After his great and relatively easy victory in the Magnificent Merapoh Trail three weeks ago, Alessandro Sherpa returns to the scene where it all began for him 12 months ago. Borneo TMBT Ultra was his maiden trail run, having come to Malaysia with a solid background in mountainbike racing. Sherpa not only took part, he even won the 100k together with local star Milton Amat. Tomorrow he enters the race in Sabah again as points leader in the Asia Trail Master Championship - and Amat, who is doing well by himself in ATM this season - will again be one his rivals for the win. 

Borneo TMBT Ultra is now back in Asia Trail Master after a three year hiatus. Back in 2015, David Simpat and Joanna Kruk took the 100k race wins. Interestingly, both feature on tomorrow's start list as well. Simpat for sure will be one of the main competitors for Sherpa. Kruk, however, has had to withdraw from the event. The police woman in Adelaide did not manage to get leave from her professional duties this weekend. 

This is one of Southeast Asia's oldest events and attracts runners whom you do not often find back in other races during the year. Surprises can therefore always occur, although Manila-based Dane Kristian Joergensen won't finish far from the podium tomorrow. Japan's Hisashi Kitamura could get close as well, three weeks after a very strong run and third place in Merapoh. Kitamura is seventh in the current points standings, and another strong result could propel him up to as high as fourth. Brunei's Alexander Chung has always been good in his country's Beach Bunch Trail Challenge. How will he fare in Sabah? 

In the women's we have of course the Lintanga sisters on home soil. Adelinah will be the only one on the 100k, though, as Jassica opts for the 50k this weekend. Adelinah got second in Merapoh three weekends ago, proving her good form, but most likely the Okinawa-based American Corinne Williams will the one to beat in the absence of Kruk. Williams won the 50/50 9 Dragons Ultra earlier this year and also got third place in the Izu Trail Journey last December. Victory in TMBT would push her inside the women's championship top ten. 

Kristian Joergensen returns to the ATM tour

Grandmaster Adelinah Lintanga ready for another tough 100k 

The Asia Trail Master series venture beyond the politically established boundaries of the continent for the first time for the Nerang 200 in Queensland, Australia, scheduled for 27-30 September. A very special type of trail event for ATM, also because it will be run on 25k loops and has 200 miles as the longest race distance! The popular Nerang 200 is credited as a 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race.

Ian Cornelius, CEO of Gold Coast Ultras, is a big fan of our Asia Trail Master Championship series and is himself based most of the time in Philippines. After a long period of reflection and open discussion, we have accepted the application of Nerang 200 and have provided it with Candidate Race status this year. This means the event is set to appear on our official championship calendar in 2019, pending a positive evaluation of the upcoming edition. The official press release of Nerang 200 features a paragraph that sums it up nicely:

"Although not strictly part of the Asian continent, Australia is in much the same time zone as Asia and, of course forms part of Asia for the world cup (soccer) and various other sports. Both Asia and Australia are integral parts of the Asia Pacific region and the term Asia Pacific or Apac has been used for the past three decades when discussing trade, finance, politics and sport. Although Australia traditionally has a strong bond with Europe, the migrant intake from Asia for the past decade now exceeds that from Europe." 

Australian trail runners have been quite successful since the beginning of Asia Trail Master in 2015. Just two examples, Joanna Kruk from Adelaide has scored four race victories throughout the years in Thailand and Malaysia, and Melbourne-born Kim Matthews is our current Asia Trail Master women's champion - unfortunately out of action for the rest of this season with a complicated hip injury. By having Nerang 200 inside the ATM framework, we are excited and looking forward to seeing even more interaction between Australian and Asian running communities.

While the 200 miles race attracts attention due to its massive length, several shorter distances are of course also on the programme. Runners can choose to do 100 miles, 100k, 50 miles, 50k and 25k as well.  There's even a 4x25k relay for teams. The 25k basic loop has 885m of elevation gain in it, so this is by no means a walk in the park. By going round in loops, race logistics are of course easy and participants can carefully plan their nutrition and race strategy while spectators cheer them on all day and night. Indeed, Nerang 200 is known also as a great party event with camping options, bbq and music. 

International access is quite straightforward with Brisbane and Gold Coast airports just an hour's drive away. Airfares have recently been cheap compared to what they used to be. 

More details available on the event website and facebook page:

https://www.nerang200miler.com and https://www.facebook.com/Nerang200miler/

The official singlet for this year's Nerang 200 event 

Japan's Kohta Araki will likely steal the show at the inaugural edition of the Mongolian International Steppe Marathon this weekend in the hilly outskirts of capital city Ulanbaataar. The winner of Echigo Country Trail last June won himself a free entry for the new race set up by a Japanese company in this for many people still vast and mysterious country. When thinking of trail running and Mongolia, only the long-time classic Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset in the very remote Northwestern Hovsgol National Park comes to mind. But that is about to change with this new event of 50 km that is meant to launch a new tradition. The naming in English may be a bit confusing still - is it Mongolia International Steppe Marathon or Bogd Khan Ultra Trail, and how does that rhyme with the applied abbreviation MSUT - but the 50k race course is crystal clear and in the hands of none other than Carole Fuchs, the French winner of Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Philippines and recent conquerer of Mount Everest. It is a hilly course run at quite high altitude between 1350m and 2200m above sea level. 

A bit of background. Bogd Khan was born in Tibet and was the third most important man in the hierarchy of Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. Nevertheless, he moved and lived most of his life in Mongolia. In 1911 he was enthroned as the Khagan - Head of State - of Outer Mongolia after it declared its independence following the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in what is now known as China. The Bogd Khaganate - the reign - was short-lived as in 1919 Chinese troops returned to Urga, as the capital city was then called. In the political turmoil that ensued, Bogd Khan was again reinstated to the throne for three more years till his death in 1924. Then, the People's Republic of Mongolia was officially announced, backed by Soviet Communists. The winter palace of Bogd Khan has been well-preserved an is now tourist attraction in Ulanbaataar. 

Fascinating stories and cultural relics are omnipresent in this region of the world, and for sure adds meaning to the new trail event in August. 

While Araki starts the new race as a clear favourite, everybody is hoping to see some Mongolian talents emerge this weekend. Mongolia has a strong tradition in other endurance sports such as cycling, but also its ultra road runners have been doing quite well in international competitions. Trail, however, is largely new to them. 

This is a 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race, and news will become available this weekend via the facebook page of the event. 

https://www.facebook.com/MSUT.Official/

A rather unfortunate service message: this year's ULTRON Ultra Trail Panoramic in Thailand cannot take place on the envisaged date of 7-9 December. The event, which was also being entirely redesigned and centred around Pai only, will return in 2019 on the same second weekend of December. Recent elections in the area have reportedly caused a change in governance and in this context it has proven to be too difficult to guarantee a quality event for the many runners who come to this one. 

Organiser Teelakow apologises for any inconvenience this cancellation may cause, and emphasizes Ultra Trail Panoramic is not dead and will return next year. 

In the context of Asia Trail Master, it means the final race weekend is now entirely focused on Izu Trail Journey in Japan, where the new champions will be crowned. For the lovers of 100 miles races, it means that HK 168 in Hong Kong on 1/2 December is now the final ultra trail on our calendar this season. Registrations for that event are open.

100 miles finishers score 50 bonus points for the championship, which puts winning HK 168 on the same level as winning the Japanese SuperTrail, Izu Trail Journey, on 9 December. 

Alessandro Sherpa won the Magnificent Merapoh Trail 100 in commanding style last weekend. The Italian ran off by himself already in the first kilometres of the 100k race, which this year featured 800 hm more elevation gain and is - at least for the fast guys - ran almost entirely at night with start at 9 pm. Sherpa won in 11:26:46 -spectacular as only marginally slower than last season's winner Sefli Ahar from Brunei - and was never really threatened. Especially as 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong retired after 25 km with his ankle injury bothering him too much. There's still many races left on the calendar, but it does look that Ong will not feature at the very top of this year's championship after setting up his outdoor retail shop in Kuala Lumpur. Japanese runner Tomohiro Mizukoshi was trying but could not bridge the gap to Sherpa, and finished second in 12:15. One could wonder how come Mizukoshi let the Italian get away so early, as for a long time afterwards they were running at an equal pace. 

It is the second victory of the season for Alessandro Sherpa after Penang Eco 100k,  and his fifth ATM points race of the season. He dedicates the victory to the victims of the massive earthquake in Lombok. With 2200 total points, he also took over the lead in the ATM Championship at the expense of Pablo Diago Gonzales (2100 points). Japan's Mizukoshi improved his total points tally also and is now third in the ranking. One of the revelations of the season - even though he was 17th in last year's Izu Trail Journey - and that race doesn't lie. 

The Merapoh podium was completed by Mizukoshi's compatriot Hisashi Kitamura, his first podium success in an Asia Trail Master points race. Kitamura ran with a great pace and seems to have growth potential. Based in KL, Kitamura is now 7th in the ATM Championship. And also Gakubo Chiba arrived in Merapoh in 4th place, making it 2-3-4 for Japan in this race! Next was Yeo Kim Hong from Singapore, who came in a superb fifth, followed by another interesting new face, Mohamad Raydi Koto Cham from Indonesia in sixth. And in 7th we find even a runner from Nepal in the race result: Kajiman Rai. Were any local Malaysians running TMMT 100 apart from Steven Ong? Muhammad Shahrin Faiz Bin Roslan is first Malaysian in the race result in 8th place, underlining his own personals strong 2018 season. Roslan has climbed up to 8th place as well in the ATM Championship with four strong results in the bag. In the championship, he is first Malaysian, too. Highly profiled Mohamed Affindi was a DNS due to fever, while Sabah runner Milton Amat is reportedly aiming to win Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 in 3 weeks. 

Singapore’s Evelyn Lek won the women's race in convincing style in a time of approx 14:27, which is fast. Lek is a road runner who has only recently been getting a taste of trail and TMMT was her first ever 100k trail! She appeared at the top of the leaderboard at CP3, when she caught up with Adelinah Lintanga, Hiang Song Ng and Philippines' Ann Jilian Pulanco. Lek didn't look back from then on. Has Singapore found itself a new trail star? 

Adelinah, the youngest of the Lintanga sisters, had to be satisfied with second place again. Twelve months ago she had to tolerate Tahira Najmunisaa ahead of her. Still, she does a good job for her ATM championship. In fact, now she is tied with Jassica Lintanga in tenth place. Tough cookie Adelinah was fourth at the end of 2017, and given that this year's women's championship seems to be more open she could become a contender down the road - or should we say down the trail. 

Ann Jilian Pulanco, a good runner and 3rd in Dalat Ultra Trail this year, asked for ice to treat her hip at CP3, and dropped to 7th after leading the race in the early parts. Also Ng Song Hiang fell back to sixth after a fast start. More experienced ultra trail runners Jefferlyn Castellano  and Jocelyn Cheung on the other hand kept moving up the leaderboard as the race went into injury time. Cheung proved that her podium finish at Mesastila last year was no fluke by grabbing third. Castellano settled for fourth. 

Canada's Julian Baker raised some eyebrows by completing the 70km race in 6:57. That's his second ATM race victory after UT Koh Chang 70 last year. Baker is based in South Korea and - so he says - is prepping himself to feature on the 100k circuit soon. We can't wait! The women's 70km was also won by a woman from western origin, namely Pauline Svoboda from the Czech Republic - in her debut on the long distance! What's more, Svoboda is based in Singapore just like Evelyn Lek. Singapore hardly has trails, let alone mountainous technical trails, but they seem to produce some excellent trail runners of late! 

The 2018 female podium of the 100km race with Evelyn Lek in the middle

Alessandro Sherpa was outstanding and he's now the man-to-beat in the ATM Championship

Julian Baker collected his 2nd career ATM race win over 70km 

Kajiman Rai from Nepal was an excellent 7th in the 100km race

The top five of the men's 100km at the award ceremony at night

Malaysia-based Italian Alessandro Sherpa has a shot at the Asia Trail Master championship lead this weekend as he lines up for the 100km at the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in his residential country. Sherpa needs 400 points (=minimum 4th place) to overtake Pablo Diago Gonzales, but may be keen to make a mark by winning the race ahead of 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong, who will reportedly be making his first appearance of the season in an ATM ultra race. 

Organised by Ten Senses, mainly known for its road running events in the country, the Magnificent Merapoh Trail - aka TMMT - has quickly developed into one of Malaysia's most popular trail events that attracts a wide international audience as well. The passage through four dark and natural caves is a highlight, as well as the renowned 3km long river crossing. The race courses for all distances (100km, 70km, 35km) have been redesigned for this year. While overall still runable, the 100km now has 2300m of elevation gain as well, or an increase of approx 800hm compared to previous years. Most of this vertical gain will be conquered by the 100k runners just before or around dawn after roughly 50km. The river crossing is now back towards the end of the course, between km 70 and 80, which means nearly everyone will cross at daylight contrary to last year. It has been relatively dry over the past days in Merapoh, so the water level in the river is normal and participants won't have to swim :-). 

Close to 1000 runners will take part, which is the maximum quota for the event given the very remote location on the border between Pahang and Kelantan states, as well as the Taman Negara National Park. 

Among the race favourites we have Alessandro Sherpa, who based on his big victory in Penang Eco 100k last May will find another course very suitable to his characteristics as a trail runner. Japan's Tomohiro MIzukoshi is another excellent runner who could set the pace like he did in Penang 100 miles. Mizukoshi is number 2 in the ATM Championship at the moment, having already completed five ATM races this season. The Tokyo runner will be trying to erase his 8th place (330 points) in Korea 50k in April, his 'worst' result of the season, to boost his ATM championship total a bit higher. He cannot threaten the position of leader Pablo Diago Gonzales, however, as the Spaniard is 240 points ahead and Mizukoshi can maximally gain 170 points if he wins TMMT 100. 

Announced is the return of Steven Soonseng Ong, last year's Asia Trail Master champion, in what would be his first ultra race of the current championship. If he starts, he is always a victory candidate. Sherpa and Ong squared off once before under ATM, which happened in the 100 miles race of Ultra Trail Panoramic in Thailand last December. Ong won. Eight months later, Sherpa has proven to be in great shape while Ong has been very busy setting up his new outdoor and running retail shop in Kuala Lumpur.

There has been speculation that Mohamad Affindi, second in TMMT 100 last year, will also be a late addition to the start list. Affindi has was dealing with the after-effects of the flu earlier this week, though. One dangerous dark horse is Canadian Julian Baker. Based in South Korea, Baker is last year's winner of Ultra Trail Koh Chang 70. This season his ATM record is still blank. 

The women's race was dominated by Tahira Najmunisaa in 2016 and 2017, but now being 7 months pregnant, the female star of Malaysian trail running will be cheering for the others. In fact, remarkably, Tahira will take part alongside her husband Abdul Rahman in the 35km race on Saturday. Malaysia still has a strong runner at the start who could grab the win: Adelinah Lintanga from Sabah. The Grandmaster was 2nd behind Tahira last season. Her main competitors for the podium will be Erin Aziz from Kuala Lumpur and Philippines' Ann Jilian Pulanco - who was 3rd at Dalat Ultra Trail in Vietnam last March. Erin Aziz could be the first woman to reach the plateau of five races this season. After her great 3rd place in Mantra Summits Challenge 75 last month, the ULTRON runner has Indonesia's championship leader Ruth Theresia within sight. Aziz requires 373 points this weekend to claim the points lead, which corresponds to a top five race result in TMMT 100! 

Subject to connectivity, we will be broadcasting and reporting live from Merapoh from start to finish. The 100k flag-off is scheduled for Friday at 9 pm. 

The Merapoh caves are iconic for this event. This year a new technical cave section is added

We are happy to announce another 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race that will increase the diversity even more in our series, and particularly in the Philippines. The Mount Talinis Mountain Marathon is organised by an experienced team of runners and event managers in the Negros Oriental region of the southern Philippines. Effectively, this will be the first time ATM ventures outside of Luzon and Mindanao and giving local runners in the Visayas an opportunity to shine on the international stage. Host town is Valencia Public Plaza on Negros Oriental. Mt Talinis Mountain Marathon of course features the ascent of the volcano Talinis as highlight of the 50km race this year on 6/7 October. Talinis, also known as Cuernos de Negros (Horns of Negros) is 1903m high and is located roughly 20km from regional capital Dumaguete City. The climb is quite foresty, often foggy and has several mountain and crater lakes. The region has a very rich biodiversity but unfortunately also suffers from illegal logging. Another good reason to mark this event in your calendar and show the local communities that the national parks are a major asset long-term. 

This year it's a 50 km race (CUT 18 hours) that starts at 11 pm. For 2019, a Grandmaster Quest distance is envisaged of 70 km. 

There's two airports nearby: previously mentioned Dumaguete and also Mactan, which even hs international flights. 

More details via the facebook page of the event:

https://www.facebook.com/UTMTNEGROSORIENTAL/ 

The organisers of the iconic and important Magnificent Merapoh Trail (TMMT) in Malaysia have released the final version of the course maps and profiles for next week's 4th edition. The race distances have remained at 100km, 70km and 35km - of which the two longest are valid for ATM Championship points - but the elevation gain has increased to over 2000 hm for both 100k and 70k. As a result, the cut-off times may also be increased pending further discussion with the course directors. The late arrival of the new routes is due to significant and also mandatory changes for this year. Cave lovers will be happy to learn there's additional caves in this year's route! The renowned 3km long river crossing is also still in the course. 

For all details, registered participants can download the PDF Guidebook now.