Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama claimed his 3rd ATM race win in Luang Prabang last Sunday. The colourful ATM Finalist of the past two season, both times also concluding the championship inside the top 10, won the 100km race rather comfortably in 19h02’30”. The UGLOW runner was well-ahead of China's Lyu Meng in second and another Japanese runner Hiroki Yoshikawa in third. Amorn Kimnguan completed the race in fourth place. Yuta Matsuyama had previously twice won the UTCM 100 in Thailand. A perfect start to his Season 10 campaign!

The women’s 100km race was dominated by Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong, who underscored her great 8th place in the ATM Championship Final at Borneo TMBT last month. For Leumathong, who resides in Malaysia, it was the first ever ATM points race victory.

The 55km race in the men’s category was won by Thailand’s Danon Rattanatumrong in 7h56’07”. His second ATM race win after UTKC 70 in 2022. He was 34 minutes ahead of Hong Kong’s Rod Henderson, an ATM Finalist in 2023. Henderson was chased to the line by Australia’s Fergus Macleod. The women’s 55km race went to Canada’s Cassandra Inthavong, by 25 minutes over Sawoeisook Miskow. Third place on the podium went to Toukta Inthavong.

Luang Prabang Trail was the first Laos event of Season 10, which could be followed by two more points race events in the country later in 2025.

This weekend we also have a new destination on our championship event calendar in Laos! The Luang Prabang Ultra Trail in the old UNESCO World Heritage city follows into the footsteps of the renowned V Trail in Vang Vieng, member of ATM since 2018. Green Step manages also this event, which has the potential to grow into a trail classic. Luang Prabang was the royal capital of the country until 1975 and sports an incredible artistic heritage. Reasons enough to pay a visit in itself, and now trail runners can also exercise their favourite hobby while doing so.

On the programme this weekend are both a 100km and a 55km category with points for the Top 25 for the ATM Championship ranking, which leads to potential qualification for the Championship Final in September 2025. While the aforementioned V Trail is renowned for its seriously tough course, Luang Prabang Trail offers a more runable course with total elevation gain for the 100km estimated at 3700hm. The 55km category has nearly 1800 hm. That implies we may see some different local Laotian names on the leaderboard than in Vang Vieng. Looking at the 100km start list, however, the name of Tokyo’s Yuta Matsuyama stands out as a well-known victory contender. Matsuyama scored top ten in the last two ATM Finals and has a double victory in Ultra Trail Chiang Mai on his record. One caveat for the colourful Japanese runner is the tropical heat, which he often struggles with. Malaysia’s Wont Kudin, who recently earned his Grandmaster title, is a regular top five placer in his home races in Sabah. Amongst the familiar names on the start list, he could be Matsuyama’s biggest challenger. Also Amorn Kimnguan from Thailand, Hiroki Yoshikawa from Japan, Lyu Meng from China will be competing for the podium. The women’s 100km has Thai runner Siriporn Leumathong as arguable the favourite for the victory. She was the surprise on the top ten podium of the ATM Championship Finat at Borneo TMBT more than a month ago, showing the competitive potential that had always been there but only occasionally came out. She will be up against Visisombat Nakin.

More runners on the medium distance of 55km, as usual. A great international mix as well. Among the potential victory contenders we find Thailand’s Danon Rattanatumrong, winner of UTKC 70 in 2022. Hong Kong’s Rod Henderson, ATM finalist in 2023, is also always in for a good result. We are looking forward to seeing the local runners, too. On the basis of V Trail last season, Laos’ own trail runnes are indeed growing in number and in competitiveness.

Yuta Matsuyama looking to score another win in Southeast Asia

Siriporn Leumathong could be scoring her first ATM race win this weekend on the 100km

Rod Henderson was a finalist for Hong Kong last year

Trail runners across Asia will be happy to learn that Luang Prabang Trail in Laos is a new addition to the ATM Championship calendar of Season 10. The 3rd edition of the event, organised by the same team as V Trail, will be held on the weekend of 19/20 October 2024 and features two points race categories (105km, 55km) for the Championship ranking, and one for the Grandmaster Quest (105km). Luang Prabang is the former capital of the country, and now a large UNESCO World Heritage Site and tourism magnet.

While trail runners can look forward to a very scenic new destination, they should also come prepared. Luang Prabang Trail - like V Trail in Vang Vieng - is no walk in the park. The 105km race has an estimated elevation gain of 6850 hm and the 55km has approx 3500 hm. Luckily, the cut-off times are reasonable - as you can see in the image below.

Trail running in Laos is still very much in its infancy, but the team of Green Step has built a solid reputation since 2018 with V Trail. International runners are highly encouraged to join the event’s facebook page to stay up-to-date with latest developments in English language. Event Director Philip Tay is also available via whatsapp for any queries there may be. There are a number of international flights to Luang Prabang from Thailand, Vietnam, China and Cambodia. Alternatively, you transit in Laos’ country capital Vientiane , or take a long distance bus from there. Accommodation is plentiful via the usual hotel booking agents online.

With regret we need to announce that the new-style Luang Prabang Ultra Trail in Laos has been moved to 2023 as a consequence of ongoing covid-19 mitigation measures in the country. Concretely, access to the UNESCO World Heritage town remains restricted so holding a mass participation sports event is not yet feasible. Luang Prabang Ultra Trail was scheduled for the weekend of 24/25 September. The news, provided by event organiser Green Step, serves as a reminder that - unfortunately - we are all not out of the woods yet. Nevertheless, Green Step emphasises that their traditional trail running event in the country’s south, Vang Vieng Trail (aka V Trail) is confirmed to take place on the weekend of 12/13 November. International access to that event is via Laos’ capital Vientiane. V Trail is one of the tougher jungle mountain races on our calendar with Salva Rambla and Alessandro Sherpa sharing the victory in 2018 and Milton Amat dominating in 2019.