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

Risqi Kurniawan took his third ATM race win in Indonesia within little over a month and increasingly looks like a top favourite for this year’s ATM Championship title. Kurniawan outran a stubbornly tough Han Ching Su from Taiwan and his compatriots Akmad Nizar and Sobari Herdiana on the 50km of Bali Ultra Trail in Kintamani. On the 100km, Rachmat Septiyanto took his premier ATM race victory while Shindy Patricia proved her super-form again with her third ATM win of the 2023 season!

Bali Ultra Trail changed the race courses at the last moment to avoid potential repercussions following political statements that climbing Bali’s mountains would very soon be outlawed. This made the race more runable than originally planned, but it still proved tough enough - also due to the heat & humidity plaguing especially the many Japanese athletes.

The 50km was on paper the most competitive distance category and so it turned out to be. As said, Risqi Kurniawan again showed his amazing speed on this distance and it will be interesting to find out if he can stretch that to 77km on 2 December. What should help him in any case: he ran Siksorogo last year and Gunung Lawu is close to his hometown of Magelang! Team Indonesia is building up very nicely with also Akmad Nizar almost assured of qualification for the ATM Final. Nizar has been operating in the shadow of Kurniawan, but consistently so and the smart youngster can certainly produce something special at Siksorogo himself. Team Indonesia will also feature Bali-based German Thimo Kilberth, who had his best race of this season by finishing sixth and “only” 33 minutes behind Kurniawan. Fifth went to the second Taiwanese Pin Chi Chou. Great to see runners from Taiwan feature in an ATM race for once!

The women’s 50km developed into a tight battle between Japan’s Nami Ishihara and Germany’s Katrin Herzog. For a long time, Ishihara had the upper hand, but Herzog came back towards the end and managed to overtake her for the win. In third came Singapore’s Dening Lo, followed by Hszin Tzu Chao from Taiwan and Indonesia’s Siti Nuraini, who probably would have preferred to climb Mt Batur and Mt Abang. Bali’s home runner Dian Pradina had a great performance to finish sixth.

On the 100km, Japanese aces Yuta Matsuyama (male) and Tomomi Bitoh (female) set the pace for the first half, but both began to fade as a result of the climatic conditions and saw others coming back to them. Matsuyama was with Indonesia’s Abdul Salam at first, but he would DNF later and the experienced Rachmat Septiyanto was the one to claim the victory at the end. Second in Mantra 116 seven weeks ago, Septiyanto scored his first ATM race victory and is actually as good as qualified for the ATM Final and Team Indonesia. However, he is the lead organiser of Siksorogo Lawu Ultra and Septiyanto obviously cannot do both things. Matsuyama boosted his chances for qualification in Team Japan. Japan’s Takeshi Hashimoto was the third man on the podium, ahead of Vietnamese runners De Nguyen and Trung Hau Phan. Australia’s Washington Firmeza came sixth in another ATM race finish this season.

Shindy Patricia was chasing Tomomi Bitoh for a long time, being just a few minutes behind the strong and experienced Japanese runner. As often, Shindy is the one who slows down the least in the second part of ultras, and so it was again. In fact, Shindy went on to win comfortably but finished even second overall behind Septiyanto. Matsuyama came next but then it was Vietnam’s Julia Nguyen Thi Duong - in another wonderful performance of the weekend. Tomomi Bitoh still salvaged her podium in third.

Within just 2 months, Central Javanese youngster Risqi Kurniawan has propelled himself into a top fabourite position for the 2023 ATM Championship title.

Podium of the 50km women with Germany’s Katrin Herzog as winner

Wonderful to see a runner from Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) on the podium! Han Ching Su

Rachmat Septiyanto takes his first ever ATM race win

Third ATM victory of the season for in-form Shindy Patricia

Podium of the 100 km women

Podium of the 100km men

The second ATM Candidate Race of the weekend takes place in Bali, Indonesia. It’s the Bali Ultra Trail, an inaugural event originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but then postponed until now due to covid. The event mimicks somewhat the BTR Challenge from earlier in the year with a loop on and around the popular volcano Gunung Batur, but extends it with an out-and-back to the beach in North Bali to produce an ultra distance of 80km. The event, directed by ATM Grandmaster Dendi Dwitiandi, has been able to attract several of Indonesia’s star trail runners, such as Arief Wismoyono, Taofik Hidayat, Thimo Kilberth and Shindy Patricia. These are all spread out over 3 categories, however, with Thimo and Pablo Diago Gonzales, for example, opting for the 25K race on Sunday morning. On the longest 80k, Wismoyono is the top favourite, but there’s also Fandhi Achmad, Dzaki Wardana and Rachmat Septiyanto. On the 50K, all eyes will be on Hidayat, but there’s also Alan Maulana and a lot of unknown runners who could cause a surprise. Shindy will be the woman-to-beat, but there’s also Sianti Candra on the start list. Ruth Theresia features on it as well, but has reportedly decided to save her energy for the ATM Championship points race Jember Hills Classic in two weeks from now.

One month after winning Mantra Summits, Arief Wismoyono is again the top favourite in Bali Ultra Trail

Mohamed Affindi and Vanja Cnops were the great winners of the 2nd edition of the Batur Trail Running Challenge in Bali, Indonesia, last Sunday. For Affindi it was the confirmation of his excellent condition already on display at BUTM in March and his second ATM race victory of the still very young new season. For Vanja Cnops it was the confirmation she can be one of the women-to-beat in this year’s battle for the ATM title.

Trail running in Indonesia still has a number of covid-mitigation protocols to follow, such as a quota on the number of runners permitted to take part in the races, but the presence and participation of Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism in Bali was a wonderful token of support for the event organisers Bali Trail Running. The weather around the famous Batur volcano turned out to be fantastic as well on Sunday morning, so the atmosphere at the event was blissful to say the least. BTR Challenge could become a classic on the ATM trail circuit, indeed, and another welcome piece of evidence trail running does not always need to be about ultra long distances and massive elevation gain profiles.

While the big majority of local Indonesian trail stars decided to sit this race out, it was great to see a new Lombok face fastest out of the start blocks at 6 am. Moh Wisnu Haizufi entered the black lava field first after 2 km, and was able to stay ahead of the Singapore Shufflers trio of road stars Darren Southcott, Malachy Kirwan and Vincent Casanova for a few kilometers. Last year’s winner Thimo Kilberth, German but based in Bali for over ten years, Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi and first woman Vanja Cnops - Belgian but living in Singapore - were following a short distance further back. Last year’s female winner Emma Payne, predominantly a Bali-based UK triathlete - was showing grit by trying to keep up with Cnops, who just returned from a bronze medal in the Belgian Championship half marathon (1:15:46!). Haizufi would logically slow down a bit, which brought trail newbie Darren Southcott to the front of the race. The terrain in the lava field and low forest is runable and favours the quick legs in the participation field. A little surprisingly perhaps, or just a great tactical sense, Affindi already switched to a higher gear before the crucial ascent of Mount Batur, in pursuit of Southcott. Malachy Kirwan and Thimo Kilberth were three and four respectively.

Climbing and descending Batur, Southcott managed to keep Affindi some 45 seconds behind him in what was developing into a great dual. Kilberth counted on his wealth of trail experience on Batur to try and make his decisive move during the fast but often technical descent. He caught Kirwan, struggling on his Vaporflys, and put himself into a podium position, but the two leaders had run out of range.

Southcott came out of the lava field first to take on the final 2km long uphill road climb to the finish…. and suddenly ran completely out of fuel. Affindi caught him almost immediately and left the Britain standing as he kept running up that hill as if it was flat! Now age 37, the Malaysian winner of Tahura Trail in Bandung 2018 looked stronger than ever. Initially wondering what happened to Southcott himself, Affindi was delighted with his second ATM race victory of the year as he crossed the finish line in a course record time of 2:53. He is now the overall ATM Championshop points leader with 1000 points in the bag, and may already have nearly secured his spot in Team Malaysia - one of the most competitive - for the ATM Final in December.

A visibly exhausted Southcott held on to second place, which by all means is a big achievement in his first real trail race. Thimo was a happy third in 2:59, three minutes faster than last year. Malachy Kirwan took four, ahead of female winner Vanja Cnops, and Vincent Casanova completed the race in sixth overall - also on totally worn out Vaporflys (a pair he was ‘retiring’ anyway). Emma Payne beat her time of last year by 15 minutes to take second, and Elsa Bardin was another newbie on the podium in third place.

It has been a while since the last points race in our 2022 ATM Championship season given two planned races in April got postponed, but this weekend action returns! In a wonderful arena, no less: Mount Batur in Bali. The Batur Trail Running Challenge is the shortest points race with “just” 30 km, but it’s a spicy one. Runners and podium contenders, especially, will have to dig deep in this one, as the climb up Gunung Batur will test their resilience after a flattish beginning. The downhill is spectacular and fast for the technically-skilled, but coming out of the black lava field is approx 2 kilometres of uphill road to the finish. For runners who have already run out of fuel, those final couple of kilometres will be endless.

The BTR Challenge in Bali is the first Indonesian points race for the 2022 ATM Championship rankings, and will open the points accounts for many people. Unfortunately, several of Indonesia’s better-known pre-pandemic trail runners do not feature on the start list, but that leaves opportunity for new faces. On the other hand, the defending champions of this race return to Batur this Sunday: Bali-based expats Thimo Kilberth (Germany) and Emma Payne (UK) are looking forward to compete against some strong runners from, mainly, SIngapore and Malaysia.

Thimo Kilberth can nearly call Batur his second home. For months he has been training rigorously for Sunday’s race, as his strava account testifies. Looking fitter than ever, Thimo just relishes the challenge. Anyone who wants to win will need to pass him on Sunday morning. There are runners who should be able to keep up with him, at least until the ascent of Gunung Batur. Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi is arguably the most-celebrated runner on the start list, and a proven race winner on this type of trails and medium race distances. Winner of Tahura Trail in Bandung 2018, Affindi also started the 2022 post-pandemic season with a lot of motivation to perform well. Kilberth has the home advantage, but Affindi can be trusted to have the necessary technical skills to follow him in the fast descent of the volcano mountain. If he succeeds, Affindi has a tremendous kick to the finish line, too, as he showed us just two months ago in that incredible sprint finish against Safrey Sumping at BUTM 50k in Sabah (watch the video clip on our ATM facebook page). 37-year-old Affindi already bagged 500 ATM points in that race, and a second strong result this weekend will help him already a long way in securing a spot in Team Malaysia for the ATM Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December.

Kilbert and Affindi will need to look over their shoulders, though, as there’s more contenders for the race victory. The Singapore Shufflers are in Bali, and that includes some super fast road runners. Vincent Casanova (2:34 on the marathon less than two months ago) and Malachy Irwan, for example. They certainly have the speed to compete, but do they have the trail experience and technical skills - especially for that descent of Batur? Will they attack early in the flattish lava fields to gain a time advantage on the likes of Kilbert and Affindi before going up the mountain? It’s one of the big questions that makes Sunday’s competition very intriguing!

The Singapore team also includes Vanja Cnops, winner of MMTF 50 in 2019 and bronze medalist in the Belgian Championships half marathon two months ago in a new PB of 1:15:46 ! It goes without saying that Cnops is therefore the top favourite in the women’s race this weekend. Some even wonder if she can win the race overall. Also predominately a road runner, Cnops has proven already to be just as strong on short and medium distance trails. Let’s see how long Emma Payne - who of course has home advantage - can make Vanja Cnops nervous.

ATM will be reporting live from the event from start to finish via our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram).

The arena this Sunday: Gunung Batur and its immediate surroundings!

2021 men’s winner Thimo Kilberth

2021 women’s winner Emma Payne

2018 Tahura Trail winner Mohamed Affindi: one of the big contenders this Sunday

Vanja Cnops: Singapore-based Belgian bronze medalist on the national half marathon championships a few weeks ago

Less than three months ago, the BTR Challenge in Bali was one of the first real events that got organised in South East Asia after the long covid-related break. As a Candidate Race, the organisers of Bali Trail Running proved their skills and professionalism with a short, but solid and covid-safe experience that lay the foundation for more racing plans in 2022. To begin, the November 30k race has been moved forward to 15 May and has been accepted as a points race that counts for the Asia Trail Master Championship!

30 kilometres is obviously not the longest race in ATM’s history, but fans may remember the Japanese event Kushigata Wind Run from our early days. That one hardly reached 30 clicks, but just like the BTR Challenge had enough elevation and technical sections to test everyone’s mettle. The BTR Challenge is all about famous volcano Gunung Batur in the northeast of Bali. The course has 1230 hm and the cut-off time at the finish is six hours and thirty minutes.

Registration is already open and you need to be quick as spots are limited, still due to covid mitigation efforts. Please note that only the 30k provides ATM Championship points, not the 15k that is also on the event programme. Circumstances keep changing, but at present Bali and Indonesia are also making efforts to reduce the level of restrictions imposed on foreign tourists and visitors. Today people who have had a booster shot against covid are required to isolate for 3 days upon arrival in Bali.

Thimo Kilberth and Emma Payne, both residents in Bali, won the inaugural edition in an exciting competition of which you can watch the highlights again here below.

Thimo Kilberth in the descent of Batur and on the way to winning the inaugural edition last November. (Photo credit: darmasusila.dek_piyo)

Thimo Kilberth and Emma Payne are the great winners of the inaugural Batur Trail Challenge in Bali last weekend. Both arrived at the uphill finish line in KIntamani da solo with a clear advantage over their nearest competitors Michio Yoneda and Shindy Patricia, respectively. The new event, organised by Bali Trail Running headed by Ms Indah Immortel, was an ATM Candidate Race for the 2022 Championship series and received widespread praise from a diverse field of participants.

Covid 19 is of course still around us all and the event could only take place with a set of extra regulations and mitigation efforts to be adhered to. These were gladly accepted by the runners, most of whom toed a starting line for the first time in almost two years. That’s a long time without races, and it was no surprise to see several new faces at the front of the Batur Trail Challenge, which offered a 30 km course with the ascent and descent of Mt Batur as central piece. The organiser does have a longer course of about 55-60km already designed for 2022. Last weekend, again partially due to covid restrictions, runners had to make do for 30k. Despite the 1200m of elevation gain, it meant that competitive runners could go flat out from the gun. Having a quick default running pace therefore boosted one’s chances for a podium finish.

And familiarity with the race route. Jakarta-based Japanese “road” runner Michio Yoneda, who holds a 2:37 marathon PB, pushed Bali-resident Thimo Kilberth, who is fast on the road as well, forward until the summit of Batur. Then came the long descent, where Kilbert was able to use his technical skills and knowledge of the trails to open up the gap to Yoneda. Kilberth ran clear for over ten minutes, but not knowing how far ahead he actually was kept pushing hard to the finish and reached it in just over 3 hours. Yoneda secured second in a great debut at this level in an ATM-race. In third came another surprise, as Malang’s Mikha Tanujaya scored his first ATM race podium. Tanujaya stems from the ever-growing Mantra community by Heru Prabowo and Ivan Citraya, who have been doing excellent work in promoting trail running and required skillsets to local runners throughout the pandemic. In fourth, we had the second Japanese runner Fuminori Kondo and Indonesia’s Freda Wardana came fifth.

Shindy Patricia, arguably the best-known runner from Malang, was the top favourite in the women’s race. People who follow her on instagram know Shindy has kept on training consistently since the start of the corona situation, so if anyone was still going to be in shape it would be the 2019 Cameron Ultra winner. And yet, Shindy Patricia is a reputed ultra trail mountain runner and 30k might just be too short and too fast-paced. Elite triathlete Emma Payne, also known as Em J, felt like nothing to lose and immediately applied the pressure after the start, distancing Shindy and the other women already before the ascent of Mt Batur. Payne retained the gap on the mountain and cruised to the finish to score her maiden victory on the ATM circuit. Shindy secured second place, and France’s Manon Janin completed the podium in third place.

A comprehensive race summary of the Batur Trail Challenge can be watched on our YouTube and Facebook pages, or just here below. The broadcast includes a.o. fantastic footage of Mount Batur, shot by Santosh Vasan and Vincent Chalias, and interviews of several of the protagonists.

Watch our BTR Challenge race summary

9 Marathons for Bali: Germany's Thimo Kilberth, a well-known and strong trail runner based on the Island of the Gods, today has started his ambition to run across all 9 districts of Bali in 9 days. This translates into a full marathon a day.

His goal is to support 9 local charity organisations that have been hit hard by the economic collapse on the Indonesian island due to the covid 19 crisis. Charities that provide important humanitarian aid through their projects and that typically rely on donations and funding from the tourism industry as well. A tourism industry that has seen basically aii its activities stopped since March - soon half a year ago. Bali derives more than 80% of its income via tourism….

You can support Thimo in raising funds for the charities while he runs. All details can be found on the website 9 Marathons For Bali, and we will keep you updated on Thimo's achievements in the next days.

https://www.9marathonsforbali.org

As we announced a few days ago, we have received three applications from Bali to join the Asia Trail Master Championship series in 2021, and the second event is a brand new stage race that will take place on the Indonesian island in November 2020: Bali Volcano Race.

The event has been created by the team of Kike Borras in Spain, a fervent trail runner and event organiser in his home country of, amongst others, the Ultra Trail of Guara Somontano and the Half Marathon of Lleida. In Bali they will work together with a local team to establish the Bali Volcano Race with the aim of becoming a reference in the world of the trail with the idea of ​​combining sport, nature and tourism as an authentic experience for athletes, family and companions.

The event will feature three different stages in different parts of Bali. Beginning in Tabahan just north of the famous Tanah Lot temple, continuing in Bedugul and the Danau Bratan lake and ending in Kintamani on and around Gunung Batur. Three demanding stages with a total distance of between 120 and 150 km, but at the same time, they will be feasible for any moderately trained athlete. They will perfectly combine the different Balinese landscapes: the mountain, the jungle, waterfalls, beaches and rice paddies. The precise routes will become available early in 2020.

For runners’ companions, there will be a touristic programme combined with the attendance and following of the races. And after the event, everyone can enjoy some of the multi-day tourism packages, which we offer from the Bali Volcano Race to get more out of the visit to this wonderful island.

More details on the event website of Bali Volcano Race.

Bali Volcano Race, a 2021 ATM Candidate from 24 to 28 November 2020.

Bali is probably Indonesia’s best-known holiday island, but contrary to Java it has not yet really developed a culture in trail running or sports events in general. It is very complicated to set up events on Bali, as we also found out in ATM when last year’s X Trail event already got cancelled after just two editions. However, things seems to be changing now as we have recently been approached by no fewer than three different event organisers who are all introducing new trail events on the island in 2020 and aim to be part of the ATM Championship series in 2021! The first ATM Candidate Race that will take place on 5-7 June 2020 is the Bali Ultra Trail by recently crowned Asia Trail Grandmaster Dendi Dwitiandi.

Bali Ultra Trail proposes a very rich programme with no fewer than five race categories on and around the famous Gunung Batur volcano, arguably the most popular and accessible hiking destination on the island. Ultra runners can look forward to an 80k and 50k category, less ambitious runners can focus on a 33K, 22K or 11K race. Resto Apung in Kintamani is scheduled to be the main event centre, although the 80K will commence at the Batur Museum Geopark.

This could be stereotypical Indonesian trail race with lots of elevation gain. The precise route is yet to be confirmed but the current advanced draft contains a big 5000 hm for the 80K and 3250 hm for the 50k. Even the 33K is projected to have 2300 hm. The terrain will be a mix of runable and technical, but clearly one will require solid climbing power.

The amazing views of volcano mountains, lakes, forests, villages, hot springs and the friendliness of the residents will make for an unforgettable experience. To get there, you obviously need to fly into the international aiport near Kuta in the south. Transportation to Kintamani is easy to find, we do recommend you book a car, taxi or bus in advance. Most hotels in Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur or other Nusa Dua beach areas can also arrange for you should you wish to stay in a hotel over there.

Registrations are set to open on 5 January.

After the 30-minute time penalty for Kenya’s Samson Kamau for not having the mandatory gear, Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi from Tokyo wins the 2nd edition of the Plataran X Trail in West Bali in 7:58:47! It’s his first ever race victory in the ATM Championship series after many places of honour. After all the elites ran together for the first 20 km, the Tokyo runner upped the pace. Only the Kenyan and also Spain's Salva Rambla were able to keep up. However, the winner of Ijen 70 had to let go after 50km and came into the finish at the Octagon Beach Club as third in 8:04. Hisashi Kitamura produced another strong performance to claim the final step on the podium in 8:20! 

The 2nd edition of Plataran X Trail in L' Harmonie and West Bali National Park developed into a very hot edition as noon temperatures reached 35 degrees.. Participants were treated with blue skies on the new running course, good views and vibes, and a fantastic entertainment and cultural programme at the finish area. Strictly technical, the 70 km race was among the most hard-fought races in the Asia Trail Master Championship series this season.

Kuddos to last year's winner Manolito Divina . The Filippino ace crossed the line in fifth place in 8:30, showing he still had something left in the tank in the latter part of the race. Divina, coming back from a long period of inactivity as he set up his new business in Manila,  could not match the speed of the others but proved his resilience as he started to catch up again in the final 15 km. ATM Championship leader Alessandro Sherpawas sixth in 8:46. The Italian stayed with Divina, suffering from his knee. He did well to complete the distance. Another finish and a marginal ATM total points increase for him, as he eliminates his 11th place of Sungai Menyala earlier this season from the five-best-count total. All in all, despite being "only" sixth, Sherpa's ATM lead increases!

Davao's Elias Tabac was going well in the first half of the race, until he had to let the fastest trio go. The difference was never big as Tabac kept fighting, until he missed a marking sign and lost time. Demotivated, he decided to DNF. Malaysia's Steven Ong, who was always going to find the X Trail course very quick for his characteristics as a runner, did a good job initially to keep up with the front pack of young fast runners. Unfortunately, as Sherpa, Ong could not run painlessly and opted to DNF at the 40 km mark, while in 8th place.

In the women's race, Ruth Theresiascored another important victory, her 10th career ATM victory - tying with Tahira Aliyaas most successful runner in the Asia Trail Master series ever. Ruth still looked remarkably fresh at the end of scorchingly hot 70k, considering she ran Bandung Ultra 100 and Ijen Trailrunning in the past three weeks as well! A new win in Bali does not add to her points total, but it doesn't make it easier for her competitors to still use the theoretical possibility of tying with her on points for the 2018 ATM Championship title. Sabah's Jassica Lintanga ( Jess Boubie) came in as second, after running fourth for most of the day. A well-managed effort by Jess, who takes another ATM podium. Sri Wahyuni was third, after another courageous race and fast start. Although totally spent, another podium is her reward.

Both Sri Wahyuni and Manila’s Joeffery Camara also fulfilled the Grandmaster Quest by completing the 70km of Plataran X Trail!

Plataran X Trail concludes a heavy Indonesian trail campaign in Asia Trail Master, with three championship points races in four weeks. And what a finale it will be tomorrow! A stellar line-up has been announced for the 70 km long Grandmaster course in and around West Bali National Park and the Sumberkima Hills, topped off by last year’s winner Manolito Divina is his first ATM race of the 2018 season and Ruth Theresia, who is 99% sure of being the new women’s Asia Trail Master Champion after her victory at Ijen 100 last week.

The race courses for the Plataran X Trail Bali event have been completely redesigned for this year. The 70 km course (previously 50km) now also measures 1000m of elevation gain. Not a whole lot, it is still a race for good runners, but the often steep Sumberkima Hills in the first half of the course will test some of the participants’ resilience. In the second half, the sun may be the toughest opponent as temperatures in West Bali do rise highly during the day after a relatively cool early morning.

The 70k starts at 4:30 a.m. and features last year’s winner, Manolito Divina, 2017 Asia Trail Master Champion Steven Ong, current Championship points leader Alessandro Sherpa, numbers 4 and 5 in the points standings Hisashi Kitamura and Tomohiro Mizukoshi from Japan, up-and-coming double race winner this year Elias Tabac, and last week’s Ijen 70 champion Salva Rambla! Arguably these are the top picks for the podum, but there’s also Yogyakarta’s Dzaki Wardana, who on a good day is always a candidate, just like Surabaya’s Yohanis Hiareij. And let’s not forget Germany’s Thimo Kilberth, third at this race last year and second in the 42km Ijen race last weekend. With such a cast, we are bound to have a fantastic race for the podium. It will be interesting to see also who has the mental wherewithal to cope with the possibility of being distanced during the race by the others… In any case, Plataran X Trail is a race with decent prizemoney for the top performers, which is unusual in trail in South East Asia.

The women’s 70k race will see Ruth Theresia at the start, who just returned from her fantastic win at Ijen 100. The female face of the Bandung Explorer Team is almost guaranteed of the Asia Trail Master Championship title, and therefore it remains to be see how motivated she is to go full power this weekend again. There’s Sri Wahyuni, who was second in Ijen 100, and based on her performance in Brunei earlier this season someone who could score her maiden ATM race victory in Bali. However, there’s also Grandmaster Jassica Lintanga, who always does well on runable terrain and has been in fine shape the last few months with two race victories in Malaysia over 50 km, including Borneo TMBT 50.

You can follow the action live online via the leaderboard of Race Timing Solutions, as well as via our social media networks instagram, twitter and facebook.