Mantra Summits Challenge is open for registration

Now open for registration with early bird rates until 16 February: Mantra Summits Challenge! The renowed high mountain event in East Java is having its 5th edition on 11/12 July and remains the Indonesia SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship with 50 bonus points for all finishers on the 116km and 75km - both distance categories also labeled as A-races. Mountain goats across Asia: this is your event!

Hosted by the great Malang trail running community and the authentic Kaliandra Eco Resort, Mantra Summits Challenge will test your resilience as a trail runner. For a lot of people, the 116k and 75k are the toughest race courses in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. However, they are also recognised as among the most beautiful of the whole year. You are going up to well over 3000m altitude on Mount Welirang and Mount Arjuno. With its peak at 3339m, Arjuno is the third highest peak in East Java after Semeru and Raung, and the fourth highest on the entire island of Java.

In 2019 MSC was the playground of Sabah’s Milton Amat, who won the 116k race with a gap of FOUR HOURS to second-placed Hisashi KItamura. Just to emphasize how a specific race course can have an impact on performance. Asuka Nakajima was the women’s winner last year, a feat that proved she is indeed now a serious trail runner and not only a road runner.

While the 116km and 75km are serious challenges that you should be prepared for, less ambitious runners can also aim for the shorter categories. There’s something for everyone at this event to enjoy.

Logistics: best is to fly international to Surabaya, from where it is a 90-minute drive to Malang. Shuttle busses are scheduled from the airport terminal 2. If you are based in Indonesia, there’s a few domestic flights that go to Malang itself as well. Accommodation is highly recommended at the Kaliandra Eco Resort, which prices are very reasonable. Homestays around the area are also possible.

Alessandro Sherpa suffered a DNF last year. He was not the only elite runner to DNF.

Former winner Fandhi Ahmad keeps returning to Mantra Summits Challenge

A troubled Tahira Najmunisaa made her to-date final appearance on the ATM circuit in Mantra last year and did not finish. Will she return to East Java to set the record straight?