The 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong has been cancelled, unfortunately, and so no ATM Championship or Grandmaster Quest points will be handed out this weekend. All our attention therefore shifts to the 2021 ATM Candidate Race that is also scheduled for this Sunday: Cau Dat Farm Ultra in Vietnam.

The corona virus situation is currently affecting a lot of countries already, but - touch wood - in the south of Vietnam there is no issue yet and the event can go ahead as planned. Cau Dat Farm Ultra is organised by the well-drilled team of Race Jungle led by Ms Tu Nguyen, who also set up the Tam Dao Mountain Trail a few years ago. On the programme are several race categories with the 55k as the main race featuring several of Vietnam’s finest and former Asia Trail Master champion Alessandro Sherpa.

The Singapore-based Italian decided a few weeks ago to replace 9 Dragons in favour of Cau Dat Farm Ultra as a heavy daily workload following his great second place at Tahura Trail in Indonesia prevented him from focusing on the very tough 2-stager in Hong Kong. However, Sherpa will be challenged on the trails near Dalat. Since MMTF in December, everyone who follows the ATM tour knows who Nhon Trong is and the talented youngster is looking forward to running with the 2018 champion. For Nhon Trong, 84km was the longest and toughest trail race ever and he finished without pressure in 6th place. That was one hour and fifteen minutes behind Sherpa, but Nhon Trong is comfortable with his speed on a shorter and more runable 55k course.

Another Vietnamese runner who could create an upset is Tan Hi. Hailing from Lam Dong, where he is a member of the Athletics Team. Podiuming in several local road races recently, Tan Hi is stepping up a level to compete with Nhon Trong and Alessandro Sherpa on the trails around the oldest tea farm in Vietnam, established and developed for nearly 100 years. In the women’s race we are happy to be seeing new faces, even when Thi Hai Yen Vo is probably the woman-to-beat.

Taking place early in the year, runners can expect cool Spring weather in green tea hills and immense flower fields, with gently sloping paths and unspoilt forests that adorn this plateau. It is also the cherry blossom season, blooming on both sides of the road, sometimes intermingling with a few white flower clusters.

ATM has Mark on the spot at Cau Dat Farm Ultra and we will be reporting live about the race developments throughout the weekend via our Facebook page as usual.

Nhon Trong was delighted with his 6th place at MMTF, his longest and toughest trail till that day

Video teaser Cau Dat Farm Ultra

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.

Now open for registration with early bird rates until 16 February: Mantra Summits Challenge! The renowed high mountain event in East Java is having its 5th edition on 11/12 July and remains the Indonesia SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship with 50 bonus points for all finishers on the 116km and 75km - both distance categories also labeled as A-races. Mountain goats across Asia: this is your event!

Hosted by the great Malang trail running community and the authentic Kaliandra Eco Resort, Mantra Summits Challenge will test your resilience as a trail runner. For a lot of people, the 116k and 75k are the toughest race courses in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. However, they are also recognised as among the most beautiful of the whole year. You are going up to well over 3000m altitude on Mount Welirang and Mount Arjuno. With its peak at 3339m, Arjuno is the third highest peak in East Java after Semeru and Raung, and the fourth highest on the entire island of Java.

In 2019 MSC was the playground of Sabah’s Milton Amat, who won the 116k race with a gap of FOUR HOURS to second-placed Hisashi KItamura. Just to emphasize how a specific race course can have an impact on performance. Asuka Nakajima was the women’s winner last year, a feat that proved she is indeed now a serious trail runner and not only a road runner.

While the 116km and 75km are serious challenges that you should be prepared for, less ambitious runners can also aim for the shorter categories. There’s something for everyone at this event to enjoy.

Logistics: best is to fly international to Surabaya, from where it is a 90-minute drive to Malang. Shuttle busses are scheduled from the airport terminal 2. If you are based in Indonesia, there’s a few domestic flights that go to Malang itself as well. Accommodation is highly recommended at the Kaliandra Eco Resort, which prices are very reasonable. Homestays around the area are also possible.

Alessandro Sherpa suffered a DNF last year. He was not the only elite runner to DNF.

Former winner Fandhi Ahmad keeps returning to Mantra Summits Challenge

A troubled Tahira Najmunisaa made her to-date final appearance on the ATM circuit in Mantra last year and did not finish. Will she return to East Java to set the record straight?

We are happy to announce that the 50km of the Great Malaya Trail on 26/27 September will be a points race for the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship. The longest distance on the programme - 100km - will also be valid for a Grandmaster Quest point, but not for Championship points. The inaugural edition of The Great Malaya Trail in Malaysia last October suffered from horrendous weather conditions that forced the organisers of Team Pacat to cancel the two shortest race distance categories and change the event date for 2020. An act of bravery that received widespread acclaim by the Malaysian running community. The two longest categories went ahead as planned, but the foul weather made the 100K sheer hardcore and quite extreme resulting in a high DNF rate. However, the 50K race was in fine balance and enjoyed a high finisher rate. With the ‘trail speedway’ Sungai Menyala Forest Trail in Malaysia disappearing from the race calendar in 2020, fast medium distance specialists can now look forward to the Great Malaya Trail 50 to score their ATM Championship points in a period of the season overwhelmed by tough 100K races. Mind you, it is not an easy race. 2600 metres of elevation gains means plenty of climbing for a 50k.

The event is set around three states in Malaysia: Pahang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan and the race in 2020 will be set around Kem Ghafar Baba, Kemensah. The 50K will skip Negeri Sembilan, but the 100K runners will thus cross three state borders. The trails are for more than 90% pure natural and participants will cross several water streams and rivers. Here and there are also waterfalls to be enjoyed.

Registration for the event is opening soon.

Compression is a very hot topic among runners and especially long distance and ultra runners. We are happy to announce that patent holder BV Sport is now the official compression partner of the Asia Trail Master Championship series in 2020. BV Sport will be active in and around ATM calendar events throughout the year in support of our series but especially in support of you runners.

BV SPORT is a well known compression brand from France. Dr. Micheal Prufer, an multiple time Olympic champion and a vascular doctor spent years of researching ways to improve the performance of top athletes. Together with his partner, they invented a new revolutionary concept of compression support designed specifically for athletes: the Booster Veins Sport system. Patented by BV Sport, both the Booster Elite Calf Sleeves and Booster Elite Recovery Socks are produced to Boost Your Performances and Speed Up Your Recovery. They are recognized and used widely by athletes worldwide.

In Asia, it is easy to obtain BV Sport’s key products via Sportlicious Malaysia . A few examples of what BV Sport has to offer are below.

Website:

BV Sport: http://bit.ly/BVSportMY

After a successful edition as a Candidate Race last July, we are happy to announce that Muspo Ultra 50 will be a new points race for the Asia Trail Master Championship and Grandmaster Quest in the southern Philippines in 2020! Muspo Ultra 50 features a 80km race (50 miles) to focus on - in the context of ATM - and is scheduled for 18-19 July.

Organised by a well-experienced group in Bukidnon, Mindanao, Muspo takes you the hilly terrains of Mount Musuan of Maramag and around the majestic Lake Apo of Valencia. With about 650 meters of elevation, Musuan Peak gives you a panoramic view of the province. Lake Apo gives you a mystical feel of nature with the lake and nearby mountain ranges.

The event offers 3 more distances: a 50-kilometer distance for experienced runners and a 30-kilometer distance that’s friendly for novice and newbie runners and a 10k. Note that only the 80km race matters for the Asia Trail Master points.

The trails are quite fast and runable with some portions that are technically challenging, which matches the profile of main sponsor Hoka One One’s shoes being a fast racer and still have aggressive lugs to keep you safe on technical surfaces. Total elevation gain for the 80km is around the 3800 hm mark.

MUSPO ULTRA 50 is not only a run but it’s a haven to connect with nature and marvel at its beauty. Now is the #timetofly at Muspo!

Registration Start: 20 December 2019.

Connect to the Muspo Ultra 50 facebook page to stay up to date with latest developments

It is a pleasure to announce the renewed cooperation between Asia Trail Master and the popular Japanese kinesio taping brand New-HALE. Also at Asia Trail Master promoted events, we see increasingly more runners using colourful tape to protect themselves from potential injuries. New-HALE, established by Mr Koji Akuta, is one of the pioneers in the technology, and will please participants in our series with its great products and service.

For those people not yet so familiar with kinesio taping, this is a rehabilitative taping technique that is designed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting the body’s range of motion. It is a therapeutic technique not only offering you the support you are looking for, but also rehabilitating any affected condition as well.

New-HALE has a wide range of items in its catalogue, but in ATM the focus is on the V Tape and the X Tape. Both these are easily available in Asia outside Japan thanks to our preferred retail store Gone Running in Hong Kong (see link below).

V Tape

This innovative pre-cut V-shaped tape is super flexible to applied on the calf, knee, shoulders or waist to provide targeted support. It is loved by professional athletes around the world and also used in many medical treatments. The tape is made of smooth LYCRA blend cotton fabric, which offers great resilience and joint support, such as elbow or knee, perfect for athletic taping.

X Tape

Ankle taping for professional top runners of trail running and ultramarathon. It stops not just sprain but also prevents overpronation to sustain resilience of runner's ankle, transferring propulsion force into higher performance. It sustains the angle of 90 degrees of ankle and foot to reduce stress and burdens on foot. Simple "X-type taping" makes it easier for ankle support. Support by the elastic material LYCRA. Tape of lower elasticity provides both fit and fixed power. Acrylic rubber 100% prevents losing power. Sweat and water-resistant taping surface with high quality glue substance prevents it from peeling off. Ankle Fixed-Up To Step Up Performance Of All Sports!

We are happy to introduce Monkeys Trail as the second Thai points race in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series. Organised by Teelakow, which also brings you UT Chiang Rai, UT Koh Chang and Moon 100, this event takes place on the popular holiday island Koh Samui on 16/17 May. The points race for the ATM Championship and the Grandmaster Quest is the 100km category.

This year all the events under the ‘3 Islands Trail’ are part of the ATM Championship, topped by the Thailand SuperTrail, Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in October. The Monkeys Trail will set up its arena at the Teeparatpittaya School on Koh Samui and has 4 am on Saturday as the starting time for the 100km, which features over 5000 metres of elevation gain.

To get a feeling of what the Koh Samui trails are like, have a look at the below teaser video. Registration is opening very soon.

More than 3600 runners took part in the 8th edition of the Tahura Trail event in Bandung, Java, Indonesia, of whom 620 on the 42 km trail marathon - the opening points race of the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship season. As in 2018, Hong Kong-based Canadian Jeff Campbell grabbed the race win ahead of Alessandro Sherpa, Hishashi Kitamura, Pablo Diago Gonzales, Ando Akihide and last year’s winner Mohamed Affindi. Running conditions were quite ideal for Bandung standards and this translated in fast times. Campbell went below 4 four hours for the first time in the race’s history.

In the women’s race, France’s Charlotte Taquet from Hong Kong’s Gone Running Team had a rather comfortable maiden race victory in ATM. Taquet has her eyes set on the Championship title this season and could not have wished for a better start of her campaign!

Below is the video race report of the main contenders’ finish arrivals.

A fantastic men’s podium with Kitamura clearly aiming for something in the coming months …

A new face and new ATM race winner: Charlotte Taquet!

Ando Akihide was a very strong fifth place, overtaking Mohamed Affindi in the final section!

Taifuk Hidayat was the best male Indonesian this year with 7th place

Jeff Campbell in his element at Tahura Trail: his 2nd victory here in 3 years

Alessandro Sherpa confirmed the good vibes from MMTF: he’s back at his best with possibly more to come!

After taking a bit of a very welcome break since MMTF, Hisashi Kitamura settled for third but did not forget his trademark ‘Karate Kit’ jump!

This Saturday Tahura Trail kicks off the 6th edition of the Asia Trail Master Championship series. The traditional season opener in Bandung, Indonesia, has smashed its own record and attracted well over 3000 participants including several elite runners from the Asian region for the 8th edition of the country’s biggest trail event in terms of participant numbers. The 42km long trail marathon remains the main race category on which finishers will collect their first ATM Championship points of 2020.

While several event organisers every year feel a need to increase the distance of their longest race, Agung Adijani of IBA stays with 42km ‘because the course works’. For sure it does. Tahura Trail has a bit of everything you can expect of a trail running course. While it is shorter than most, the 1800 hm of elevation will make itself felt and the technical sections are challenging for each participant. While the weather gods treated the runners well in the past two years, rainfall in Bandung can always turn Tahura into a bit of a mudfest as well. As such, nothing is a given in this race and even the fastest legs sometimes get beaten by those with more overall strength and technical skill. Last year’s winner Mohamed Affindi is a prime example of that when he had the better of the theoretically quicker runners Pablo Diago Gonzales and Tomohiro Mizukoshi.

Malaysia’s Affindi is returning to Bandung this weekend in an attempt to repeat last year’s performance and kickstart his 2020 ATM campaign. Work commitments in the army prevented him from living up to his full potential for most of last season, but according to his team Malatra manager Razif Yahya he will have more opportunities for focused training and racing in the coming months. While Singapore-based Spaniard Pablo Diago Gonzales will be one Affindi’s biggest rivals again this Saturday, arguably the top favourite is 2018 winner Jeff Campbell.

The Canadian from Hong Kong, running for our preferred retail store partner Gone Running-Joint Dynamics, is indeed coming back to Tahura Trail and with more than just this one ATM race in mind. Inspired by John Ellis and perhaps even more by Veronika Vadovicova, Campbell has stated he wants to give the championship a go. The Slovakian phenomenon proved that you don’t need to win a series of 100k races to get the points needed to claim the ATM title at the end of the season. Her longest race in 2019 was the last one in Taiping: 84 km. By exploiting his experience of two years ago Campbell is looking for the best possible start of his championship campaign. He won’t get the victory presented on a silver platter, though. Aside from the aforementioned contenders Affindi and Diago Gonzales, Campbell will need to deal also with Alessandro Sherpa, Hisashi Kitamura and the motivated local hero Yusuf Aprian. Together with Margono, Sherpa was the one pushing Campbell forward in this race two seasons ago and is arguably now in better shape than then. Karate Kit is making his debut in Bandung and we know his amazing speed on the medium distance. In the case of the Uglow Asia leader we need to wait and see how well he has recovered from a very long and tough 2019 season, in which he of course finished as runner-up to Ellis in the ATM Championship. Yusuf Aprian is still the youngest of all the known podium contenders and is keen to improve his performance once again. Aprian is part of the famous Bandung Explorer Team of Arief Wismoyono and Ruth Theresia and reportedly wants to give the ATM Championship a go this season. As such he may become a favourite for the new and soon-to-be-introduced T8 Trophy for the ‘Best Youth Runner’ in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series.

Other potential podium contenders in the men’s race are the inevitable Rudi Iskandar, Stephen Dundon and Aris Sopiandi Muklis (the 2019 Indonesia Trail Master). The beauty of the season opening race is of course that we may always discover new names…. such as Asuka Nakajima last year.

Asuka Nakajima burst onto the ATM Scene by winning Tahura Trail ahead of Sri Wahyuni. This weekend, however, both runners are not on the start list. The women’s 42k race could become a race between two Asia-based French ladies: Charlotte Taquet and Josephin Anselin, and local hero Ruth Theresia. The latter’s participation in the 42k is still a bit in doubt given her busy racing schedule coming up with also the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong and the EcoTrail Al Ula in Saudi Arabia as targets for her new ATM campaign. In the last two years, Ruth has indeed used the 21K B-race at Tahura as a speed test and may opt to do that again. On paper, though, a podium on the 42k should be a given. Josephin Anselin is based in Jakarta and known as a very fast marathon runner, but she has been out of racing for a long time due to persistent injury that plagued her last year. If Anselin is fit, she could be the measure of things although her relative lack of experience in trail may boost the chances of Theresia and of Charlotte Taquet. Keen ATM fans may remember that name from the 9 Dragons last year. Indeed, she won the 50km. That was not a points race then (this year it is!), but note that Taquet beat none other than Kim Matthews and Sandi Menchi that day! Running for the T8 Team of John Ellis, Taquet has been put forward as a challenger for the women’s ATM Championship. As usual, ATM will be reporting LIVE from the events also this season via our facebook page and instagram primarily. The 42k race coverage at Tahura begins on Saturday early morning around 6 am.

Mohamed Affindi on the way to victory at Tahura last year

Jeff Campbell returns to Bandung after winning here two years ago

Yusuf Aprian is Indonesia’s young hope for competitive trail running

There’s always a great festive vibe at the first event of the new ATM season!

We are delighted to announce Unived as our latest partner and official nutrition partner of the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series.

Founded in India in 2010 by Amit Mehta who has been fascinated by healthy, conscious living and healthy food since childhood. Unived promises to offer you innovative, quality, vegan healthcare products that are inspired by nature and based on research, and are manufactured at our 100% vegan facility. Enthusiastic about running and trail running himself, Amit has already taken part in a couple of ATM events and has also been supporting, a.o., 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia and local up-and-coming Indian talent. On top of that, Unived counts several world elites in its team roster, such as Hayden Hawks, Harry Jones, Camille Herron and Laura Kline. A clear testimony to the fine work and of course the quality of the Unived range of nutritional products.

Unived products are made in wonderfully small batches with extreme care and detail. Products are free of unnecessary ingredients that act as fillers. Instead, they are full of standardized natural ingredients which means ‘wholesome goodness’ . Moreover, all products are 100% vegan, and Unived is proud to be registered by the Vegan Society – UK, as well as certified by PETA India.

Unived and Asia Trail Master will collaborate on various levels across the year, throughout Asia for all the ATM points races. Top finishers in the Asia Trail Master Championship races can expect lots of special goodies from Unived.

For more details and product orders, please see the Unived website and facebook page for special announcements. Unived products are also available via the online store at Sportlicious Malaysia.

As every year, we take a moment to highlight the National & Regional ATM Champions in some of the key countries in which points races take place. The Asian runners who scored most points in the 2019 ATM Championship compared to their own compatriots. Some names are a given due their protagonist status in the overall ATM Championship, but other names are lesser known and also deserve a little credit! Here’s the list and a big congratulations to them!