Once again, UTSG 50 in Singapore was characterised by exciting and fast racing with a pinch of uncertainty always in the mix due to the complicated nature of trail course design and marking in the city state. The local community in Singapore may have finally found a genuine trail running star in the making by the name of Wen Sheng. The 2:30 marathon runner, in his mid-twenties, managed to cross the finish line ahead of reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell, who initially had looked like a guaranteed repeat winner of this race. Also in the women’s 50km, things came down to the wire, as Tokyo’s Chisato Kario raced back to locally based Filipino LJ Benitez for her second ATM race victory in two months.

UTSG 50 is the only ATM points race event in Singapore and just like last year attracted a solid number of runners. The venue had been moved to the Dairy Farm and the course had also been changed and made slightly spicier, but the vibe was still the same. It’s good to have a proper international offroad race in SIngapore. Last year’s winner Jeff Campbell, who beat John Ray Onifa on that occasion, was the big favourite in the men’s and looked to be in control in the first half as well. He tolerated Humberto Baeza, Sui Hong and Shingo Abe with him, before he accelerated the pace and went solo just before km 25. Fellow Hong Konger Sui Hong, already fourth here last year, resisted quite well, but could not bridge the gap anymore. Baeza began to struggle and would later rather mysteriously dissapear from the leaderboard. Abe suffered from dehydration and dropped back, but then there was this tall young local runner named Wen Sheng who was very much holding his own and even appeared to be having a slightly faster pace than Campbell and Sui Hong. As race reporters and followers were waiting for Campbell to appear at the km 44 mark, which initiated a double short loop with a hill climb - half of it on a staircase, they were left stunned to see Wen Sheng appearing first instead! Campbell was just some 20-25 seconds behind and said he had missed a course marker. Local advantage for Wen Sheng, but how hard Campbell then was trying to get back to him, he couldn’t. By the end of that hillclimb loop, the gap was not smaller, but slightly bigger. (see videos below).

It was a great dual to watch and in the end Wen Sheng secured his first victory in his ATM debut in 4h07. A visibly disappointed Campbell settled for second place, Sui Hong came in third ten minutes behind Wen Sheng. A honourable mention goes out to several others, not in the least Singapore-based Philippe Daniel and Khoo Houw Ann from the north of Malaysia, who caught Abe towards the end to take fourth and fifth. Nazrul Islam was seventh and another local hero Deric Lau eighth.

After her surprise win in the Mount Ugo Marathon in Philippines early May, ahead of Angelie Cabalo and Hee Joo Jang, eyes were focused on Japan’s Chisato Kario in the women’s race. Indeed, from the beginning she set the pace and opened up a considerable gap towards two Filipinos living in Singapore: LJ Benitez and someone who turned out to be running with someone else’s bib number and later got disqualified. By halfway distance, however, Kario’s advantage had shrunk entirely and Benitez caught up. The two stayed together until the aforementioned hillclimb loop and on the second of these loops, Benitez managed to open up a gap on Kario. Game over, one would have thought. But at the finish it was the Japanese runner who appeared first with Benitez behind her in the distance! A great push to the line by Kario, who as second runner did benefit also somewhat from leader Benitez getting confused by a course marking. With two victories and 1000 ATM points in the bag, Chisato Kario is basically assured of qualification for Team Japan in the ATM Championship Final, where she could definitely have podium chances. Her finishing time was 5h17. China’s Shifan Hu was third, just head of Miki Ueki, also from Japan.

UTSG 50: Local rookie Wen Sheng outguns Jeff Campbell!