena setting , abundant aid stations, some interesting innovations and welcoming atmosphere. After TMBT and BUTM, Sabah has another trail event to look out for every year.

This weekend is the last points race event of the current championship season in Malaysia, the country hosting the big final in September. Kadamaian Ultra, also known as KAR Ultra, even takes place in the same State of Sabah on Borneo island and can therefore be considered as a real dress rehearsal for Borneo TMBT Ultra. Taking place out of Kota Belud, KAR also has a great competitive field in both the 110k and 60k categories led by ‘usual suspects’ Milton Amat, Wilsen Singgin, Adelinah Lintanga and Gustin Tiam. It is the first time the event features on our ATM Championship calendar after a successful Candidate Race edition in 2022.

Team Malaysia is one the most difficult teams to qualify for given the large number of regular and competitive runners in the country. It is therefore no surprise that this weekend will probably be very decisive. While a few runners can already rest on their laurels achieved this season, e.g. Adelinah Lintanga and Mohd Sulhan, Sabah’s top star Milton Amat, and also Gustin Tiam and Shamiera Auther, are gambling to qualify with just 3 ATM races. Given their usual performance level, that may work out well, but it remains tricky nonetheless. Runners such as Teck Shuin Chong, Hijazi Rija and Wont Kudin, Chong Mi Chin, tend to collect decent amounts of points over four races and therefore may sneak into Team Malaysia. At KAR Ultra, Milton Amat therefore better gets the victory. Wilsen Singgin is in a better position with three good races under his belt this season, and should qualify without any problems - as long as he finishes with an okay result.

The battle for points is also still going on in the Philippines. The Punisher 80k is still coming up on 10 August, but quite a few Filipinos are making the trip to KAR Ultra as well this weekend. Maynard Encormal is one who could give the established Sabahans a run for their money. Also in the women’s 110k race, Rejlen James and Adelinah Lintanga will face a challenge for the victory by in-form Shally Yuson and Mary Joy Sumanda, amongst others.

ATM will be reporting live from KAR Ultra, with the 110k and 60k races starting at 5:20 am and 5:30 am on Saturday.

Milton Amat is the logical top favourite at KAR Ultra 110k this weekend

Already 2 ATM race wins for Gustin Tiam this season!

Leading the women’s ATM ranking: Adelinah Lintanga

Shamiera Auther will be looking to add another 50k victory to her record

Shally Yuson has been one of the revelations of the current ATM season in the Philippines

Looking to qualify for Team Pilipinas again: Mary Joy Sumanda

Season IX of the Asia Trail Master Championship series is gradually approaching its conclusion. With less than two months to go until Borneo TMBT Ultra, this year’s Championship Final race, the various country rankings are becoming increasingly definite. Still, the remaining four points race events on the calendar will be important for many runners aiming to qualify for their country’s team in Malaysia on 14 September. Particularly in this season’s home country Malaysia - the team champions of 2022 - the 10-person roster is not yet decided. The same applies for reigning team champions Philippines, although a few runners there are already certain of their qualification.

Among those are the reigning men’s ATM Champion John Ray Onifa and his predecessor Arnie Macaneras. Both obtained their wild card as former champions by finishing two ATM points races this season. They won’t be the only past champions in Borneo TMBT. Also current female champion Rashila Tamang from Nepal will aim to defend her title, most likely supported by several other Nepalese runners. Team Nepal could become a challenger for Phillipines and Malaysia in the team championship, which is based on the performances of the best 3 men and best 3 women in a team. Also Team Singapore can spring a surprise this season.

2018 men’s champion Alessandro Sherpa has been coming close to winning a second ATM title with a 3rd place finish on Mt Apo in 2022, and a 2nd place on Gunung Lawu last year. Nobody has ever won an ATM Championship twice, and Sherpa - always strong when it really matters - is going to try again at TMBT, a race he has already done before. Vietnam’s Hau Ha - female champion in 2022 - has also secured her wild card, but her participation is very much dependent on what happens in Chamonix at the end of august. Another certain qualifier , and one of the top favourites in the men’s race , is Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura. After having firmly settled in Tokyo, the Karate Kit is back at his best, as he proved on Mt Daisetsu by finishing 15 minutes ahead of Hong Kong’s Jeff Campbell, who in turn managed to beat John Ray Onifa in Singapore a month ago. With home runner Milton Amat most likely earning his spot in the team this coming weekend at KAR, the stage is set for a very exciting ATM Final once again!

Qualified runners will be contacted by ATM very soon, starting with those certain of their spot after the KAR Ultra event this coming weekend.

Meanwhile, runners can check our dedicated ATM Web section on Borneo TMBT Ultra here.

The (draft) course of the 2024 ATM Championship Final goes from A to B

Alessandro Sherpa: 2018 ATM Champion

Arnie Macaneras: 2022 ATM Champion

John Ray Onifa: 2023 ATM Champion

Rashila Tamang: 2023 ATM Champion

Hau Ha: 2022 ATM Champion

We are happy to announce that this year’s 11th edition of Izu Trail Journey in Japan is scheduled for Sunday, 8 December and is now open for registration. One of the country’s most iconic and most competitive trail races has been a member of our Asia Trail Master calendar since 2017 and always ranks among the very best events of the season. The Izu Peninsula is not far south from Tokyo , and race pack collection site Mishima is connected to the capital via shinkansen bullet train.

The stunning course of the Izu Trail Journey, often referred to as "ITJ", takes runners from the edge of the ocean up and across the mountains of the peninsula. It’s an A to B course mainly following an old pilgrimage trail. The expansive vistas of the Pacific Ocean below and the HUGE views of the majestic snow-topped Mt. Fuji you'll encounter while running along the Nishina Pass are awesome and will absolutely blow you away!

Last year, Hong Kong based Esztser Csillag became the second non-Japanese to win Izu Trail, four years after Veronika Vadovicova. Hisashi Kitamura finished in the top ten twice, sixth last year even, in what often is like a national Japanese championship race. While the competition is tough, the cut-off time of 14 hours for the 70km is doable provided you keep moving and can also handle cold weather, which often characterises Izu. Snow is not excluded. The second part of the course is more technical and has more elevation difficulties than the initial 30km.

Registration goes via the official website linked below. Sign up soon, as this one fills up.

India’s highly popular Malnad Ultra returns on 23 November this year and has just opened registration for the 8th edition. Taking place in Mallanduru in India’s Karnataka region near Bengaluru in the southwest is a wonderful trail experience in what is still a new destination. The 8th edition of the always sold-out event will offer again 100k and 50k race courses for ATM Championship points and a Grandmaster point (100k), and there is also a 30k for less ambitious runners. The event takes place in the heartland of Indian coffee at elevations ranging from 800m to 1500m above sea level.

The origin of the name Malnad is attributed to Male meaning Hill and Nadu meaning Land. So, Malnad is the land of the hills. The organisation is in the capable hands of the Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM), and further driven by a large team of enthusiastic volunteers. The races are runable, but challenging and across various types of terrain with accumulated elevation gain of approx 3400 hm for the 100 km and 1700 hm for the 50 km. The races mostly go through the vast coffee plantations in the area. The precise course maps for 2023 will be made available within the next few weeks, as the start and finish location is planned to be changed.

The courses take runners through the Mudigere area in the State of Karnataka, which has Bengaluru (previously known as Bengalore) as its capital. That big city is also the international gateway to the event. From there, busses will take runners to Mallanduru, roughly 5 hours away, where the event is held. Please note Malnad Ultra is a trail adventure and takes place in a remote area so allow for enough time to reach the final destination. Also, be aware that mobile connectivity may be limited on many parts of the course.

International runners are recommended to email the event organisation or Asia Trail Master directly for details about transportation options to the event site. Accommodation is mostly pleasant homestays - with great food! - and are plentiful in the area. Detailed information about travel, accommodation and touristic options are available on the official website of Malnad Ultra now.

Do not hesitate too long because there is a quota of 200 runners for 100k and 300 for the 50k. This is India’s most popular trail running event and always fills up.

The Mount Daisetsu Trail on Japan’s northern Hokkaido island witness a great dual between long-time ATM Championship protagonists Jeff Campbell and Hisashi Kitamura. Campbell had just looked amazing in beating John Ray Onifa at UTSG 50 two weeks ago, but the ever battle-ready Kitamura was not intimidated and took his second consecutive victory at Daisetsu ahead of the Hong Kong Canadian by a considerable margin of 15 minutes in 6h40!

Now based in Tokyo, the UGLOW Asia athlete had said before the weekend he felt in great shape and has been doing well on the Japanese domestic trail circuit over the past couple of months. The big goal is to finally get the ATM Championship title, and at the same time that win at Borneo TMBT Ultra that has eluded him so far despite several attempts. Daisetsu was also his 9th career victory already in ATM. Jeff Campbell himself has collected no fewer than 8 ATM points race wins over the years, but has never managed to get into the championship Top 3 podium. Also for him, it is a serious objective - the varied TMBT course should suit him better than high, long mountains Mt Apo or Mt Lawu of previous years. It was therefore fantastic that these two stars of the regional scene squared off in Hokkaido.

For Kitamura, winning the race by a margin over Campbell proved to be a confirmation of his own feelings of having returned to peak form this year. He is scheduled to race once more on the ATM circuit at The Punisher in Philippines in August, before the Championship title race in Sabah. For Campbell, who returned from injury to beat reigning ATM Champion John Ray Onifa in Singapore - inflicting the Filipino’s first defeat on our circuit in over six years - , it was perhaps a reminder there may nevertheless still be some work to do before September. As he himself stated after the race: “He crushed me today”.

Third place on the podium, but amazingly very much in a by-role, was Suguru Seo, 47 minutes behind Kitamura. The women’s race was dominated by Naho Kotani in 9h01. She finished a full hour ahead of Shibuya Chie. Third on the podium was Nagisa Yamaji .

The next Japanese points race will be next season, the famous Izu Trail Journey on the second Sunday of December. Registration opens next week!

Jeff Campbell and Hisashi Kitamura enjoyed themselves in Hokkaido

The men’s top five at Mt Daisetsu Trail Journey with Hisashi Kitamura once again in the middle

Tomohiro Mizukoshi made sure of his third ATM Final qualification with another fine 6th place

The battle for ATM championship points is ongoing in the Philippines, with several candidates remaining for the five male and five female spots for the team that can take part in the ATM Final at Borneo TMBT Ultra on 14 September. Last weekend’s MUSPO event in Valencia, Bukidnon, Mindanao was the penultimate chance to score points on home soil. Those who take an interest had to go for the 50km race category. MUSPO’s 100km was only valid for the Grandmaster Quest this season. 2022 ATM Champion Arnie Macaneras returned to MUSPO after an unfortunate DNF two years ago, when he was leading the 100k race together with Larry Apolinario until they both went off course. Davao’s leading runner therefore had unfinished business in Bukidnon. He also started as the top favourite in the 50km and quickly showed his good form. A brief scare towards the end, when Arnie again missed a marker and went off course, he won comfortably in 5h52. Kik Suello scored his second podium of the ATM season with an impressive run to second place in 6h01. Suello is beginning to make a name for himself. He preceeded Jevie Cagatin and local Yoyong Sacayle by 8 minutes. Eldy Bulod and Isaiah Paraiso were next, two more exciting newcomers to the scene this season. Grandmaster Sean Aying ran a solid race to 7th ahead of Ivan Matic and Marjones Abugan.

In the women’s 50km we saw the confirmation of the ever increasing competitiveness of Shally Yuson. As in the men’s category, many good runners in the women’s race at MUSPO, and Yuson managed to score her first ever ATM points race victory with even a dominating display. At the finish in Valencia she had an advantage of nearly half an hour on the equally surprising Irish Glorioso, who seems to have found back her good form from two years ago. Emelyn Cabangas finished ten minutes later in third place, and Sierra Madre Trail winner Christine Montuya had to settle for fourth. Maria Elywana Jara Isulat claimed fifth place.

The 100k race was won by Roberto Cain III in the men’s, and Guia Angelie Cabigas in the women’s.

Shally Yuson scored her first ever ATM points race victory and underlines her growing running form

2022 ATM Champion Arnie Macaneras notched up another race win

A great second place for Kik Suello!

Irish Glorioso has found back the form that gave her several podiums in the 2022 season

Emelyn Cabingas completed the women’s podium on the 50k

Roberto Cain III won MUSPO 100 and collected one more Grandmaster point

Guia Angela was the quickest woman on the 100km and scores a Grandmaster point

A generally successful and rather exciting revival of the Pacific Coast Mountain Trail Festival in General Nakar, Quezon, took place last weekend with Angelie Cabalo claiming the biggest spotlight by winning the 100km overall! Our 3rd place finisher in last year’s ATM Final - and therefore the driving force behind Team Pilipinas in winning the ATM Team Championship - managed to catch male leader Bhert Opiada towards the end of the runable trail race, an ATM Candidate Race, and finished in 13h11. Cabalo has been in great shape over the past few months and she ought to be one of the top favourites to become the first Filipino female ATM Champion at Borneo TMBT on 14 September. Behind Cabalo, Ann Jilian Pulanco took second place. Also Pulanco could be making the team this season. Second male behind Opiada was Jonel Lobos.

Cabalo was not the only one who raised eyebrows, however, in General Nakar. In the women’s 50km, Jewel De Luna finished in 5h15 and fourth overall and 7 minutes ahead of Cecille Wael, sixth overall in. Both ladies are in great shape. The men’s top three meant serious business, too. Trail rookie Cesar Bellen grabbed victory ahead of Maynard Encormal in 4h45 and Andy Borras. John Ivan Zonio was sandwiched between De Luna and Wael. Richard Akol came fifth.

As we had just seen in UTSG 50 in Singapore, flattish and runable trails can create some spectactular racing between several candidate winners and podium placers.

Bhert Opiada was the fastest man on the 100km, but could not keep Cabalo behind at the very end

Cesar Bellen was a surprise winner on the 50km, finishing ahead of a.o. Maynard Encormal

Maynard Encormal settled for second place, but confirmed once more he is in great shape this season

Jewel de Luna took the victory on the 50km in a splendid time and fourth overall

Cecille Wael was fast, too, sixth overall, but a few minutes behind De Luna

The biggest mountain trail running event on the ATM Championship calendar this year saw a lot of unexpected performances by both new and known names, while several pre-race favourites such as Arief Wismoyono, Rejlen James and Taofik Hidayat bit the dust and did not make it even onto the podium of either the 116km or 68km races. Mantra proved that every year is different and anything can happen. The great unexpected 116 winners were Indonesians Muhammad Ma’Mun Khariri and Henny Sutanda, while the 68km was won - but not without a struggle - by the anticipated favourites Risqi Kurniawan and Dening Lo from Singapore.

Ma’Mun Khariri turns out to be a young talent, like Risqi, who grew up in the greater Malang area while now living in Kalimantan. It was his first experience on the ATM circuit and he certainly left an impression. Already on the summit of Welirang, after the long ascent at nighttime, his name topped the leaderboard. At that time, Bandung’s Taofik Hidayat was not far behind and he even came closer as they went towards Arjuno. Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama was in the game immediately, and everyone expected former winner Arief Wismoyono to boom down the descent like he so famously did two years ago. However, it wasn’t his day last weekend and Arief would have to settle for 5th. Khariri kept on marching forward and when Hidayat pulled out of the race, he managed to keep a chasing Matsuyama on average about 15 minutes behind. The Indonesian took the win ahead of the Japanese ATM Finalist from last year and Malaysian Yih Huan Sua. Another Japanese runner, Tamie Tsukada was fourth.

The women’s 116 , without Sianti Candra , developed into a competition between Nia Swastika Septiana, Siriporn Leumathong, Risa Kamiya, Guan Shin Law and Henny Sutanda. The latter was 4th on the 68km last year, and had a golden opportunity to take a big-name victory. Leumathong and Septiana were tough but had to be content with spots on the podium - for both an excellent result as well. Sutanda follows into the footsteps of Shindy Patricia - winner of the past two editions. Shindy is focusing on road running in 2024. It should be noted that the number of women attempting the 116 was higher than ever, with 8 official finishers this year.

The men’s 68km resulted in the same faces on the podium as last year and in the same positions. Risqi Kurniawan again had the better of Hilman Maulana and Akhmad Nizar. However, it did not look like smooth sailing for Kurniawan this time around, most likely still feeling the aftermath of an injury he sustained about five weeks ago. The Indonesian trio nevertheless performed strongly given the big names behind them: the Malaysians Amierul Amin, Mohd Sulhan, Faris Azhari, Ahmad Tanjong, Jeffery Budin, as well as Thimo Kilberth Fikry Sakti Firmansyah and Husen Saepudin.

The women’s 68km, without Ruth Theresia due to work obligations, saw a rather expected winner in Dening Lo from Singapore, but she had to run for it. Bali’s Dian Pradina had started fast, and also Malaysia’s Halimatun Sa’adiah had a great day on Saturday. Not so for Rejlen James, struggling from the beginning and settling for 7th place. That was behind Yvette Chong Mi Chin, who sprained an ankle but still came in fifth in the finish, showing her 3rd place at Simpur Ultra 50 in Brunei a few weeks ago was no coincidence. Chong Mi Chin may get herself into Team Malaysia again after 2022, and is also a 2-star Grandmaster now. Qualification for Team Malaysia is not yet a given for youngster Lynda Marylyn, who unfortunately had that day of the month and saw no option but to DNF. In the end, it was Indonesia’s Yuni Noor Hayati who scored 3rd place on the podium, exactly like a year ago.

The next Indonesian points race is Bali Ultra on 3 August, which will be an important one for those runners keen on qualifying for their country’s team at the ATM Championship Final.

Ma’Mun Khariri was the surprise winner of the 116km long ultra!

Henny Sutanda: 4th last year on the 68, winner this year on the 116!

Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong : impressive second on the 116!

Risqi Kurniawan added another ATM win on home Indonesian soil to this record

Hilman Maulana : second consecutive time on the podium

2023 ATM Finalist for Malaysia, Amierul Amin returned to the ATM scene with a solid 4th place

Singapore’s Dening Lo grabbed her second ATM race win of the season

Halimatun Sa’adiah scored her finest race result in ATM so far: second behind Dening Lo on the 68km