The 5th edition of The 9 Dragons event in Hong Kong’s New Territories saw 2023 ATM Champion John Ray Onifa and Japan’s Kanako Edamoto emerge victorious after winning both stages on Saturday and Sunday. Both runners proved superior to their competitors, but nevertheless had to work as Oleksii Melnyk and Man Yee Cheung kept them honest all weekend. The 50km single day race saw fantastic runs by Hong Kong’s ever-improving Wai Hei Ng and France’s Aurore Dacier.

It was a warm edition of the 9 Dragons, which caused many participants to cramp up with dehydration at some stage during the two days. During the 50 Miles (or 82km) on Saturday, John Ray Onifa appeared to be using cruise control rather than going flat out from the start, as he usually tends to do. He nevertheless opened up a gap to HK-based Ukranian Oleksii Melnyk, second in the 50/50 category already last year behind Kristian Joergensen and determined to try and win this time around. Initally, also the young Japanese runner Shoma Maruyama accompanied the duo during the first six hours at nighttime. Maruyama would blow up later, while Melnyk managed to bridge the gap towards Onifa with some 22km left to run. It was arguably a wake-up moment for Onifa, who was - tellingly - wearing earpods. The Filipino shifted to a higher gear on the next hilly section and again took the advantage by a few minutes. However, while Onifa ran home comfortably to grab the stage win, his interview could not be completed because the resilient Melnyk finished just a single minute later. Just one minute difference between the two protagonists, there was no better way to raise excitement for Day 2 on Sunday. Hong Kong duo Tsang Kit Chuan and KC Chan still managed to get ahead of Murayma for third and fourth on the day.

In the women’s 50/50 group, Japan’s Kanako Edamoto was in command from the beginning. Hong Kong’s Man Yee Cheung and Austria’s Cornelia Oswald were keeping up, although the gap would increase ever more. Edamoto took 26 minutes on Cheung to go into day 2’s 50km. It was also her first ever ATM race victory.

There was also a 50 Miles single day race category, only valid for the ATM Grandmaster Quest and not the ATM Championship ranking, which saw former 50/50 winner Kazufumi Ose and Hong Kong’s Lai Shan Pak take the win in the male and female category, respectively.

Onto day 2 with a 7:30 am race start. Tradition says making it to the start line is the hardest part of the day for the 50/50 runners. Oleksii Melnyk had clearly recovered well as he started quick and even put some minutes on John Ray Onifa by CP 1 after 10 kilometres. Was an upset in the making? That thought did not last long, however, as Onifa was again clearly pacing himself. Flying up the subway stairs and the concrete uphill path aroundd CP1 (at Fan Ling), Onifa was saving his ammunition for later on in the day. He knew what was coming as he won the 50km single day race last year. The 50km course at the 9 Dragons is one of the toughest around. Meanwhile, the battle for the 3rd podium spot on the 50/50 was decisively going into Tsang Kit Chuan’s favour. Murayama was holding his own, but KC Chan seemed least recovered of the trio and would never look in contention on Sunday. Between CP 3 and C4 at Shing Mun, Onifa caught Melnyk and immediately pressed ahead as temperatures kept rising, which was an addtional difficulty for the Ukranian. It was the moment the race was won for John Ray Onifa. He would even still finish second overall on the 50km, behind one surprisingly quick local newcomer on the ATM scene. Melnyk did great in finishing just eight minutes later, showing again his mental strength as well. Tsang Kit Chuan impressed with third place, just 20 minutes behind Onifa. Murayama salvaged fourth place, ahead of Fo Lok Liu, who still managed to overtake KC Chan for fifth. Overall, this was one of Onifa’s most mature race weekends and hopefully illustrative of many more beautiful performances to come!

The one runner who managed to win the 50km outright was Hong Kong’s Wai Hei Ng. Part of T8’s Hong Kong team, Wai Hei Ng is not exactly a newbie, but someone who was out of the racing scene for two years before coming back and is seemingly faster than ever. The 9 Dragons was his first appearance on the ATM scene. He took control of his 50k race halfway when Filipino Randolf Gonzales disintegrated entirely, apparently the result of back pain. Gonzales was also new on the ATM scene, coming from obstacle racing. He set a blistering pace initially that nobody could follow. Besides back pain, also lack of experience may have done him in to ultimately finish down in 12th. Gonzales vowed afterwards to come back stronger next time. Kose Rodarte also was among the fast starters who suffered later on, but he still managed to get a third place on the podium of the 50k single race category. Even Wai Hei Ng appeared to be slowing down in the last section, but he nevertheless took a convincing victory in 6h20. That’s 14 minutes slower than Onifa did a year ago. A name to remember, Wai Hei Ng is also scheduled to run Lantau 70 next month. Behind him, Matthew Gay came second on the podium. Gay ran an excellent race, moving up the leaderboard in the second part, showing that his strategy worked. He even still overtook the first female runner, highly touted Aurore Dacier, winner in ATM already three times at MMTF 50, Lantau 70 and Bali Ultra 50. Dacier was unchallenged in the women’s 50km, but arguably gave herself a hard time by trying to follow the leading men. At checkpoints, Dacier would repeatedly say she is not feeling well , but she was also sixteen minutes ahead of the time schedule her coach had laid out before the race. Finishing in just under 6h59, Dacier gave evidence of the progress she has made as a competitive trail runners since last year. Unfortunately, the announced ‘dual’ with Eszter Csillag did not materialise as the latter was a DNS on Sunday. Quite a long way behind Dacier, there was nevertheless a nice battle for the remaining podium spots of the women’s 50km. Eventually, Nicole Lau had the upper hand, ahead of Philippines’ Trisha Reyes and Kimmy Leung.

The next ATM points race event in Hong Kong is Lantau 70 at the end of March.

Wai Hei Ng: winner of the 50km category

ATM Race win number 4 for Aurore Dacier de Biaisi on the women’s 50km

The 50k men’s podium

The women’s 50/50 podium

One year after the fantastic return of The 9 Dragons it’s time for the fifth anniversary of the Hong Kong event. The renowned 2-day stage race, with 50 Miles on Saturday and 50km on Sunday, is a challenge for even the toughest elite runners and it won’t be any different this weekend as temperatures are expected to rise to the mid-twenties despite still being so early in the year. 2023 ATM Champion John Ray Onifa is giving the 50/50 a go, having already won the 50k single day race last year. His main challengers for the victory will be Ukranian Oleksii Melnyk, KC Chan, Chun Kit Tsang and Shoma Maruyama. Of those, Melnyk can count on his experience from last year: he finished second behind the brilliant Kristian Joergensen.

The women’s 50/50 appears wide open with several runners who can realistically dream of victory and podium. Japan’s Kanako Edamoto, Hong Kong’s Man Yee Cheung and Cornelia Oswald, but also proven tough cookies such as Tara Savage, Rachel Chan, Chamelia Suhra and Cecille Wael. Resilience and coping with the weather conditions will be key.

As always, people could also choose to register for just the 50 Miles on Saturday or just the 50km on Sunday. The former is over 70km so there’s a Grandmaster point to be scored, but for Championship point seekers it’s the 50km that matters. On Sunday, many eyes will be fixed on 2019 ATM Champion John Ellis. Winner of the 9 Dragons 50/50 in 2018, the now 46-year-old is returning to racing these months after a long break while recovering from injuries including surgery. Ellis has always been more competitive on the longer ultras, but it will be a good indication of where he stands in terms of pure running pace. He’s up against other victory contenders such as Randolf Gonzales, Wai Hei Ng and Kieren Dsouza.

The women’s 50km promises to be a highlight in this year’s edition of The 9 Dragons with world level star Eszter Csillag beginning her 2025 campaign. The Hong Kong-based Hungarian won’t get the race win presented on a silver platter, however, as France’s Aurore Dacier will be keen to show her progress as an up-and-coming trail athlete. Dacier, based in Singapore, was the surprise winner of Lantau 70 last year and also took the win in Bali Ultra 50 in August. Since then she has been training a lot in Hong Kong and has familiarised herself with its specific trails and its many ‘stairs’. This could be an exciting race to follow on Sunday. Last year’s 50k winner Naomi Fung is also in it, and so is Kimmy Leung, Trisha Reyes and Meg Sterling.

ATM will be reporting live from Hong Kong on both days and on the usual channels (facebook, youtube, instagram), with the start of the 50 Miles scheduled at midnight on Friday night.

2023 ATM Champion John Ray Onifa tackles the 50/50 stage race this weekend

Also Ezster Csillag will make another appearance on the ATM circuit: 50km on Sunday

Victories in Lantau 70 and Bali Ultra for Aurore Dacier last year in ATM. Can she add the 50k 9 Dragons?

Also Cecille Wael returns to the scene this weekend after a prolonged absence

One of Hong Kong’s classic events will take place on Saturday, 29 March in 2025. Lantau 70 by The Trail Hub takes runners across the island and back to Mui Wo. It’s a race with a significant history and one that all the competitive elites - especially the local ones - like to add to their record at least once. Jeff Campbell and John Ray Onifa were the last two male winners, Katryn Hamlin and Aurore Dacier the fastest females since the end of the corona crisis.

The 2025 course will be slightly amended but start and finish remain the same. It’s a daytime race with flag-off at 8:30 am, which means you can enjoy the great Lantau scenery during your run. Most elevation gain comes in the first half of the race, and the 13km long first section to Ngong Ping is arguably the toughest. It can get warm and treacherously humid already in Hong Kong at the end of March, so make sure you keep your hydration in check. Plenty have been surprised by that already in this race, even past ATM Champions Rashila Tamang and Alessandro Sherpa discovered that to their detriment.

The classic 70km solo race is of course the one that offers ATM Championship points and a Grandmaster point. Less ambitious runners can also opt for the relay race, for which you need a team of four.

While Mui Wo has accommodation options as well, it is perfectly possible to stay in the bigger city centres of Hong Kong and take the ferry to Mui Wo on Saturday early morning in time for the start of the race. If you stay in Tung Chung on Lantau island already, taxis can also get you to Mui Wo without hassle.

Registration is open already, and if you decide quickly you can score some great limited edition T8 goodies as well.

Undoubtedly one of the most challenging and most popular events on our ATM Championship calendar made a brilliant return this season after five long years. The 9 Dragons in Hong Kong now looks confidently ahead to its 5th edition, which has been set for Valentine Day’s weekend 14-16 February 2025. The trademark 50/50 category and the 50km category will again be the points races for the ATM Championship ranking, while the 50/50 and the 50 Miles (87km) category can also give finishers a point for their Grandmaster Quest. Registration is open via the official event website, linked below, and interested runners are encouraged not to wait until the last moment as the 50/50, in particular, has a fixed quota and is expected to sell out in advance.

Taking place in Hong Kong’s New Territories, the 9 Dragons is one of those relatively few events in Southeast Asia that places a big emphasis on competitive performance, while at the same time showing heaps of respect towards every single finisher on Sunday afternoon. The marquee event, the 50/50, is essentially a stage race and merely turning up on Sunday morning at the start of the 50km long second stage is arguably tougher than the elevation gain to be conquered during the runs. Some runners disintegrate during the 50km, others just seem to come alive. It makes for unpredictable situations and surprising changes of fortune at the front of the race, ultimately what sports fans enjoy to see.

Kristian Joergensen in the men’s and Angie Yan in the women’s came out on top this season, after fierce battles with a.o. Lodewijk Vriens, Oleksii Melnyk, Solomon Wettstein and Arnie Macaneras, and Xie Wenfei and Wong Ki Chun. Both came from behind to secure victory on Sunday.

While the 50/50 captures the limelight at The 9 Dragons, the single 50km race also has a reputation as being one of the most competitive and toughest-to-win of the season. ATM Champion John Ray Onifa was outstanding this year, and local talent Naomi Fung managed to just keep Philippines’ Angelie Cabalo behind.

Thinking back on the 2024 edition, we can hardly wait for next February!

In a highly competitive edition of Lantau 70 in Hong Kong, reigning ATM Champion John Ray Onifa showed once more he is in a league on his own with a dominant win in 6h53’11” - an astonishing forty minutes ahead of Malaysia’s Milton Amat! The women’s ATM Champion Rashila Tamang on the other hand found Hong Kong’s humid conditions in combination with the famous stairs still a difficult challenge. It was Singapore-based French woman Aurore Dacier who caught the limelight with a very composed and impressive run to win the female race in 8h13’12”. The 2024 edition was 6km shorter due to a landslide so times can hardly be compared, but the original Lantau 70 course record is 8h48’45” set in 2018 by Lucinda Bartholomew. In any case, Dacier’s finish time proves we have a new racing protagonist in town!

Cloudy and temperatures hovering around 22 degrees: it looked wonderful for the 300 solo runners at the start line in Mui Wo at 8:30 am in the morning. However, humidity was high and many would pay a price for an over-ambitious early running pace. Rashila Tamang had arrived from Kathmandu with determination to win for the first time as reigning ATM Champion and put a strong women’s field under pressure immediately on Lantau Peak. She arrived first at the km 13 checkpoint and looked solid running up the stairs, and especially going down. But Aurore Dacier was not far behind. Dacier won MMTF 50 last year and also the 30km V Trail in Laos last month, so we knew she had experience in racing in South East Asia’s conditions. Angie Yan, the exciting winner of the 9 Dragons last month, and last year’s Lantau 70 winner Katrina Hamlin took a more conservative approach but kept the two leaders still within reach. In this race the aid stations are a bit further apart than in most races, so AS 2 only came at km 28 and it was Dacier who arrived first. Tamang had lost of a few minutes, and the others even more. Can the Nepalese runner return in the technical descent towards the water reservoir at AS3 (km 38)? The answer was negative but she did still keep the gap manageable at around 12 minutes. Aurore Dacier looked ever more in control, though, and did not seem to suffer at all from either her own running pace or the conditions. She cruised to victory in the slightly easier final 25km and picked up quite a few male runners on the way. Quite a statement from this sympathetic newcomer in Asia’s trail scene, of whom we are likely to see much more of.

There is another relative newbie of whom we have not yet seen the last of. Hong Kong’s Angie Yan had already shown her incredible grit in the 9 Dragons, turning defeat into victory over none other than Xie Wenfei, and she did the same in Lantau 70. Not Rashila Tamang, but Angie Yan stormed to second place and - what’s more - just 11 minutes behind Dacier! That could only have meant she ran faster than anyone else in the final sections and Strava proved that: she broke the local KOM of Veronika Vadovicova no less! Angie Yan seemed surprised at her own performance afterwards, she clearly has not yet discovered her own limits. With Dacier and Yan, the ATM womens’ championship definitely has two new contenders. And we can add local Lantau runner Katrina Hamlin in the mix, too. Hamlin outsprinted the cramping Rashila Tamang for third place. Tsz Kwan Lee finished in fifth.

As mentioned above, the men’s race developed into another one-man-show of John Ray Onifa. After a relaxed start, Onifa led the pack at the first checkpoint, but Milton Amat - running in HK for the first time since 9 Dragons in 2019 - and Alessandro Sherpa, second last year, followed him within three minutes. Then it was the surprising Matthew Gay, Richard Kimber, Wilsen Singgin, Marc Decamps and many others. The returning John Ellis was just inside the top 20 - making his characteristic slower start. Onifa then switched on his engine for real and quickly increased the gap towards his two main rivals for the victory. Sherpa saw Milton Amat catching him by CP2, and then dropped back - suffering from gastritis and severe dehydration - just like a fortnight ago at BUTM 50. This time, Sherpa could not salvage a podium finish, but he did walk the race out to finish in 33rd place and secure his wild card for the ATM Finals as a former - 2018 - ATM champion. Milton Amat also saw the writing on the wall and focused on keeping second place. Onifa was just out of reach. The other Sabahan ace, the in-form Wilsen Singgin, was looking good to score third place, but the more runable last sections suited Hong Kong-based Richard Kimber better. He overtook Singgin in the last kilometre. Hong Kong-based Belgium’s Marc Decamps once more ended up in the top five of Lantau 70 with a spirited and well-balanced effort. He passed David Longo in the final sector. Australians Michael Ormiston and John Ellis ran themselves into the top 8, for both a great result after all the troubles they have gone through in the last few years.

Two happy faces: Aurore Dacier for winning a great women’s race and RD Jeremy Ritcey for a superb edition

This year’s Lantau 70 promises to live up to its reputation as one of Hong Kong’s genuine classic trail races. Reigning Asia Trail Master champion John Ray Onifa is up against last season’s vice-champion Alessandro Sherpa and Malaysia’s Milton Amat on a slightly reduced course of 64km tomorrow. 2023 race winner Jeff Campbell is unfortunately still sidelined after sustaining an injury earlier in the year.

If the men’s competition looks exciting enough, the women’s Lantau race will also be a cracker with reigning ATM female champion Rashila Tamang at the start line against last year’s winner Katrina Hamlin and other in-form Hong Kong runners such as Angie Yan and Naomi Fung, and Singapore-based Aurore Dacier - winner of MMTF 50 last November.

Lantau 70 features one big loop with start and finish in Mui Wo. The course is far from easy and features quite a bit of the traditional ‘Hong Kong stairs’ , loved by some, dreaded by others. Knowing the terrain and the trails certainly helps if you want to be competing for the prizes. Here’s where John Ray Onifa and Katrina Hamlin, who lives on Lantau, of course have an advantage over the likes of Milton Amat, Wilsen Singgin, Gaetan Morizur on the one hand and Rashila Tamang or Aurore Dacier on the other.

John Ray Onifa has been unbeatable on the ATM circuit for months now and is therefore certainly the top favourite. Alessandro Sherpa ran this race a year ago and finished second behind Campbell. Over the past months, he has also spent quite a bit of time in Hong Kong and rumours are he is going very well on the stairs. Just a fortnight ago, he was running ahead of Amat and Singgin at BUTM 50 until the humidity got to him and severe dehydration set in. Tomorrow’s weather in Lantau is forecast to be cloudy and with mild temperatures, which should favour the Italian. Milton is arguably strong on longer distances, but both him and Wilsen Singgin have been working on speed and especially the latter has seen a peak in his performance curve. Can Singgin cause a surprise tomorrow? What can we expect from Gaetan Morizur, who is kind of returning to the scene after becoming a father early last year, and 2019 ATM Champion John Ellis? Ellis is trying to find back his peak performance level after a prolonged period of injury rehabilitation. It’s not been the easiest of comebacks so far, but a strava upload of 100 miles in Florida last month indicates he is in any case still very motivated. Other outsiders for the top placings in the men’s race are T8’s David Longo, Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi, Richard Kimber, James Balagot and Marc Decamps.

Angie Yan and Naomi Fung both looked great in the 9 Dragons last month and are certainly able to give Nepal’s Rashila Tamang and Katrina Hamlin a run for her money. For Angie, who appears to like starting conservatively, it will be key to manage the gap to the others. Originally, Rashila had not planned to run Lantau 70 but a disappointing DNF in another major HK race in January did not sit well with her. The ATM champion is looking to set something straight, a month before her home race in Kathmandu - the Manjushree Trail. Other contenders for the top placings not yet mentioned are Katia Kucher, Meg Sterling, Kimmy Leung, Rachel Chan and Tsz Kwan Lee.

We will be reporting live from Lantau 70 from start to finish on our usual channels with live broadcasts of start and finish on Facebook, YouTube and X, video updates throughout the race on Facebook and highlights on Instagram.

Rashila Tamang will be competing in her first ATM race of the season

John Ray Onifa has been unbeatable for a long time on the ATM circuit

Milton Amat won BUTM 50 just a fortnight ago

A year ago Alessandro Sherpa came in battered and bruised, but in second place.

After five years The 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong truly returned with a big bang, as the 50/50 format proved its value and unpredictability once again. It’s become a bit of cliche’ to state that the real race only begins on Sunday morning when you have managed to get to the starting line for the 50km after the grueling 50 miles (86km) of the day before. But Sunday’s race showed it is quite simply the truth. Kristian Joergensen lost nearly 20 minutes to HK-based Dutchman Lodewijk Vriens on Saturday, but recovered it all by halfway in Sunday’s 50k race. The same scenario was unfolding in the women’s 50/50 race with Saturday’s fantastic stage winner Angie Yan losing her 19-minute advantage as well against China’s Xie Wenfei on Sunday morning. Whereas Vriens was unable to find his second breath and even still lost second place to the incredibly gutsy Ukranian Oleksii Melnyk, Angie Yan refused to let go and fought back like a lioness to reduce the time gap to Xie Wenfei sufficiently and win the women’s overall 9 Dragons race!

That’s only in a nutshell what happened for the victories, but it was the same for the podium and other top placings. A brave Solomon Wettstein had to be content with fourth place again, just like in 2019, while Arnie Macaneras suffered on the traditional Hong Kong stairs to finish his stage race behind Nepal’s Limbu Yamanath, who ran an incredibly strong 50k on Sunday that contrasted with a below par 50 miles on Saturday. Another top Filipino, Yoyong Sacayle, also found his debut on the HK stairs to be more challenging than expected, but managed to complete the 50/50 in 14th place. In the women’s stage race, a third runner was very much in the mix for victory: Ki Chun Wong. The local runner actually finished second behind Angie Yan and ahead of Xie Wenfei on Saturday, but unfortunately she had suffered a slight injury and limped across the finish line. A day later, Ki Chun Wong just focused on salvaging her podium spot. Angie Yan can no longer be considered a newbie in Hong Kong, but in ATM it was her debut and what stood out was her amazing fighting spirit. On both days, her ‘second split’ was ‘better’ than her first half. Xie Wenfei was surprised in the final 10km on Saturday: “she caught me and still had so much pace! I was unable to follow, and so was Ki Chun Wong.” On Sunday, Angie Yan was reported as over 20 minutes behind Xie Wenfei at some point, but at the finish the gap was hardly 9 minutes. She visibly ran her heart out to score the prestigious 9 Dragons 50/50 win - and it was very well-deserved. Both women also finished ahead of the 50km solo race podium, which shows how strong they performed this weekend .

On Sunday there was also a “solo” 50km race category, which also offered ATM Championship points, and therefore had a great competitive field, too. Reigning ATM Champion John Ray Onifa initially had to leave a gap to USA’s Anthony Lee, from Colorado but with roots in Macau, and also found the Indonesian youngster Risqi Kurniawan again on his tail - just like at the ATM Final early December. Once Onifa’s engine was warm, however, he went looking for the American and in no time caught and passed him. Risqi Kurniawan was unable to follow Onifa’s rush to the race lead, but he did not give up and maintained a fast and steady pace himself, which resulted in him catching Anthony Lee come halfway the race. Onifa probably did not enjoy his best of race days, yet his advantage kept growing - slowly but continuously. The question then became if he could break 6 hours, but cramps decided otherwise. Onifa scored yet another ATM race victorty in 6h05. Anthony Lee showed resilience in still beating Risqi Kurniawan for second place - both also in historically fast times for this 50k course. It was great to see the talented youngster from Indonesia bounce back so strongly after what was a disappointing DNF at the ATM Final more than two months ago. With more experience in international racing, Risqi Kurniawan has the potential to become a top star in - at least - Asia’s trail scene. KC Chan from Hong Kong, tipped by some as a challenger for Onifa beforehand, settled for fourth place, just ahead of Chi Kan Yuen. With a finish time of 6h49, these two guys showed how high-level this race was. Note; 50/50 winner Kristian Joergensen finished second overall behind Onifa… , which also underlines the superb competitive performance he put in this weekend!

The women’s 50k solo race was - yet again - a very exciting affair with alternating race leaders. Xu Zhonghuang and Angelie Cabalo set the pace earlier on, but saw Naomi Fung coming back and then accelerating. Just when Fung looked like a certain winner, Angelie Cabalo found another gear in the last but technical 10km and nearly caught the Hong Konger at the finish. Fung was 10 minutes ahead, but at the finish it was just 2’20'“. Cabalo - in her HK debut - proved once more she is a serious competitor within Asia and not only in Philippines. Xu Zhonghuang was a happy third , and Xiaojing Mo - never in the mix for podium before that - suddenly fourth and only 14 minutes behind race winner Naomi Fung.

The 9 Dragons Ultra this year will undoubtedly be ranked as one of the absolute highlights of Season IX in our Asia Trail Master Championship. While the fine running weather, especially on Saturday, is certainly also down to luck , the overall technical organisation, the great vibe between the participants , the filled and varied aid stations - some with major Filipino input - , the mobile network coverage at strategic places to allow for proper live race coverage and the respect everyone has for one another, it all just came together at this year’s 9 Dragons event. It was a blueprint of how trail running events can be a very satisfying experience for everyone even without the availability of big budgets.

Men’s Top 15 50/50

1. Kristian Joergensen 17:05:15

2. Olekssi Melnyk at 19'51"

3. Lodewijk Vriens at 21'44"

4. Salomon Wettstein at 36'28"

5. Limbu Yamanath at 1h32'59"

6. Arnie Macaneras at 1h44'08"

7. Michael Ormiston at 2h59'21"

8. Dina Nath Bagale at 3h17'49"

9. Chi Keung Chan at 3h50'19"

10.Kam Wai Pun at 3h54'03"

11. Hyun Chang Chung at 4h23'00"

12. Kwong Hang Leung at 4h29'43"

13. Jeremy Ritcey at 5h11'01"

14. Yoyong Sacayle at 5h14'27"

15. Carlo Chiong at 6h30'56"

Women’s Top 10 50/50

1. Angie Yan 20h22'39"

2. Xie Wenfei at 11'06"

3. Ki Chun Wong at 1h11'50"

4. Hayley Teale at 3h21'05"

5. Hong Kiu Kimmy Leung at 3h41'35"

6. Chamelia Suhra at 4h41'34"

7. Rhoda Cheung at 5h17'35"

8. Rachel Chan at 5h32'53"

9. Mariko Kirihata at 6h40'25"

10.Sheree Rowling at 6h42'47"

After five full years, the 9 Dragons finally return this weekend in Hong Kong’s New Territories. The unique 2-day event, featuring a 50 miles race on Saturday and a 50 km race on Sunday with the aim of combining and finishing both, has been long awaited by Asia’s challenge-seeking trail running crowd. When former participants argue that “getting up to toe the start line on Sunday morning for the 50k is the hardest part of the entire weekend” it sums up why this race is so special. While certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, the start list once again proves that organiser RaceBase managed to find a way to stand out in Hong Kong’s overcrowded trail calendar.

The 50/50 category has attracted big guns like 2022 ATM Champion Arnie Macaneras and multiple ATM race winner Kristian Joergensen, as well as several global competitors such as Lodewijk Vriens (NED), Oleksii Melnyk (UKR) and Coree Woltering (USA). Both Vriens and Melnyk have proven already before that they can deal with Hong Kong’s particular trail courses with the many stairs and are therefore very serious contenders for the podium against the perhaps better-known locals and Asians. Coree Woltering is very interesting as he actually took part in the 2019 9 Dragons and DNFd rather anonimously, despite already being a marquee trail runner at the time. It speaks volumes that Coree has decided to return to the event this weekend, and the other favourites better watch out. During those five years and the covid pandemic, the American had a battle with alcohol but has since chosen sobriety as a lifestyle. His competitive performances have reached his arguably best level yet and he is in training for the southbound Appalachian trail fastest-known-trail record attempt. In any case, Manila-based Dane Kristian Joergensen is taking the race very seriously as he has been in Hong Kong for two weeks to leave nothing to chance this weekend. Arnie Macaneras very much looked the part in VMM 70km last September, but five months have passed since. He was surprisingly beaten by Larry Apolinario in a 50km domestic race in Philippines in December, which might indicate that the star from Davao is now truly focusing on the ultra race distances, though. So much can happen in a tough 2-day race that we should also consider other podium candidates such as Hong Kong’s Salomon Wettstein, Limbu Yamanath and Hyan Chang Chung. Bukidnon’s Yoyong Sacayle is the second Filipino iron in the fire. Proven to be very resilient in tough conditions, Sacayle may lack the top speed of some other favourites, but his 7th place in the ATM Championship Final last December - not too far behind Hisashi Kitamura - shows that he can cause the upset when motivated.

Resilience is also what characterises Guangzhou’s Xie Wenfei, one of the top favourites in the 50/50 female race. While perhaps no longer among the youngest competitors, Xie Wenfei has an enormous amount of racing experience - including victories - in the toughest of events worldwide. The 9 Dragons has been on her bucket list for months, so for sure she comes to Hong Kong motivated. Australia’s Hayley Teale is expected to challenge for the female victory as well, a major competitor who has notched up a series of wins. Local competitors Ki Chun Wong, Angie Yan, Kimmy Leung and Natalie Webster are not to be underestimated either.

Runners can also choose to run just one day at the 9 Dragons event, which means that also the medium distance trail stars have a 50k race to look forward to. Sunday’s 50km race also offers ATM Championship points and has attracted reigning ATM Champion John Ray Onifa to take part. Three weeks after winning a 30km ATM Candidate Race in Cebu, Onifa is once again squaring off against his younger compatriot Godwin Mirar, age 23, who has been incredibly impressive in his young trail running career. Keen to learn and improve his competitiveness ever more, Mirar is making his debut in Hong Kong this weekend. Can he challenge Onifa, who is perhaps less motivated these days to run the HK stairs but has years of experience on them? Another upcoming Asian talent who is seeking some form of rehabilitation after misfiring in his home ATM Championship Final race at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra early December is Risqi Kurniawan. The 26-year-old Indonesian, unbeatable in his home country on the medium distance last year, is also making his debut in Hong Kong. It will be interesting to see how he copes this time around with having potentially faster runners around and ahead of him, a learning process that all domestic ‘champions’ need to go through when they move up to a higher international level. Guided by 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia - who herself will be running the 50 miles solo race on Saturday - Kurniawan has appeared relaxed as he arrived in HK. As with Godwin Mirar, however, it still remains to be seen how he deals with the stairs - it really is not something for everybody. Locals KC Chan and Fuk Cheung Tsang can deal with the specific terrain and will certainly be in the mix for the win and the podium.

The 50km women’s race has an incredibly long start list, which in itself is already a big success. It does imply we are likely to discover several new names. Amongst the well-known athletes we find Angelie Cabalo from the Philippines, 3rd in last season’s ATM Championship Final. Cabalo has always been fast on the medium distance, so she certainly starts with victory chances.

ATM will be reporting live from the 9 Dragons from start at midnight on Saturday until the finish on Sunday afternoon.

Kristian Joergensen: ready to tackle the 9 Dragons

Angelie Cabalo: victory contender on the 50km on Sunday

2022 ATM Champion Arnie Macaneras

‘Kapheer’ Xie Wenfei: the woman-to-beat on the 50/50 for women?

Indonesia’s youngster Risqi Kurniawan will be making his HK debut on the 50km

Reigning ATM Champion John Ray Onifa will be facing Godwin Mirar again on Sunday’s 50km

It’s been a long time coming, but at least The 9 Dragons is returning on the trail calendar in Hong Kong and in the Asia Trail Master Championship series! The unique event, with its main competition combining two separate races of 50 miles on Saturday and 50km on Sunday, is scheduled for 16-18 February 2024 - five years after its last edition in 2019. The organisation is still in the capable hands of RaceBase, and the concept has not changed either for the fifth edition of The 9 Dragons. ATM championship points seekers should focus on the 50/50 , or Sunday’s single 50km. Grandmaster runners could also opt for the single 50 miles on Saturday.

The 2024 edition will also be sponsored by ATM’s official apparel partner T8, itself also headquartered in Hong Kong. A special edition of the T8 ice tee and shorts will be available for purchase.

The 50 miles race starts at 11:59 pm on Friday, 16 February at the Po Leung Kuk Jockey Club Holiday Camp near Yuen Long and finish at Tai Po Tau Playground. The cutoff is at 19:00pm on Saturday 17 February. The 50km race starts on Sunday at at Tai Po Tau Playground and finish at Shing Fung Studios. The cutoff will be at 20:00pm on the same day. The two courses are not really a secret anymore and can be checked, alongside all other details, on the great new website of the 9 Dragons (click on the button below).

Registration is open, and keep in mind that the spots for the 50/.50 category are restricted to 250 only! No time to lose in other words.

Kaizufumi Ose was the big winner in 2019

Even in Hong Kong, Hisashi Kitamura and Milton Amat have been inseparable..

Hong Kong of course means a lot of staircases..

John Ray Onifa is unstoppable in the second half of this season! The Filipino stormed to his fifth ATM race victory of 2023 in Hong Kong’s Dark 45 in a time of 4h41! This follows a hard-fought 50k win over Kristian Joergensen in VMM just a week ago. Second place in Dark 45 - like last year - went to David Longo in 5h20, seven minutes faster than Wai Hung Wong. A performance that confirms the competitive step forward made by Longo last year, Australian but living in Hong Kong for a long time after a university spell in Central Java no less.

Ryan Whelan had to settle for fourth in 5h41, Jose Luis Alvelais was seventh. The latter is already guaranteed of a spot on Team Hong Kong for the ATM Championship Finals in Indonesia on 2 December. Interesting to note was that 2019 ATM Champion John Ellis returned from a long injury break with a 30th place finish - and finishing was the only goal.

The women’s 45 km race was won by Kit Chun Wong in a great 5h54. That was 25 minutes faster than Angie Yan. Hoi Yan Ng completed the female podium. Last week’s great VMM 100 winner Man Yee Cheung was fourth, not yet fully recovered from that tough Vietnamese race.

The second edition of Dark 45 was efficiently set up by The Peak Hunter, a young event management team, with great success. This is definitely an event-to-stay at the start of Hong Kong’s trail running season!

Photos are courtesy of Lam Sport Photos, Hong Kong

Kit Chun Wong was a great female winner , her first on the ATM circuit

Five ATM races in 2023: five wins. The top favourite for this year’s ATM title ? John Ray Onifa!

David Longo does not run a lot of races, but when he does, he is in the mix for podium these months!

Jose Luis Alvelais assured himself of a spot on Team Hong Kong for the ATM Championship Final

At midnight, Saturday to Sunday, Dark 45 takes place on the famous Maclehose Trail in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It’s the second HK points race in the 2023 Asia Trail Master Championship series after Lantau 70 in March. Last year, this event signalled the return to trail racing after the covid pandemic, but in 2023 the event is under a new management: The Peak Hunter. That’s the team led by the famous Wong Ho Chun. Many of Hong Kong’s trail stars are signed up, including former ATM Champion John Ellis, who is making a bit of a come back after a long period of injury. Still, Ellis is not hopeful of a top result this weekend, indicating that the road - or trail - to real competitiveness will be long.

In the absence of Jeff Campbell, the man-to-beat will be John Ray Onifa. The Filipino is back at his best level, recently, and only his enthusiasm may propel him to yet another race victory - just a week after winning VMM 50 against Kristian Joergensen. His main challengers are expected to be Ryan Whelan, first and foremost, and also David Longo, Jose Luis Alvelais and Stone Kit Chan.

The women’s race seems more open, but has a lot of contenders for the win. Flora Wing Yee Chin, Angie Yan can dream of it for sure. Man Yee Cheung may be the biggest name on the start list, but she did run and win a tough VMM 100 just a week ago.

One of the great newcomers on the ATM scene last year was Dark 45 in Hong Kong’s New Territories. A nighttime race on the famous Maclehose Trail between Shui Long Wo and Tsuen Kam Au Rotary Park, one of the most popular sections of that long trail. A year ago it was the first bigger event in Hong Kong that was permitted to take place following the covid period. Now it will be organised by a new team, however. The Peak Hunter is a local trail community and charity foundation founded by Hong Kong trail ace Wong Ho Chun, and also including rising trail star AND cancer survivor Angie Yan. Rendez-vous at midnight on Sunday, 1 October.

For Hong Kong trail runners, Dark 45 is the second ATM points race of the 2023 season after Lantau 70 in March. No 9 Dragons yet this season, so for Hong Kongers these two are the only options to score points at home and get potentially qualified for the ATM Championship Final in Indonesia on 2/3 December (minimum two Top 25 race finishes). For non-Hong Kongers, this is a 45k with quite a bit of spice in it as the 2800 hm of elevation gain indicates.

Jeff Campbell was the fastest runner in Dark 45 last season. It was a race that saw the emergence of David Longo as a serious podium contender in any race, and also the renaissance of injury-plagued and then-still reigning ATM Champion John Ellis. Meg Sterling took the women’s victory after a nice battle with Natalie Webster.

Details can be consulted via the Peak Hunter’s Instagram and facebook pages. Registration opens shortly.