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..

It’s busy weeks on the ATM circuit and the trail racing continues this weekend with the final points race in Thailand for 2022, the Doi Nhok Trail near Chiang Mai. The second edition of this event unfortunately threatens to be overhadowed by the WMTRC event, which got rescheduled from last year to this weekend and which also takes place in the Chiang Mai area. Some of the biggest names in ATM and in Thailand, and other neighbouring countries and regions, e.g. John Ellis, Milton Amat, Jeff Campbell, Ezster Csillag, Sally Yap, Ruth Theresia, John Ray Onifa and Jay Jantaraboon have received the opportunity to measure themselves on a global stage. As a consequence, we expect instead to discover several new faces at Doi Nhok Trail. The start list of the event is in any case very long. The list of race distance categories is unfortunately also very long. ATM Championship points will be scored on the 125k and the 58 km races. But runners on the Grandmaster Quest can do 80km, 125km or even 100 miles.

Last weekend’s 9 Dragons in Langkawi, an ATM Candidate Race label event, saw a very nice victory by Andy Chong Chi Lee on the main 50/50 category, that is 50 miles on Saturday and 50 km on Sunday. Lee made the difference on Sunday, when he distanced Singapore’s Lem Chee Ng - with whom he had finished together a day earlier. Siokhar Lim was, as expected, the only female finisher of the 50/50. Francesco Floris ran with her quite a bit to be third in the men’s. The 50 miles single race was won by Ben Hails and Law Bee Chiao. The 50k single race went to Radzi Mokhtar and Gladys Ang.

The plagued Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping has now been forced to reschedule the event date as a consequence of Malaysia’s national elections taking place on the original weekend of 19/20 November. MMTF is now set for one week later. Both the 100km and 50km races have a very competitive field of entrants, hopefully most of them can still make it on the new date. Along with Malnad Ultra in India, Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Philippines and Izu Trail Journey in Japan, MMTF is one of the final points races for the 2022 ATM rankings, and thus opportunity for runners to get into their national country team for the ATM Championship Final on Mount Apo in Davao, Philippines, on 17 December.

A media conference on the Mount Apo Sky Race event was held in Davao City this week and can be watched here.

Runners who are currently in the Top of their country ranking will receive all details on the event in the coming days. As previously announced, all qualifiers will get free race entry for the 75k Final race, free 3-night accommodation, free country team t-shirts, and free airport shuttle services from/to Davao City.

Andy Chong Chi Lee scored a very nice victory in the 50/50 of the 9 Dragons Langkawi

This weekend we have the next ATM Candidate Race event in Malaysia, and it’s a debut for the popular holiday island Langkawi. The 9 Dragons Malaysia mirrors the event concept introduced by RaceBase in Hong Kong, itself a points race in our Championship series in 2018 and 2019. The main focus is on the two-day competition with runners doing 50 miles on Saturday AND 50 km on Sunday. A tough task, physically and mentally, and arguably even more so in hot & humid Langkawi than in a relatively cool early February weekend in Hong Kong. It is perhaps not a surprise therefore that he start lists for the individual 50 miles and 50k races are longer than for the combo race. However, it is certainly no surprise to see Siokhar Lim on the start list. According to some, Siokhar Lim deserves the title of ‘toughest trail woman in Malaysia’ , by virtue of her impressive record in the most difficult ultra trail events in the region since 2019. As we have seen already this season, Siokhar Lim is also faster than ever and the question is whether she can podium overall this weekend in Langkawi. Puteri Norsharina Abdul Aziz, like Lim an ATM Grandmaster, is the second Malaysian woman on the 50/50 combo, and they are joined by Ireland’s Dawn O’Dowd. In the men’s start list we find a.o. Abdul Rahman and Lem Chee Ng, the Singapore-based Malaysian who finished together with Siokhar Lim at UTOP 105 three weeks ago.

Lots of runners signed up for the 50 miles and 50 km single races, and we will be keeping an eye out for a.o. Sally Yap and Halimatun Sa’adiah.

Siokhar Lim: the combo race at 9 Dragons is yet another challenge for her to conquer

Abdul Rahman

Halimatun Sa’adiah will be in action on the 50 km

The 9 Dragons in Hong Kong has not only been a popular SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship since a couple of years, its 50/50 format has also become a trendsetter in Asia. Running 50 miles on Saturday, and backing that up with 50 km on Sunday is a serious challenge of anyone’s endurance ability - and not all people - even elites - can cope with that horrible period of rest between the two stages!

RaceBase Asia has created something that captures the imagination of the trail runner who likes to test his limits, and it is no wonder the event brand is now venturing beyond Hong Kong’s boundaries. Malaysia has the honour of being first to host its own 9 Dragons. Scheduled to take place on the exquisite holiday island of Langkawi to the north of Penang in the state of Kedah, the 9 Dragons Malaysia is a new collaboration between MMTF Consultant - organisers of TNF 100 in Taiping - and founders Race Base Asia. The inaugural edition is currently set for the weekend of 2-4 October and will be a 2021 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race.

The event has a wide range of race category options, but the main event of course is the 50/50, which starts at 23:00 on Friday night, 2 October. Elevation gain for the 50 miles is estimated at 3200 hm. Sunday’s 50km will offer about 2000 hm. Less ambitious runners can also go for 25K and 10K options. In fact, you can even do the short combo of 25K on Saturday and 10K on Sunday as well. The race will give every runner a chance of a lifetime to experience running through paddy fields and covering most of the peaks in Langkawi.

The event centre will be the Resort World Langkawi.

Registration is opening on 15 April. More details - also regarding mandatory gear - can be obtained via the official website.

Former Asia Trail Master Champion Steven Ong acts as the race director of the 9D Langkawi race

Famous seaviews from the Langkawi hilltops

Racebase has just announced publicly that this weekend’s The 9 Dragons Ultra - the Hong Kong SuperTrail in our Asia Trail Master Championship - cannot be held. The organisation cannot guarantee safety of all participants due to the situation with the corona virus that is holding mainland China and also Hong Kong in an ever tightening grip.

The official statement on facebook reads: “We write this with heavy hearts. It is with great regret that we announce the cancellation of The 9 Dragons Races in 2020.

Based on the conversations and the recent announcement of the closure of all LCSD facilities, we no longer have access to the 50 mile finsh/50k start line and also unable to access certain checkpoints which require WSD gate access. We feel that we cannot organise this years’ race in an environment that is first of all safe but also guarantees that you all have a good racing experience. We realise that this is short notice and will come as a disappointment to you.

Please know that as a passionate team of race organisers we are equally disappointed.

There are a few practical items we would like to inform you about:

- We will reserve your application for this years’ race for participating in 9D 2021. - You will not need to pay the application fee for the 2021 race, registration will be carried over to 2021.

- We will transfer your registration for 9D 2020 to 9D 2021 under the same course you registered. Resubmission of registration will therefore not be required. As such, if you have collected your bib & wristband, please hold on to these to be used for the 2021 race.

- Next year you will receive a confirmation email during the application period. Participants will be allowed to make amendments to their entry for a designated period, including transfer to another runner.

- If the amendments concern change of course / category / participant, it will in effect require the issuance of new number bib and wristband. If this applies to you it will be necessary for you to return the relevant bib and wristband to us after the amendment deadline for issuance of new ones.

- If you lose your bib/wristband, bibs replacement charges will be $50 for number bib and $150 for wristband. You are welcome to collect your bibs and any purchased items from Escapade until Friday 31st January, 2021. If your bib is uncollected, this will be available during the 2021 bib collection. All purchased clothing items must be collected. Any other purchased items such as bus tickets, tracking timer will be transferred to your 2021 registration. We plan to hold an informal run on the 9 Dragons Course this coming weekend, as well as a drinks gathering and will announce those plans soon. Stay safe, happy trails and see you all for 9 Dragons 2021.

Warm Regards, The Nine Dragons Organizing Committee

The 9 Dragons would have been the first SuperTrail of the 2020 season with a stellar cast on the 50/50 and 50K categories.

The next points races on the schedule are the EcoTrail Al Ula in Saudi Arabia next week and Ultra Trail Koh Chang in Thailand the week after.

The first SuperTrail of the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series will again be the infamous 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong’s New Territories. An event that has grown in reputation and popularity ever since it began and one that brings international and regional talent together over one full weekend of racing. The 9 Dragons’s flagship race is indeed still the 50/50 stage race: 50 miles on Saturday and 50k on Sunday. A race that caters for tough endurance specialists, as the last few years have shown. New - in the context of ATM - is that the 50k and not the 50miles single race will be the second SuperTrail race category for our championship. A measure we took following popular demand by runners to have more first-rate medium distance races in our championship to counter the perceived emphasis on ultra distances. The 9 Dragons Ultra event will therefore offer ATM championship points for both types of trail runners on 1/2 February 2020.

The event takes place in the New Territories of Hong Kong and is known for its vibrant atmosphere and excellent technical organisation.

To register for the 9 Dragons and read up on all details, visit the event website.

The two dominators in 2019: Kazufume Ose and Julien Chorier

Love em or hate em: the Hong Kong steps!

2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia had a tough time on the steps of HK, but has pledged to return in 2020!

Japan’s Kazufumi Ose really loves the 9 Dragons and he proved it in the best possible way by fighting tooth and nail to beat France’s Julien Chorier and take the overall victory. After losing nearly 9 minutes to Chorier on the 50 miles on Saturday, Ose attacked halfway through Sunday’s 50k race and reached the finish line with an advantage of 12 minutes. Magdalena Boulot lived up to her status as pre-race favourite and won the women’s 50/50, although local runner Jcy Ho gave her some stress during the 50 miles race. The 9 Dragons Ultra, with its quite unique 50/50 format, has grown into a showcase ultra trail event for Hong Kong and a genuine test for even the international elite runners who traveled to take part in it.

Running conditions were generally smooth, although perhaps more warm and humid than usual this time of year, particularly on Sunday. The two courses are in a sense typical Hong Kong with a very high dose of stairs and steps. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea, as one Ruth Theresia found out. The Indonesian ATM Champion was never in her element and struggled her way to the finish on both days, well down the leaderboards. Still, it was another example of her determination to finish what she starts and learn from the experience.. Many elites, such as UTMB winner Francesca Canepa, threw in the towel quite early.

Julien Chorier and Kazufumi Ose produced a fantastic battle for the overall 50/50 win

Julien Chorier was one international star who did have the knife between his teeth and go full gas for the win. Kazufumi Ose, winner of the 50 miles race in 2017 and second behind John Ellis on the 50/50 last season, pushed him forward all day on Saturday. Sabah’s Milton Amat, a typical fast starter, tried to keep up in third place. Amat, who had been unable to fight for the ATM Championship at the end of last year due to a malaria attack, was clearly back at his best level. His experience of doing the 9 Dragons in 2018 - 4th on 50/50 - of course helped him to prevent a meltdown, even though local hero John Ellis did catch up with him in the later stages of Saturday’s 50 miles. The Hong Kong-based Australian struggled all weekend with a calf injury sustained a week ago. His grit brought him a well-earned third place, which he then defended successfully on Sunday’s 50k against Amat, Hisashi Kitamura and Salomon Wettstein. Ellis has ATM Championship ambitions this season, yet may need some recovery time first. Kitamura, 4th in the ATM Championship 2018, celebrated one year of ultra trail running by improving from 19th to 5th on the 50/50! On Sunday he was one of the fastest finishers by catching Milton Amat at the end and putting enough distance between him and Wettstein, who had beaten him a day earlier.

There was competition between runners everywhere, but the biggest battle of course took place all the way up front between Chorier and Ose. The Frenchman seemed surprised when Ose returned to him just over halfway on Saturday, he then made a blitz pit-stop at CP5 that caught Ose a bit off-guard. The Japanese runner was again forced to chase and that cost him energy in the final two sections. Chorier crossed the finish line with a bonus of 8’54”. As soon as the 50k began on Sunday, Chorier looked totally in control. He shadowed Ose for approx 25 km until the Japanese began to put on the pressure and accelerate. The high humidity perhaps not in his favour, Chorier cracked and had to let Ose go. The beginning of a cat-and-mouse race till the end. However, bit by bit Ose pulled further away from his rival. Thanks to Dot Track Asia and its GPS tracking platform, it was an exciting finale to follow for everyone tuning in, and after Ose had arrived the countdown began. Over 12 minutes later, Julien Chorier appeared, conceding defeat to Ose by just 3’51” after 17-and-a-half hours of running in two days…

Milton Amat returned from a malaria attack to once again finish 4th in the 50/50 category

Magdalena Boulot as expected won the women’s 50/50 category

Hisashi Kitamura caught Milton Amat just before the finish and grabbed 5th place overall in doing so!

Jcy Ho was surprisingly strong on the 50 miles, running virtually together with top favourite Magdalena Boulot until CP4. There, just before sunrise, the Hong Kong runner took (too much?) time and lost sight of the American for good. Boulot was in charge from then on, including on Sunday where she was unchallenged by other 50/50 athletes. Jcy Ho held on to second place, and in third on both days came Malaysia’s Christine Loh. Nicknamed ‘the Pocket Rocket’ by some, Christine Loh is the 2017 winner of Penang Eco 100 miles and a runner with ATM championship ambitions this season. Including last weekend’s 9 Dragons, she also has all four ultra trail points races in Thailand on her agenda.

Chengdu-based American Justin Andrews dominated the 50 miles single stage on Saturday. An upset stomach threatened to spoil the party for him, but he fought his way to the finish. Philippines’ Koi Grey ran a smart race. Contrary to his usual style, he started out conservatively and then began to move up the leaderboard until he had second place in sight. Twisting his ankle at km 71 ruined his chances. Kurt Evans, Ander Iza Rekakoetxea and Takefumi Yamamoto preceeded him at the finish. The women’s 50 miles was won by Edith Fung, who beat Fredlyn Alberto from Philippines by over an hour. The podium was completed by Mokwan Chan.

The single stage 50k was not a points race for the ATM Championship, but saw some excellent runs by regional top performers. Deng Guomin from Shenzhen beat the course record to win the 50k in 6:09:21 ahead of Yuta Suda and Blake Turner. In the women’s Charlotte Tacquet was strongest in a fantastic battle between several women, including Sandi Menchi - strongest finisher - and 2017 ATM Champion Kim Matthews, who returned to the ultra scene after more than a year of hip injury problems that at one point even threatened her competitive running ‘career’.

Philippines-based Spaniard Ander Iza Rekakoetxea scored a solid 3th place on the 50 miles distance

Koi Grey continued his comeback and almost scored 2nd place on the 50 miles.

ATM Champion Ruth Theresia had two very difficult days but still managed to finish

Thumbie Remigio and Patricia Ann Morota completed the 50 miles

Bruneian Grandmasters Ibrahim Matnarudin and Ali Ajis Rasil

2017 ATM Champion Kim Matthews made a great return to the ultra scene with 3rd place on the 50km

The 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong is the first SuperTrail of the 2019 Asia Trail Master Championship taking place across the New Territories this weekend. The 50/50 stage race and 50 miles (in actual fact 89 km this year) are both A-races, which means a lot of ATM points are up for grabs. But this being a SuperTrail, and in Hong Kong, the competition is dense. The 9 Dragons traditionally attracts international trail running stars and this season is no different with the likes of Francesca Canepa (women’s UTMB winner 2018), Magdalena Boulet and Julien Chorier. However, just how motivated are they for suffering in this gruelling stage race in Hong Kong? Because even if they say to ‘just want to enjoy’ or ‘it’s just another race’, the 9 Dragons stage race is considered the toughest ultra in the territory and the hyped-up local and regional challengers are for real! Saturday’s 50 miles has an elevation gain of over 5000 hm, and the 50k has a whopping 3500 hm. A lot of stairs, obviously, are included.

To begin with, the top 2 from last year is back: Hong Kong-based Australian John Ellis and Japan’s Kazufume Ose. From an ATM perspective, John Ellis will be one to watch in particular as he has announced to give our championship a shot this season. This “winter” in Hong Kong, not everything has been going to his liking and he seems to have become more injury-prone, but Ellis’ stamina and determination is the stuff of legends and it would be unwise to bet against him this weekend - at least for a podium finish on the 50/50. Ellis has been planning to travel to several races in the ATM Championship this year, which remains unusual for a top star in Hong Kong. A local challenger for the victory at the 9 Dragons will certainly be Law Chor Kin. This Hong Kong ultra specialist won the Penang Eco 100 miles a year ago in very impressive style indeed. Ben Duffus, Jacky Leung and Jeremy Ritcey are local podium candidates as well.

We will be very interested to see the progress of Hisashi Kitamura from Japan, now based in Kuala Lumpur, and fourth in the 2018 ATM Championship. Kitamura - a newbie in trail running - just kept on getting better last year, let’s see how he starts his 2019 campaign. There’s also quite a crowd from the Philippines in the men’s races. Carlo Chiong came to the fore of the ATM scene at the end of 2018 with a third place in CM 50 and a second spot in Fifty Mapawa. Especially the latter was interesting, as he was over an hour faster than Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi. Carlo Chiong is certainly a dark horse this weekend.

And so is Malaysia’s Milton Amat. The sympathetic Sabahan ended 4th in the 9 Dragons Ultra last year and returns to get on the podium - also because he likes to have a shot at the ATM title this year. Amat, who began competitive trail running only in 2017, ended last year as seventh in the ATM Championship and - importantly - won the Bandung Ultra 100: a very technical race in Indonesia in which he distanced local hero Arief Wismoyono and Spain’s Salva Rambla. With the experience from last year in the bag, Milton Amat can cause the upset in Hong Kong this weekend. One caveat: has his body recovered well enough from a malaria attack three months ago. Another 2018 ATM top 10 performer, Michael McLean from Canada - but based in Brunei - is opening his new season here this weekend. McLean is a proper ultra runner, remember Borneo TMBT Ultra last season in which he caught six guys in the final 10 km! He should find 9 Dragons to his liking, although he can also have bad days (e.g. DNF in Ultra Trail Chiang Rai 230 in October). India’s Shashwat Rao is another runner who kicks on the type of challenge 9D poses. His performance kept improving during the 2018 season, let’s see where he is at the beginning of 2019. Singapore-based Vietnamese Trung Nguyen was 2nd in the Vietnam Jungle Marathon 70 and 4th in the Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100 last season: another one to watch out for.

In the women’s, the obvious favourite is Italy’s Canepa and it will be interesting to see how our own 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia fares against her. Theresia is looking forward to her first big race of the new ATM season, yet emphasises that everything is currently based on doing well in France come late August. Other regular ATM competitors will challenge her this weekend. For instance, Carrie Jane Stander, winner of Ijen Trail 70 last September, and also Christine Loh from Malaysia. She won Penang Eco 100 miles ahead of Ruth Theresia in 2017 and has a focus on the ATM Championship this season with, amongst others, all Thailand points races on her programme.

On the single stage 50 miles race this Saturday, we will see several established ATM runners in action. From Philippines we have Mark Koi Grey, who has relaunched his running career recently, Thumbie Remigio and Patricia Ann Morota (female). Spain’s Ander Iza Rekakoetxea will also be right up there, as will Dutchman Peter van der Zon.

We will be reporting from the 9 Dragons throughout the weekend via our facebook and instagram channels.

The 50 miles of the 9 Dragons Ultra starts at midnight

Back to slay the dragon again: John Ellis

The 2018 ATM Champion and Runner of the Year will test herself this weekend on the HK stairs

Koi Grey returns to the ATM points scene on Saturday during the 50 miles

“Is This Fun?” | 9 Dragons from Robin Lee on Vimeo.

SuperTrail races are important in the context of the Asia Trail Master Championship as they provide 50 bonus points to all finishers, and that can make a difference down the line. SuperTrails of course also tend to have a very strong field of participants, so scoring a top placing is by no means a given. Also in the upcoming 2019 ATM season, we will have 6 SuperTrail races in 6 different countries. The first one will be Hong Kong and the only stage-race in the championship, the 9 Dragons Ultra on 1-3 February 2019.

RaceBase Asia has scored a hit with the 9 Dragons Ultra in the very competitive world of trail running in Hong Kong. While it is relatively easy to set up ‘the toughest race’ in the territory, it is much harder to also add meaning to such a project. The event is built upon a popular Chinese legend featuring boy emperor Bing of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century. As the event website describes:

“Legend goes that Kowloon was named in the year 1278 by the boy Emperor Bing, of the Southern Song Dynasty. Noticing the eight hills of Kowloon (Kowloon Peak, Tung Shan, Tate's Cairn, Temple Hill, Unicorn Ridge, Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Crow's Nest), the emperor was pleased to name them the “Eight Dragons”—but a quick-witted courtier pointed out that the emperor was a dragon himself, making it nine dragons.”

The 9 Dragons Ultra covers the 8 hills and is looking for the 9th dragon, the winner of the 50/50 stage race in particular.

The 50/50 concept makes the event very special, as it is rarely done in the world. 50 miles on Saturday, 50 km on Sunday. This is also the main event, although people can also opt to run either the 50 miles or the 50 km as a single race. For the ATM Championship, the 50/50 stage race and the 50 miles single stage are recognised as SuperTrail races.

At midnight on 1 February, the 50 Mile course starts at the Po Leung Kuk Jockey Club Tai Tong Holiday Camp near Yuen Long, and finishes at Tai Po Tau Playground, an 8 minute walk to/from Tai Wo MTR (East Rail line). It crosses Kowloon and the New Territories in Hong Kong from West to East. This course is serious business with more than 5000m of elevation gain! The cut-off time is 7 pm, which implies you have 19 hours to complete the 87 km trail course.

The 50km course starts at the same Tai Po Tau Playground, and finishes at Shing Fung Studios in Kowloon, running from North to South. This is not a cooling down run at all with more than 3100m of vertical gain as well. You have 12 hours and 30 minutes of time to complete the distance.

Registration for the event is going well and places are limited. Secure your spot as soon as possible via the online registration system. All details about the event can be checked on the informative event website.

The 50 miles race starts at midnight, so there’s quite a bit of nighttime running for everyone in this HK race

John Ellis crowned himself as the 9th Dragon this year, winning the 50/50 stage race

Top runners on the 50 miles single stage with Harry Jones as the great winner

17/02 - The 9 Dragons Ultra (HKG)

After two intense days of racing in the New Territories of Hong Kong, John Ellis and Corinne Williams crowned themselves as the so-called 9th Dragons yesterday. Both won one of the two stages - Ellis the 50 miles and  Williams the 50k - but probably had to fight harder to score a win than ever before in their trail running careers. Australia's John Ellis from the Gone Running team always keeps everyone in suspense as he is a notoriously slow starter, but this time he had to dig deep to handle the Japanese duo of Kazafumi Ose and Kaito Kobayashi. In yesterday's 50k, the Japanese runners seemed to have recovered better than Ellis from the tough 50 miles the day before and took the fight to him, aided also initially by the strong Malaysian Milton Amat. On Saturday, Kazafumi Ose was leading the race until Ellis caught him with just 20K to go, and yesterday Ose and especially Kobayashi -third on Saturday but significantly behind on time - had that little extra left in the tank. John Ellis needed to protect a time advantage of 20 minutes on Ose, and he did just that albeit settling for third place in the 50k race. Kobayashi won it ahead of Ose. Milton Amat was fourth on both days, and showed that his joint victory in Borneo TMBT Ultra last year was no accident. Britain's Tom Robertshaw is still recovering from injury, and in that respect had a promising result with 6th place, just two minutes behind Jeremy Ritcey in the overall. 

The women's 50/50 race was arguably even more exciting than the men's and also featured a leading trio who battled each other relentlessly on this very tough and technical race weekend. Australia’s Kellie Emmerson looked like the fastest woman in the first half of the 50 miles on Saturday, until Okinawa-based Corinne Williams and local French woman Elisa Jean De Dieu turned on their engines and began to catch up. Williams was first and wasted no time to put Emmerson under pressure. However, it was Elisa Jean De Dieu from Team Uglow who suddenly became the quickest woman on the course as she bridged the gap to Williams and even took a small lead. Williams, third at Izu Trail Journey last December, rallied hard but struggled for grip with a completely destroyed shoe sole. In a descent in the final section of the race, Elisa Jean De Dieu opened the decisive gap and took a very big race victory. Williams was able to limit the damage to 2’38”, while Emmerson dropped back signifcantly in third place. Sunday’s 50K was bound to be a thriller, and yet again, Emmerson and Williams were quicker “out of the blocks” than Elisa Jean De Dieu. The duo was helped by 50K single stage protagonist Sandi Menchi, who set a quick pace in her own determination to win that race category. Elisa Jean De Dieu was again just a few minutes behind. Contrary to Saturday, however, she was unable to get to the front. In the final section of the race, she felt the accumulation of efforts more than the others and would settle for third place in the race, losing over 1 hour to stage and overall winner Corinne Williams. It should be mentioned that Chris Yee Ting Kwan from Hong Kong delivered a great performance in the shadow of the big three, by finishing fourth in an overall time of less than 23 hours, only 17 minutes more than Kellie Emmerson. 

Corinne Williams joins Ruth Theresia at the top of the ATM Championship ranking with 550 points. The 9 Dragons was a SuperTrail race, as was UTKC last week and as is Cordillera Mountain Ultra next weekend. In the men's championship, John Ellis joins Jay jantaraboon in third place behind Arief Wismoyono and Dean Perez, who both already ran two points races this season. 

The 50 miles single stage category was another battleground last Saturday. In this one, Thailand-based Briton Harry Jones opened his ATM account with a great but hard-fought win over China’s Deng Guomin and Austria’s Michael Skobierski. Deng Guomin, from Shenzhen, proved to be the strongest climber of the trio, yet missed a marker, went off-trail and saw his advantage disappear like snow under the sun. Jones and Skobierski caught up and would not give him a second chance in the final 20K of the race. Jones attacked at the start of the final section and managed to pull away from a resilient Deng Guomin, while Skobierski settled for third. Jones finished in 10:41:22, 1’40” ahead of the Chinese runner. Harry Jones is on the start list of Cordillera Mountain Ultra next week, and hopes to be recovered for that by then. 

Itsuko Uemiya was the fastest woman in this category, which was the B-race and therefore still valid for points in the ATM championship.  The 50K category was not valid for points. 

The 9 Dragons proved again to be one of the hardest trail races in Hong Kong, if not the hardest. Current unofficial (!) finish rates are pending but are likely to be well below 50%. Not only are the two race courses as tough as they get in this part of Asia, but the CUTs are tight as well. To ease the pain, the organisation made sure all refreshment stations are appropriately stocked. 

John Ellis won the 50 Miles on Saturday and hung onto his time bonus on Sunday

Elsa Jean De Dieu and Corinna Williams put up a fantastic show in the women's 50/50! 

Kaito Kobayashi won the 50K, and had his private refreshment station the whole weekend

The podium of the men's 50 miles single stage with Harry Jones as winner