We are happy to announce Pulag Ultra Trail in Philippines as a new addition to the ATM Grandmaster Quest calendar on 21/22 February. The event, managed by Intrepid Spirit from VJ 100 last December, is a majestic A to B race and has two Grandmaster distances on offer: 132 km and 65 km. The latter is short of 70km, but - as Mantra 65 in Indonesia - has more than 4500 hm making it eligible as a GM point race.

Pulag Ultra Trail 132km starts in Kabayan and finishes in Baguio City. It is an exhilarating journey through the majestic landscapes that embrace Mount Pulag, Mount Awa, Mount Ugo and Mount Bidawan and the myriad of scenic landmarks that grace the path leading to Baguio City. Needless to say this is a pure mountain run you should come prepared for. It’s tough, but the untamed scenery will ease the pain Mount Pulag in particular is famous for its views from above the clouds. Official elevation gain for the 132km is 8827 hm and nearly 4600 hm for the 65km.Along the epic course you will also encounter enchanting villages and iconic landmarks that have stood the test of time. As the website reads: “Their presence will ignite your spirit and fuel your determination, as you draw inspiration from the rich tapestry of history and culture that surrounds you.”

PUT, the official abbreviation of Pulag Ultra Trail, is a late addition to the calendar , so you need to decide quickly if you wish to join the event. Less ambitious runners can also opt for a short 20km category.

The organiser has transportation services on offer, which you can consult via the QR code in the poster announcement below. Runners are also strongly encouraged to check out the event website to discover all details for the races, including the mandatory gear list.

After a long five years interruption, the 10th edition of Indonesia’s most popular trail event in terms of participation numbers is back. Tahura Trail in Bandung was a genuine classic medium distance trail race before the covid crisis, and over 3500 runners will celebrate its return this weekend. Among them are many competitive runners for the 40km as well, hoping to score a podium finish and a good haul of ATM Championship points. Indonesia’s Risqi Kurniawan will face his usual local challengers, but also a.o. Alessandro Sherpa - who has already been 2nd (2020) and 3rd (2018) in this race before. In the women’s 40km, we have local hero and former ATM Champion Ruth Theresia and Singapore-based Vanja Cnops.

Taman Hutan Raya Tahura Ir. H. Juanda is the full name of the park where the event takes place, just outside the city centre of Bandung, one of Indonesia’s biggest cities in West Java. It’s a popular weekend destination where you can just go and relax, or engage in all kinds of outdoor activities. The trail race is not the longest at 40km, also not the toughest, but it’s always been exciting to follow. Weather plays an important role - this year’s edition could be more wet and muddy than the last two in 2020 and 2019 - , but it’s a course where each runner can find sections to his or her liking. It’s varied, but you better still have a solid running pace - as the race’s record indicates. Jeff Campbell won here twice and Mohamed Affindi scored his first ATM race victory here in 2019. Many ATM Champions have won Tahura, but our reigning champions will not. Lunar new year is close and Jeff Campbell and Priya Rai have other priorities in the coming weeks.

However, 2018 Champion Alessandro Sherpa is in with a good shot, although he himself downplays his chances for this Saturday morning. Sherpa had an up-and-down 2024 trail year, mainly due to a stubborn injury. It’s been rather quiet in the past few months, but two weeks ago, Sherpa felt some good vibes again in a road marathon in Malaysia. The competition in Tahura is for real, of course. Not many Indonesian men have actually won the race, and this time it feels like everyone is there. Risqi Kurniawan typically has the edge on medium distance course, but runners like Sobari Herdiana, Sobiri, Margono and Dedy Yusuf will certainly give it their all. And so will Bandung heroes Arief Wismoyono and Taofik Hidayat. Also in the field this Saturday: Luis Alvelais and Thimo Kilberth.

In the women’s 40k race, Vanja Cnops will be looking for her 8th ATM race victory after a winless 2024 in our series. The Singapore-based Belgian should love both the distance and the course in Bandung, so she is the logical top favourite. It’s her first race in Season 10, so she can open her points account with a maximum haul. We are also happy to see Ruth Theresia on the start list of her home race. Still the most successful female runner in our series ever with 11 race wins, and a true ambassador for the sport in Indonesia. Yustina Wardhani is another podium candidate, she was 9th in the 2023 ATM Championship Final.

Asia Trail Master will be reporting live from Tahura Trail all day on Saturday from 5:45 am local time onwards. The 40km is scheduled to be flagged off at 6 am.

Risqi Kurniawan is the top favourite amongst the Indonesian runners

Sherpa returns to Tahura : 3d in 2018, 2nd in 2020, victory in 2025?

Vanja Cnops can add another Indonesian race win to her record this Saturday

We are happy to announce that the Pacific Coast Mountain Trail Festival in General Nakar, Luzon, Philippines is joining the Asia Trail Master Grandmaster calendar in 2025. The event, a Candidate Race last year, will be held on the weekend of 26/27 July and features a 100km race that will provide a Grandmaster point to all finishers. The Pacific Coast Mountain Trail Festival is already open for registration.

Beginning and less ambitious runners can also opt for one of the several shorter distance categories. There is also a kids race. And in fact, this event is a great introduction to trail running. PCMTF is known for its (very) runable terrain and as such as bit of an outcast on the Filipino trail calendar. Last year, we saw several of the country’s marathon and road running scene take part and get a first taste of trail running. As the official event’s tagline reads: “Where the mountains literally meet the sea and everything in between fall nothing short on beauty and charm – from its crystalline streams to placid rivers, from rolling hills to the lush greenery of the forests, tiny hamlets and the exceptional warmth of its people - all these on a one-of-a-kind ultra marathon that is the Pacific Coast Mountain Trail Festival” .

The 100k Grandmaster course is not pancake flat neither, though. There is still 2000 metres of elevation gain to be conquered during the day. The race starts at 4 am on Saturday morning and everyone is expected to be back after 27 hours, i.e. 7 am on Sunday morning.

General Nakar is also relatively uncomplicated to get to from Manila. You can ride a bus or van frm Legarda in Manila going to Infanta Quezon. The fare is approximately Php 350-450. Travel time is 4-5 hours depending on traffic and time of the day. General Nakar lies on the east coast of Luzon island.

Via the facebook page below you can find all details on the event, and you can register online via the button below as well.

Malico Grand Ultra took place for the second time last weekend featuring a 75km race course with a Grandmaster point for all finishers on offer. Brought to you by Mark Caldez of Marcado Trail Quest and the Maharlika Series team of Sierra Madre Trail Ultra, the event took place in Santa Maria West, Pangasinan, in the West of Luzon a little south of Baguio. The 75km is a challenging course with four distinct peaks to conquer, for a total elevation gain of over 4000 hm. Conditions matter, but runners also always learn and this year’s winners were significantly faster than last year. Jordan Bugnay was the rather surprising man on the top step of the podium, winning in 12h32 - well ahead of established ATM competitors Sean Aying and Maynard Encornal. For Sean Aying, finishing Malico meant scoring his 15th GM point , which now makes him a 3-star Grandmaster!

Strongest woman was Ann Jilian Pulanco, who managed to outpace Julieann Morales and Julie Mae Marquez in 16h21. Whenever Grandmaster Pulanco decides to compete and race, she is always a victory contender. In 2023 she also won Sierra Madre. At Malico a year ago, she was preceeded by Michella Aradanas, however. Julieann Morales was 10th in last season’s ATM Championship with three wins inside the Philippines during the season. The first ATM Championship points race of Season 10 is coming up on the first weekend of March in Bukidnon, the Mount Kalatungan Trail Ultra’s 55km race.

It is a pleasure to announce the renewed cooperation between Asia Trail Master and the popular Japanese kinesio taping brand New-HALE. Also at Asia Trail Master promoted events, we see increasingly more runners using colourful tape to protect themselves from potential injuries. New-HALE, established by Mr Koji Akuta, is one of the pioneers in the technology, and will please participants in our series with its great products and service.

For those people not yet so familiar with kinesio taping, this is a rehabilitative taping technique that is designed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting the body’s range of motion. It is a therapeutic technique not only offering you the support you are looking for, but also rehabilitating any affected condition as well.

New-HALE has a wide range of items in its catalogue, each referred to by a letter describing the shape, e.g. the V Tape, I tape and the X Tape. All these are also available in Asia outside Japan thanks to preferred stores such as Sportlicious Malaysia and Vietnam.

Below is a description of the V Tape and X Tape, as well as a video tutorial on how to correctly apply the tapes.

V Tape

This innovative pre-cut V-shaped tape is super flexible to applied on the calf, knee, shoulders or waist to provide targeted support. It is loved by professional athletes around the world and also used in many medical treatments. The tape is made of smooth LYCRA blend cotton fabric, which offers great resilience and joint support, such as elbow or knee, perfect for athletic taping.

X Tape

Ankle taping for professional top runners of trail running and ultramarathon. It stops not just sprain but also prevents overpronation to sustain resilience of runner's ankle, transferring propulsion force into higher performance. It sustains the angle of 90 degrees of ankle and foot to reduce stress and burdens on foot. Simple "X-type taping" makes it easier for ankle support. Support by the elastic material LYCRA. Tape of lower elasticity provides both fit and fixed power. Acrylic rubber 100% prevents losing power. Sweat and water-resistant taping surface with high quality glue substance prevents it from peeling off. Ankle Fixed-Up To Step Up Performance Of All Sports!

X Tape

I Tape

V Tape

A very cold edition of VTM with temperatures barely rising above ten degrees celsius saw two impressive race winners in Nguyen Si Hieu and Giang Thi Linh. Both were not necessarily surprising, yet the way they accomplished their feats deserves a big round of applause. They also opened their Season 10 points account with 500 , which can be significant further down the line with the season’s championship final anticipated to take place in October. More than 2000 runners took part in this year’s Vietnam Trail Marathon in Moc Chau, with over 300 on the longest distance category of 70km - also the category that offered points for the ATM Championship ranking and Grandmaster Quest.

The men’s race was expected to be quite open with several local runners up against the young coming-man Godwin Mirar from Philippines and France’s Gaetan Morizur for the prizes. Mirar and Nguyen Si Hieu were fastest out of the blocks and had a small advantage over Nhon Trong and Le Quang Hoi, with Adam Nguyen Tien Vo, Gaetan Morizur and Tu Do a little further back. Tomohiro Mizukoshi, fresh from a 4th place at Prenn Trail Summit three weeks ago, was flirting with the top ten. Over halfway, on the way to CP 5, Mirar arrived first by himself with a couple of minutes advantage over Si Hieu. The latter had not yet given up, however. Gaetan Morizur was moving up the leaderboard and was beginning to threaten the leading duo as well, as Le Quang Hoi, Nguyen Tien Vo and Tu Do lost a bit of contact with the fight for podium. The last 20km proved dramatic for 24-year-old Godwin Mirar, as the cold temperatures really got to him and resulted in cramps and an overall drop in performance. Nguyen Si Hieu came back to him by CP 6 and opened up a gap immediately aftewards. Meanwhile, Morizur kept on closing in and would soon also catch and overtake the fading Mirar. When Si Hieu heard that Morizur was chasing him down, it turned out he still had an extra gear and upped the pace again himself. That settled it. He took his 4th career ATM race win with Morizur in second. Nhon Trong also had a strong end of the race and still caught the unfortunate Filipino to complete the podium in third place. Newcomer Le Quang Hoi did well to secure fifth, just behind Mirar at the finish and just ahead of Tien Vo.

The women’s race also saw three, four runners competing tightly for most of the race. However, Giang Thi Linh was always in the lead by herself. Nguyen Nguyet and Malaysia-based Filipino Ritzy Amor were just a few minutes behind and kept the pressure on, even when Linh later admitted she had no idea they were so close. Nguyen Nguyet would more or less keep pace with Linh until the finish to score a great second place. Amor, just like her compatriot Mirar, struggled in the final 20km with the temperature and also lost the podium still to Tran Trang. It’s not always ‘too hot’, it can also be ‘too cold’ for some runners…

The next Vietnamese points race is the Vietnam Ultra Marathon in Mai Chau on the second weekend of March.

Just like a year ago, Vietnam Trail Marathon in Moc Chau opens the new year in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. An incredibly scenic 70km points race, some four hours away from capital city Hanoi, organised by the famous team at Topas. This year, the men’s race will see some of the most accomplished Vietnamese trail runners up against Filipino coming man Godwin Mirar and the Ho Chi Minh City-based Frenchman Gaetan Morizur.

It will be Mirar’s second Vietnam appearance in just two months. However, at November’s Lam Dong Trail in Dalat he was together with Kristian Joergensen when a marshal pointed them into the wrong direction. An unfortunate DNF, and Mirar is keen to set the record straight this Saturday. After all, he has done very well in Vietnam before despite his young age of still just 24. In 2023, he was third behind Onifa and Joergensen in VMM 50km. Trying to win and score a solid result is the objective for the Filipino from Bukidnon now. He is up against some of the most competitive local runners, such as Nguyen Si Hieu - sixth in last season’s ATM Championship Final - , Nguyen Tien Vo, Nguyen Duc Tuan Anh and last but not least Nhon Trong. A few years ago, the latter would arguably be the top favourite on this distance and this type of course - overall quite runable. But Nhon Trong has shifted his main focus on the 100 miles and long ultras in recent memory. Let’s see how much speed and explosivity he still carries on the 70k. Calling Gaetan Morizur a ‘dark horse’ would be weird, but the Frenchman is kind of on the comeback trail as a podium and victory challenger after taking a break as a fresh father. If Morizur is on cue again, then all the others better watch out. He did win races like Dalat just a couple of years ago. Let’s also see what Trung Nguyen can do this weekend. Technically Singaporean but now again living in Hanoi, Trung is also one of those who on any given day challenge for a podium finish.

The women’s 70km also has no 100% clear favourite, and many contenders for a win. Giang Thi Linh is being mentioned quite a bit, and there’s also Vy Le Phuong , Tran Thu Trang and Nguyen Thi Nguyet. In any case, there’s a good chance we will celebrate a new race winner in our ATM series’ history. There’s no Hau Ha or Loi Luong this weekend.

The 2025 edition of VTM has a very big start field for the 70km , with well over 300 participants on the longest distance category. This includes many international runners, so we never really know if someone amongst them can cause the upset. What we do know is that it will be a rather chilly edition, with temperatures forecast not to rise much above 10 degrees. That’s always interesting in a South-East Asian country, where “winters” by default are short. The course is actually a bit short of 70km, and has an estimated elevation gain just shy of 3000 hm. Most of that comes in the first part.

ATM will be reporting live from VTM in Moc Chau from start to finish on our usual channels facebook, youtube and instagram. The 70km race starts at 5am.

We are delighted to announce that at the start of a new year we also have new Asia Trail Master “Forever Trail” merchandise released via our customisation partner Mude Sports! The Forever Trail line consists of high quality running shirts, both in male and female cut and design, plus running vests, caps, hats and belts!

In addition, we are introducing a new achievement token for our ATM Grandmasters, on top of the default GM caps. Every Grandmaster who completes the second, third and fourth level will receive a bronze, silver, or gold t shirt!

Mude Sports is the customisation company based in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and driving force behind the country’s top elite runner, Hau Ha - our 2022 ATM Champion. Over the past few seasons, many runners and fans have seen the ATM Team wearing the ‘Forever Trail’ crew shirts. Many have asked whether these were not on sale for the general public. Well, now they are! Albeit in a brand new trendy design with a subtle distnction between male and female colour scheme. The running shirts are ultra-light, ultra-breathable, and moisture-wicking. It will will keep you cool and dry in any condition. Plus, you’ll love the ecological benefits of using post-consumer recycled materials. Check out the Asia Trail Master merch store on the Mude website and order your items still today! You can go there via the button below. Definitely also take a look at the 8L trail run vest!

The new Grandmaster bronze, silver and gold shirts are obviously not for sale , and will only be handed out to runners who score their second, third and fourth stars. However, these people may request a personalised version of the tee, which can then be purchased in unlimited quantities. Grandmasters who wish to make use of this add-on, should contact ATM or Mude for details.

Forever Trail!

The 5th edition of Laos premier trail running event in Vang Vieng is scheduled for the weekend of 1/2 March. The renowned V Trail offers the usual race categories, but in the context of ATM it is important to distinguish between the 55km (ATM Championship points race) and the 85km (ATM Grandmaster Quest race). Over the years, V Trail has built up a reputation of being among the very toughest of jungle races in South East Asia. Certainly the 85km will challenge all participants. Runners like Milton Amat, Alessandro Sherpa, Salva Rambla, Irish Glorioso and Alex Tilley can all testify to that. At last year’s V Trail, we saw the emergence of competitive runners such as Hee Joo Jang from Korea, who won the race ahead of Siriporn Leumathong, who later both scored top ten placings in the women’s ATM Championship Final last September. France’s Arnaud Beck was fast on the 55km and the Thai duo of Sittisak Suwannee and Puttasit Wiwatsriprapha took top honours in the 85km.

The online registration is already open via the button and link below. To reach Vang Vieng, you need to get to Vientiane first.

Reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell has won his first points race after winning our title in September at Prenn Trail Summit in Dalat, Vietnam. The Hong Kong-based Canadian was clearly faster than the others in great weather conditions,, clinching victory in 5h23 - half hour ahead of Chris Timms, based in SIngapore. . The surprising Ho Van Binh scored third ahead of Japan’s good old Tomohiro Mizukoshi and Nguyen Thanh Loi in fifth. For Campbell this is a useful first ATM race just before the end of the year. As all past champions in our series, he can score a wildcard for the next ATM Final by just finishing two ATM promoted races during the season. Also for Chris Timms and Tomohiro Mizukoshi, Prenn proved great in that respect. Timms already won UTOP 60 in October and, given his tight working and travel schedule, should not need to stress himself out too much for the remainder of the ATM season. The same applies for Mizukoshi, even though competition to enter Team Japan is growing. As the 2025 ATM Final is likely to take place in Vietnam in October, the third place of young local talent Ho Van Binh may also prove very important for qualification into Team Vietnam later on.

The women’s 55km points race went to Nguyen Thi Kim Anh in a time of 7h44, just six minutes ahead of Tran Thi Hanh An and Chu Thi Vinh Lien.

The 180km race category - also a championship points race - was won by Vietnam’s own Tran Minh Tuyen in 38h17. He finished over 1 hour ahead of Le Trong Nghia in second place. Third place is for Nguyen Van Chung, ahead of Hoang Huu Thang. Strong performances by all four of them. The women’s 180km had a bit of controversy, even though race rules are what they are. Loi Luong, fourth in last season’s ATM Final, ran a wonderful first miler and crossed the finish line first, but got herself relegated to the bottom of the women’s result for having missed a checkpoint earlier. The same applied to the other female star runner Le Thi Hang. It is very hard, but also hard to argue with. At least, in ATM context, both will still collect a decent haul of championship points as not many female runners completed the 180km race course - just five to be precise. Nevertheless, the official race win went to Japan’s Risa Kamiya - her first ever. Risa was an ATM Finalist at Borneo TMBT , so not entirely unknown and she did well staying ahead of Cao Thi Cam Van, Malaysia’s Yvette Chong Mi Chin and Philippines’ Shekinah Velasquez.

The next Vietnamese points race comes up very soon: Vietnam Trail Marathon in Moc Chau on 11 January.

Le Thi Hang and Hoang Huu Than

Loi Luong ran a wonderful first-time ever “miler+”, but by missing a CP recording got herself relegated

Japan’s Risa Kamiya scored her maiden ATM race victory at Prenn 180

The last points race event of 2024 is upon us this weekend. Starting on Friday morning already, Prenn Trail Summit in Vietnam’s meanwhile famous Dalat offers 182km and 55km race categories for ATM Championship points, while Grandmaster Quest runners can also go for the 100km category. Prenn is a new event on our main calendar, following a successful Candidate Race review last year. It takes place in a different area than the currently still better known Dalat events. Organiser James Nguyen, who has been running in ATM promoted events himself, and Unique Events are ambitious and keen to provide stellar experiences for their participants. Prenn is a tea resort, acting as the base for the event.

Despite being a very much end-of-year event, Prenn Trail Summit has attracted quite an international field of runners, and even including our reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell. The Hong Kong Canadian will be making his first appearance as champion on the 55km , a distance he has always loved to attack on. It’s been three months since he narrowly outgunned Hisashi Kitamura in a brave race at Borneo TMBT Ultra, but recent performances within Hong Kong suggest he is still very much “on call”. He should be in any case, because also Chris Timms will be running the 55km in Dalat this Saturday. Timms is in the best shape of his life, which he illustrated at the same ATM Final race, coming in in fifth place, and a month later at Ultimate Trails of Penang, winning the 60km race - his first ever victory in our series. Timms will find the Dalat trails also very much to his liking. Campbell has Vietnamese trail experience and certainly starts as the favourite, but Timms will make sure he stays focused. Another ATM regular who can contest the podium is Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi. As with Timms, Dalat should suit him. No longer the youngest of the competitive bunch, but a podium is definitely a possibility. Besides, Mizukoshi is just 1 point away from becoming a 4-star Grandmaster. It won’t happen this weekend of course - 55km is not the minimum required distance of 70km - but it illustrates how much experience Tomohiro has gathered running mainly outside of Tokyo.

Vietnamese ‘elites’ are primarily going for the longest race distances, in this case the massive 182km. Last year’s Prenn winner Nguyen Van Chung will be there, as well as Hoàng Hữu Thăng and Trần Minh Tuyê. However, it’s Loi Luong who captures the attention on the female start list. The best-placed Vietnamese runner in the 2024 ATM Championship - finishing 4th in Borneo TMBT - is aiming for her first ‘Miler’ and it’s even a ‘Miler+’. She will have a good guide in Le Thi Hang, the leading lady in Vietnam of the long ultras. There’s more strong women, though. Risa Kamiya from Japan and Yvette Chong Mi Chin from Sarawak in Malaysia both can aim for a podium finish. In recent months, Yvette’s running pace has clearly increased and if she can manage her energy tank over the full 180km she should not be underestimated. The same applies for Philippines’ Shekinah Velasquez. Her first long ultra of this kind , but she comes in with proven credentials obtained in races where the going gets tough.

ATM will be broadcasting and updating live from Prenn Trail Summit in Dalat starting on Friday morning at 8:30am local time. Stay tuned on our facebook , youtube and instagram pages.

Jeff Campbell, reigning ATM Champion

Chris Timms, fifth in the 2024 Asia Trail Master Championship

Loi Luong , 4th in the 2024 Asia Trail Master Championship

Tomohiro Mizukoshi could be aiming for another ATM podium this weekend on the 55km

Angelie Cabalo and Miguelito Carranza delivered some fine performances in the tough VJ 100 Candidate Race in Baguio, Luzon, Philippines, last weekend. Cabalo won the 100k race and Carranza the 50k in Camp John Hay on a 10km loop course that contained about everything one can imagine in a trail running race, including 700 metres of elevation gain per loop. That made especially the 100k race a pure physical and mental challenge. The men’s 100km saw Thailand-based Russian Dmitry Rusin on the top step of the podium, after overtaking Jon Lacanlale on lap 3. In third place was Tribu Pakaras ace Florence Alave, who finished his last ultra of a very busy year.

Organised by Intrepid Spirit, VJ 100 was held in ideal running conditions, sunny but not really hot. The orga team paid great attention to detail and we are looking forward to some of their other trail events in 2025.