We are happy to announce that this year’s 11th edition of Izu Trail Journey in Japan is scheduled for Sunday, 8 December and is now open for registration. One of the country’s most iconic and most competitive trail races has been a member of our Asia Trail Master calendar since 2017 and always ranks among the very best events of the season. The Izu Peninsula is not far south from Tokyo , and race pack collection site Mishima is connected to the capital via shinkansen bullet train.

The stunning course of the Izu Trail Journey, often referred to as "ITJ", takes runners from the edge of the ocean up and across the mountains of the peninsula. It’s an A to B course mainly following an old pilgrimage trail. The expansive vistas of the Pacific Ocean below and the HUGE views of the majestic snow-topped Mt. Fuji you'll encounter while running along the Nishina Pass are awesome and will absolutely blow you away!

Last year, Hong Kong based Esztser Csillag became the second non-Japanese to win Izu Trail, four years after Veronika Vadovicova. Hisashi Kitamura finished in the top ten twice, sixth last year even, in what often is like a national Japanese championship race. While the competition is tough, the cut-off time of 14 hours for the 70km is doable provided you keep moving and can also handle cold weather, which often characterises Izu. Snow is not excluded. The second part of the course is more technical and has more elevation difficulties than the initial 30km.

Registration goes via the official website linked below. Sign up soon, as this one fills up.

The 10th anniversary of Izu Trail Journey in Japan, one of the most competitive trail races in the land of the rising sun, was held in relatively warm and for most participants ideal conditions. No snow, no freezing wind, there was hardly a chill factor unless you were not moving. Nevertheless, the 70km long race with approx 3200 hm was basically already decided halfway on the famous Nishina Pass with its majestic views on Mount Fuji. Hirokazu Nishimura, winner in 2019, had already opened up a substantial gap to Yutaro Yokouchi and Hiroki Takashima. Behind the top trio, there was a bigger battle taking place for the positions in the rest of the top 10. In it were Hisashi Kitamura and also former 9 Dragons winner Kazufumi Ose. Eszter Cszillag was in command of the women’s race, leading Yukari Seimija by 9 minutes on the Nishina Pass and ‘cyclist’ Sae Ogawa - who was first at the checkpoint in the early part of the race - by 17 minutes. Csillag would cruise to victory in the final rollercoaster kilometres to the Shunzenji onsen town. For the global trail star, based in Hong Kong, it was her fourth ATM race victory. Finish time 7h10, without having to push a lot.

Nishimura also had a relatively easy run to his second win at Izu Trail Journey. He finished in 6h14, fifteen minutes ahead of Yokouchi and almost twenty ahead of Takashima. Gaps are usually smaller in this race. Fourth place went to Katsuya Ishii, who kept Saturo Geya at bay. Geya is the 80k winer of Deep Japan Ultra in Niigata this season. He was chased by a strong Hisashi Kitamura, who divided his efforts very well during the race and missed Geya and the top five by just 1 minute. His previous best at Izu was tenth in 2019. Signs are that Kitamura will return to his peak form in 2024!

Hirokazu Nishimura wins Izu again after 2019

The top 5 male and female podium of the 2023 Izu Trail Journey

For the first time this Sunday, Izu Trail Journey in Japan will not mark the end of our trail season, but the beginning of the next. Due to the previously announced calendar shift, with the ATM Championship Final projected to take place mid-September 2024, Season IX launches this weekend already with Mt Apo, and Izu. Traditionally one of the highest-stacked races in Japan, Izu is also celebrating its 10th anniversary and will do so on the fantastic 70km pilgrimage route across the peninsula south of Tokyo.

It is always the weekend when we all realise that nowhere else in Asia the general competitive level is so high. A top 10 result in Izu often seems like a victory already. That is also what Hisashi Kitamura will attempt again, after achieving it in 2019. Last year, coming back from a bad covid infection, Kitamura was already satisfied with a rank just inside the top 20. That is also the usual goal for Yuta Matsuyama, another Izu regular who we often see elsewhere in Asia on the ATM circuit. Just a week ago, both of course featured still in our Final in Indonesia. Kitamura took fifth place, Matsuyama was ninth. Let’s see how they fare against other Japanese elites on Sunday, especially those active at the global competition level.

Someone who has been very successful in the most prestigious of global races over the past two years, and whom we know well in Asia, is Esztser Csillag. The Hong Kong based Hungarian will be running Izu for the first time and try to achieve what Veronika Vadovicova did four years ago: winning Izu as a non-Japanese athlete (see video below). Last year’s Izu race winner Honoka Akiyama is reportedly also running so we may get a nice dual in the women’s race.

Izu Trail is basically divided into two sections, of which the first one is very runable for about 30km. Afterwards, the terrain gets more technical and hilly with the famous Nishina Pass - providing exquisite views on Mount Fuji and the Bay - as highlight. The trails follows the rocky coastline for a while, and with some bad luck it can be quite windy and cold there. However, it seems the weather this year is more pleasant. For sure runners should not expect any snow this time around.

The top 25 of the male and female races score points for the 2024 ATM Championship.

In 2018, Alessandro Sherpa won the Asia Trail Master Championship at the event, beating Salva Rambla for the title.

Esztser Csillag will be up against some top Japanese women. Can she do what Veronika Vadovicova did in 2019 ?

The traditional end-of-season event in Japan’s Izu peninsula south of Tokyo is once again open for international competitors this weekend. For many who have run Izu Trail Journey it is an absolute highlight on our ATM calendar, but this year the late reopening of the country and the still high cost of travel have led to rather modest number of foreign names on the start list. Global trail star Dylan Bowman from the USA will be running, though, and also Hisashi KItamura.

Kitamura is returning from a long spell of illness, which began at Vietnam Jungle Marathon mid-October, where he still placed third but was never really himself. In fact, after showing his best trail form ever from March to July, his performances had already been going downhill. Even at Borneo TMBT 100, where he finally wanted to defeat local hero Milton Amat he was basically no match for the Sabahan. It would appear the Karate Kit was hit harder by a covid infection than most elite athletes. However, he showed optimism again after he ran MMTF 25km two weeks ago. And this weekend at Izu, he hopes to get the feeling back to run well over 70km without seeking a top result. The ultimate goal has always been the ATM Championship Final on Mount Apo, a course that partially suits him well, but also partially not-so well. Kitamura knows he will need to be strong and sharp to handle the summit attack and descent to have a chance against pure mountain runners such as Milton Amat and Alessandro Sherpa to get the ATM title next week.

One of the dark horses in next week’s female ATM title race will be Moeko Yasugahira from Sapporo. She was a great winner of Seoul 50K last month and has shown great motivation to be part of Team Japan at Mt Apo. Yasugahira will be fine-tuning her form also at Izu Trail this Sunday.

Hisashi Kitamura aims to build up his form again for next week’s ATM Final after a long spell of illness

Good news coming from Japan also after last weekend’s Echigo Country Trail: the iconic Izu Trail Journey is confirmed as a points race for the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship series. ‘ITJ’ is scheduled for the second Sunday of December as usual, i.e. 11 December. The route takes runners across the Izu Peninsula south of Tokyo, and goes from A to B on an old pilgrimage route of 72 km in length. While many sections are runable, there’s typically over 4000 metres of elevation gain to be conquered here often in cold conditions. A few editions even had snow, making it a special race for South East Asians especially. Unforgettable are the majestic views of Mount Fuji and the Bay along the famous Nishina Pass.

The precise route of the 2022 edition will be made available in due course, and registrations are expected to open next month in the middle of July.

With Hakuba Trails still unconfirmed for this season’s ATM Championship series, Izu Trail Journey could be an important race for Japanese elites aiming to get a spot on their national country team at the ATM Final a week later.

Alessandro Sherpa and Salva Rambla had a good time in Tokyo before their dual to determine the outcome of the 2018 ATM Championship in the ITJ race

Hisashi Kitamura and Pablo Diago Gonzales had a good scrap at Izu in 2018

The Izu Peninsula is the home territory of Tomohiro Mizukoshi

Yuya Kawasaki was the big winner of a star-packed Izu Trail Journey 70 km race in 5:58:09, ahead of last year’s winner Hirokazu Nishimura in 6:06:22! Previously, Kawasaki already scored two second places in ATM points races: Izu 2017 and Hakuba 2018. This is his first victory on the ATM Championship circuit and as Izu is the Japan SuperTrail he collects 550 points that he will take into 2021.

Third place today went to Saturo Suga, followed by Tatsuya Yabe and Tomonori Onitsuka. Even more than usual, this season’s Izu Trail Journey was like a Japanese national championship race. Team Uglow's Yuta Matsuyama was 16th, ahead of Kazufumi Ose, another well-known runner in our series as past winner of the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong. Ryo Murata, who won Cameron Ultra 100 in 2019, finished 21st yesterday. Hiroaki Matsunaga, third at CMU a few years ago and 9th in Izu 2017, was 26th. Tomohiro Mizukoshi decided not to start to allow a knee injury to heal properly and be 100 % fit again for the 2021 season.

The women’s race also saw stellar performances. Honoka Akiyama turned out victorious in a very fast time of 6:59:41. She was 20th overall and ahead of e.g. Ryo Murata! Second-placed Yuri Yoshizumi was not even that far behind in 7:06:32 and Chihiro Aibara third in 7:22:52. Asuka Nakajima ran a great race herself to come home in sixth place in what was really her elite trail debut race in her native country Japan. Nakajima set a finishing time of 7:57:12. Tellingly, she was ahead of Yumiko Oishi - the woman who was second behind Veronika Vadovicova last year.

Comparing times year-on-year in trail running is in many ways a meaningless exercise, and this year’s Izu course was not even exactly the same as last year’s. Most elites who ran also last season, needed roughly between 10 and 30 minutes longer this year. In that perspective, the finishing times of top females Akiyama (6:59) and Yoshizumi (7:06) are outright stunning when you know Vadovicova took the 2019 win in 7:05…

Yuya Kawasaki already scored 2nd twice in ATM races, now he got a big win (photo archive Hakuba 2018)

Asuka Nakajima ran to an excellent 6th place in her domestic trail debut (photo archive SMFT 2019)

This weekend is the traditional Izu Trail Journey weekend, and the Japan SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship series is taking place in REAL and not just virtually! Obviously, the participant list exclusively features runners who live in Japan, but other than the many local elites there will be a number of athletes whom we have gotten to know well over the years in our ATM series. Perhaps more importantly, the simple fact that ITJ is permitted to be run is very hopeful for a return to a more normal trail season in Asia in 2021 - as well as a sign that the Olympic Games in Tokyo may happen next summer as well. The Izu peninsula south of Tokyo will host a number of sports disciplines of the Games, such as track cycling in its velodrome.

Last year the course of ITJ had to be shortened and modified due to the destruction of some trails caused by a massive typhoon a number of weeks prior to the event, but now runners will be more or less back on the original course for 70 km. Veronika Vadovicova was the first international winner of the women’s race , and despite a very busy race schedule Hisashi Kitamura made it into the top 10 of the men’s race. Purely competitively speaking, Izu Trail Journey arguably is the hardest race on the ATM calendar as most of Japan’s elite runners take part every year. For the local stars, ITJ is also a “Japanese Championship” , which may also determine who gets into the national team for international championship events.

Apart from the local stars, ATM Championship contenders such as Tomohiro Mizukoshi will be competing in ITJ on Sunday as he has been in the past seasons. It will be a bit of a comeback for him, too, as Tomohiro suffered from (non-covid) illness for quite a while in the middle of the year. Asuka Nakajima, third in the female ATM championship last year after winning several races in Indonesia and coming second in Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 in Malaysia. She will be running ITJ for the first time, after relocating from Jakarta back to Tokyo this year. It will be interesting to see where she ends up among the local elite. And we have another ATM race winner from 2019 on the start list in Team Uglow's Yuta Matsuyama. He was quickest in Ultra Trail Chiang Mai in Thailand a year ago, beating several top runners on the day. Matsuyama, by the way, is also the new race director of Echigo Country Trail, the traditional ATM points race in Niigata in June.

Follow tomorrow’s Izu Trail Journey live on YouTube! Starting at 5 am (Tokyo time) on Sunday, you can follow what happens on the iconic run throughout the day. Due to travel restrictions, our ATM media team cannot be present this season, but via our social media channels we will be keeping you all up-to-date as well about the big race. It’s the Japan SuperTrail, and the winner collects 550 ATM Championship points.

Veronika Vadovicova won ITJ 2019 as first non-Japanese woman to achieve that

Hisashi Kitamura saw John Ellis become ATM Champion in Thailand the day earlier, but converted that disappointment into energy to score a great 10th place in the highly competitive men’s race

Asuka Nakajima returned to Tokyo earlier this year and will be competing in her first ITJ race

Tomohiro Mizukoshi is returning to action after a difficult year.

Yuta Matsuyama won the very wet Ultra Trail Chiang Mai last year

The iconic Izu Trail Journey event traversing the peninsula south of Tokyo is on the 2020 programme for Sunday, 13 December. The Japan SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship returns to the original 72km course after the typhoon-induced reroutes of last year. Fans of Izu Trail Journey will have wondered already why the registrations for the usually sold-out event have not yet been opened. Something that normally is done now in the first week of June.

Mr Tatsuo Chiba, co-event director of ITJ, confirmed to us that the registrations are postponed to 1 September, obviously also as a consequence of the corona pandemic. The situation in Japan and particularly the Tokyo and Izu area has improved a lot and restrictions are gradually being lifted. However, it is considered wiser to wait another three months, so both the event organisers and the runners can get a clearer picture of what to expect for this year’s edition. Even when still more than half a year from us now, it is likely that some special conditions or restrictions will be introduced for participation in the Izu Trail Journey 2020.

On a more positive note, in an attempt to revive the Japanese tourism industry there has been official talk of reduced pricing for transport and accommodation for travellers coming to the country later in the year.

More news on Izu Trail Journey in any case at the end of August.

Some of the ATM protagonists are always invited to come on stage during the press conference of ITJ

Veronika Vadovicova pulled off quite a stunt last year by winning the women’s race outright, despite not being 100% fit

Hisashi Kitamura was first of the ATM Championship contenders and was delighted with his result

A very familiar Japanese elite runner for many years: Shunsuke Okunomiya

John Ellis winning the ATM title in Thailand on Saturday seems to have inspired several other runners to excel in Japan during Sunday’s classic Izu Trail Journey. Veronika Vadovicova took an unprecedented victory as a non-Japanese athlete on the 68km course from Matsuzaki to Shuzenji Onsen Town in a time of just over 7 hours, cementing her position as the leading candidate for the women’s Asia Trail Master title to be decided at the TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival next weekend. Hisashi Kitamura adjusted his mindset timely, switched goals and succeeded in scoring a Top 10 placing in the men’s race - a feat no man directly competing in the ATM Championship had achieved previously.

Two months ago one of the country’s biggest typhoons of the last decade swept through the Izu Peninsula and destroyed a lot of the nature and hiking trails in the process. To the extent that afterwards, Izu Trail event organiser Tatsuo Chiba sent out a warning that his famous event, which is seen as a national team qualifier, may need to be cancelled this year. His team’s hard work and creativity paid off, though. The route of the 72km race had to be changed considerably by shortening it by four kilometres and replacing damaged areas with road sections, but at least the race could go on with these amendments. As the weather and temperature last Sunday turned out to be close to ideal after the early morning chill, the race -a runable 68km and 3300hm- was faster than ever before.

Izu Trail Journey is the Japan SuperTrail and therefore stimulates some of the ATM Championship contenders to chase those bonus points. Especially Veronika Vadovicova, making her return to the circuit after moving back to Slovakia following her race win Vietnam Jungle Marathon in May. The 29-year-old wants to get the title, but finds herself under some pressure by Christine Loh and Asuka Nakajima. Both have been piling up points and winning races in her absence. Despite some knee worries, Veronika was therefore determined to collect the 550 points and put on a good show in Japan, knowing how competitive races are in the land of the rising sun.

After 16km, lauded Japanese trail star Shunsuke Okunomiya, winner of Echigo Country Trail last year, was in the lead by himself, closely followed by Yutaro Yokouchi and the colourful Jumpei Yamaguchi. Yokouchi was announced locally as the man to beat, a marathon runner with a PB of 2:09... Tamaguchi is a newcomer to the scene and one who makes an impression by more than his great running ability. Hisashi Kitamura was in the top 20 at this point, with Tomohiro Mizukoshi not far behind him. The Roppongi runner is back 100% fit and showed himself very upbeat before the race. Mizukoshi is fourth in the ATM Championship ranking and will try to get in the top 3, like he managed last year. Veronika Vadovicova was already leading, but the experienced Yumiko Oichi stayed close. Tokyo-based French mountaineering woman Carole Fuchs, the impressive winner of the Cordillera Mountain Ultra last year, looked strong in third place at this point. However, not long afterwards Fuchs began to feel cramped up and stopped her run. Having just returned from another mountain expedition in Nepal, she did not have the best preparation for a fast trail run like Izu. Meanwhile, Maki Tanaka, the winner of Hakuba 2018, turned out to be a DNS.

At the incredibly scenic Nishina Pass, Okunomiya had been reeled in and passed by Yokouchi, with Tamaguchi and Hirokazu Nishimura. At the checkpoint, km 41, we had an interesting situation with hindsight. A confused Yokouchi spent quite some time looking for his personal food, Tamaguchi decided to have a longer break - inexperience? - and Nishimura saw all that and continued running straightaway without stopping! This put him suddenly in the lead with a nervous Yokouchi chasing him. Tomonori Onitsuka then took third place as Yamaguchi was slow to leave the checkpoint and aid station. Kitamura arrived here in 12th place. Veronika was 28th overall and together with Tomohiro Mizukoshi, but Yumiko Oichi was still only 10 minutes behind her.

The last 27km on the rolling hills with breathtaking views on Mt Fuji saw a great battle between Nishimura, from Kansai, and marathon ace Yokouchi. In the end, Nishimura had the upper hand and won the race in 5:53, seven minutes ahead. Onitsuka claimec third in 6:08. Yamaguchi still had to give fourth place away to Tomohiro Machida. Early leader Shunsuke Okunomiya took sixth ahead of Richard Coghlan - a familiar face in Izu and first non-Japanese.

Hisashi Kitamura had dropped to 14th place at the last checkpoint at km 53, but dug deep and incredibly enough managed to accelerate again to catch anc overtake four runners to claim his desired top 10 placing! It was a testimony of the fighting spirit he has displayed all season but also of his continuous improvement as a trail runner. While he was being interviewed, Tomohiro Tsuji - Izu Trail Journey winner two years ago - crossed the finish line in the background... Kitamura’s time: 6:28.

A year ago, Tomohiro Mizukoshi still finished ahead of Kitamura in this race. Now he was 35 minutes behind him. It’s all Kitamura’s improvement, because Mizukoshi ran a solid race at his best level to come in 25th and ahead of Veronika Vadovicova. That did not happen in spring this season... Important for him was also that he beat Daisuke Kobayashi in those final kilometres. Kobayashi was one of the runners eligible for championship points. (Note: ATM regulations stipulate that to score championship points in Izu and UT Panoramic you must have done minimum 1 ATM race this season).

Veronika Vadovicova accomplished a unique feat by winning the women’s race, something no foreigner has done before in this race. Yumiko Oichi kept chasing hard and in the finish the difference was still “only” 14 minutes. Only American top trail runner Laura Kline stayed closer to Vadovicova this season in the Cordillera Mountain Ultra 50k (3 minutes, also due to the Slovakian missing a turn in that race, though). On pure speed, it is hard to see anyone beating her at MMTF. However, to finish first you first need to finish and Vadovicova does sound concerned about her knee, the tough course and the 84km race distance. Plus, UT Panoramic winner Christine Loh is in pole position with 2600 points versus 2530 points. Asuka Nakajima has 2475 and can still reach 2600 if she wins MMTF. Those three will contest the ATM title, as Fredelyn Alberto (2nd in UT Panoramic but behind Loh) and Siokhar Lim (5th in UT Panoramic) can no longer reach the 2600-benchmark set by the Malaysian Pocket Rocket.

ATM#6 and recently crowned Grandmaster Carrie Jane Stander ran to 36th place in Izu and will collect some extra points for her ATM ranking with that result. For Stander it was the last race of the season, as work commitments prevent her from running in Malaysia next weekend.

Finally, worth mentioning here is the fine result from 2017 ATM Champion in 71st place in a time of 8:01. As a true Southeast Asian, Ong suffered from the cold temperatures at the 6:00 am race start (4 degrees), but as soon as he warmed up he executed his own game plan and ran very well to make up fifteen places in the last 13 km! Visibly pleased with his own performance, Steven Ong could create a few surprises next ATM season..

The Izu Trail Journey to the south of Tokyo has been a decider in the Asia Trail Master Championship since 2017 and this year it could again make or break the chances of Veronika Vadovicova and Hisashi Kitamura in the context of the Asia Trail Master Championship. Vadovicova, the early season dominator, has returned from her native Slovakia in Eastern Europe to get the title. But to achieve that, she will need to be at her best here in the Japan SuperTrail and next week in TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival.

Due to the gigantic typhoon that struck the Izu Peninsula in October, this year’s race will deviate from the traditional course in a few parts. The total distance now will be 68km instead of 72km and elevation gain is also reduced to a still substantial 3300 hm.

The fact is that Veronika Vadovicova can pull of quite a stunt by winning this renowned Japanese race, often used in the domestic scene to determine the places on the national trail running team. If she is any way as fast as in spring, she stands a real chance against the Japanese elite such as Maki Tanaka and Kaori Asahara. Last year, France’s Carole Fuchs scored 6th place in this race and she will be back also - reportedly in better shape than twelve months ago, too. Fuchs is a mountaineer athlete, who on a good day can be outstanding in a trail race - remember CMU 2018.

Here it is important to note that only runners with minimum 1 ATM result in 2019 are eligible for more points in Izu Trail Journey. That means, Vadovicova doesn’t really need to worry about the Japanese elite and even Fuchs as most of them did not compete in ATM this season. One runner on the Izu start list who did is Canada’s Carrie Jane Stander. Recently crowned as a Grandmaster, Stander is 7th in the ATM Championship and another good result could still get her a top 5 placing by year’s end.

The men’s race will be illuminated by the traditional Japanese national team seekers such as Ko Ito, Katsuhiro Matsubara, Nobuya Tani, Shunsuke Okunomiya and Tomohiro Tsuji. From an ATM point of view, Hisashi Kitamura is the runner to watch. He needs a win of the ATM eligibles to retain his chances for the ATM Championship win in Taiping next weekend. A difficult ask and by the time he goes to the starting line on Sunday morning he will know the outcome of the Ultra Trail Panoramic in Thailand and the performance of title rival John Ellis there. Kitamura therefore cannot control his own fate, something he did so beautifully in The Punisher in Philippines last weekend. One contender he needs to watch out for is his compatriot Tomohiro Mizukoshi. The latter was faster than Kitamura in Izu a year ago, and himself engaged in a battle for the top five of the ATM Championship with Koi Grey and Sukrit Kaewyoun.

Another man to watch in Izu will be 2017 Asia Trail Master Champion Steven Ong. The Malaysian is clearly coming back to his best form after a full year of injury and other issues, and could be a serious contender, indeed. The weather forecast says not too cold, which also plays into the cards of the Southeast Asian runners.

We will be reporting live from Izu Trail Journey all day on Sunday via Facebook and Instagram.

Tomohiro Mizukoshi aims to consolidate his Top 5 placing in the ATM Championship in Izu

A year ago, Hisashi Kitamura beat Pablo Diago Gonzales for 4th place in the ATM Championship. Now he runs with the title on his mind, even when he has no control over John Ellis this weekend...

2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong will run Izu for the first time

Veronika Vadovicova: ATM title favourite but there’s injury worries

Singapore-based Italian Alessandro Sherpa has crowned himself as the new Asia Trail Master champion after beating his main challenger Salva Rambla in a straight dual during the Izu Trail Journey in Japan. Sherpa succeeds Malaysian Steven Ong as ATM champion. In the final 2018 ranking, Rambla is second and Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi third. The iconic 72km long Izu Trail Journey itself was won surprisingly by Fuji-homeboy Ko Ito and the returning Yumiko Oichi in the women’s category.

After the Compressport Trail Blazer in Singapore, Salva Rambla had a psychological advantage over a still-injured Sherpa going into the big Japan final. In addition, Tomohiro Mizukoshi was running in the area he grew up in, and not for the first time. As Rambla more or less had to win the race of the ATM championship contenders (only runners who did two ATM races in 2018 are eligible for points in the season’s final), Mizukoshi was announced as the King Maker, who could make life even harder for Sherpa to retain his 130-points-lead in the championship. As last year, Izu Trail Journey was a brilliant ending to our championship, and six runners ranked in the top ten were present at the start line: Sherpa, Rambla and Mizukoshi, but also Diago Gonzales, Kitamura and Sungsik Joh.

The top 3 of the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship: LtR: Sherpa, Rambla and Mizukoshi

It was cold again on race day, yet nowhere near the arctic conditions of last year when runners even found snow and ice on the way. Alessandro Sherpa had had a good night of sleep apparently, as rather than sitting back and following Salva Rambla he crossed the first checkpoint after km 10 as leader in the race together with former Izu winner Tomohiro Tsuji. Rambla was two minutes back in the main group of favourites. As the terrain became hillier, the local lightweight Japanese runners moved up the leaderboard. Four runners went ahead, with Sherpa and Rambla just behind and Hong Kong-based Frenchman Pierre-Andrew Ferriere gradually edging closer as well. Ferriere is on the Gone Running Team and had been announced as being in top shape for Izu Trail Journey, leading the Hong Kong Strava board in November in terms of elevation gain conquered. His first appearance in an ATM points race will be remembered, as he passed the two championship contenders half-way and continued to push through to eventually find himself as third on the race podium!

Meanwhile, Ko Ito had taken command of the race going up to Nishina Pass at the km 42 mark. Also Ito had made a relaxed start, and overtook everyone ahead of him uphill. However, even the Japanese race directors did not really know who Ko Ito was. Later in the interviews he would explain he hails from the Mount Fuji area and usually finishes races around the top ten rank. However, he had prepared himself meticulously for Izu Trail Journey, an A-goal, with many weeks of speed training, proving again how important that aspect of training is for trail as well. Ko Ito would not run away from the better known runners such as Katsuhiro Matsubara, Nobuya Tani and Tsuji (who clearly was too ambitious trying to follow Sherpa in the beginning), but four minutes was enough to take a unprecedented win.

Ko Ito was the surprise race winner of Izu Trail Journey 2018

Meanwhile, Rambla had managed to overtake Sherpa at some point downhill, raising the pressure on the Italian, who did not know where any of the other ATM runners were. If Rambla came first, and someone else placed himself between him and Sherpa, the ATM championship would go to the Spaniard. However, Rambla’s ‘attack’ did not last very long. Tired of all the traveling over the past weeks, he had to admit not having the best of legs for the final race of the season. Sherpa caught him back uphill and saw the moment. He pressed ahead by himself and opened a gap that later would never be more than a handful of minutes. But it proved enough. As he crossed the finish line as 13th, but first of the ATM championship contenders, he had the title in the bag. Salva Rambla eventually let go at the end and arrived just ahead of Tomohiro Mizukoshi, whose second part of the race was significantly better than his first. While Sherpa enjoyed his title victory after months of hardship (he kept on postponing necessary surgery), Rambla could not hide his disappointment, although in fair sportsmanship.

Behind them, Pablo Diago Gonzales and Hisashi Kitamura had their own fantastic battle going on for fourth place in this year’s championship. Both started the race on equal points, so Izu would decide their final ranking, too. The two runners exchanged positions continuously throughout the race. And just when Diago Gonzales appeared to have got it in the bag, Kitamura sprinted past him again in the last main downhill towards the finish! Caught off-guard, similar to Mantra Summits where he lost the race lead in the final kilometre to Elias Tabac, Diago Gonzales had no response left to the final burst of energy of the amazing Kitamura. Based in Kuala Kumpur, the Japanese runner has only begun to run trails exactly a year ago and has seen his performances grow steadily ever since.

The women’s race was won for the third time by Yumiko Oichi. The local athlete had just returned from a very long injury pause, and was delighted to have come out on top of a great battle with two other runners. Hakuba Trails winner Maki Tanaka was dominating proceedings until two-thirds into the race, when suddenly Oichi and Kaori Asahara returned to the front. Yumiko Oichi had the best final dash. A great run was also delivered by the now-Japan-based Carole Fuchs. After a modest early phase, diesel Fuchs managed to race herself in the top five of the race. She was also first of the runners eligible for ATM points, which puts her in the top ten of the final ranking. Aggy Sabanal from Mindanao, Philippines, was the second woman of her country to finish Izu Trail Journey. A mountain climber and specialist of technical trails, Sabanal can be very happy with her result on the hilly but runable Izu Trail. Her performance also resulted in second place in the ATM Championship ranking, splitting the Indonesians Ruth Theresia and Sri Wahyuni. Not bad for a 22-year-old university student!

Did they have a little tussle: Hisashi Kitamura and Pablo Diago Gonzales for 4th place!

Nagano-based New Zealander Richard Coghlan had a fantastic run to 9th place!

All podium placers together on the podium

Yumiko Oichi won Izu Trail for a third time, but after long injury troubles, this was special

Filipino Aggy Sabanal finished the race as one of the youngest in the field at age 22

Korea’s Sungsik Joh found Izu to his liking, but gastritis gave him a tough day on the trails

The top five of the ATM championship in one pic

At the press and race briefing on saturday afternoon

No Mt Fuji this year: it was too cloudy to adore the mountain on the horizon

For the second consecutive season Izu Trail Journey across Japan’s Izu Peninsula south of Tokyo will decide the outcome of the Asia Trail Master men’s championship. After 35 points races in 15 Asian countries, Alessandro Sherpa and Salva Rambla will battle for the title in a straight dual on the fantastic but challenging 72km course from Matzuzaki to Shuzenji.

Izu Trail Journey is rapidly gaining prestige and fame in the Asian trail circuit since it joined our championship series in 2017. Last year’s edition was of course also historical for its frosty and even snowy conditions. It won’t get that cold tomorrow but for sure wind jackets will be worn by most runners as they line up for the start at 6 a.m. by the ocean. Five of the top six male runners in the Asia Trail Master Championship will be competing against some local Japanese elite and international elites. An important novelty for the season’s final, though, is that ATM points will only be awarded to runners who have done minimum two ATM races this year. This means there will be a race within the race for the ATM protagonists. In the fight for the ATM title, it comes down to this: Sherpa leads Rambla by 130 points, but Rambla can still up his total score by 180 points. It means that no matter what anyone else does tomorrow, Salva Rambla needs to be first (+180 points) or second (+130 points) of the ATM protagonists to have a chance of winning the ATM championship. And then it of course still depends on Sherpa’s own performance. If Salva wins Izu and Sherpa is second, Sherpa wins the championship (2550 points vs 2525 points). If Salva wins and Sherpa finishes third in the race, they both end up with a total of 2525 points: a tie and then we look at the last direct confrontation of the two runners in question, which means Salva would be the new champion. That is of course the beauty of tomorrow’s race: Salva Rambla beat Alessandro Sherpa in Singapore’s Trail Blazer only two weeks go, and if fast-legged Salva were to go ahead solo on the Izu Trail, Sherpa must make sure nobody else of the ATM protagonists runs passed him tomorrow. Enter runners Pablo Diago Gonzales, home runner Tomohiro Mizukoshi, Hisashi Kitamura and Daisuke Kobayashi, to name the most likely ‘spoilers’ for Sherpa in this scenario. Tomohiro Mizukoshi has already been labelled the King Maker, because not only is he at home in Izu and did he run this race last year already, but most importantly, he beat both Rambla and Sherpa on a runable 70k course in Bali in October! Moreover, Mizukoshi needs to watch his rear mirror, too. Hisashi Kitamura is not too far down on ATM points and seems keen to finish the championship season as number one Japanese! Pablo Diago Gonzales ran Izu also last year and is back in Japan to do better. Diago Gonzales hails from Spain just like Salva Rambla: will there be a Spanish alliance? Finally, there is Daisuke Kobayashi: little known outside Japan, but a strong runner with Echigo and Hakuba Trails on his ATM record in 2018: he is in the mix for points tomorrow. Kobayashi finished just eight minutes behind Mizukoshi in Hakuba Trails proving his advanced level. In ultra trail running, it is a cliche that anything can happen and there’s too many scenarios to write down here. Let’s conclude with one that sees Salva Rambla finish as second tomorrow: then Sherpa can allow himself to be fourth only.

We could not have hoped for a better finish of the 2018 season, although it is of course a pity that the injured Milton Amat from Malaysia could not join the final in Japan. Amat would have been another candidate for the ATM title thanks to his great performances this season in four big races, three of which were SuperTrails.

In the battle for the race victory tomorrow, Japan’s elites Kei Kikushima (winner Hakuba Trails, but did not compete in another ATM race this season), Tomohiro Tsuji (winner Izu Trail Journey 2016) and Yuichi Miura rank among the top favourites.

The women’s Asia Trail Master Championship already reached a conclusion two weeks ago with Indonesia’s Ruth Theresia crowned as the new champion. However, Izu Trail Journey still has significance for the places of honour. Philippines’ newcomer Aggy Sabanal will be trying to snatch second place in the ATM championship ranking away from Sri Wahyuni. Sabanal, still just 22 years young and university student, is running her first race outside of her home country. She will try to follow into the footsteps of her compatriot Patricia Ann Morota, who completed the freezing edition of last year as first Filipino in great fashion. A strong runner who will try to finish a remarkable year inside the ATM top 10 is Carole Fuchs. Previously based in Bangkok, the French former IronMan professional and winner of Cordillera Mountain Ultra has recently moved to Japan and has been back in training after her successful but physically draining Mount Everest expedition in May. On a good day, Fuchs might as well aim for the top three in tomorrow’s race and a good race result would in any case propel her into the ATM championship top ten. Yukako Takashima, the winner of Echigo Country Trail this year, will be one of the Japanese elite to beat.

As usual we will be reporting live from the race via our social media channels. The race starts at 6 am local time.

Dinner in Tokyo for the two ATM championship finalists: nobody spiked any soup

The top 3 of the ATM Championship ranking in Tokyo, flanked by Aggy Sabanal and ATM General Manager Kris Van de Velde

Kei Kikushima could win the race

Maki Tanaka is among the women’s favourites

Carole Fuchs at Echigo just after her climbing Mt Everest: she finished second