Enter Hakuba Trails now!
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With Kushigata Wind Trail in Tainai City wrapped up - the 28km race won by Jun Kaise and Kazumi Matsuo - the Japanese chapter of this year's Asia Trail Master Championship has been opened. The next points race is Echigo Country Trail - a classic meanwhile - and on 9 September we have a new gem in our series: Hakuba Trails. Another solid 52 km race in the outskirts of the Japan Alps near Nagano, former host city of the Olympic Winter Games. Hakuba itself is a famous international ski resort in Japan, and in summer what can be better than using the available facilities to put up a serious trail running event. Hakuba Trails happens to be one of Japan's most popular races these days, and as of 2018 international runners have a great opportunity to join the event and score points for the Asia Trail Master Championship series. The official registration has now just been opened. There is an English form to do so, and below you can also find a contact person at Hakuba for your immediate queries in English. 

A short itinerary will also be provided in due course for runners who like to stay a few more days in Japan after the race. The itinerary will include 20 to 30 km runs/hikes in the Japan Alps area before heading to Tokyo. Please stay tuned for more on this optional trip, which is separate from the race. 

Link to Hakuba Trails English registration form: [LINK}

Email contact in English for quesions: Kento Maruyama (k.maruyama.shinya@gmail.com

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Penang Eco 100 stuns again!
Joanna Kruk: 4th career ATM race win

Joanna Kruk: 4th career ATM race win

Penang Eco 100 again delivered on its reputation as being probably the most underestimated event in Asia Trail Master. As last year, both the 100 miles and 100k SuperTrail A-races were filled with drama and unexpected twists. And even though, he did not follow into the footsteps of his compatriot Manolito Divina by winning the 100 miles, Philippines’ Wilnar Iglesia scored a great 3rd place that puts him on top of the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship. 

Normally there is always a solid rainshower at some point during Penang Eco, but this year it was just hot and humid all the way. It made everything just a bit more runable, but clearly some of the race favourites got too excited. A quartet of four runners took off on the 100 miles with a blistering pace. Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi, who is becoming a regular contender on the ATM tour, actually felt so good he went out in front by himself. Behind him were top favourites Steven Ong, the ATM champion and winner of Penang Eco 100K last year, Wilnar Iglesia and another Japanese ace, Sota Ogawa. Malaysia’s other iron in the fire, Sabah’s Milton Bin Amat, took a more conservative approach knowing his technical skills would be best applied 100% during the very technical final 60 km of the race. Australia’s Joanna Kruk made another trip to ATM from Adelaide, Australia, and was following the leading quartet as first woman. America’s Susan Swier was giving her a run of her money, though. Swier is known as a fast ultra road runner and found those initial flat runable sections very much to her liking. She won Merapoh Trail 70k last year, but otherwise she has had little credentials on the trail circuit. As it happened, after being passed by Kruk after approx 40k, she kept the pressure and was only losing minute-by-minute for most of the saturday. Swier would pay the price for that eventually, as she faded away in the final technical sections and ultimately finished third behind Law Lay Eng, from Malaysia also. Kruk was looking superb herself, as usual, and at some point the question was if she would manage to compete with the male leaders for the overall win. 

Sota Ogawa and Tomohiro Mizukoshi from Japan coloured the first 100k of the 100 miles race

Sota Ogawa and Tomohiro Mizukoshi from Japan coloured the first 100k of the 100 miles race

The men’s 100 milers were blowing each other up. Steven Ong, not yet fully recovered from a flu attack a few days before the race, even decided he had enough after approx 65k. Being busy setting up his own running shop in Kuala Lumpur, Ong's ATM campaign will require a strong surge in the second half of the season if he is to retain his title this year. Next was Sota Ogawa. Not used to the heat and humidity of Malaysia, Ogawa suffered from major stomach issues that prevented him from absorbing anything just before sunset. The Japanese top trail runner was a DNF. Meanwhile, a runner from Hong Kong was slowly making up ground on the leaders… and at km 112 we had the unusual situation of having three 100 milers sitting at the checkpoint together: Wilnar Iglesia, Tomohiro Mizukoshi and Law Chor Kin! Indeed, it was the Hong Kong runner Law Chor Kin who appeared by far the freshest of the three. Iglesia had just lost valuable energy missing a marker and doing an extra hill, and Mizukoshi looked cooked. The scene did not lie. In the final 55km, Law Chor Kin quickly built up a solid advantage to grab a very intelligent and admirable victory in 26h15. A newcomer on the ATM tour, he scores 600 points for the championship. Behind him, Iglesia was increasingly struggling on the tough technical jungle terrain and Mizukoshi needed to catch sleep at a checkpoint in the middle of the night. Mizukoshi deserves a lot of applause for his very courageous race at the beginning, even when in the end it did not fully played out. He would cross the finish line in 7th place in 34h49. A loss of over 8h30 on 56km compared to Law Chor Kin says enough. But he made it, and he moves up to 6th place in the ATM championship! 

Law Chor Kin wins the 100 miles just before sunrise after a conservative first 100k

Law Chor Kin wins the 100 miles just before sunrise after a conservative first 100k

It was clear that a conservative start was the best strategy last weekend. Wilnar Iglesia stlll got himself overtaken towards the end of the race by local Malaysian veteran Liew Tho Fatt, who produced a fantastic and well-balanced effort. Milton Bin Amat finished in 4th place, the same result as in the 9 Dragons Ultra. He moves up to 11th place in the ATM championship and is also the first Malaysian. Experience counts big time at Penang Eco 100 miles. Lau Say Niong came home in sixth place, just ahead of Soo Kong Yong. 

Exhausted but satisfied: Wilnar Iglesia finishes 3rd and is the new ATM championship leader

Exhausted but satisfied: Wilnar Iglesia finishes 3rd and is the new ATM championship leader

The 100K race at Penang Eco is also considered an A-race for the ATM Championship and thus attracts a lot of strong runners, too. On paper, it was going to be a battle between several Asia-based expats and Mohamed Affindi from Malaysia in the men’s. In the women’s Vietnam-based Marieke Dekkers from the Netherlands was the top favourite, similar to Joanna Kruk on the 100 miles. Dekkers proved to be fastest, indeed. The training partner of ATM Champion Kim Matthews won her second ATM race of the season after Dalat Ultra Trail in 20h21. Dekkers climbs up to 4th place in the championship standings. Malaysia’s Siokhar Lim was a very happy second place last Sunday in 22h 25, as it happened to be her first ever 100k race. The podium was completed by another Malaysian, Lili Wong. 

Marieke Dekkers scored her 2nd ATM race win of the season on the 100k!

Marieke Dekkers scored her 2nd ATM race win of the season on the 100k!

The men’s race started quite explosively, similar to the 100 miles earlier that day. Mohamed Affindi, Alessandro Sherpa and David Giannelli took off quicky. Affindi and Sherpa then went by themselves as Gianelli lost a bit of terrain. Hong Kong trail star John Ellis, meanwhile, was biding his time as he usually does. Running 10-15 minutes behind the leading duo in the early hours, it looked every bit of a standard Ellis strategy. Chin Yit Khiang, living in Hong Kong but born and raised in Penang, Britain’s Sam McGrath and Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura were keeping up also. Halfway, Ellis caught up and took the race lead. Drama unfolded shortly after for both Mohamed Affindi and David Gianelli. Affindi twisted his ankle badly in a downhill section and saw no other option but to retire from the race! Technical runner Giannelli, who had just begun to decrease the time gap to the frontrunners, missed a crucial marker and suddenly found himself two checkpoints further down the course. Demotivated, Gianneli retired from the race. All of this was happening in the middle of the night, and Ellis was steadily opening up a bit of a gap on Alessandro Sherpa, until suddenly he didn’t anymore. Sherpa clearly had not yet given up on the race win and, perhaps using his bigger experience of negotiating South East Asian trails, managed to fight his way back to a struggling Ellis in the last 15k! Something one rarely sees on an ultra trail, but it proved again what a treacherous and therefore almost unique race Penang Eco 100 is. The Singapore-based Italian dropped Ellis in the last 9k and cruised to a big victory in 14h25, three minutes ahead of John Ellis. A bit in the shadow of the leading duo, but by all means a stellar effort was third-placed Chin Yit Khiang in 15h30. Behind them it was three hours till the finish of Sam McGrath, Hisashi Kitamura and Beng Wan. 

Sherpa’s win over Ellis could prove meaningful later in the season when the ATM championship gets decided. Sherpa collects 550 to Ellis’ 500 and jumps to 4th place in the ranking with 3 results in the books, while Ellis is now 8th with 2 results. 

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While all finishers of Penang Eco deserve a honourary mentioning, we would like to note that Japan’s Masafumi Yamamoto finished his 5th ATM race of the season already, of which 4 Grandmaster distances plus CMU 50, the Philippines’ SuperTrail back in March. Respect! 

The next points race in the ATM championship is the first of four races in Japan this season: Kushigata Wind Trail. It’s also one of the shortest on the circuit with 30 km , but also 2500 hm. 

Race organisers Seow Kong Ng and Allan Lee with Milton Bin Amat, 4th on the 100 miles

Race organisers Seow Kong Ng and Allan Lee with Milton Bin Amat, 4th on the 100 miles

Penang Eco 100 - Top-notch field in Malaysia SuperTrail
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The Malaysia SuperTrail in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series promises to be another cracker this weekend as a long list of excellent trail runners from all over the region are lining up in Bukit Mertajam for the Penang Eco 100. An event with a very specific course, be it the 100 miles or the 100k (the two race distances that matter for the championship, and remember both are A-races also). Last year’s edition was full of last-minute drama with changing leads and positions in the final kilometres of what has become known as a very treacherous race. 

Looking first at the 100 miles, which starts at 4 a.m. on Saturday, we see Asia Trail Master champion Steven Ong making his second appearance of the season. Ong has been busy setting up his own running shop in Kuala Lumpur and keeping a low profile after his 13th placing in the -for him- too short Tahura Trail in Indonesia back in January. However, a lot of people will bet on him to win this weekend. Ong is famous for his racing intelligence and the longer a race lasts, the better it is for him. Moreover, Ong knows the Penang course: he won the 100k here last season and with hindsight already laid the foundation for his championship win in this race. This being a SuperTrail, the competition of course will be severe. Sota Ogawa is a Japanese professional runner who is making his debut in the ATM Championship after winning a Candidate Race in his own country last autumn. Ogawa is highly motivated and left nothing to chance in his preparation for Penang Eco. The big question to be answered this weekend is: how well can he handle the Malaysian heat and humidity? Another Japanese runner seemingly has few issues with the climate looking back at his great 4th place in Sungai Menyala Forest Trail last month: Tomohiro Mizukoshi . Ranked 16th in the current ATM Championship, Mizukoshi was 8th in Korea 50K a few weeks ago as well. He came to the foreground in our series last December, when he finished 18th in the Izu Trail Journey, a performance that underlines his potential perhaps the most given Izu is almost like a national championship race in Japan. All abovementioned races are short to medium distance trails, how well will Mizukoshi fare on the 100 miles? 

The Malaysians have another iron in the fire for the longest race this weekend. Milton Amat from Sabah is ready to tackle his second SuperTrail race of the season after finising the Hong Kong’s 9 Dragons in 4th place. Another great result can put Amat into the championship picture. He is the winner of Borneo TMBT 100 last year and that race is back in ATM this year on 1/2 September. With also the Magnificent Merapoh Trail still on the programme in Malaysia in August, Amat can in theory claim the spotlights for sure. 

Finally, also the Philippines is well-represented with Davao’s Rexell Aguirre and also Manila’s Wilnar Iglesia - 3rd in the current ATM Championship ranking - coming back for the 100 miles as well, after finishing second to Steven Ong in last year’s 100k race here. If Wilnar scores 400 points (= 11th place on the 100 miles) he will match the points tally of ATM leader Pablo Diago Gonzales. But the Singapore-based Spaniard will be active on the 100K this weekend, too. Remains to be seen, however, how fast he has recovered from. what has been a very busy late spring campaign with the gruelling Mt Apo Sky Race and last week’s hot and fast Tengri Ultra Trail in the legs. Another Asia-based European is Alessandro Sherpa. When there’s a race, Sherpa is there. But the Italian is still suffering from his ankle injury sustained in UTKC in February so 100 miles might be a mountain of a task this weekend. 

A number of women are also competing on the 100 miles with one big favourite: Australia’s Joanna Kruk. Flying in again from Adelaide, Kruk loves to race in South East Asia and has built up quite a record in doing so: winner of Thailand’s UT Chiang Rai and UT Panoramic and winner of Borneo TMBT 100 back in 2015 as well. Kruk is both blisteringly fast and tough. A former boxer and now police officer, Kruk may even put some of the top men under pressure again like she managed in UT Chiang Rai and Panoramic last December, when she finished in 3rd overall. Not being based in Asia, it is difficult for Kruk to challenge for the ATM Championship and score points in five races. But she is certainly making a name for herself here in the region. While Kruk seems to be the top favourite for the win, Grandmaster Lily Suryani - who claimed 3rd place here last year - and Vietnam’s Vy Le Phuong could flank her on the podium. 

The 100k in Penang is also an A-race, meaning all finishers score 150 finisher points on top of their performance points as well. The only difference is they do not get the 50 bonus points for finishing 100 miles. Hence, a lot of top regional runners are competing on this distance, too. Highly anticipated is the participation of Hong Kong-based Australian John Ellis. Winner of the 9 Dragons Ultra and plenty of other races in Hong Kong, Ellis is thinking about challenging for the ATM Championship and push his own boundaries. Known for running bare-chested, the Australian has little experience running in South East Asia, and just like with many Japanese runners that is an open question to be answered this weekend. Ellis will definitely face pressure from many other runners. Let’s begin with Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi. A man who burst onto the scene in the middle of last season. Affindi has scored one 2nd place after the other - also this year in Brunei and Sungai Menyala - but still waiting for his maiden victory in  ATM. Can it happen in Penang? Looking at the course profile and Affindi’s characteristics as a trail runner, most definitely yes. David Gianelli is another Italian who is back on the ATM circuit and with ambition. Gianelli won the Mt Apo Sky Race three weeks ago and will aim for nothing less in Penang. 

The women’s 100K race seems quite open although Vietnam-based Marieke Dekkers, training partner of Kim Matthews, could be the benchmark. Dekkers won the Dalat Ultra Trail in March and a second strong result this weekend can put her among the top performers in the ATM Championship. 

The event has a new participation record with close to 1000 participants spread over four race distances. 

We will be reporting live from the field in Penang all weekend during our usual social media channels. 

Kruk is back: the Adelaide police officer aims to collect another Asian race win in Penang

Kruk is back: the Adelaide police officer aims to collect another Asian race win in Penang

ATM Champion Steven Ong returns to the scene on his favourite distance: 100 miles

ATM Champion Steven Ong returns to the scene on his favourite distance: 100 miles

Mohamed Affindi: finally the big win this weekend? 

Mohamed Affindi: finally the big win this weekend? 

Pablo Diago chasing ATM lead in Tengri!
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The 4th Tengri Ultra Trail in Kazakhstan sees a record number of participants with over 1000 runners spread out over three race distances. It is testimony to the growth of trail running also here, even when it is still a minority of people who dares to tackle the ultra trail race of 70 km. The event takes place on Monday - a public holiday in Kazkahstan. Looking at the start list we also see an increased number of nationalities, including Japan, China, Singapore, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Thailand. Most runners from Kazahstan, Eastern Russia, Kyrgyzstan are perhaps not so well-known to the general Asian audience, but one name stands out: Pablo Diago Gonzales. The Singapore-based Spaniard is having a busy early season campaign and Tengri Ultra Trail will already be his 5th points race in 2018. The number 4 of the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship had an injury-caused DNF at the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong, but accumulated 1225 points with a 4th place at Rizal Mountain Run (PHI), 2nd at Beach Bunch Trail Challenge 50 (BRU) and 3rd two weeks ago at Mount Apo SkyRace (PHI). A three-time race winner in 2017, can he score his first victory of the season in Kazakhstan? In any case, Pablo Diago only needs a result inside the top 15 and 260 points to take over the points lead in the ATM Championship from Harry Jones. He would be the first top runner to score points in 4 races this season. 

The start and finish of the Tengri Ultra Trail is at Tamgaly Tas, a UNESCO World Heritage SIte along the mighty Ili River that flows into Xinjiang, China. Connectivity is virtually non-existent at the place and all participants will be camping at the riverside on Sunday night. We will update with news from the field when possible. 

Pablo Diago Gonzales keeps busy: TUT will be his 4th points race of the season!

Pablo Diago Gonzales keeps busy: TUT will be his 4th points race of the season!

UT Mount Damavand postponed to 2019
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Hong Kong's XTE event organiser has informed us that, regrettably, the Ultra Trail Mount Damavand in Iran has to be postponed to 2019. Originally scheduled for 21-22 June, the timing proves to be too cumbersome for local stakeholders so soon after the fasting month. UTMD will return on the calendar probably in August 2019. 

After the postponement of Tam Dao in VIetnam, this is the second June points race in the Asia Trail Master Championship series that won't take place as scheduled. It means that June will launch the quiet season after a very busy spring campaign. Echigo Country Trail in Japan on 17 June and Mantra Summits Challenge in East Java, Indonesia, on 14/15 July will be the only points races in June and July. 

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Hakuba Trails opens registration on 25 May
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Several of you have been asking when race registration opens for the Japanese new entry in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship, Hakuba International Trails. The local organisers in Nagano have now set the opening date for registration on Friday, 25 May. Hakuba Trails is one of Japan's most popular medium distance trail races with a longest distance of just over 50 km to be completed in 10 hours. The race is hosted by the ski resort Hakuba, famous in Japan's winter sports community, and runs around the mountains of Nagano, where the Olympic Winter Games took place in 1998. 

To get into the mood, take a look at the video of the 2017 event below. Hakuba Trails is another project of one of the UTMF co-race directors, as is Izu Trail Journey at the end of the year. 

The event takes place on 8/9 September and can be accessed via several international airports in Japan. 

Registration form (in English):

https://www.hakubatrail.jp/english

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