The Karate Kit is totally back !! Hisashi Kitamura brilliantly won the 100 km points race at Shiga Kogen in Nagano, just a week after nearly winning Deep Japan Ultra 80 as well. In Niigata he had to settle for third place after a marshall error, but last weekend everything went according to plan. Kitamura took a humble start and at some point was even reported to be running only in seventh place. Up front it was Shoma Maruyama, one of the protagonists in The 9 Dragons earlier this season, who was setting the pace together with Jun Takeuchi and Takumi Sawayamagi. The weather was cool and runners also had to negiotiate a few rain drops, but all in all conditions were great. As the beautiful day time race continued, Kitamura began to move up the leaderboard as Shoma Maruyama began to slow down. At km 80, Kitamura was in the lead. Who says you cannot perform at a high level two weeks in a row? It’s the 10th career win in Asia Trail Master for last year’s and the 2019 vice-champion. He will be again among the top favourites to finally clinch the title. Kitamura actually needed a good result to be certain of qualfiication. Since he moved back to Japan, he is compelled to be choosing his races more carefully and is no longer travelling as much.

In second place in the finish was Takumi Sawayamagi and in third Jun Takeuchi. Shoma Maruyama took fourth, just like in the 9 Dragons in February, which means he now has 800 ATM points in the bag. That might be sufficient for qualification into Team Japan for the ATM Final. Yoshiki Toda nearly caught him, but finished fifth.

The women's 100k race was won by Sachi Nakano, ahead of Shiori Uehara and Ayaka Oono.

The second of our Japanese back-to-back points race weekends features Shiga Kogen 100 in Nagano, a great new entry on our Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. A very scenic 100km race with 5100 hm elevation gain awaits the runners, as they cross one of the country’s main national parks, which is also labelled a UNESCO Eco-Park. Despite the considerable elevation gain, the trail course is more runable and less technical than last week’s Deep Japan Ultra in Niigata. A few people are doing the double, the most prominent of those being Hisashi Kitamura.

The vice-ATM Champion 2024 and 2019 had a stroke of bad luck last week at DJU. Comfortably leading the 80km race at the 50k aid station point, Kitamura was then sent onto the short distance course by a confused marshal. By the time he noticed something was wrong, it was already several kilometres further and two other runners had moved ahead of him. Kitamura took third place on the podium as a result, which still had significance as it boosted his Season 10 ATM points totally to 715 and third place in Japan’s ATM ranking. The Top 5 gets automatically qualfied for this year’s Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October. Since he moved back to Tokyo, Hisashi Kitamura is primarily focusing on the ATM races in Japan to score points, so Shiga Kogen 100 remains important in that context. With more and more Japanese runners entering ATM points races, 715 points is probably not yet completely safe. On Saturday, he will be up against some other known Japanese elite runners, such as Takumi Sawayanagi and Shoma Maruyama. The latter was fourth in the 9 Dragons earlier this year and could get himself in a strong position to be qualified for Team Japan as well.

Shiga Kogen 100 is organised by the Shiga Kogen 100 Race Committee and Mr Koji Otsuka, one of the country’s most experienced trail running event organisers. As the official website reads, Shiga Kogen occupies the center of Joshinetsu Kogen National Park. It is a famous ski resort that hosted the Nagano Olympics (1998) in the winter. During the green season, Shiga Kogen is a treasure trove of nature, with beautiful alpine plants and beautiful lakes and wetlands that can be enjoyed in the vast plateau area. The Shiga Kogen, which has been certified as a UNESCO Eco Park, is an attractive area where nature and human society coexist.

This is a mountainous area so. even in summer temperatures remain cool and are ideal for endurance sports. The start and finish venue lies at about 1600m above sea level, and the highest point of the course is at 2200m. The organisers are confident that that despite the elevation gain, the 100km is a great introduction to the classic ultra distance for those who have never done it before. On the start list we also see several runners from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Philippines to name a few. Two Filipino women are to watch out for: Avegail Depanay and Metzi Joy Alson. Both are having a great competitive ATM season and are currently ranked fifth and sixth in the Filipino points ranking. Also Malaysia’s Ng Kwan Hooi has been going well and could propel herself into her country’s Top 5 with a good result at Shiga Kogen this weekend.

The race flag-off is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. on Saturday early morning. The cut-off time is 26 hours, meaning Sunday morning 6:30 am.

Hisashi Kitamura: can he score the victory at Shiga Kogen 100 ?

Shoma Maruyama was 4th in the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong earlier this year

We are delighted to announce that Shiga Kogen 100 in Yamanouchi Town, Nagano, is entering the Asia Trail Master calendar on 5-7 July! The Japanese trail event features a very scenic 100km race with 5100 hm elevation gain that will provide points for the ATM Championship ranking and for the Grandmaster Quest. The event is organised by the Shiga Kogen 100 Race Committee and Mr Koji Otsuka, one of the country’s most experienced trail running event organisers. Shiga Kogen is one of Japan’s main national parks and also a UNESCO Eco-Park. Despite the considerable amount of elevation gain, the 100km is considered runable.

As the official website reads, Shiga Kogen occupies the center of Joshinetsu Kogen National Park. It is a famous ski resort that hosted the Nagano Olympics (1998) in the winter. During the green season, Shiga Kogen is a treasure trove of nature, with beautiful alpine plants and beautiful lakes and wetlands that can be enjoyed in the vast plateau area. The Shiga Kogen, which has been certified as a UNESCO Eco Park, is an attractive area where nature and human society coexist.

This is a mountainous area so. even in summer temperatures remain cool and are ideal for endurance sports. The start and finish venue lies at about 1600m above sea level, and the highest point of the course is at 2200m. Less ambitious runners can also opt for a 55km category or a 21k category, but these offer no points for ATM. In any case, the organisers are confident that that despite the elevation gain, the 100km is a great introduction to the classic ultra distance for those who have never done it before.

100km participants are expected to collect their race pack on Friday afternoon, 5 July. The race flag-off is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. on Saturday early morning. The cut-off time is 26 hours, meaning Sunday morning 6:30 am. The podium ceremony will take place after that.

Registration is open via the official website, where you can also find details on accommodation. International runners are most likely best of flying to Tokyo and take a train or bus to Nagano from there first. Information can be obtained via shiga100@ktf.or.jp .