The second Japanese points race in the 2023 ATM Championship series takes place in Hokkaido on Sunday:: Mount Daisetsu Trail Journey in the national park bearing the same name. A 60km race in a remote area of the northern island, which will already have its 12th edition and is therefore becoming a trail classic in the country. Lots of strong Japanese runners have been at this event in the past, and it won’t be any different now. The event organisation is now also opening up to more international participation and recognition and this season’s ATM entry is a first step. The event is known to be very scenic and taking place on trails that are otherwise hard to access.

In fact, this year the the longest trail 'Daisetsuzan Trail Journey' located on the north side of the Daisetsuzan Mountains, Hokkaido's roof, will be held on a new course. It is the only trail race in Hokkaido where you can run through the ridgeline of the North Daisetsuzan Mountains. The ridgeline over 1700m in Hokkaido is equivalent to the natural environment of 3000m in Honshu, making it a challenging natural environment. Runners can enjoy magnificent views, encounters with alpine plants, and animals such as naki-usagi (Japanese hares). The 60km has 3100 metres of elevation gain and starts at 4am.

From an ATM Championship perspective, we are looking forward to the return of Hisashi Kitamura. ‘Karate Kit’ had a rough day in Korea at the end of April, ending his run with a serious black eye and a broken wrist due to a tumble. Coinciding with his move from KL to Tokyo, it meant Kitamura had to take a break from the sport for nearly three months. Having only just resumed training, Kitamura won’t have the largest of ambitions in Daisetsu Trail this Sunday, and presumably it will be a first test to see where he stands with a view to Borneo TMBT Ultra early September - a race that he finally wants to win after two consecutive second places against Milton Amat.

Also in Hokkaido, will be Tomohiro Mizukoshi and Singapore’s Trung Nguyen - both very familiar faces on the ATM circuit. They can also both do a great job for their ATM Championship Final qualification this weekend. Mizukoshi is leading the ATM Japan ranking as he already delivered two strong results this year. A third result should put him with over 1000 points, probably enough to stay in the Top 5.

There’s lots of fast runners in Japan and we will certainly get to know some this weekend. In the women’s 60km race, we will also see Sapporo’s Moeko Yasugahira again as well as Korea’s Boyoung Jan.

Stay tuned on our usual ATM channels for live updates from the race in Hokkaido this Sunday.

Mt Daisetsu Trail sees return of Hisashi Kitamura