The 4th edition of Sierra Madre Trail Ultra is up next in the Asia Trail Master Championship series this weekend. It is the second Filipino points race of Season 10, and it’s one of the most honest and simple races on the calendar: 75km, take it or leave it. Since its conception by the Maharlika organisational team, the event in the Rizal mountains east of Manila has been widely applauded as a highlight for trail runners in Luzon and the whole country, and it has seen some of Asia’s top performers taking part. The 2025 edition has a few modifications, from a midnight start to some significant course changes. Sierra Madre Trail Ultra also celebrates the 154th anniversary of the host town Rodriguez.

The new route consists of both technical and wide trails, river crossings and bouldering with minimal road sections. It’s trail running pur sang and the daytime heat needs to be factored in as well. Total elevation gain is estimated at a bulky 4200 hm. Sierra Madre is a race that takes mandatory gear seriously, so runners need to make sure they carry all that is deemed necessary.

Two years ago it was current ATM Champion Jeff Campbell who set the trails on fire, last year it was Kristian Joergensen. The latter, of course a resident in the Philippines, will return this Saturday, despite having run Lantau 70 in Hong Kong last weekend. Joergensen came sixth, after finishing fifth in Vietnam Ultra Marathon just a month ago as well. A third solid result would probably put him already in the safety zone for Team Asia Expat in this year’s ATM Championship Final at Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail in Vietnam in October. Given his heavy race load over the past month, a new victory in Sierra Madre may not come as easy, however. A group of young, talented Filipinos may be smelling blood. Joergensen has been a benchmark in the Philippines for years, so most certainly the likes of Kik Suello, Roberto Cain III, Jomarc Ferrer, John Ivan Zonio, Randolf Gonzales and Maynard Encormal will be dreaming of more than a podium this weekend. It will make for some interesting racing, also tactically. For the Filipino contenders, any ATM points race is important, given a lot of them want to be in Team Pilipinas at the ATM Final later in the year. Godwin Mirar and Kik Suello are currently 1-2 in the ranking, followed by Gonzales. Former ATM Champions Onifa and Macaneras have already secured their wild card for the Final, so the question is which five other guys will join them in the team.

75 kilometers is of course also a Grandmaster distance, and it’s great to see quite a lot of Grandmasters on the start list on their journey towards the next level and star. Runners such as 3-stars Dward Fuentes and Sean Aying, Ben Chiok, Munintaran Sundram, Mario Yap and Bhert Orpiada.

Traditionally, the women’s race at Sierra Madre has always been very exciting to follow as well with rather surprising race winners even. Ann Jilian Pulanco took her maiden ATM race victory here two years ago, and last year Cristine Montuya surprised everyone with her strong finish to take her first ever ATM race win. Both Pulanco and Montuya are absent this time, but the start list still shows several competitors who can dream of success. The two runners with most wins and podiums on their records are Malaysia’s Rejlen James and Manila-resident Cecille Wael. As outstanding Borneo star Rejlen James has been on home soil, things have never really worked out for her so far when abroad. Can she turn that corner this weekend? Cecille Wael knows the trails by heart and came second behind Montuya last year. Recently, Wael’s been suffering from inconsistent training opportunities and nutritional problems while racing. Last month she ran the 9 Dragons 50/50 basically on just water. Her road running times this year have been solid, though, and she has the potential to give James a run for her money. Julieann Morales and Julie Mae Marquez are two other contenders, but both just returned from Lantau 70 in Hong Kong. Marquez in particular has had a particulary busy few months - also reaching Grandmaster status. Morales, already a Grandmaster and a three-time race winner in Season 9, cannot be underestimated, however, as one has the feeling she has not been emptying her tank over the past couple of races. The dark horse of the women’s race may very well be Shekinah Velasquez. Given Sierra Madre has a history of surprise female winners, this may very well just become her breakthough-weekend. Let’s also not discount the chances of Ellen Cheng from Hong Kong. A bit underwhelming perhaps at Lantau 70 last week, but she did win the V Trail 85km in Laos on a very technical course just a month ago.

You can follow the Sierra Madre Trail Ultra live on our ATM Facebook, YouTube and Instagram channels all day on Saturday.

Running back in time

Sabah’s Rejlen James : already a winner again this season on home soil at BUTM 100

3-star Grandmaster Cecille Wael: 2nd last year. Last month, she finished 9 Dragons 50/50 on water only

Last year’s winner Kristian Joergensen is going for the double at Sierra Madre

Roberto Cain III: one of Joergensen’s top challengers this saturday

Borneo TMBT Ultra, host of the fantastic Asia Trail Master Championship Final last season, has been scheduled for the last weekend of August this year. The premier event in Sabah, Malaysia, will again feature the classic races of 100km and 50km that both offer points for the Championship ranking, and also for the Grandmaster Quest in the case of the 100km. It will be the penultimate chance for runners to score points this season, if they wish to qualify for Season 10’s Final in Vietnam on 4 October.

TMBT is not only a classic trail challenge for runners of all levels, it’s also been a major battleground for competitive athletes over the years resulting in some of the most memorable races in ATM history. Not just last year’s exciting Championship conclusion with Jeff Campbell narrowly staying ahead of Hisashi Kitamura and Arnie Macaneras. Local heroes Milton Amat and Daved Simpat have left their marks at TMBT, particularly when competing against the same Japanese runner Hisashi Kitamura, who has finished second on no fewer than four occasions now, but never won. Will 2025 be the year he finally nails it? Kitamura, based in Tokyo, in any case has TMBT on his race calendar again.

The 50km has its own characteristics, culminating in a steep uphill finish. ATM stars such as John Ray Onifa and Vanja Cnops have put their names on the list of winners of that 50km already.

The event takes place five weeks before the ATM Championship Final at Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail in Vietnam. Preceeded by The Punisher 80km in Philippines and followed by Ijen Mountain Marathon 50km in Indonesia, TMBT is the last points race event in Malaysia this season.

Access to the event is typically via Kota Kinabalu, where the airport is. Most runners stay in the city and take the official nighttime shuttle bus three hours before the start of the races.

Registration is open for Borneo TMBT Ultra, which you can do via the button below.

A typical view with hanging bridge during Borneo TMBT Ultra

Last year’s Team Pilipinas at the ATM Championship Final, hosted by Borneo TMBT Ultra

Hisashi Kitamura and Milton Amat have fought numerous battles at TMBT over the past years. Local hero Milton has always had the better of the Japanese ‘Karate Kit’, except last year… but then there was Jeff Campbell.

Omnipresent in our Asia Trail Master Championship series for many years, Tomohiro Mizukoshi has completed level 4 of the Grandmaster Quest at Lantau 70 in Hong Kong last Saturday. The 50-year-old runner from Tokyo finished his 20th ATM Ultra and is now a 4-Star ‘Golden’ Grandmaster!

Tomohiro Mizukoshi has been one of the most popular and recognisable trail runners in ATM since he first appeared in 2017. Traditionally wearing a pretty wide headband, he has also been one of the most successful competitive athletes in our series. In 2018 he finished third in our Championship, behind Alessandro Sherpa and Salva Rambla. He scored one race victory, an impressive one, in Plataran X Trail Bali in the same year. In total, Tomohiro scored nine Top 3 podiums during his ATM journey, the latest one just a year ago at Cuc Phuong in Vietnam. He has been part of Team Japan in the ATM Championship Final every season and things are also looking good for him in 2025. Having reached age 50, Tomohiro arguably needs to find the perfect trail course and form-of-the-day to eye a podium result, but when he does he still uses the opportunity. Last December he came 4th in Prenn Trail Summit in Dalat, for example.

While originally focused on medium distance trail races, Tomohiro Mizukoshi gradually began to challenge himself on longer ultras, too. Even in hot and humid climates such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Always flying in from Tokyo, mind you. A true ambassador for the sport and for adventurous spirit, unafraid to leave his comfort zone, Tomohiro is a great new Golden Grandmaster. For the record, he collected his last five GM points to reach gold status at Lantau 70 (Hong Kong), Borneo TMBT Ultra (Malaysia), Vietnam Trail Marathon, Siksorogo Lawu Ultra (Indonesia) and Deep Japan Ultra.

Tomohiro Mizukoshi is only the fourth trail runner to complete the four levels of the Grandmaster Quest, after his compatriots Hisashi Kitamura and Masafumi Yamamoto and Filipino Rhea Batac, the only woman to accomplish this feat.

Tomohiro has also been an ATM Championship Finalist for Team Japan in the past three years