Air Astana and Action Asia magazine provide Hong Kong runners with an exquisite opportunity to  travel to Kazakhstan and take part in the Tengri Ultra Trail, race 6 on the 2015 Asia Trail Master series' calendar. The new race, which takes place in Tamsgaly Tas - approximately 100km from Almaty in the Ili River valley - offers 50km and 25km options in fantastic surroundings.

As the local event organisers put it: "Tengri Ultra Trail is a race for people who love freedom and vast expanses of land, running up hills all along green fields, dodging through rocky canyons, and breathing pure prairie air."

Four lucky winners will fly round-trip to Kazakhstan from Hong Kong for the adventure of a lifetime. Winners will receive: 

1. Round-trip airfares from Hong Kong to Almaty sponsored by Air Astana
2. Free admission to 2015 Tengri Ultra Trail (50km / 25km at your own choice)
3. Ground transportation from Almaty City Centre to race venue at Tamgaly Tas and back (approx. 100km)
4. Camping at Tamgaly Tas on the night before the race 
5. Race tags, safety, beverages and snack, commemorative medal for Ultra and pennant for other categories, commemorative souvenir
6. Running shirt sponsored by Asia Trail Master Series

In order to win you need to answer 4 simple questions and then by briefly telling us 'what adventure in Asia' means to you. Take part in the context, which closes on 30 April, via this link on the Action Asia website. 

Not included in the package is hotel accommodation in Almaty, and food. 

Of course, even if you don't win the contest, or you are not based in Hong Kong, you can also still just register here for the race in Tamsgaly Tas until 1 May as well. Keep potential visa requirements in mind, subject to your nationality. There's several airlines flying to Almaty, and hotels can be booked via websites such as booking.com and expedia. There will be a bus leaving the city on Saturday afternoon to bring runners to the race venue along the Ili River. It is recommended to bring your own camping gear for the night. Busses return to the city after the race on Sunday late afternoon. 

We are happy to announce our latest partner of the 2015 Asia Trail Master series: Simple Hydration provides trail runners and runners in general some very practical drinking solutions in the form of nicely designed and very practical bottles. 

Designed for runners and anyone on the go is the slogan of Simple Hydration. And indeed, the bottles slide smoothly into your wasteband, pocket or race belt. And in fact, they fit perfectly into your hands as well. As they are so light, you hardly notice the bottle when you run. 

On the Simple Hydration website the benefits of the bottle are nicely explained in the homepage image. 

The Simple Hydration Water Bottle is a crowd-funded product. Initial funding came from other runners and individuals through Kickstarter, a platform that connects inventors with people who believe in their idea. Now it is there and also available in Asia. Runners can order one bottle here, or better, a set of 2 bottles at USD 20,- (HKD 155) per bottle. A set goes out at USD 38,-. (HKD 295). 

We will soon have the bottles available on the upcoming Asia Trail Master website's online shop. In the mean time, you can just order them by email at  kris@kuaisports.com or info@asiatrailmaster.com . They will be shipped as of 4 May. 

The Simple Hydration bottles will also be available for purchase at selected events on the Asia Trail Master series' circuit in 2015. 

Check the Simple Hydration flyer .

Read the press release on the Simple Hydration website 

Last weekend race 4 in the 2015 Asia Trail Master series took place in Dalian, Liaoning, China. Considered as a classic on the still young mainland China trail race calendar, more than one thousand runners took part in the event, held in near-perfect weather conditions. The men's 100 race was won by Beijing's experienced trail runner Wang Zichen, who finished in 12h34. The half distance, 50km (which actually turned out to be 52km) saw Yan Longfei take his second victory in one week after the Tsaigu Tangsi Plus triumph last week. Yan Longfei is also set to take the lead in the new Asia Trail Master ranking. Dong Li preceeded Olya Korzh in the women's 50km. 

Unfortunately, some time-keeping issues have delayed the release of the official result lists. As soon as we receive the information, the rankings will be updated accordingly. 

The 2015 (Inaugural) Tsaigu Tangsi Plus 57km Trail Race was held on 11th, Apr, 2015 at Mountain Kuocang Shan in Linhai, Zhejiang Province, China. It is the first in the four “Asia Trail Master” races in Mainland China and one of the 22 ATM races in the whole Asia along with UTHK (Hongkong), TMBT 100km(Malaysia), Vietnam Mountain Marathon(Vietnam) and so on.

By Xiaozhao Zhao

Click for Chinese language report

 Mountain Kuocang Shan is famous for its beautiful natural scenery and steepness, its highest peak-the Mishailang is also the highest point of southeast of Zhejiang and regarded as the first place in China under the sunlight in 21st century.

 Mountain Kuocang Shan is well-known for its tea plants and rich in wild bamboos. The rugged stones and clear creeks are also common in this area, plus almost 100% of blue sky which is rare in other area of the Eastern China under industrialization and urbanization.

Approximately 274 runners from all-over China, Belgium, Greece and Brazil took part in the race. 163 among them (144 males and 19 females) were in the 57km category and the rest (67 males and 44 females) in the 28km category. The total elevation gains are 3850m and 1850m respectively.

The race started at 6 AM at the foot of the stronghold built in Qing Dynasty in downtown but the route quickly switches into trails leading to the Mountain Kuocang Shan covered by dense bamboos, trees and bushes. All the runners were happy to indulge themselves into the amazing wild with a little adventure and exploration on their own feet.

The 2015 Vibram HK100 winner and current course-record holder Longfei YAN led the race all the way to the finish, in CP2, he created a gap with the second place for about 20 minutes, while at the finish, 90 minutes faster than the runner-up, Zhangrong XIE from Winzhou. Zipeng FENG was the 3rd male.

Top 3 males:

1 Lonfei YAN-6hrs 43mins

2 Zhangrong XIE-8hrs 27min

3 Zipeng FENG-8hrs 52min

Longfei was a professional marathoner from Heibei province with personal best marathon time of 2 hrs 15mins. In 2014, he switched from road marathon to trail ultras and won the Dalian Ultra 100km in his debut and has begun his career as one of the best ultra-trail runner in Mainland China. ”I am happy today, beautiful natural view, good organizing and hospitable locals make a race and my effort worth it well. So I finish as fast as I could and use the Tsaigu Tangsi as training to a 100km race in Australia in summer. I may come to run again next year. Compared with road marathon, I love trail running more.”

Belgian Nooureddine Sahibi is a manager in a electronic company based in Shanghai. He is also addict to ultra-trail running and finished UTMB and UTMF in 2014. He also ran several ultra-trail race in China, including Vibram HK100 (13hrs 13mins, 2013), HZ100 (19hrs 24mins in 2014) and Lantau 100 (17hrs in 2013). He finished as the 5th male and 5th overall and played and chattered with the locals, volunteers and children at the finish. “I like running in China, you see, lots of friendly people out there, runners, volunteers, locals, I like hanging out with them before and after races. This time, I enjoyed a tough but lovely race again! For a totally new race, I cannot image so excellent organization.”

 In women’s field, although the most ferocious Chinese runners like Junyan LIU, Qian ZHANG and Li DONG were absent, the race is still full of uncertainty. Junfang TAO was followed by Ai CHENG until halfway, then CHENG successfully made up the gap and caught up with TAO gradually. Finally, CHENG reached the finish 30mins earlier than TAO and won the race. TAO got the second place. Danyang LI finished the 3rd. CHENG completed 2015 Vibram HK100 with in 16hr and she is considered as one of the competitive female ultra-runner in Mainland China.

Top 3 females

1 Ai CHENG-10hrs 28mins (14th overall)

2 Junfang TAO-11hrs 12mins

3 Danyang LI-11hrs 45min

 Finally, 114 runners (105 males and 9 females) finished 57km in its 15 hours limitation, while 92 runners (57 males and 35 females) finished 28km during its maximum time of 7 hours.

 The Race director, Yu CAI thought that the race is a success, “We have so many kind and warm-hearted volunteers from Linhai Mountaineering Association, a grass-root organization consisting of local hikers and runners. They are familiar with the runners’ need during the race. I also appreciate the sponsors who support our race. I think that joining ATM series is an effective way to promote our race in Asia area and even the international trail running community. The improvement might be asking the locals to keep eyes on their dogs in order to keep the runners safe. At the very beginning, I almost designed a 78km loop course, but cancelled the last 20 km because it is all boring road running and might be in the traffic.” CAI is an experienced trail runner with UTMB and UTMF finishing in recent years.

 Volunteers seriously devoted themselves to their work and also were happy in helping runners. In CP2, a father and his child worked as volunteers to distribute the food and timing. The father said, this is a good chance to let his boy know the meaning of helping and giving, as well as respecting the nature. Many volunteers used their own cars or SUVs to serving the race. 2 of the 6 checkpoints offered hot meal with local flavor. Not far from the finish, several volunteers use the kitchen of a household to cook delicious porridge and fried bamboo shoots for runners reaching the finish.

Where does the name Tsaigu Tangsi Plus come from?

*Origin of the name “Tsaigu Tangsi” -- it is from a local slang in Linhai, it means “beat somebody black and blue with a wood stick”. CAI and his fellow volunteers use it to describe the challenge and difficulty of the race as a humorous joke.

Picture material of Tsaigu Tangsi Plus is available on our instagram account, and later this week a selection of high quality photos will be added to our pinterest page. 

Tsaigu Tangsi Plus, race 3 in the 2015 Asia Trail Master series, took place last weekend and the ranking has been updated following the release of the official results. It was a short race, measured at 57km officially, but winners Yan Longfei and Cheng Ai enter the top 10 of the rankings nonetheless. 

Check the full rankings here. 

The first 58km long Tsaigu Tangsi Plus trail race in Linhai, Taizou, China saw optimal conditions for a tough but very picturesque mountain run. When Yan Longfei, recent winner in record time of the Vibram 100 Hong Kong, turned up at the 6 a.m. starting line, the others knew victory would be hard to get. Indeed, Yan Longfei did not leave anything to chance and was basically ahead as soon as the trail went up. A true mountain goat, he reached the finish almost one-a-half hours ahead of the second runner, Xie Zhangrong. Feng Zipeng completed the podium in third. 

The women's race was won by Cheng Ai, well ahead of Tao Junfang and Li Danyang. 

The event, organised by Lerun Sports received very positive approval ratings by the competitors and is bound to grow. 

A more detailed event report will be published here tomorrow.

The Asia Trail Master series is heating up over the next weeks as spring time hits most parts of Asia. Within the next month runners will score points in races in China, Indonesia and Kazakhstan, and Bhutan a bit later in May. 

Tsaigu Tangsi Plus in Linhai, Zhejiang, has the honour of kicking off the series in mainland China, a country that will host at least four points-scoring races this season, giving Chinese trail runners plenty of chances to score points for the Asia Trail Master championship. The event in Central China has upped its long distance to 57km this year, and offers a course for mountain goats: at least 3500 elevation gain awaits the participants. Start of the race this Saturday morning is the tourist town of Linhai in Taizhou, approximately 150km south of coastal city Ningbo. After a short warm-up the trail will begin to go up for approx. 10km to an altitude of 900m above sea level. It is a rollercoaster from then onwards, but one that keeps rising gradually until about 1300m, before plunging into a spectacular descent into the finish line.  For sure, first up the mountain is no guarantee to be first down the mountain as well. The event is organised by Lerun Sports and directed by Kein Yu, himself an experienced trail runner. 

The winners of the men's and women's 57km A-race will return home with 457 points in the bags. The event also has a B-race over 28km, which will likewise award finishers with points for the Asia Trail Master ranking. 

We will be reporting live from the scene on Saturday via social media with text and images. An overview of the various channels will be found on the Tsaigu Tangsi Plus live page on this website. Livetracking of the runners is not available on this occasion, however.  In the course of next week, we will also publish a collection of high quality photos taken during the event. 

To all the participants in Tsaigu Tangsi Plus: GOOD LUCK and ENJOY! 

A unique trail race starting in Chiang Mai and reaching the top of Chiang Dao. Asia has another landmark Ultra Trail on the race calendar, and indeed also on the Asia Trail Master series calendar. The new event in the popular tourist region of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand will be organised from 4 to 6 December and features  a "single day" 150km race as main event, but those who prefer to take it  just a bit easier can also opt for the three-day stage race over the same total distance. As all main ultras, UTCM will be semi-self-sufficient with a few stops in mountain villages.

Ultra Thai Chiang Mai is organised by experienced French runner Sebastien Bertrand, and is part of a bigger project called Thailand Mountain Trail (TMT), which investigates and marks mountain trails in Northern Thailand. Its aim is to revive the old paths previously used by hill tribes that are now disappearing. Working together with local tribes, respecting nature and areas, and promoting sport and outdoor activities are TMT’s core objectives.

The organiser is leaving nothing to chance and last November invited 20 runners from Europe and Asia for a test run of the UTCM course. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, so a new classic end-of-the-year ultra is in the making. For UTCM to see the light took a year’s research among the hill tribes, hundreds of kilometres covered on foot, walking or running, and a massive amount of work clearing and marking the paths. The course is therefore predominantly as natural as can be, with ethnic hilltribe paths leading up the highest peak in the country at over 2000m altitude.

Note that the prefix "ultra" is well-deserved, as there's 8800 metres of elevation gain along the 150km route, which also crosses five mountain peaks. The single day runners are required to complete the distance within 45 hours. 

The official registration for the event opens on 15 April via the event website. In the context of the Asia Trail Master series, this is a big event to boost your points tally at the end of the year. 

You can also stay up to date with key event facts via our cover page. 

The first ever edition of the Asia Trail Master series has begun in style with two equally brand new races, Ultra Trail Hong Kong and the Wild Elephant Trail, the first two of already 20 confirmed events on the race calendar. We are indeed very grateful to have received the support and encouragement of plenty an organiser and sponsor, and we are looking forward to a fruitful cooperation in a fantastic debut year! 

In order to focus on the tasks at hand and to ensure quality service to all our stakeholders, the operational and strategy teams behind the ATMs have decided to impose a deadline for further applications for the 2015 ATMs race calendar. Event organisers keen on joining this year's Asia Trail Master series are kindly requested to approach us and submit a written application to kris@kuaisports.com by 31 March 2015. As of 1 April, we will only accept applications with a view to next year's 2016 race calendar. 

As a reminder, please find below the key eligibility conditions for event organisers to join our Asia Trail Master series: 

• Race participation open to everybody men & women of any nationality above the age of 18
• The main race course distance equals or exceeds the standard marathon distance of 42, 195km
• The race course must be at least 75% offroad.
• Appropriate registration and electronic time-keeping system (ideally ATMs customised system)
• Appropriate event safety and insurance policy standard
• Willingness to assist in promotion of the Asia Trail Master series and of other ATMs events on the year's calendar

In addition, it should be noted that we allow only a maximum of five races per country on a given year's race calendar. For 2015, this implies that there's only one more spot left for China and for Indonesia, as both countries already host four races. By the same token, if you wish to ensure you are one of five  in 2016, please do not hesitate and contact us sooner rather than later to open the discussion. 

We are also happy to hear from any brands interested in marketing and promoting their product(s) via the Asia Trail Master series. Any kind of packages can be set up, tailor-made to a brand's specific needs.

Finally, the inaugural Asia Trail Master series and the 2015 'championship' are set to conclude mid-December with another brand new single day trail race in a new country. This one will be special, so stay tuned for more news coming up in early April! Following the last race of the year, the 2015 men's and women's Asia Trail Master champions, or short the 2015 Asia Trail Masters, will subsequently be crowned and celebrated. 

We wish everyone a lot of fun and successful challenges on the beautiful trails of Asia! 

As the Wild Elephant Trail concluded last weekend in Sri Lanka with two French winners, Stephan Vernay and Véronique Messina, the Asia Trail Master ranking has now been updated with points earned by participants in the aforementioned stage race. Obviously, Vernay and Messina join the UTHK winners at the top of the ranking. The Hong Kong winners remain in position 1, however, as they scored their 575 points in a one-day race, which is slightly higher evaluated than a stage race (see points guidelines). 

Asia Trail Master - ranking 15 March 2015

The bulk of points-scoring races in this inaugural edition of the Asia Trail Master series takes place in the second half of the year, but a great quartet of events is coming up as of April:

• Tsaigu Tangsi Plus, China
• Dalian 100 Endurance Trail, China
• Gede Pangrango Marathon, Indonesia
• Tengri Ultra Trail, Kazakhstan

You can still sign up for Tsaigu Tangsi Plus and for Tengri Ultra Trail via our website. Also for Gede Pangrango, but note that the event is nearly fully booked. Dalian 100 is already sold out for a while. 

We are happy to announce our latest entry onto this year's Asia Trail Master calendar: the Tengri Ultra Trail near Almaty in Kazakhstan. The 50km and 25km long races take place in a truly magnificent setting called Tamgaly Tas in a valley of the river Ili. As the experienced local organisers write on their website: Tengri Ultra Trail is a race for people who love freedom and vast expanses of land, run up hills all along green fields, dodge through rocky canyons, and breathe pure prairie air.

The event takes place on 10 May, but participants are required to check in at the remote starting venue, approx 100km from Almaty City, already on Saturday the 9th from 15:00 onwards. Out there in Tamgaly Tas runners are sleeping in tents for the night, increasing the outdoor adventure appeal of the event. 

Leisure sports is developing in Kazakhstan, also in the context of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games bid by Almaty City (for which Beijing is the only competitor left). Kazakhstan remains relatively unknown but the large country has plenty to offer for the outdoor enthusiast. The Tengri Ultra Trail race is open to everybody, but participants need to be aware of the cut-off times. Participants who run the 50km course should reach the finish within 10 hours, whereas those doing 25km have 6 hours of time to complete the course. Finishers on both race distances will score points for the Asia Trail Master ranking. 

You can sign up easily for the Tengri Ultra Trail via our website. Your place is confirmed as soon as we receive payment of the race fee (USD 50 or USD 35). Busses can be arranged between Almaty and the race venue. Please indicate in the online form if you require a bus seat. We recommend you to bring your own camping gear for the Saturday night, although tents and sleeping bags can be requested on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

Please note that most nationalities require a visa to enter Kazakhstan. However, some countries' citizens do not (e.g. Hong Kong, Russia, South Korea,...). In addition, there is an on-going 'no visa' pilot programme that includes citizens of Malaysia, Japan, plenty of western EU countries and the USA. To find a quick overview of these countries, please check wikipedia. Obviously, please doublecheck your visa requirements for Kazakhstan in your country of residence. 

Almaty is the international air gateway to the Tengri Ultra Trail and worth of a few days of extra stay. 

Our staff at Kuai Sports Promotions is happy to answer any questions on this new event on the Asia Trail Master circuit. 

We are happy to announce the latest entry on the race calendar of the inaugural Asia Trail Master series. On 11 April, trail runners are expected in Central China's Zhejiang Province for the Tsaigu Tangsi Plus, a hilly race over 58km (ITRA-certified) in a popular domestic tourism area with start in Linhai.

Race Organiser Yu Cai is an experienced trail runner himself and is keen to develop his race further, and present the Taizhou region - in which Linhai is located - to the international running community via the Asia Trail Master series. 

Tsaigu Tangsi Plus has an interesting course profile with start near sea level and a highest mountain peak of approx. 1350 metres before descending all the way down to the finish line. For sure, this will foster some tactical gameplay among the fastest runners in the field, some of which may be better going up than going down and vice versa. In total, the course has 3850 metres of elevation gain. Less ambitious runners can also opt for the shorter 28km B-race distance.

Together with Dalian (18 April) and Dali (31 October), Tsaigu Tangsi is the third mainland China race on the calendar. It boosts the chances of Chinese top runners to get a high score in the ATMs ranking at the end of the year, for which each runner's best three race results count. 

Linhai is a city roughly 2 hours away from main international gateway Ningbo, and well-connected with the latter via high-speed train and busses. It is also possible to fly into Hangzhou, which is just a bit farther away. Please check our event cover page with some logistical details, and register conveniently for the race via the Asia Trail Master series online form.