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.

We are happy to announce that BTR Ultra in Bali is making a comeback to the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar on 10/11 May 2025. Organised by the Bali Trail Running community, the event offers breathtaking 100km and 60km points races with the longest race category including the ascent of Bali’s greatest mountain Gunung Agung. Start and finish is in Kintamani by the Batur lake.

Back in 2022, just after covid, BTR was one of the shortest races in our ATM history with a 30km that produced great sparks with Mohamed Affindi and Vanja Cnops taking top honours - short distance specialists as they have always been. You can rewatch the race summary below or on our youtube page. Since then, the event has continued to grow and develop longer trail courses. The advertised 100km is special as it includes the three big Bali mountains with Agung, Batur and Abang. Total elevation gain is quite serious, approx 7250 hm, and runners should also take the heat and humidity into account. Definitely, if one wants to finish the 100k, one should come focused and prepared. The cut-off time of 34 hours, for 106km by the way, is on the tight side. Please also note that the start is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 4 pm. The idea is that the majority of participants can enjoy sunrise on Agung.

The 60km also has no fewer than 3800 metres of elevation gain, but skips Agung. Runners need to conquer both Batur and Abang, and the latter should not be underestimated. Both for the 60k as the 100k races it is worth noting that the final 15km are quite runable so you better leave something in the tank. Apart from the volcano and mountain climbs, runners can also look forward to passages through the black lava field, pine forest and Trunyan Hill.

Kintamani and the Batur lake are located towards the north of Bali. International runners can make their way up from the Canggu, Seminyak and Nusa Dua areas via Grab or motorbike. It may be worthwhile to consider staying in popular tourist place Ubud before and after the race, to cut traveling time to the race venue.

Registration is open now. It is advised to sign up quickly to ensure you score a bib. Go to the website to find all details.

First ever ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono won the long ultra at BTR last year

The Batur lava field is always a highlight

There’s more than just vulcanoes

Koken Ogasawara and Xiang Fuzhao won another spectacular edition of Izu Trail Journey in Japan on Sunday, a classic points race of 70km in our Asia Trail Master Championship series. For both global elites it was their first win in an ATM-promoted race, but obviously not their first overall. Both runners did have to work for their victories. Izu Trail always brings together many competitive athletes, and not being 100% fit means you drop a few places in the race result. Hisashi Kitamura, not yet fully recovered from his 2:29 road marathon PB two weeks ago, this year was only able to finish 12th - in itself still a very decent result in Izu, though.

Hokkaido’s Koken Ogasawara was on call from the beginning of the race, which as usual started by the sea in Matsuzaki just before sunrise. The temperature was not that cold as such this time, but the strong gale wind had a serious chill factor, which visibly bothered several competitors already before the start - such as Kitamura. Already second in Izu in 2022 and keen to win, Ogasawara. joined three other quick starters Hiroki Kai, Tatsuya Itagaki and Kento Tamura. This quartet arrived at the first checkpoint with a small advantage over the other two dozen (!) victory contenders. While Itagaki stumbled and hit his head, Hiroki Kai and Koken Ogasawara pressed ahead and opened up a gap running towards the famous Nishina Pass, arguably the scenic highlight of the race at km 40, with astonishing views of the bay and Mount Fuji. Kai was first on top, but Ogasawara was close and actually left the aid station at km 42 in first place. Two-time Izu race winner Hirokazu Nishimura was third four minutes behind. The route goes up and down the hills along the bay with the wind blowing strongly. At CP3, km 52, Ogasawara only had a good 30 seconds advantage left over the chasing Nishimura. The young and popular Hiroki Kai had lost contact and was breathing heavily, yet remained vigilant in third place. It looked like Nishimura was going to take his record-breaking third victory in Izu, and Ogasawara would have to settle again for second. However, the young runner who burst onto the trail scene after covid , proved his resilience while under pressure and held off Nishimura! Almost sprinting into the finish at Shunzeji Spa Town, he won with a good minute bonus on Nishimura in 6h00’56”. It was a fantastic dual and both gave each other a lot of respect after the finish. They both were over fifteen minutes faster than Nishimura’s winning time last year. Hiroki Kai was equally impressive in holding onto third place, just six minutes begind Ogasawara. Hajime Kasagi and Yuya Kawasaki - winner in 2020 and running with a rib injury - rounded up the top five. First non-Japanese finisher was Australia’s Billy Curtis. The young and rising talent from Queensland made a successful debut on the ultra distance. Previously he had been focusing exclusively on 50k and shorter distances. Curtis scored tenth - ahead of Kitamura. Yuta Matsuyama, recent winner of Luang Prabang Trail in Laos, finished just outside the top 20, which was according to previous results in Izu. His best was 13th a few years ago.

For a long time in the women’s race, 2022 winner Honoka Akayima looked like she was going to pull off an upset victory against China’s Xiang Fuzhao - one of the best performing female athletes in the world this year, even beating Hau Ha in a race in Korea six weeks ago. Xiang Fuzhao only passed the first checkpoints in fourth place and was 12 minutes behind Akayima after the Nishina Pass. Local event staff indicated that she was a very late addition to the start list, upon her own wish to still come and run while accompanying her friends who had already signed up for the race. In the end, a competitor will always remain a competitor and when she closed the gap to just four minutes by checkpoint 3 at km 52, everyone knew she was trying to catch Akayima. And she did. Xiang Fuzhao won in 7h25 and still looked comfortable. Akayima concluded in second, and a delighted Natsuki Tomii ran to third place.

The second ATM Candidate Race organised by the AWRA Davao Team took place last Sunday in New Corella. The New Corella Trail Ultra (NCTU) had three distance categories on the programme, of which the 50km was the main event. Once again, we discovered a new emerging talent from Bukidnon , the landlocked province in northern Mindanao: Vincent Philip Sinanggote . The 24-year-old had the better of another promising talent in Eldy Bulod, whom we have already known since last season. In a tough race , made even more technical and complicated by the heavy rainfall hours before the race start, Sinanggote finished in a time of 7h11 , which was almost half an hour quicker than Bulod. In fact, Bulod had to hurry up in the end as Angelo Navarro concludes his race just 30 seconds after him.

Actually, Romar John Galingan came first into the finish arena, but he got disqualified for missing a checkpoint earlier in the race. Jong Mahinay, a pre-race favourite, DNFd at around the km 30 mark.

The women’s 50k Candidate Race was won by Guia Heistaire Angela, another talented runner on the rise in the Philippines. She finished quite a way ahead of Janet Arnego and Carmhelle Pilos, who completed the podium.

The end of the year in the Asia Trail Master series means it’s time for Izu Trail Journey, one of the most prestigious trail racing competitions in Japan and also one of the most beautiful. This Sunday, 1800 people will take the start in the seaside town of Matsuzaki and run 70km across the Izu peninsula towards spa town Shuzenji, in the vicinity of bigger city Mishima - the gateway to Yokohama and Tokyo. This year’s edition is again a special one for Japanese ‘elite runners’ as Izu is marked as a qualifier for the national team that will be sent to the world championships of trail running in Spain next year. It is of course also one of currently three points races in Japan for the annual Asia Trail Master Championship ranking as well, which is our qualifying tool for the ATM Championship Final in 2025. Brief, the trails will be on fire this Sunday as there is a lot of great competitive talent again , led by last year’s winner Hirokazu Nishimura and China’s top talent and ‘guest star’ Xiang Fuzhao.

With such a densely competitive scene in Japan, it is never easy to win or even podium in Izu. Nishimura may have won the race already twice before, but if he is just a few percentages off pace compared to last year he may struggle to even make top five. Saturo Geya, Yuya Kawasaki, Koken Ogasawara, Onitisuka Tomonori, Hiroki Takashima, Katsuya Ishii are just another handful of runners who may just as well win this weekend. And what about our vice-ATM Champion Hisashi KItamura, who had a career best sixth place in Izu last year and seems to be running faster and smarter than ever before. After his great come back at the end of Borneo TMBT, finishing just a couple of minutes behind winner Jeff Campbell, Kitamura stayed in Japan and managed to improve his PB on the road marathon to 2:29. By being back in Tokyo, it has perhaps become a little more quiet about the Karate Kit on these ATM pages, but we will not be surprised if on Sunday he scores a top five, or even higher. Yuta Matsuyama, recently winner of Luang Prabang Trail in Laos, and an ATM Finalist the past two seasons is also on the start list. He has been in the top 20 already here at Izu. Let’s also keep an eye on Australia’s Billy Curtis, Hong Kong runners such as Yu Hin Cho and Yeung Ka Lun, and SIngaporean Chester Cheong.

In the women’s race, Xiang Fuzhao is the logical top favourite. The Chinese runner can rightfully claim to be among the world’s best trail runners. It will be interesting to see how fast she runs Izu in comparison with last year’s winner Eszter Csillag and 2019 winner Veronika Vadovicova. Of course, no year is exactly the same and apart from the weather things would also be very different if everyone was competing in the same race. Besides, there is another strong Chinese runner on the start list, too: Wen Fangyuan. Let’s see if any of the local women can make a fist against these two.

ATM will be broadcasting live from Izu Trail Journey from the start, with regular livestreams and video updates throughout the day on our facebook and youtube channels first and foremost. Remember Japan is at least one hour ahead of most other Asian countries, the race starts at 6 am local Japanese time.

All podium placers last year, including Eszster Csillag and Hirokazu Nishimura

Still at the beginning of Season 10 in the Asia Trail Master series, there’s three runners who have completed the fourth and last level of the Grandmaster Quest. Japanese runners Hisashi Kitamura and Masafumi Yamamoto were joined by the first female 4-Star Grandmaster Rhea Batac from Manila in the Philippines in July 2024.

There’s 9 runners wearing the 3-star badge at the moment, with Tomohiro Mizukoshi (JPN) and Ruth Theresia (INA) both on the verge of scoring their final 4th star.

The full list of ATM Grandmasters has been updated following the Lam Dong Trail in Vietnam on 9 November 2024. SC 70 and Mt Apo Sky Race will be processed in the coming week. The Grandmaster list will now be updated every month. As previously mentioned, due to the fact that event organisers all use different time-keeping and results producers it is often difficult to keep track of each runner’s achievements. Please contact us on info@asiatrailmaster.com or via our facebook page messenger if your GM finisher result(s) have not been incorporated already. Thank you.

The Grandmaster Hall of Fame is also being updated , as we are changing systems. Furthermore, as of January 2025 there will be an extra token of achievement coming! Stay tuned..

Grandmaster Quest

Rhea Batac is the first female 4-star Grandmaster. She joined Japanese runners Hisashi KItamura and Masafumi Yamamoto as the only trail runners to have reached 20 ultra finishes.

Ever since the then-19-year-old Godwin Mirar finished fourth in The Punisher 80km, hot on the heels of Hisashi Kitamura, Arnie Macaneras and John Ellis, a great future in trail running was promised to him. The smart youngster from Bukidnon has kept his head cool in the past years and focused primarily on developing his pure running ability first, rather than aiming for as many kilometres and as much elevation gain as possible. Flashes of his great talent came out again after covid, for example when he battled with John Ray Onifa and Kristian Joergensen at VMM 2023’s 50km race., and again with Onifa earlier this year on a 30k short distance in Cebu. His youth and relative inexperience as a high-level competitor still costs him sometimes, but Godwin Mirar made another big step forward in his development last weekend at the 7th Mount Apo Sky Race. He came and conquered his first ever 100km race (what a choice for a 100k debut as well!) in 15h21 , a solid 40 minutes ahead of Jevie Cagatin , ATM Finalist at Borneo TMBT last September and already second on Mt Apo last year (behind Paraiso). Cagatin is also the last winner of the Mount Kalatungan Trail Ultra in March and the highest Filipino points scorer in ATM Season 9. Quite a performance by Mirar. Of course, this season’s edition was not a points race for the ATM Championship ranking, but still.

Rhod Axel Butac came third in the race and completed the podium in 19h10.

Fastest female runner was Rizalyn Lauron in 23h27, an hour and a half ahead of Jenny Grace Padillo. Cheryl Bihag completed the podium in third.

This year's Mt Apo Sky Race did not offer any points for the championship ranking, but gave all finishers a point for their Grandmaster Quest. That was the goal for Manila's Cheryl Bihag as well, and by finishing third in the race she even managed to underline her performance of becoming a 3-star Grandmaster! Cheryl has been active on the ATM circuit for many years and was one of the first female Grandmasters ever. Last weekend, she added a third star to her badge!

This weekend, Grandmaster point seekers again have an opportunity in Santa Cruz, Davao, with the 7th edition of the legendary Mount Apo Sky Race - our ATM Championship Final host in 2022. This is probably the race that really started things off for international trail running in Davao and it remains an icon. Running from the beach to the summit of the highest mountain of the Philippines at nearly 3000m above sea level and back still speaks to the imagination of many people, both runners and non-runners.

This season, the Mount Apo Sky Race is focused on the Grandmaster Quest and not the ATM Championship ranking. Host venue is still the Playa de Obuza Beach Resort in Santa Cruz and event organiser is still Vertical To Sky led by Doi Calbes, who also has another Davao classic in his trail portfolio: The Punisher, which will take place again mid-August 2025 as the last Filipino points race of the ATM Championship season before the big Final.

How sexy the Mount Apo Sky Race may look and sound, this remains a tough nut to crack, even for experienced trail runners. The 100km has approx 5000 metres of elevation gain , mostly but not exclusively thanks to the ascent of Mount Apo. On Apo, the final 8km to the summit are adventurous and runners need to make their way up and then down the ‘boulder face’ , also relying a bit on orientation skills to choose the right path up the huge boulders. It’s very technical and over the years participants either love the boulder face or hate it. It’s part of the allure of the race, and the winners certainly cherish this trophy. Runners such as Jevie Cagatin, Rexell Aguirre and - interestingly - Godwin Mirar will all be keen to add their name to the winners’ list this weekend.

From an ATM perspective, however, the main focus this edition is to finish the 100km and score a GM point. And, there is a runner from Manila who may score her 3rd Grandmaster star on Mount Apo. Cheryl Bihag has only just returned to the scene after a bit of a break with a solid finish in the SC 70 race last week. That was her 14th GM point in her ATM trail running journey that started back in 2016! What a great way it would be to collect her 3rd Grandmaster star on the highest mountain of her country. Malaysia’s recently crowned 2-star Grandmaster Munintaran Sundram is also continuing his Quest for a third star.

Live updates on the Mount Apo Sky Race can be found on our facebook page this weekend.

Last year’s winners : Isaiah Paraiso and Julieann Morales

The first Filipino event on our Season 10 Championship calendar is Mount Kalatungan Trail Ultra in Bukidnon, Mindanao, with race start in Pangantucan on Sunday, 2 March 2025. A successful points race already in 2024, runners will again have the opportunity to conquer the country’s fifth highest peak at an altitude of 2860m above sea level. An important distinction should be mentioned between the 85km and the 55km race categories. It’s the 55km that offers points for the ATM Championship ranking. The 85km is for those seeking to score a point on their Grandmaster Quest. .

The event is organised by the Ultra Runners Republic, including the Grandmaster brothers Rene and Ramie Amigleo. Bukidnon is the region roughly between Davao and Cagayan de Oro, from where lots of new trail running talent has emerged in the past few years. The Amigleo brothers have done a lot for the sport there.

Mount Kalatungan is a stratovolcano, albeit with no historical eruptions, and a serious altitude of 2860m making it just a bit smaller than Mount Apo near Davao. Both the 55km and 85km will go to the summit. The mountain features in the first half of the race, which means runners need to save energy for afterwards.

Host venue is Pangantucan and its municipal gymnasium. Runners from outside Mindandao should best look at Cagayan de Oro as the main gateway to the event, well-connected with Cebu and Manila. To go Bukidnon from Davao is also feasible, it just takes a bit longer.

Last March, Jevie Cagatin scored his first ever ATM race win at Kalantungan with the approval of Yoyong Sacayle. Both came into the finish together, but Sacayle argued it was Cagatin who deserved to be called race winner. Kik Suello completed the podium. All three laid a foundation there to qualify for Team Pilipinas in the ATM Championship Final later in September at Borneo TMBT. The women’s race saw Julieann Morales take victory ahead of local Mary Joy Sumanda and Ann Jilian Pulanco. Morales in those months seemed unbeatable on mountain trails in her home country.

Registration is open via Racetech and it is advised to follow the event’s facebook page for latest updates and key details. Questions on logistics and registration payment can also be addressed to the orga team of Ultra Runners Republic.

The 55km is the race for ATM Championship points

The 85km is the race for those seeking a Grandmaster point

Last year’s female top 3 podium with Julieann Morales as winner, flanked by Mary Joy Sumanda and Ann Jilian Pulanco

Last year’s men’s top 3 podium with Jevie Cagatin as winner ahead of Yoyong Sacayle and Kik Suello

We are very happy to announce My Home Trail as a new points race event for the Asia Trail Master Championship rankings. Taking place in Mae Chaem near Chiang Mai in Thailand on Sunday, 15 June 2025, runners can look forward to an exciting 50km labelled as “The Unknown 50”. The race has an estimated elevation gain of 2635 hm and has two distinct peaks, of which the second one - Doi Liam - is the race’s highlight at 1620m above sea level.

It is the second edition of the event organised by Nongkwaitong and co-organised by Thailand’s adventure racing and trail running star Jay Jantaraboon as a lead consultant. Mae Chaem is Jay’s hometown, hence “My Home Trail”. The event aims to promote outdoor sports and foster a sense of community among trail running enthusiasts.

Flag-off is scheduled for 5 am on Sunday, 15 June. After a short and flattish warm-up, the first climb already awaits participants with the peak of Mon Mark coming at km 7. Following the short descent there’s quite some up and down before reaching CP 3 at Watprabattapa, foot of Doi Liam. The ascent and descent of Doi Liam will be the most difficult section of the 50k race. The climb begins at km 22 and an altitude of 516m. This implies runners wil govertical for well over 1000m before reaching the summit. Doi Liam means “sharp point” in the local Lanna language, which perfectly described its steep features. Competitive runners will need to save some energy, because afterwards the final 8km of the race to the finish are quite bumpy. The cut-off time at the finish is 18:30, which means runners have a total of 13h30 to complete the course.

The first edition winner of My Home Trail 50K was actually a woman: Kimino Miyazaki, a top elite runner from Japan, who set the first 50K record at 06:16:29.

While the 50km is the ATM points race, less ambitious runners can also sign up for shorter distance categories. My Home Trail offers 30km, 15km and a 5km options as well. All information on registration and details on the race can be found and checked on the event’s facebook page.

Shuttle busses to Mae Chaem are available from Chiang Mai (recommended), but also from Bangkok. It is strongly advised to stay in Mae Chaem on Saturday night. Note there is also a campsite. The start and finish video is the Chumchontambonthapha School.

Online registration goes via the Pathtrack platform linked below. Those who choose wire transfer as mode of payment, please send the proof of payment to the My Home Trail Facebook Page Inbox. Your registration will be complete once you send this proof, following which you will receive a confirmation letter via the registered email address within 5 business days from the date the payment proof is submitted.

Any specific questions , particularly from international runners, can be addressed to the facebook inbox or via email to nongkwaitong2024@gmail.com

SC 70 was the first Grandmaster-only event in Season 10, taking place in Santa Cruz, near Davao City in Mindanao, Philippines. “Grandmaster-only” means there’s only Grandmaster points to be scored, but no points for the Championship ranking. The 70km course had about 4000 metres of elevation gain and is considered tough, with Mount Dinor and Mount Loay as highlights. Moreover, the race had a long nighttime part. Organised by Team Jegol, the feedback from finishers afterwards was generally very positive.

No Championship points, but of course there was still a competition going on. Once again, Roberto Cain III proved to be the strongest of the bunch. Leading nearly throughout the race, he concluded in 11:27:39. That was twenty minutes faster than Marjones Abugan in 11:47:43. Eldy Bulod took third on the podium in 13:13:31.

In the women’s 70km race, there was a surprising winner in Julie Mae Marquez, who ran the best second half to overtake Julieann Morales and grab victory in 14:44:40. Morales was second and in third, also with a solid run, came Guia Cabigas.

For the third year in a row, Grandmaster Shashwat Rao was by far the fastest 100k runner at the 8th Malnad Ultra in Karnataka in Southwest India. Rao had an advantage of nearly 50 minutes over second-place Yogesh Sanap and finished in 13h49’. The battle for third was decided in favour of Pulkit Jain, who stayed five minutes ahead of Santhosh Gowda.

Strongest woman, and in fact the only finisher this year, was Soma Datta. For Datta is was also the second consecutive 100k victory at Malnad.

As usual, the 50k category was also a points race for the ATM Championship ranking. The overall podium raised quite some eyebrows. Sandeep Kumar won the race in a fast time 5h09’ - remember there’s approx 1600 hm to overcome - , which was 13 minutes quicker than Mohammad Sahil Annigeri. Amazingly, they were followed by the first woman: Rayja Laxmi Rawal from Jumla in western Nepal! The young woman is no unknown on the ATM scene. Last April, she gave our reigning ATM Champion Priya Rai a serious run for her money in the Jumla Rara 50k, leading that race until just the last few kilometres. Her victory in Malnad last weekend, on completely different terrain, shows Rayja Laxmi Rawal is yet another major Nepalese trail running talent with abundant speed to match her technical mountain running skills. She ran the 50km in 5h40’, well ahead of her Karnali Sports Club teammate Mimu Budha in 6h27. Mimu Budha was 5th in April’s JRU race. Allison Lowenstein completed the women’s podium in 6h43’.

Shashwat Rao has now already collected 875 ATM points this season in two races, which puts him in a very solid position to qualify for next year's Season 10 ATM Final. Also, Rayja Laxmi Rawal and Mimu Budha collected 500 and 450 points, respectively, and so lead the very competitive Nepalese ATM ranking in this still early part of the new season.

Malnad Ultra is the only points race in India on our ATM calendar. In neighbouring country Nepal, the Manjushree Trail in Kathmandu has already been confirmed for 14-16 March 2025, while Jumla Rara Ultra is about to be announced for the weekend of 12 May 2025.

Nepalese runners from Jumla left quite an impression at Malnad this year (photo by Karnali)

Mimu Budha, 5th in JRU last April, scored her first ATM podium on the 50km in Malnad (photo by Karnali)

The start of the 50km

Rayja Laxmi Rawal : another new Nepalese ATM Champion in the making?