This year’s Prenn Trail Summit in Dalat, Vietnam, has been moved forward on the trail calendar and is now scheduled for the last days of November. It will be a major Grandmaster bonanza, as there’s no fewer than four GM distance categories on the event programme. The longest one is even a mega ultra of 250km! Slightly less ambitious trail runners looking for a Grandmaster point can also choose for the 187km, 103km and 75km categories. Important: PTS is only part of the ATM Grandmaster Quest calendar in 2025, not of the Championship calendar.

Directed by the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Lam Dong Province, and executed by Unique Events & Media in collaboration with Tea Resort Prenn, Prenn Trail Summit presents a unique opportunity for runners to challenge their limits while exploring the unparalleled beauty of Lam Dong in an inspiring setting. ‘PTS’ goes all-in on the long ultra scene, after already producing the longest ever Vietnamese ultra in 2024. As the great event website reads: “ These awe-inspiring and grueling trails will test the endurance, determination, and strength of each participant, providing runners with an experience that goes beyond conquering the race – it is a journey to overcome themselves.”

Prenn Trail Summit centres around the Prenn tea resort and, while also Dalat, offers a different trail course going into different areas than other events, such as Lam Dong Trail. The 250km starts on 27 November already, i.e. on Thursday at 13:00 lunchtime. The 187km runners start early on Friday morning, quasi around sunrise. If you’re aiming for the 100km or the 75km then flag off is at different times on Saturday night late.

The 2024 edition indeed had very good feedback from also the many international participants, which included reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell, Chris Timms, Tomohiro Mizukoshi, Risa Kamiya, Yvette Chong Mi Chin and plenty of other very experienced trail runners in the Asian region.

Registration is open, and you can also check all the details of the requirements and the course maps on the website. Latest updates are also frequently posted on the official facebook page of Prenn Trail Summit.

Mantra 116 spoke Japanese this year as both winners of the brutal mountain trail across Welirang and Arjuno in Malang, East Java, come from the land of the rising sun. Yuta Matsuyama, already second once, took the lead by himself as co-leader Jeff Campbell, the reigning ATM Champion, pulled out at km 68. Former winner Rachmat Septiyanto could not catch him towards the end and settled for second place with Filipino Jomarc Ferrer a strong third.

In the women’s race, Chizuru Inoue proved to be faster than Vietnam’s ultra legend Le Thi Hang and equally experienced Indonesians Septiana Nia Swastika and Sianti Candra.

With the start usually at night, trail runners enjoyed the most magnificent views of Gunung Welirang, above 3000m, by sunrise. One week after finishing second in UTSG 50 in Singapore, Campbell left his comfort zone to try out the technical Mantra trails for the first time. He started well and set the pace together with Yuta Matsuyama, a regular in ATM and on his day good for podium and victory. Already twice winner of UT Chiang Mai and this season’s Luang Prabang Ultra Trail, Matsuyama had to come back to Mantra to try and do better than second place last year. He was certainly ‘on call’, and just pursued his journey when Campbell retired citing “my legs went away” . The question was whether Septiyanto would catch Matsuyama, but not so this year for the runner from Central Java, also a specialist for these type of long mountains ultras. Jomarc Ferrer, ATM Finalist for Philippines last year and again running strong this season, climbed up the leaderboard in the second half and snatched podium.

In the women’s race, Le Thi Hang arguably took a too easy approach early on, while Chizuru Inoue went out strongly. Septiana Nia Swastika also was unable to bridge the initial gap to the Japanese runner, but will be happy with third ahead of Sianti Candra, who had a tough day on the trails.

On the 68km, runners from Reunion island claimed the spotlights. Well-known Marcelle Puy, set Welirang alight as she was reportedly first overall on the summit! Unfortunately, she later missed a course marking sign and went the wrong way, following which she decided to DNF. First place hence went to Singapore’s Dening Lo, already winner of this race a year ago. She finished clearly ahead of another Reunion athlete, Alexandra Assoumi and third -placed Azarin Putri from Indonesia.

In the men’s race we witnessed a tight and exciting battle between Christopher Camachet, from Reunion, and the relentless former ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono. The duo battled it out nearly the entire race and were never really more than ten minutes apart. But Wismoyono was unable to catch Camachet, not even in his specialty - the descent. A little less than half an hour later, Abdul Aziz Dermawan continued his fine form of late by taking third on the podium ahead of Malaysia’s Muhammad Faris - winner in Gombak just twee weeks ago - and Taofik Hidayat, from Bandung in West Java.

Mantra 116 was the penultimate Indonesian points race in Season 10 of the Asia Trail Master Championship. The last one is Ijen Mountain Marathon on the first weekend of September, also the last race before the Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October.

The Karate Kit is totally back !! Hisashi Kitamura brilliantly won the 100 km points race at Shiga Kogen in Nagano, just a week after nearly winning Deep Japan Ultra 80 as well. In Niigata he had to settle for third place after a marshall error, but last weekend everything went according to plan. Kitamura took a humble start and at some point was even reported to be running only in seventh place. Up front it was Shoma Maruyama, one of the protagonists in The 9 Dragons earlier this season, who was setting the pace together with Jun Takeuchi and Takumi Sawayamagi. The weather was cool and runners also had to negiotiate a few rain drops, but all in all conditions were great. As the beautiful day time race continued, Kitamura began to move up the leaderboard as Shoma Maruyama began to slow down. At km 80, Kitamura was in the lead. Who says you cannot perform at a high level two weeks in a row? It’s the 10th career win in Asia Trail Master for last year’s and the 2019 vice-champion. He will be again among the top favourites to finally clinch the title. Kitamura actually needed a good result to be certain of qualfiication. Since he moved back to Japan, he is compelled to be choosing his races more carefully and is no longer travelling as much.

In second place in the finish was Takumi Sawayamagi and in third Jun Takeuchi. Shoma Maruyama took fourth, just like in the 9 Dragons in February, which means he now has 800 ATM points in the bag. That might be sufficient for qualification into Team Japan for the ATM Final. Yoshiki Toda nearly caught him, but finished fifth.

The women's 100k race was won by Sachi Nakano, ahead of Shiori Uehara and Ayaka Oono.

An annual high mountain trail classic already in our series, Mantra 116 in East Java’s Malang again promises to offer some exciting racing this weekend. Both the 116km and 68km points races begin at the same time this year, at midnight tonight, and the longest category is blessed with the presence of the reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell. Barely six days after finishing second in UTSG 50, Campbell goes out of his comfort zone for the second time this year after V Trail in Laos. Known for years as a very fast but a technically less-skilled trail runner than the Onifas, Amats and Sherpas of this region, it is admirable and commendable for others to see Campbell still trying out new things and challenging himself to this great extent. And of course, wherever he starts he is among the top favourites no matter what. 

He certainly won’t get his 12th ATM race victory on a silver platter. Among the contenders are local Indonesian long ultra stars such as Rachmat Septiyanto and Yusuf Aprian, both already winners in Mantra in the past. Yuta Matsuyama may find the colder temperatures in this race very much to his liking. Java-based Colombian Daniel Ortiz is also running and followers of ATM may remember he was the first winner in Season 10, at Dieng Trail Run back in late September. Another Indonesia-based expat, from Egypt, is Ahmed Bedair, who is also often competing for the prizes. Filipino ATM Finalist last year Jomarc Ferrer knows what a tough long ultra is, too. Ferrer has just scored two fourth places in H1 (100 Miles) and Point Trail Ultra 70, both against top competition so he is in fine shape. Bandung’s Hilman Maulana to our knowledge is making his debut on the 116 at Mantra, after having scored podiums on the 68k in the past few years. 

The women’s 116k was long dominated and even attempted by just one woman, Shindy Patricia. But more and more women have been trying the long ultra and also this year we have quite a few on the start list. Sianti Candra may be the top favourite, but there’s also Vietnam’s Le Thi Hang. As Vietnam’s long ultra specialist, she may give Candra a tough time for the win. Septiana Nia Swastika and Novita Wulandari are two more known contenders. 

In the women’s 68km, last year’s winner Dening Lo from Singapore will be trying to repeat her accomplishment this Saturday. ATM overall points leader Ritzy Amor was supposed to be one of her main challengers, but reports from Malang say that Ritzy could not fly to Indonesia. Malaysia’s Halimatun Sa’adiah was second behind Dening Lo a year ago, and is also running again together with her compatriot Lynda Marylyn. Let’s see if someone from the local Indonesian side can pull of a surprise. 

It’s a big start field on the 68km and we are bound to see some new names popping up the leadeboard. Malaysia’s Muhammad Faris could be one to challenge Bandung star Arief Wismoyono for the win. Faris has just won Gombak 50 in impressive style, and he also ran Mantra before. Taofik Hidayat cannot be underestimated, but was struggling in this year’s Bali BTR. 

ATM will be reporting live from Mantra 116 starting on Friday evening.

One week after UTSG 50, Jeff Campbell is back in action already and bravely starts mantra 116

Dening Lo: one of the top favourites on the 68km women

MUhammad Faris was an impressive 50k winner at Gombak two weeks ago

Ritzy Amor is busy bee this season: the overall points leader starts her 6th ATM race. She won her last one.

Rachmat Septiyanto can use all his Mantra experience to again finish on top of the podium

Nia Swastika is one of the favourites in the women’s 116km

Also Thang Hoang Huu from Vietnam is back in Mantra this weekend

The second of our Japanese back-to-back points race weekends features Shiga Kogen 100 in Nagano, a great new entry on our Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. A very scenic 100km race with 5100 hm elevation gain awaits the runners, as they cross one of the country’s main national parks, which is also labelled a UNESCO Eco-Park. Despite the considerable elevation gain, the trail course is more runable and less technical than last week’s Deep Japan Ultra in Niigata. A few people are doing the double, the most prominent of those being Hisashi Kitamura.

The vice-ATM Champion 2024 and 2019 had a stroke of bad luck last week at DJU. Comfortably leading the 80km race at the 50k aid station point, Kitamura was then sent onto the short distance course by a confused marshal. By the time he noticed something was wrong, it was already several kilometres further and two other runners had moved ahead of him. Kitamura took third place on the podium as a result, which still had significance as it boosted his Season 10 ATM points totally to 715 and third place in Japan’s ATM ranking. The Top 5 gets automatically qualfied for this year’s Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October. Since he moved back to Tokyo, Hisashi Kitamura is primarily focusing on the ATM races in Japan to score points, so Shiga Kogen 100 remains important in that context. With more and more Japanese runners entering ATM points races, 715 points is probably not yet completely safe. On Saturday, he will be up against some other known Japanese elite runners, such as Takumi Sawayanagi and Shoma Maruyama. The latter was fourth in the 9 Dragons earlier this year and could get himself in a strong position to be qualified for Team Japan as well.

Shiga Kogen 100 is organised by the Shiga Kogen 100 Race Committee and Mr Koji Otsuka, one of the country’s most experienced trail running event organisers. As the official website reads, Shiga Kogen occupies the center of Joshinetsu Kogen National Park. It is a famous ski resort that hosted the Nagano Olympics (1998) in the winter. During the green season, Shiga Kogen is a treasure trove of nature, with beautiful alpine plants and beautiful lakes and wetlands that can be enjoyed in the vast plateau area. The Shiga Kogen, which has been certified as a UNESCO Eco Park, is an attractive area where nature and human society coexist.

This is a mountainous area so. even in summer temperatures remain cool and are ideal for endurance sports. The start and finish venue lies at about 1600m above sea level, and the highest point of the course is at 2200m. The organisers are confident that that despite the elevation gain, the 100km is a great introduction to the classic ultra distance for those who have never done it before. On the start list we also see several runners from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Philippines to name a few. Two Filipino women are to watch out for: Avegail Depanay and Metzi Joy Alson. Both are having a great competitive ATM season and are currently ranked fifth and sixth in the Filipino points ranking. Also Malaysia’s Ng Kwan Hooi has been going well and could propel herself into her country’s Top 5 with a good result at Shiga Kogen this weekend.

The race flag-off is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. on Saturday early morning. The cut-off time is 26 hours, meaning Sunday morning 6:30 am.

Hisashi Kitamura: can he score the victory at Shiga Kogen 100 ?

Shoma Maruyama was 4th in the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong earlier this year

We are delighted to announce that Island Trail Awaji has joined the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar with its popular event on Sunday, 23 November. Awaji is an island in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, in the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea between the islands of Honshū and Shikoku. The nearest best-known city is Kobe and international travelers best fly into Osaka. On the programme for ATM points is the 43km race from A to B, from Ama Coast Beach to Omaha Beach Park, across the Yuzuruha Mountain Range. In total there is 2200 hm of elevation gain to be conquered, which is not nothing for a relatively short race.

Race day is Sunday, but runners better come to the island already on Saturday to collect their race packs at the finish venue, i.e. Omaha Beach Park. It’s also the location of the famous Sumoto Castle. It is probably good to find accommodation in this area as well, and make use of the shuttle bus to the start area on Sunday morning. The start of the race is scheduled for 8 am.

Island Trail Awaji is open for 700 runners. Registration is open and all details are available in English via the standard Sports Entry platform, which is also linked below. Also check the mandatory gear list and transportation options to reach Awaji island.

On the beautiful event website we can also find out about many tourist and sightseeing spots and read about Awaji as the Island of Creation.

Accoding to the "Kuni-umi" (Birth of the Land) myth in the Kojiki, Japan's okdest chronicle, Awaji Island was the very first island born in Japan, created by the deities Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto. The two deities stirred the chaotic, newly-formed earth with the heavenly spear, Amenonuboko. Drops of salt water fell from the tip of the spear and solidified, forming Onokoro Island, followed by the birth of Japan.

Awaji, the "Miketsukuni" that Provided Food for the Imperial Court

Surrounded on all sides by the sea, Awaji Island has long been known for its abundance of marine products such as salt, fish, and seaweed. Its reputation for these blessings of the sea reached all the way to the ancient capital, and many anthologies and historical texts, including the Manyoshu, mention "Awaji salt" and refer to Awaji as a "Miketsukuni"-a land that supplied food to the imperial court. Even today, Awaji Island is proud of its rich food resources.

https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/stories/story030/

A runners’ favourite in the early part of the year: the next Vietnam Trail Marathon in Moc Chau has been scheduled for the last weekend of January in 2026. As usual, the 70km race is a points race for the ATM Championship Ranking and Grandmaster Quest. Registrations are already open and go via Topas’ Vietnam Trail Series website, linked below.

VTM is definitely among the most scenic races on the calendar and offers a great mixture of runability and technicality. Weather plays a role on the eventual conditions of the trails, and one may remember the surprisingly chilly temperatures this year’s event took place in. It caught young athletes such as Godwin Mirar also by surprise, as the Filipino completely disintegrated in the last 15km - frozen - and saw his first ATM race victory slip away. It was Vietnam’s current leading male runner Nguyen Si Hieu who took top honours. The women’s race saw Hau Ha fan Giang Linh first across the finish line at the tea plantation near the tourist town of Moc Chau. The VTM course definitely also has bite with nearly 3000 metres of elevation gain to be conquered.

As usual, it is highly recommended to purchase one of VTS’s travel packages for the event to take all the hassle out of your trip to the event. That way you just go to Hanoi and then the traditional bus meeting point at the West Lake and you’re good to relax. The event busses are both punctual and comfortable.

Do not linger too long to sign up, as you are not the only one going there for the race on 31 January!

Once again, UTSG 50 in Singapore was characterised by exciting and fast racing with a pinch of uncertainty always in the mix due to the complicated nature of trail course design and marking in the city state. The local community in Singapore may have finally found a genuine trail running star in the making by the name of Wen Sheng. The 2:30 marathon runner, in his mid-twenties, managed to cross the finish line ahead of reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell, who initially had looked like a guaranteed repeat winner of this race. Also in the women’s 50km, things came down to the wire, as Tokyo’s Chisato Kario raced back to locally based Filipino LJ Benitez for her second ATM race victory in two months.

UTSG 50 is the only ATM points race event in Singapore and just like last year attracted a solid number of runners. The venue had been moved to the Dairy Farm and the course had also been changed and made slightly spicier, but the vibe was still the same. It’s good to have a proper international offroad race in SIngapore. Last year’s winner Jeff Campbell, who beat John Ray Onifa on that occasion, was the big favourite in the men’s and looked to be in control in the first half as well. He tolerated Humberto Baeza, Sui Hong and Shingo Abe with him, before he accelerated the pace and went solo just before km 25. Fellow Hong Konger Sui Hong, already fourth here last year, resisted quite well, but could not bridge the gap anymore. Baeza began to struggle and would later rather mysteriously dissapear from the leaderboard. Abe suffered from dehydration and dropped back, but then there was this tall young local runner named Wen Sheng who was very much holding his own and even appeared to be having a slightly faster pace than Campbell and Sui Hong. As race reporters and followers were waiting for Campbell to appear at the km 44 mark, which initiated a double short loop with a hill climb - half of it on a staircase, they were left stunned to see Wen Sheng appearing first instead! Campbell was just some 20-25 seconds behind and said he had missed a course marker. Local advantage for Wen Sheng, but how hard Campbell then was trying to get back to him, he couldn’t. By the end of that hillclimb loop, the gap was not smaller, but slightly bigger. (see videos below).

It was a great dual to watch and in the end Wen Sheng secured his first victory in his ATM debut in 4h07. A visibly disappointed Campbell settled for second place, Sui Hong came in third ten minutes behind Wen Sheng. A honourable mention goes out to several others, not in the least Singapore-based Philippe Daniel and Khoo Houw Ann from the north of Malaysia, who caught Abe towards the end to take fourth and fifth. Nazrul Islam was seventh and another local hero Deric Lau eighth.

After her surprise win in the Mount Ugo Marathon in Philippines early May, ahead of Angelie Cabalo and Hee Joo Jang, eyes were focused on Japan’s Chisato Kario in the women’s race. Indeed, from the beginning she set the pace and opened up a considerable gap towards two Filipinos living in Singapore: LJ Benitez and someone who turned out to be running with someone else’s bib number and later got disqualified. By halfway distance, however, Kario’s advantage had shrunk entirely and Benitez caught up. The two stayed together until the aforementioned hillclimb loop and on the second of these loops, Benitez managed to open up a gap on Kario. Game over, one would have thought. But at the finish it was the Japanese runner who appeared first with Benitez behind her in the distance! A great push to the line by Kario, who as second runner did benefit also somewhat from leader Benitez getting confused by a course marking. With two victories and 1000 ATM points in the bag, Chisato Kario is basically assured of qualification for Team Japan in the ATM Championship Final, where she could definitely have podium chances. Her finishing time was 5h17. China’s Shifan Hu was third, just head of Miki Ueki, also from Japan.

The men’s Top 3

Chisato Kario: 2nd ATM race win in 2 months for the Tokyo runner with background in New York

LJ Benitez: so close to victory! Brave run by the Singapore-based Filipino

Hu Shifan from Hangzhou took third on the women’s podium

2023 ATM Champion Rashila Tamang seems firmly back at her best this year with a convincing overall victory at the Mount Popa Jungle Trail Run 50k in Myanmar last Saturday. It was her second ATM race of the current season, which means Rashila also collected her wild card for the Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October. Mount Popa, near Mandalay, was the second Burmese points race event of the season after Kalaw in February. The big star of that race, Jack Speed, had to settle for third overall and second male on Mount Popa. It was Thet Paing Oo who took top honours in the male category. Interestingly, but underlining her performance, Rashila Tamang finished in 6h18, one hour and twenty minutes ahead of Paing Oo, who himself was fourteen minutes ahead of Jack Speed. Aung Tun Lin was third on the men’s podium. He managed to stay ahead of young hopeful but injury-plagued Myint Myat. Second female was Yi YI win, already third in Kalaw as well. She had a great race of her own, coming in ninth overall in 9 hours. Sarah Seng was third on the female podium.

The 50km long Mount Popa run had an estimated elevation gain of about 2000hm and - just like Kalaw - was praised afterwards for the fantastic vibe at the event.

Sunday’s UTSG 50 race is the annual celebration of SIngapore’s very active trail running communities. It’s not easy to organise trail events in the city state, nor are there a lot of real trails to choose from. Nevertheless, UTSG is managing to put together a great vibe every year and attract many runners from outside SIngapore as well. Remember a year ago, with Jeff Campbell edging out John Ray Onifa, and Hau Ha having the better of Vanja Cnops. Most trail organisers in the region would pay for these top stars to run in their event and in the same race. This Sunday, now reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell is even running it again, spearheading the field.

It will already be the fourth race of the ATM season for Campbell, for whom the runable nature of UTSG is of course perfect. He won Prenn Trail Summit 50 and V Trail 55 in Vietnam and Laos, but had to be content with third place in Lantau 70 in his own Hong Kong. Without Onifa in the race tomorrow, contrary to last year, he is the top favourite tomorrow. Chris Timms, the overall points leader in this season’s ATM ranking, will be one of his logical challengers, alongside Humberto Baeza - who ran Gombak last week, however.

In the women’s 50k race, we look forward to the participation of Japan’s Chisato Kario, the surprising winner of the Mount Ugo Marathon 50k in Baguio early May, ahead of Angelie Cabalo and Hee Joo Jang. With a second result of that kind, Kario would qualify for Team Japan in the ATM Championship Final in October, and given her result in the Philippines, become even a title pretendent. Singapore-based star Vanja Cnops will not be competing tomorrow, as she is still not 100% fit from her wrist fracture, sustained in the Bali BTR race a good month ago. Thailand’s Phitchanan Mahachot could a contender, but she is also taking part in Saturday’s shorter distance race of the same event. Being in SIngapore, we are also likely to discover a few new names.

ATM will be reporting live from the UTSG 50 event, starting at 6:45 am on Sunday morning local time.

Jeff Campbell tanked confidence last year, beating John Ray Onifa

Last year: the reigning ATM Champion John Ray Onifa against his eventual successor: Jeff Campbell

On Saturday we have the second points race event of the season in Myanmar, the Mount Popa Jungle Trail Run near Mandalay. Organised by the same team as the successful Kalaw Ultra Trail Run back in February, the main Mount Popa race is 50km and regarded as more technical than Kalaw. It’s the second edition of the event, and there’s a special guest on the start list in the person of 2023 ATM Female Champion Rashila Tamang from Kathmandu in Nepal.

As a former champion, Rashila only needs to complete 2 ATM races during the season in order to get a wild card for the next and upcoming ATM Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October. Mount Popa will be her second race, after doing and winning the 100km at her home event, the Manjushree Trail Race. She is the logical race favourite as well this weekend, and it will be interesting to see what some of the local runners may achieve compared to Rashila Tamang. Yi Yi Win was third in Kalaw 80 and with another good result she will be qualified for the ATM Championship Final as well. For many of the Burmese this may be the biggest goal at Mount Popa. There have never before been any runners from Myanmar in the ATM Final and this season we might as well have a small team straightaway!

Jack Speed could become the spearhead of the team. He won the 80km in Kalaw in solid fashion, and may also start Mount Popa, a course he knows well, as the man-to-beat. Other strong performers from February are competing this Saturday, such as Aung Zaw Min, Myint Myat Maung and Thet Paing Oo.

Mount Popa is a dormant volcano with an altitude of 1518m above sea level and located in Central Myanmar. During the 50km race, participants will need to negotiate nearly 2000 metres of elevation gain.

2023 ATM Champion Rashila Tamang will run for the first time in Myanmar and can score her wild card for this season’s Championship Final in Vietnam

Jack Speed was the popular winner of Kalaw Ultra Trail Run 80km last February

For the third year in succession Deep Japan Ultra is one of the Japanese events on our ATM Championship calendar, featuring reputed 100 Miles and 80km race categories for points, including for runners on the Grandmaster Quest. From an ATM perspective, the 80km looks like the most interesting this year with Hisashi Kitamura among the favourites, and also fresh 4-star Grandmaster Tomohiro Mizukoshi in it. Taking place in beautiful Niigata, home region of event director Hiroaki Matsunaga, Deep Japan remains a considerable and underestimated challenge by many, especially with regard to the 100 Miles race.

It has become more quiet around Hisashi KItamura since he moved from Kuala Lumpur back to Tokyo after 8 years, but that does not mean the ‘Karate Kit’ is no longer racing. As we saw last year in the ATM Championship Final, we may actually still get to see the best Kitamura ever. He was a little disappointed with his Izu Trail performance last December - his only ATM race in Season 10 so far - , but he feels strong for Deep Japan. As always in Japan, we will get to discover new names of runners this weekend, too, making a race prediction not too easy. Hong Kong’s Vincent Chan and Thailand’s Jaruratchakul Naruchit may also say a few words on the 80k.

On the 100 Miles, apart from the domestic stars, we also see the names of Bali’s Nizar Surydratama on the start list, ATM Finalist last year and already solid again in V Trail in Laos earlier this season. The women’s 100 MIles start list sees Risa Kamiya, winner of Prenn Trail Summit 180 in Dalat last December, and other ATM regular names Ashwini Bhat from India and Rija Gubes from Malaysia.

Deep Japan Ultra is the first of two ATM points races in Japan scheduled on back-to-back weekends. Next week we also have Shiga Kogen 100 in the Japan Alps, nearby Nagano.