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.

Mantra: Khariri and Sutanda surprise winners on the 116k