UTCR 125: ATM's Top 3 ready to battle it out!

The Classic 125K of Ultra Trail Chiang Rai, the Thailand SuperTrail event in this season’s Asia Trail Master Championship series, promises to be an all-out battle between the current top 3 in the points ranking and the number 6, who’s in better shape than ever. Hisashi Kitamura, John Ellis , Milton Amat and Sukrit Kaewyoun are set to treat all trail running fans across Asia and beyond to a fast & furious, but undoubtedly fair competition like we do no see enough in this sport. Kitamura is the Championship leader with 50 points advantage over Ellis, but the Hong Kong-based Australian has better improvement margins than his Japanese contender from Team Uglow Malaysia. T8-runner Ellis can boost his total points tally by no fewer than 125 points in Chiang Rai this weekend if he wins the battle. That would put him on top and the others on the backfoot. (note: as per ATM rules, only a runner’s best five results are taken into account for the total ranking. Ellis’ current 5th best is ‘only’ 425 points for 5th in CMU and 3rd in SMFT. A win in Chiang Rai earns a runner 550 points. By comparison, Kitamura’s 5th best is already a 500-pointer, so he can earn a maximum of 50 points only). Hisashi KItamura may be in the lead, but his foe - whom he considers also his ‘big example’ - John Ellis holds the key to the next chapter of the 2019 Asia Trail Master Championship. If Kitamura wins and Ellis finishes second, the points gap between then will still be reduced to just 25 with all still left to play for in the final couple of races of the season. If Kitamura does NOT win, and Ellis arrives back in Singha Park in the top 3 of the race he will always be the new points leader unless Kitamura comes in ahead of him in second place. Meanwhile, the hungry dog waiting patiently in the shadow to run away with the highest prize bone could indeed very well be Milton Amat.

The Sabahan grabbed his most prestigious and by all means best victory of his trail career in his home race Borneo TMBT 100 five weeks ago. Already for months, Amat is displaying incredible maturity, speed and resilience on the trails of the ATM circuit. In the Championship, he chases the two others by 125 and 75 points respectively, and even though in no scenario can he claim the points lead, just like John Ellis Amat has margins for improvement that Kitamura just does not have. MIlton Amat therefore looks like a Kingmaker who could still be crowned King himself at the end of the final running battle in Taiping, Malaysia, on 14 December. For the latter to happen, though, for sure he better beats his title opponents in Chiang Rai to avoid seeing the points gap open too widely.

Home favourite Sukrit Kaewyoun did not have the pace in the early season to compete for the race victories, but has made a step forward in the last two months that was proven with his podium result in UT Chiang Mai ahead of e.g. Job Tanapong. It will be interesting to see what the strategy of Sukrit will be in his attempt to get on the podium of his country’s SuperTrail and get back in the top 5 of the Championship ranking, a spot he lost two weeks ago when Koi Grey scored third place on Mt Talinis in Philippines.

In the women’s 125K Classic race in Chiang Rai, Fredelyn Alberto, Christine Loh and Ces Wael will contest the victory and take as many points as possible in the absence of Championship leader Asuka Nakajima. The latter may have a more comfortable position than her male counterpart and compatriot, but not making the journey to Thailand could turn out to be a miscalculation later on. Nakajima can never lose her points lead this weekend as her 136-points advantage is too large for Alberto to beat, but the Filipino can bring it all down to a mere 13 points with a race win and then she would still have good improvement margins in the same manner as described above for Ellis and Amat. Turn it around and if Nakajima were here and win UTCR 125, it could have been ‘books closed’ for many female contenders except the inevitable Veronika Vadovicova, who is waiting in the trenches for Izu Trail Journey and TNF MMTF Malaysia. Alas, the Championship competition for women remains exciting as well. Christine Loh can even join that debate in full if she scores a second race victory after taking UT Chiang Mai end of August. The same goes for another Filipino up-and-comer, Ces Wael, who only a fortnight ago took her maiden win at the Mt Talinis Mountain Ultra. Ever improving, we are excited to find out what Wael can do on the ultra distance of 125k in a country not hers and a trail that is generally runable. Not in contention for the title, but always a podium candidate if she doesn’t run passed herself is Jess Lintanga. For the home crowd in Thailand, hopes for the podium are being put on Natthanan Matthanang and Kanlaya Srinantawong.

A win or Milton would be desirable: he needs the points more than Kitamura and Ellis at this moment

Fredelyn Alberto is looking to bridge the gap to Championship leader Nakajima to just 13 points

Jess Lintanga will aim to go once more out of her own comfort zone on the 125K race distance