Mantra 116 spoke Japanese this year as both winners of the brutal mountain trail across Welirang and Arjuno in Malang, East Java, come from the land of the rising sun. Yuta Matsuyama, already second once, took the lead by himself as co-leader Jeff Campbell, the reigning ATM Champion, pulled out at km 68. Former winner Rachmat Septiyanto could not catch him towards the end and settled for second place with Filipino Jomarc Ferrer a strong third.

In the women’s race, Chizuru Inoue proved to be faster than Vietnam’s ultra legend Le Thi Hang and equally experienced Indonesians Septiana Nia Swastika and Sianti Candra.

With the start usually at night, trail runners enjoyed the most magnificent views of Gunung Welirang, above 3000m, by sunrise. One week after finishing second in UTSG 50 in Singapore, Campbell left his comfort zone to try out the technical Mantra trails for the first time. He started well and set the pace together with Yuta Matsuyama, a regular in ATM and on his day good for podium and victory. Already twice winner of UT Chiang Mai and this season’s Luang Prabang Ultra Trail, Matsuyama had to come back to Mantra to try and do better than second place last year. He was certainly ‘on call’, and just pursued his journey when Campbell retired citing “my legs went away” . The question was whether Septiyanto would catch Matsuyama, but not so this year for the runner from Central Java, also a specialist for these type of long mountains ultras. Jomarc Ferrer, ATM Finalist for Philippines last year and again running strong this season, climbed up the leaderboard in the second half and snatched podium.

In the women’s race, Le Thi Hang arguably took a too easy approach early on, while Chizuru Inoue went out strongly. Septiana Nia Swastika also was unable to bridge the initial gap to the Japanese runner, but will be happy with third ahead of Sianti Candra, who had a tough day on the trails.

On the 68km, runners from Reunion island claimed the spotlights. Well-known Marcelle Puy, set Welirang alight as she was reportedly first overall on the summit! Unfortunately, she later missed a course marking sign and went the wrong way, following which she decided to DNF. First place hence went to Singapore’s Dening Lo, already winner of this race a year ago. She finished clearly ahead of another Reunion athlete, Alexandra Assoumi and third -placed Azarin Putri from Indonesia.

In the men’s race we witnessed a tight and exciting battle between Christopher Camachet, from Reunion, and the relentless former ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono. The duo battled it out nearly the entire race and were never really more than ten minutes apart. But Wismoyono was unable to catch Camachet, not even in his specialty - the descent. A little less than half an hour later, Abdul Aziz Dermawan continued his fine form of late by taking third on the podium ahead of Malaysia’s Muhammad Faris - winner in Gombak just twee weeks ago - and Taofik Hidayat, from Bandung in West Java.

Mantra 116 was the penultimate Indonesian points race in Season 10 of the Asia Trail Master Championship. The last one is Ijen Mountain Marathon on the first weekend of September, also the last race before the Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October.

An annual high mountain trail classic already in our series, Mantra 116 in East Java’s Malang again promises to offer some exciting racing this weekend. Both the 116km and 68km points races begin at the same time this year, at midnight tonight, and the longest category is blessed with the presence of the reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell. Barely six days after finishing second in UTSG 50, Campbell goes out of his comfort zone for the second time this year after V Trail in Laos. Known for years as a very fast but a technically less-skilled trail runner than the Onifas, Amats and Sherpas of this region, it is admirable and commendable for others to see Campbell still trying out new things and challenging himself to this great extent. And of course, wherever he starts he is among the top favourites no matter what. 

He certainly won’t get his 12th ATM race victory on a silver platter. Among the contenders are local Indonesian long ultra stars such as Rachmat Septiyanto and Yusuf Aprian, both already winners in Mantra in the past. Yuta Matsuyama may find the colder temperatures in this race very much to his liking. Java-based Colombian Daniel Ortiz is also running and followers of ATM may remember he was the first winner in Season 10, at Dieng Trail Run back in late September. Another Indonesia-based expat, from Egypt, is Ahmed Bedair, who is also often competing for the prizes. Filipino ATM Finalist last year Jomarc Ferrer knows what a tough long ultra is, too. Ferrer has just scored two fourth places in H1 (100 Miles) and Point Trail Ultra 70, both against top competition so he is in fine shape. Bandung’s Hilman Maulana to our knowledge is making his debut on the 116 at Mantra, after having scored podiums on the 68k in the past few years. 

The women’s 116k was long dominated and even attempted by just one woman, Shindy Patricia. But more and more women have been trying the long ultra and also this year we have quite a few on the start list. Sianti Candra may be the top favourite, but there’s also Vietnam’s Le Thi Hang. As Vietnam’s long ultra specialist, she may give Candra a tough time for the win. Septiana Nia Swastika and Novita Wulandari are two more known contenders. 

In the women’s 68km, last year’s winner Dening Lo from Singapore will be trying to repeat her accomplishment this Saturday. ATM overall points leader Ritzy Amor was supposed to be one of her main challengers, but reports from Malang say that Ritzy could not fly to Indonesia. Malaysia’s Halimatun Sa’adiah was second behind Dening Lo a year ago, and is also running again together with her compatriot Lynda Marylyn. Let’s see if someone from the local Indonesian side can pull of a surprise. 

It’s a big start field on the 68km and we are bound to see some new names popping up the leadeboard. Malaysia’s Muhammad Faris could be one to challenge Bandung star Arief Wismoyono for the win. Faris has just won Gombak 50 in impressive style, and he also ran Mantra before. Taofik Hidayat cannot be underestimated, but was struggling in this year’s Bali BTR. 

ATM will be reporting live from Mantra 116 starting on Friday evening.

One week after UTSG 50, Jeff Campbell is back in action already and bravely starts mantra 116

Dening Lo: one of the top favourites on the 68km women

MUhammad Faris was an impressive 50k winner at Gombak two weeks ago

Ritzy Amor is busy bee this season: the overall points leader starts her 6th ATM race. She won her last one.

Rachmat Septiyanto can use all his Mantra experience to again finish on top of the podium

Nia Swastika is one of the favourites in the women’s 116km

Also Thang Hoang Huu from Vietnam is back in Mantra this weekend

Lovers of the high mountains and technical trails every year look forward to early July, because that’s when Mantra 116 is on. The Indonesian event in Malang, East Java, remains for many the toughest challenge in the Asia Trail Master series, at least if you are going for the ‘signature race’, the 116km. 7400 metres of elevation gain is not the most, but those metres are hard to conquer at Mantra, and even the long descents do not provide a lot of relaxation. Still, the 116 route has been made a bit more palatable compared to the first years with the removal of the out-and-back section on Mahapena after the two main peaks Welirang and Arjuno. Runners have 33 hours of time to complete the course.

As always, runners score ATM Championship points and Grandmaster Quest points on two distance categories at Mantra: 116km and 68km.

The 116 journey starts and finishes at the event centre at Kaliandra Eco Resort (770 above sea level). Immediately after the start, runners climb to the peak of Mt. Welirang (3156 mdpl), then descend to Cangar (1600 mdpl) to climb back up again towards the peak of Mt. Arjuno (3339 mdpl). For safety reasons, the runners should reach the peak of Mt. Arjuno before 15.00 o’clock, to ensure the downhill from Mt. Arjuno is not done in the dark. For those who didn’t manage to reach the peak before 15:00, they will go down with the sweeper team towards the evacuation point. The race, however, will enter a long downhill to Bukit Kuneer at 55km point, the location of the first dropbag point. The trail continues passing Budug Asu towards UB Forest, until arriving at Wonosari at 88km point, the location of the second dropbag point. The sting is in the tail at Mantra 116, the route to Sepilar Temple features a technical and tough climb followed by a steep downhill. Afterwards, the finish line beckons.

The 70km course, named “The Double Summits” and technically measured at 68km, begins with hiking to the summit of Mt. Welirang and then onto the summit of Mt. Arjuno. After that, this route takes you down towards Mahapena, passing the beautiful Lincing savannah before continuing to Budug Asu and Wonosari Tea Estate. Finally, it’s Sepilar Temple in the last climb segment before the finish. While just under 70km, this race course has 5000m of elevation gain, which means all finishers can score a Grandmaster point as well. The cutoff time at the finish back at Kaliandra Eco Resort is set at 22 hours. The last couple of years, this race has been the playground of Indonesia’s Risqi Kurniawan - winning in 2023 and 2024.

Registration for Mantra 116 is open and can be done via the official website, linked below. Needless to say this is an event to prepare well for.

Gateway to Mantra 116 is Surabaya, unless you can fly domestic to Malang directly. From Surabaya, it’s a two hour drive to the Kaliandra Eco Resort. Information on logistics is also available on the website.

The biggest mountain trail running event on the ATM Championship calendar this year saw a lot of unexpected performances by both new and known names, while several pre-race favourites such as Arief Wismoyono, Rejlen James and Taofik Hidayat bit the dust and did not make it even onto the podium of either the 116km or 68km races. Mantra proved that every year is different and anything can happen. The great unexpected 116 winners were Indonesians Muhammad Ma’Mun Khariri and Henny Sutanda, while the 68km was won - but not without a struggle - by the anticipated favourites Risqi Kurniawan and Dening Lo from Singapore.

Ma’Mun Khariri turns out to be a young talent, like Risqi, who grew up in the greater Malang area while now living in Kalimantan. It was his first experience on the ATM circuit and he certainly left an impression. Already on the summit of Welirang, after the long ascent at nighttime, his name topped the leaderboard. At that time, Bandung’s Taofik Hidayat was not far behind and he even came closer as they went towards Arjuno. Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama was in the game immediately, and everyone expected former winner Arief Wismoyono to boom down the descent like he so famously did two years ago. However, it wasn’t his day last weekend and Arief would have to settle for 5th. Khariri kept on marching forward and when Hidayat pulled out of the race, he managed to keep a chasing Matsuyama on average about 15 minutes behind. The Indonesian took the win ahead of the Japanese ATM Finalist from last year and Malaysian Yih Huan Sua. Another Japanese runner, Tamie Tsukada was fourth.

The women’s 116 , without Sianti Candra , developed into a competition between Nia Swastika Septiana, Siriporn Leumathong, Risa Kamiya, Guan Shin Law and Henny Sutanda. The latter was 4th on the 68km last year, and had a golden opportunity to take a big-name victory. Leumathong and Septiana were tough but had to be content with spots on the podium - for both an excellent result as well. Sutanda follows into the footsteps of Shindy Patricia - winner of the past two editions. Shindy is focusing on road running in 2024. It should be noted that the number of women attempting the 116 was higher than ever, with 8 official finishers this year.

The men’s 68km resulted in the same faces on the podium as last year and in the same positions. Risqi Kurniawan again had the better of Hilman Maulana and Akhmad Nizar. However, it did not look like smooth sailing for Kurniawan this time around, most likely still feeling the aftermath of an injury he sustained about five weeks ago. The Indonesian trio nevertheless performed strongly given the big names behind them: the Malaysians Amierul Amin, Mohd Sulhan, Faris Azhari, Ahmad Tanjong, Jeffery Budin, as well as Thimo Kilberth Fikry Sakti Firmansyah and Husen Saepudin.

The women’s 68km, without Ruth Theresia due to work obligations, saw a rather expected winner in Dening Lo from Singapore, but she had to run for it. Bali’s Dian Pradina had started fast, and also Malaysia’s Halimatun Sa’adiah had a great day on Saturday. Not so for Rejlen James, struggling from the beginning and settling for 7th place. That was behind Yvette Chong Mi Chin, who sprained an ankle but still came in fifth in the finish, showing her 3rd place at Simpur Ultra 50 in Brunei a few weeks ago was no coincidence. Chong Mi Chin may get herself into Team Malaysia again after 2022, and is also a 2-star Grandmaster now. Qualification for Team Malaysia is not yet a given for youngster Lynda Marylyn, who unfortunately had that day of the month and saw no option but to DNF. In the end, it was Indonesia’s Yuni Noor Hayati who scored 3rd place on the podium, exactly like a year ago.

The next Indonesian points race is Bali Ultra on 3 August, which will be an important one for those runners keen on qualifying for their country’s team at the ATM Championship Final.

Ma’Mun Khariri was the surprise winner of the 116km long ultra!

Henny Sutanda: 4th last year on the 68, winner this year on the 116!

Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong : impressive second on the 116!

Risqi Kurniawan added another ATM win on home Indonesian soil to this record

Hilman Maulana : second consecutive time on the podium

2023 ATM Finalist for Malaysia, Amierul Amin returned to the ATM scene with a solid 4th place

Singapore’s Dening Lo grabbed her second ATM race win of the season

Halimatun Sa’adiah scored her finest race result in ATM so far: second behind Dening Lo on the 68km

It’s early July and that means it’s Mantra time again! Arguably the toughest mountain trail race on our ATM Championship calendar, the 2024 edition has once again attracted a considerable field of trail runners in both the 116km and 68km categories - both also valid for the Grandmaster Quest. Most of Indonesia’s trail elites will be competing, with former ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono on the 116km against the likes of Taofik Hidayat, and Risqi Kurniawan against Akmad Nizar on the 68km.

The 116km has 7400 metres of elevation gain, which is not the highest number, but the technicality of the Welirang and Arjuno ascent and descent makes this race incredibly tough. Throw in the high altitudes of well above 3000m, potential cold temperatures, rain and wind and you are in for a real adventure. It’s the kind of race that elite mountain runners want to have on their record of wins, and regular runners want to have the finisher tee or medal of. While the 68km usually has a stronger competitive field, the 116km does draw most attention at this event.

Arief Wismoyono is approaching 40 now, but still ranks as the benchmark in Indonesia when it comes to long mountain ultras. His younger Bandung teammate Taofik Hidayat will be challenging him this weekend, along with Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama - who just ran Deep Japan Ultra 100 miles and finished fourth. There’s a strong Malaysian contingent featuring the likes of a.o. Hijazi Rija and Jin Heng Oh. The women’s race looks potentially more open, even though local runners such as Sianti Candra and Septiana Nia Swastika can be expected to lead the pack along with Mei Li. Malaysia’s Guan Shin Law, Japan’s Tamae Harada, Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong and Philippines’ Irish Glorioso are all podium contenders this weekend on the 116km.

Risqi Kurniawan, already winner of the 68km last year, will again be up against Akmad Nizar and Hilman Maulana, podium runners a year ago. Normally speaking Risqi should have the edge on them, but he has been plagued by injury in recent times reducing his performance on the trails. Mohd Sulhan, Amierul Amin, Faris Azahri and Jeffery Budin from Malaysia could be challengers - at least for a podium spot. Thimo Kilberth has always been more competitive on the runable trails, but he has focused on Mantra this season. In the women’s race, Silabur Cave Trail winner Dening Lo from Singapore is one of the top favourites alongside former ATM Champion and former Mantra winner Ruth Theresia. However, Sabah’s Rejlen James may find Mantra to be a trail 100% to her liking. Also Malaysia’s Lynda Marylyn, in-form Yvette Chong and Halimatun Sa’adiah can be podium contenders.

ATM will be covering Mantra 116 throughout the weekend on our usual channels, with live feeds and most updates on ATM Facebook.

Arief Wismoyono: top favourite on the 116km

Rejlen James: if she can beat the high altitude, she could be hard to beat on the 68km

Singapore’s Dening Lo is one of the favourites on the 68km

Akhmad Nizar: always a strong podium contender, and who knows more than that this weekend

Jeffery Budin: impressive winner of Silabur 50 two months ago: can he repeat that performance?

Since 2017, mountain runners who focus on Asia Trail Master have set their eyes on Mantra 116 in East Java’s Malang in Indonesia. It is the high mountain trail per excellence in our series with altitudes reaching way above 3000m and trails that remain mouthwatering for even the most technically-skilled trail runners. The event is set for 6/7 July this year and will again feature the 116km long ultra and the 68km medium distance as points races for the ATM Championship ranking and Grandmaster Quest. Registration is open.

The event will again start and finish at the Kaliandra Eco Resort, roughly two hours drive from Surabaya in East Java, the main international hub to get to the event. The 116km has a total elevation gain of 7400hm, but it will feel like more. Gunung Welirang and Arjuno remain the attraction, and runners will start climbing basically right after the start. Since 2023, the gruelling and by many disliked out-and-back section on Mahapena has been removed from the course, making the race a bit more manageable. Nevertheless, the Putuk Lesung climb will certainly test your mettle towards the end.

Participants need to be aware that it can get very cold on Welirang and Arjuno, especially if there’s rainfall. Even though it’s Indonesia, you need to be prepared for ‘northern’ conditions. The organisers are, rightfully, paying a lot of attention on safety and security and will not tolerate any infringements on the mandatory gear list. Mantra 116 is not a walk in the park.

Accommodation and food can be found in and around the race venue at Kaliandra, or nearby.

Watch our race recaps of the 2023 and 2022 races at Mantra below to get an idea of what will be awaiting you in July.

News reel Mantra 116:

The 6th edition of Mantra 116 (previously known as Mantra Summits Challenge) in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, was arguably its best so far. A wonderful high mountain trail festival with very competitive races, a considerably upgraded safety protocol and superb support from the community. It was very foggy on the summits this edition, but that also made the temperatures quite cool and comfortable for the runners. Despite 500hm less elevation gain this year, Mantra remains one of the toughest and more extreme trail races on our ATM Championship calendar, and yet there were only smiling faces at the Kaliandra Eco Resort.

Most of the current Indonesian trail stars proved to be inspired as well this year to take on Mantra. The 116km and 65k race categories were points races for the ATM Championship ranking in a season that has the Final in Indonesia, and not even so far from Malang: Siksorogo Lawu Ultra in Karanganywar, featuring another 3000m+ mountain climb, Gunung Lawu. The 65 km race at Mantra with Gunung Welirang and the extension to Arjuno in particular is therefore a good indication, albeit 13 km shorter and more technical than the ATM championship decider on 2/3 December.

Risqi Kurniawan was the impressive winner of the 65km race on Saturday, after a great competition with fellow youngsters Akmad Nizar and the surprising Hilman Maulana. Also Bali-based Egyptian Ahmed Bedair and Sobiro Haerudin played along with the top three guys on the ascent of Welirang. The Malaysians, such as Amir Zaki, Amierul Amin and a very strong Ahmad Tanjong did the same. After Arjuno summit, Kurniawan, Nizar and Maulana pushed the throttle even more and it became clear they would contest the podium. Nizar twisted his ankle in the descent and the pain began to bother him more and more. Kurniawan opened the gap and arrived solo at the finish. A first ATM race victory on his debut! Kurniawan is from Magelang in Central Java, and one could argue the upcoming ATM Final takes place in his home area. He will need another ATM race first to have a chance to be qualified for Team Indonesia, though. The same applies for Hilman Maulana, who took second, and Akmad Nizar, who limped into the finish. In two weeks there is Dieng Trail Run 50km, the next points race in Indonesia.

Fourth place went to Ahmed Bedair, who stayed ahead of Amir Zaki, both fell victim to a confused marshal who sent them onto the wrong trail after the descent of Arjuno. Zaki lost a lot of time, but showed his mental resilience by fighting his way back up the leaderboard to fifth place.

The women’s 65km was won for the second consecutive season by Jakarta’s Siti Nuraini. In the lead from the start, she nevertheless could not take it easy as the surprisingly solid Yustina Setyowati kept the pressure on.

On the 116k , Indonesia’s long-time stars Arief Wismoyono and Shindy Patricia took top honours with convincing performances. Wismoyono made the different once again in the descent of Arjuno, having run up the mountain in the company of Fuminori Kondo, Nhon Trong and Rachmat Septiyanto. Kondo sprained his ankle badly and immediately called it a day. Nhon Trong and Septiyanto were trying to keep the gap to Wismoyono small, but towards the end of the race - at night time already - they had to acknowledge the 2015 ATM Champion and 2017 vice-champion was just too fast. Vietnam’s Nhon Trong even had a bit of a scare on the last hillclimb of the day: altitude sickness. With less than 15km to go , he tumbled from third to seventh on the leaderboard. Septiyanto came in second with a big smile: previously he had come in fourth in 2019 and 2022. Finally a podium for the event organiser of our ATM Championship Final, Siksorogo Lawu Ultra. Philippines’ Sean Aying put the cherry on the cake of his great race: third place on the podium.

Shindy Patricia has been around for so many years now, and yet she seems to be running stronger than ever in 2023. Her fourth place last December in the ATM Final, including the fastest summit attack time of all women on Mt Apo, was with hindsight already an indication of her new-found competitive form. Shindy has always been a podium and race win contender, but her overall performance level just seems to have gone up a notch. Best example: her winning time yesterday was almost 5 hours faster than what she did a year ago at Mantra. Five hours, that’s not because there was 500 hm less elevation this year! Indeed, even though a dozen women took the start of the 116k - a record - Shindy was in a league of her own from the get-go. She was even able to keep up with the men for a large part of the Welirang ascent. Ultimately, Shindy finished third overall behind Septiyanto but ahead of Sean Aying and the rest. Her local community in Malang even sounds impressed by her accomplishments this season. It’s her second ATM race win in 2023 following Cuc Phuong in Vietnam in April. With this kind of form, Shindy Patricia will rank among the top favourites for the ATM title win at Siksorogo!

Applause for the three other female runners who completed Mantra 116. Fitta Emike Sari, Nia Swastika and Sianti Candra.

On our ATM social media channels you can find loads of videos and photos taken during the weekend.

Local star Shindy Patricia wins twice in a row but this year with a time nearly 5 hours faster !

Siti Nuraini also won for the second consecutive year on the medium distance at Mantra

Risqi Kurniawan finally appeared on the ATM scene and with great style: victory on the 65km

Akmad Nizar and Hilman Maulana: two more youngsters taking the podium on the 65km

At last on the Mantra podium: after 2 times 4th in previous years, Rachmat Septiyanto is second on the 116km

Davao’s Sean Aying scored a superb 3rd place on the 116k, second time a Mindanao runner grabs podium in Mantra after Elias Tabac won it in 2018.

It’s Mantra time again! The high-altitude classic in Malang, East Java, Indonesia is celebrating its fifth edition this weekend with two points races for the ATM Championship - 116km and 65km - and quite a number of big names on the start lists. Arief Wismoyono, still the Indonesian mountain runner to beat, is arguably the top favourite on the 116km, especially after his fantastic display on the 75k last year. Wismoyono will need to deal with some very solid international competitors, however. Vietnam’s Nhon Trong returns to Mantra after his DNF last year. It was a defeat that bothered him, and already early in the season he announced he would try it again and try to follow into the footsteps of his compatriots Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu, who dominated the 116km race a year ago. Nhon used to be a speedster, but has been focusing more and more on the ultra distances, recently. Another Indonesian ace has been 4th on the 116km already twice. Rachmat Septiyanto, La Sportiva ambassador and driving force behind this year’s ATM Championship Final Siksorogo Lawu Ultra. Can Septiyanto get on the podium this year? Other podium contenders are Japan’s Fuminori Kondo, Philippines’ Sean Aying, Malaysia’s Rasyid Salehuddin and Hafizan Lamin, and Vietnam’s Thang Hoang Huu.

Local Malang resident Shindy Patricia will again line up for her home race as well. Patricia won the 116km as only female finisher last year. Now there’s more women giving it a try on the redesigned course, which has become easier on paper after the initial climbs up Gunung Welirang and Arjuno at an altitude of over 3000m. The Mahapena ascent and descent have been taken out of the course following runners’ feedback. Shindy will need to focus to win again as Jakarta’s Sianti Candra was second on the 75km last year and has been rising through the Indonesian ultra running ranks. ATM Overall Points Leader Roan Biguasen is also present again for already her fifth ATM race of the season. Three second places so far, can she claim that first victory this weekend? Septiana Nia Swastika is another strong and experienced Indonesian who can score her maiden win in our series. Tamae Harada can also never be underestimated, and who knows Halimatun Sa’adiah finds her great form from last year back.

Grandmasters Rhea Batac and Yvette Chong are also on the start list.

On the 65km medium distance, we keep our eyes on the performance of Central Javanese up-and-comer Risqi Kurniawan in his ATM debut. One of those Indonesian young talents who have been a bit shy in leaving their comfort zone. Will Mantra 65 be his launchpad to regional fame? There’s quite some challengers for the race victory, including Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi, who has already won twice in Indonesia in his ATM career. In-form Amir Zaki is running, and so is Amierul Amin, Ahmad Tanjong and Husnan Huzin from Malaysia. There’s another Indonesian youngster, Akmad Nizar, who was third in Jember Hills 70k last season. There’s nearly 200 names on the start list so we are bound to discover some new people as well.

The women’s 65km features last year’s winner Siti Nuraini as the one-to-beat. The battle for the podium is also likely to include La Sportiva’s Norlela Ismail, ATM Finalist for Malaysia last year and Dian Pradina from Bali.

ATM will provide live race coverage on our usual channels starting this afternoon at the race pack collection in the Kaliandra Eco Resort in Malang, and later at night for the start of the 116k and 65k. Mantra 116 takes place in a remote mountain area with little mobile connectivty, but all 116k runners and elite 65k runners will carry our GPS trackers from DTA, so everyone can follow his favourite runner throughout the race.

Arief Wismoyono was flying on the 75km last year. Now he is tackling the 116km longest category

Shindy Patricia was the only 116k finisher a year ago. Now she will have more competitors

Sianti Candra was 2nd on the 75km last year. What can she do on the 116km?

Rachmat Septiyanto has been 4th twice at Mantra 116. Finally a podium this weekend?

You can now watch Asia Trail Master’s Tale of the Trail, the Race Recap of last weekend’s Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. The video in HD is available on our YouTube channel, Facebook Page or just here embedded below. Enjoy.

Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang, East Java, once more confirmed its reputation as the toughest event on the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. Heavy rainfall on Saturday night plagued runners even more and turned the 116k and 75k marquee races across Mount Welirang, Arjuno and Mahapena into a brutal adventure resulting in a long list of DNFs. Up front, however, we saw some fantastic performances, too. The Vietnamese duo of Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu - in their first race in Indonesia - controlled the 116k race together from the ascent of Arjuno (3300m) onwards, even though Yusuf Aprian was keeping them wide awake throughout the night. On the 75k race, 2015 Asia Trail Master Champion Arief Wismoyono showed incredible speed reminiscent of his most successful years and at the mature age of 38 is clearly back at his best level.

After the start at Kaliandra Eco Resort at 5am, participants on the 116k immediately had to climb up Gunung Welirang with the summit above 3000m altitude. It was the surprising Hadi Mustofa who reached the summit first in 2h59’23”, followed by Yusuf Aprian and Rachmat Septiyanto. Quang Tran, Nguyen Si Hieu and Fuminoro Kondo were not far behind. Local dark horse Fauzi Imdadur unfortunately sprained his ankle and decided to quit the race after Welirang already. Also the Jakarta-based Japanese runner Kondo was compelled to slow down, having entered the race with a swollen foot already. Vietnam’s Trung Nguyen was going to play the long game, but the rain on Saturday night turned his Mahapena ascent and descent into a nightmare and he never managed to feature among the frontrunners. His countrymen Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu on the other hand shifted to a higher gear on the alternative climb up Welirang and onto the highest summit of Arjuno. It’s essentially where they won the race. At the summit, they had nearly 30 minutes on Yusuf Aprian and an hour on Hadi Mustofa and Rachmat Septiyanto. Still, their victory was not yet in the bag because Bandung’s Yusuf Aprian, winner of the 75k in 2019 and the 55k in 2018, was not letting them get away any further and was matching their running pace for the next several hours. On Mahapena at night, Aprian made a brave and big effort to try and catch the Vietnamese. Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu saw that while leaving the checkpoint at the summit and going back down Mahapena (it’s an out-and-back section). Their acceleration ended the hopes of Yusuf Aprian to take the victory. Just after sunrise on Sunday morning, the duo arrived back at Kaliandra Resort and crossed the finish line together. When Heru Prabowo, event director, asked them who had earned the ‘gold medal’ most, Nguyen Si Hieu insisted that Quang Tran did. Their finishing time of approx 25 hours is very impressive, yet Sabah’s Milton Amat was one-and-a-half hours quicker in 2019. Nguyen Si Hieu collects another 450 ATM Championship points to add to his 425 from Dalat in March: he is the new points leader in Vietnam. Yusuf Aprian took third place about an hour later, a great and robust run by the runner from La Sportiva Indonesia. Rachmat Septiyanto took fourth. Grandmaster and local hero Shindy Patricia was the only woman on the 116k this year, so all she had to do was finish the race to take the win and the ATM Championship points that come with it. Shindy did that in style and certainly did not hold herself back. She returned to the resort in just over 31 hours.

The 75k race essentially saw the return of Arief Wismoyono to peak form. The 2015 ATM Champion, now age 38, stormed to victory as he boomed down Welirang and Arjuno with incredible speed and skill. Nobody could or dared to follow him. Only Taofik Hidayat, also from Bandung, was able to limit the gap somewhat by checking in 30 minutes behind Wismoyono at Wenerejo before going up Mahapena. However, the leader was on a mission to make a big performance statement and was just flying on the last of the three major ascents of this race. Hidayat was able to retain his second place and steadily increase the gap to the rest of the podium candidates led by Thimo Kilberth, Nhon Trong, Pablo Diago Gonzales and Hammam Aulia. The Mahapena climb proved too much for Nhon Trong, first at Welirang summit earlier in the race. The fast Vietnamese runner had made quite a few tumbles in the descents and with his poles broken as well felt the energy was leaving his body. Halfway up Mahapena, he took a scooter back down. No extra points for the ATM ranking after his second spot in Dalat last March. Surprisingly, Mahapena was also the end station for Pablo Diago Gonzales, 3rd in 2017, 2nd in 2018. The Singapore-based Spaniard did not have an ideal preparation this season, and the 75k of Mantra turned out to be still a bridge too far. As he was struggling while coming back down from the summit to the Wenerejo checkpoint Pablo decided to DNF. Despite the strong effort of new name Hammam Aulia, Bali-based German Thimo Kilberth was quite safe and collected his second ATM third-place podium finish of the season after BTR Challenge in May. Visibly marked by his effort, Thimo was happy to strengthen his position as leader in the ATM Championship ranking in Indonesia.

The women’s 75k race was won by Siti Nairuni, who led the majority of the race. Sianti Candra and the highly experienced Novita Wulandari were keeping some pressure on, and Candra actually managed to come closer to Nairuni in the late stages of the race. Great to see two new Indonesian names on the podium.

Only 17 finishers on the 75k from 75 starters showed how tough the day had been. The finisher rate was higher on the 116k, with 23 out of 46. 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia continued her comeback to peak form by winning the non-ATM 55k race category on Sunday.

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Quang Tran ran his first race in Indonesia

Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu stayed together and cruised to victory on the brutal 116k course

Grandmaster Shindy Patricia was the only woman on the 116k, but was not holding herself back at all

Fantastic scenery above 3000m altitude

The women’s 75k podium with Siti Nuraini in the middle

2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono is clearly back in his best form since years

This weekend arguably the toughest mountain trail race of the Asia Trail Master Championship season takes place in East Java, Indonesia: it’s the 4th edition of Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang with start and finish at the Kaliandra Eco Resort. The two longest race distance categories, the 116k and 75k, are both points races with equal status for the ATM rankings, which naturally implies some of the top runners favour to start one or the other. As it happens, both retain a strong field of competitors - especially in the men’s races.

That is largely due to the important participation of six elite trail runners from Vietnam, indicating once again that the country is becoming a powerhouse on Asia’s trail scene. Leading the pack is Quang Tran, who has been the benchmark in Vietnam since the advent of competitive trail running over there. He is tackling the 116k and its gruelling 8500m of elevation gain. If you wonder just how tough and technical this 116k race is, just look at the finishing times of the 2019 edition - the last one before covid. Milton Amat won it by nearly four hours (!) over… Hisashi Kitamura in 23 hours and 23 minutes. It sounds like it is 200 km, but it is really “just” 116 kilometres.

Let’s hope for their sake that the Vietnamese runners, and the other internationals and Indonesians of course, know what awaits them. Perhaps the videos of previous race winners that we have been posting all week on our social media channels may give them some inspiration, or indeed, warning.

Former winner of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon in Sapa, Quang Tran will be flanked by his compatriots Dang Hieu Nguyen and his, perhaps, better-known brother Trung, Van Da Bui and Hieu Nguyen Si - this year already third in Dalat Ultra Trail. They will compete against some of the most reputed Indonesian trail runners such as 2019 winner on the 75K and 2018 winner on the 55k, Yusuf Aprian. His teammate at La Sportiva Indonesia, Rachmat Septiyanto finished just outside the podium three years ago and will be looking to make that up - also being more experienced running mountain ultras now. A dangerous veteran of Indonesian trails and former winner of Ijen Trail, Dzaki Wardana, proved he is in very good shape again just about three weeks ago by winning a 70k race against the likes of Thimo Kilberth and Fauzi Imdadur. The latter is also on the start list of the 116k and on this kind of highly technical entreprises for sure a podium candidate. Last but not least, what can Japanese runner Fuminori Kondo do at Mantra? Two Japanese women already won here, can Kondo be the first Japanese man to do so?

Asuka Nakajima won the women’s 116k race in 2019, the year she ended being third in the Asia Trail Master Championship. Nakajima will be succeeded by Shindy Patricia… if the local hero manages to finish, of course. Shindy is the only woman on the start list this year. Another sign of the trend that sees trail runners prefer shorter distances nowadays? In 2019 we still had Nakajima, Siokhar Lim and Surabaya’s Sri Wahyuni on a complete women’s podium. For the in-form Shindy Patricia, it is therefore just about finishing this weekend and collect not only the victory, but also the 500 ATM Championship points that will already bring her a good way forward towards being part of Team Indonesia in this year’s ATM Championship Final on 17 December.

Over to the 75k race, where we will find another Vietnamese top runner, Nhon Trong. Nhon Trong was second in Dalat Ultra Trail last March and has continued to be active since. A smart runner with regional trail experience, Nhon Trong could be the most dangerous favourite for the race victory given his fast running pace. He will be joined by his compatriot Duc Pham. They will be up against Singapore-based Spaniard Pablo Diago Gonzales, a regular at Mantra. On the podium twice but never as winner, and a DNF in 2019. Pablo Diago Gonzales plays down his chances, but he has seen the scenery of Mt Welirang and Arjuno already… It’s a brutal course, even the 75k, and when Pablo feels good they will need to pass him to win. There’s plenty of strong Indonesian runners as well. 2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono is going well this season and long and high mountain climbs are his territory. Also from Bandung is Taofik Hidayat. Still relatively unknown outside Indonesia, but locally he has turned into a ‘one-to-beat’. Alan Maulana is a quick runner, always capable of a surprise. Thimo Kilberth, German but living in Bali for a long time already, has been prepping for this race and could be the dark horse. Kilberth is fast on the flat, but has improved a lot in the long mountains and … the 3000m altitude temperatures will probably please him more than most of the other podium candidates. Kilberth was third in Batur Trail Running Challenge in May already this Championship season.

Furtunately, there’s quite a few women on the start list of the 75k. There does not seem to be an outspoken favourite, but Novita Wulandari is a name of a very experienced trail runner always good for a podium. Singapore-based Malaysian Nicole Ng is another candidate. As always in trail running, maybe we will be surprised to see a new face emerging as well this weekend.

Asia Trail Master is in Malang and will be providing live race coverage as usual via our ATM social media pages on facebook and instagram in particular. The 116k race starts on Saturday morning at 5 am local time, the 75k runners are let go one hour afterwards.

Will Vietnam’s trail hero Quang Tran beat the local Indonesian armada this weekend?

Third in 2017, second in 2018, DNF in 2019. Pablo Diago Gonzales probably has a goal this season

Thimo Kilberth: highly motivated for a stellar performance this weekend

Taofik Hidayat: could this be his weekend to step out of the shadow of Arief Wismoyono in ATM?

Nhon Trong will be trying to score his first ATM race victory on the 75k this weekend

Not a crew member this year! Local hero Shindy Patricia is the only female starter on the 116k this weekend

It is still three months till the scheduled date, but unfortunately the event organisers of Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang, East Java, have already thrown in the towel for this year. The Indonesia SuperTrail in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series has been cancelled.

The official communique reads as follows: "Considering the current situation and conditions related to the COVID19 pandemic, MSC 116-2020 which was originally to be carried out 11-12 July 2020, withheavy hearted we will postpone to 2021. This delay takes into account of health and safety factors of participants in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic which is still ongoing to today.

All participants who have registered with MSC 116-2020 will automatically be transferred their participation to the MSC 116-2021.

Any of you for some reason cannot join MSC 116-2021, your registration slot can be transferred to other runner at no charge. This transfer period will be notified later.

We know that you have prepared for this MSC 116, as well as we as the organizer. However, for the sake of greater interest - our safety and health – we expect your understanding for this decision."

Mantra Summits Challenge ranks amidst the toughest races on the Asia Trail Master calendar with its high elevation gain and peaks above 3000m altitude. Last year the event was dominated by Milton Amat in the men’s and Asuka Nakajima in the women’s.