Hong Kong runners can look forward to two ATM points races this month as Ultramarathon de Sai Kung has now officially received a permit to be held on the scheduled date of 22 October. This implies that all HK - based runners at least can score 2 race finishes, a first prerequisite to be eligible for participation in the ATM Championship Final in Davao, Philippines, on 17 December.

This coming Sunday, Ferei Dark 45 will be the first Asia Trail Master points race in Hong Kong in nearly 3,5 years following a period of civil unrest and covid. The 45km race will be previewed tomorrow and will be covered via our usual channels as well starting before midnight on Saturday night. XTE Events has now also secured the permit for its other event in the New Territories, UM de Sai Kung, albeit only for the 50k race. Anything longer than 50k is currently still not possible in Hong Kong.

T8 has produced these gems, the Team Hong Kong national country team tee for the ATM Final qualifiers

The 5 male and 5 female runners who score most ATM points will receive an invitation to join the team

The day before the race in Mu Cang Chai we had an opportunity to talk to Hau Ha, overall winner of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100 km two weeks earlier. Hau Ha is the new Southeast Asian trail star and one of the big favourites to become 2022 Asia Trail Master Champion this coming December. The full interview is in Vietnamese and summarised in English and can be watched via our ATM YouTube channel. The transcript highlights are below.

The interview was made possible by Trung Nguyen and Markus Gnirck, with special thanks to both!

Q: It’s only 2 weeks since your amazing victory at VMM 100K, how do you look back on that day and your unique performance today?

“On the way to CP4 on the longest climb I felt tired and had to let Gaetan Morizur go. But later at the CP they told me he was not that far ahead, and that gave me a big boost in confidence and so I decided to chase him down again, and by CP 6 I caught him and then left him behind me on the way to finish. “

“I am from Sapa and I know all the trails, which of course was an advantage for me.

Q: In Dalat in March, you finished behind Morizur, Nhon Trong and Nguyen Si Hieu. Now you beat them in VMM. Nhon Trong was even two hours behind you. Does that surprise you?

“In Dalat Ultra Trail I was still managing an injury, which slowed me down. Especially in the second part of that race. But in VMM, I was 100% fit, better prepared and so I was not surprised about my performance”

Q. It did not look like you were running at your top limit at VMM. You can still go faster if you have to?

“Yes, I can go even faster with water melon! My stomach needs water melon on race day!”

Q: You ran a couple of road marathons and also shorter distance races this year. Do you think it helped you to develop a faster pace on the trails?

“I don’t think running road marathon races helps my performance on trails, but the specific training for those marathons does, yes.”

Q: You are a single mum, you have a son, and you run a travel tour company. How do you find the time to train?

“I found a way to balance daily life and sports and I like to continue to do this moving forward”

Q: You are coached by Guim, a former elite athlete from Spain and based in Hanoi. How did you get to know him and how important is he for you when preparing for races?

“I like MUDE Sports, the apparel brand launched by Guim, and especially the philosophy behind the brand that is using 100% recycled materials, which is very environmentally friendly. Important for Vietnam. Also, Mude is produced locally, which helps our local economy. As a coach, Guim has helped me lot with my training plans and with custom designing the right products for me to use and wear while running. “

Q: Two years ago, you started running because you wanted to lose weight and now you dominate men in the most iconic race in Vietnam. Do you realise you are very quickly becoming a role model, an idol, for many women around Asia? What is your message to women in this context?

“I believe that all the women in the world can do the same, as long as they have a dream and the passion to pursue that dream. I believe that women who are passionate about sports will develop a strong character and also a nice, healthy body.”

Q: You were already a public secret in Vietnam before VMM, now dozens of thousands of trail runners across the whole of Asia know you. How does that make you feel?

“I do not feel anything special about it, I just feel passionate about sports, and it has become my lifestyle.”

Q: The ATM Championship is a goal for you this year. We heard that you are looking forward to racing against Veronika Vadovicova, Vanja Cnops and the other top women in Asia?

“Yes, it would be nice to compete against other top women in Asia on medium or longer distance trails. I am looking forward to meeting them and run with them.”

Last weekend’s Mu Cang Chai Trail saw the two anticipated race winners cross the finish line first, indeed. Hau Ha once more demonstrated her speed and trail skills to take the women’s and overall title, while Trung Nguyen proved that on his day and on his type of terrain he is always a serious podium contender. The leading lady of Vietnamese trail running won for the third time in ATM this season and is now virtually guaranteed of her spot in her country’s national team for the ATM Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December. T8 athlete Trung Nguyen also sees a major boost to his qualification chances for… Team Singapore. Because that’s the passport he is holding.

The 50k race in the stunningly beautiful region of Mu Cang Chai did not go entirely smoothless. Alleged marking sabotage caused issues for plenty a runner, including Hau Ha. As in VMM two weeks ago, she had started and set a solid pace from the gun, but found herself off course quite a bit around the 15km mark. When she got back on the right trail, she had dropped down to fourth place overall. Yet, in no time she was catching up with male race leader Trung Nguyen and decided to stuck with him for the remainder of the race. Trung is indeed known and respected for his meticulous planning and ability to self-navigate using GPS. Some ten minutes behind the lead duo, South Africa’s Timothy Lombard and Nguyễn Đức Tuấn Anh had a battle for second place decided in favour of the foreign athlete. Nguyễn Đức Tuấn Anh is doing a great job for his ATM Vietnam ranking with his third top placing of the season and looks set for a Team Vietnam invitation in the ATM Final! The women’s 50k podium was completed by Vũ Thị Lan Hương and Nguyen Phuong, winner of VMM 100 MIles two weeks ago. In fourth place was Japan’s Harada Tamae.

Hau Ha and Trung Nguyen crossed the finish line together as race winners in Mu Cang Chai

It’s only two weeks after Vietnam Mountain Marathon, but this weekend our eyes are fixed on the country again. Mu Cang Chai Trail is a new entry on our ATM Championship calendar after a successful stint as a Candidate, and it features a 50k main race in a very picturesque region of Northwest Vietnam. Moreover, the fantastic overall winner of the 100k a fortnight ago is already back in action: Hau Ha!

As can be seen on the elevation profile below, the Mu Cang Chai Trail course has roughly nine identifiable hilltops, reminiscent of Jember Hills in Indonesia last month. On these hills, runners will adore astonishing views of rice terraces and the surrounding vegetation. Mu Cang Chai is also the name of the area, which is being promoted as a new adventure tourism destination. The event this weekend is a boutique event with homestay accommodation for participants in the style of Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Philippines, Bukit Lawang Orang Utan Trail in Sumatra and, indeed, Vietnam Jungle Marathon next month.

When she crossed the finish line at VMM, it was quite clear she had not gone to her limit. Already the next morning, Hau Ha told her coach that she feels ‘fine’ and ‘no pain anywhere’. Mu Cang Chai is therefore a go. This weekend, the objective is to collect another 500 ATM points and ensure her qualification for Team Vietnam in the Asia Trail Master Championship Final on 17 December: the Mount Apo Sky Race in Davao, Philippines. While she is of course the sky high race favourite, it is interesting to see Nguyen Phuong also on the MCC start list. Nguyen Phuong is the winner of the … 100 miles race at VMM two weeks ago!

The men’s race is quite open on paper. 2020/21 ATM points leader Trung Nguyen will be competing and has definitely podium potential. Technically Singaporean, Trung can also significantly boost his selection chances for Team Singapore in the ATM Final this weekend. Most likely, we will also get to know some new faces in this race, with local runners grabbing the opportunity to run themselves into the picture.

Ha Hau spent some time exploring the magnificent Mu Cang Chai region this week

You can now watch our race recap of last weekend’s 10th anniversary of Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, on our ATM YouTube channel or just here below on ATM Web. It will also be uploaded to our Facebook Page. Local hero Milton Amat won the flagship 109km race for the third time after 2017 and 2019. Just like before covid, Amat had to deal with the challenge of Japanese star Hisashi Kitamura, but the latter did not manage to reach his full potential this time around. Yakov Kozlov was a great third on the podium. The women’s 109km was dominated by Sieh Fat Lim, ahead of Sally Yap and Izzah Hazirah for a Malaysia clean-sweep on the podium. Not so on the 50k race category, where Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops dominated proceedings ahead of Law Guan Shin and Megan Davies. The men’s 50k saw France’s Pierre-Victor Morales take the victory in a superb battle with Yasbie Ismail. The latter, unfortunately, got penalised for a mandatory gear infringement after the finish line. This moved Muhamad Affindi up to 2nd place and Jude Maikol to third.

The next Malaysian points race in ATM is the 100km of Ultimate Trails of Penang on 8/9 October.

There was uproar just before last weekend’s Borneo TMBT Ultra when rumours came out that XTE Events in Hong Kong had secured a permit for a 45k real trail race on the Maclehose Trail on Sunday, 2 October. Several runners in the plagued city contacted us to please have the race as a last-minute addition to the ATM Championship calendar, as it has virtually been impossible for them to race or even leave the city at all. Today, we are happy to confirm that the 45k night race is ON , and that it will indeed be a points race for the ATM Championship ranking, opening the options for plenty of Hong Kong based runners to be part of this year’s ATM Final in December. We are grateful to Mr Felix Shum and XTE Events to make this possible at such short notice, and we are looking forward to a fantastic night of trail running in just under a fortnight from today!

XTE Events is known in our circuit from its HK 168 Ultra event, which was on our calendar until 2018 and until the new date made that too difficult. Earlier this season, it had already been announced that XTE’s other event - Ultramarathon de Sai Kung - would join ATM on 22 October. That event is also still on, albeit only regarding the 50k race. Hong Kong authorities currently still do no allow any race longer than 50km, so the 100K race in Sai Kung won’t happen. Lantau 70 one week later suffers the same fate. Hence, Ferei Dark 45 is a welcome gift for many runners in Hong Kong. At least, there’s the genuine possibility of 2 ATM race finishes, a prerequisite to be qualified for the Asia Trail Master Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December.

The start venue is Shui Long Wo, and the finish the Tsuen Kam Au Rotary Park. The race will be run on the Maclehose Trail in the New Territories. Race start is Sunday midnight, and there’s a very long cut off time of 15 hours. Stay tuned for more news soon. Registration goes via the official website, which you can access via the link below. Of course, the conditions of entry are still more cumbersome than before. Please be aware of these covid-19 mitigation efforts:

• 1. All runners must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (i.e. receiving THREE doses 14 days before the event day).

• 2. All runners are required to take COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and provide validated negative results within 48 hours before the start of the race.

• 3. All runners must conduct rapid antigen test (RAT) on the event day with their names written on the test device. They need to show the pictures of testing result to the Safety and Hygiene Officers at the start area.

Will we see the long-awaited return of 2019 ATM Champion John Ellis at Ferei Dark 45?

And Veronika Vadovicova, based in Hong Kong since early 2020 when it all started with covid. Will she make a return to the ATM scene?

After two covid-related cancellations, Borneo Ultra Trails could finally celebrate its 10th anniversary of TMBT - its flagship trail running event and a Southeast Asian classic taking place around Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, East Malaysia. For months, competitive trail running enthusiasts were looking forward to the 109km race, which promised to be a second big battle between local hero Milton Amat and the colourful Japanese challenger Hisashi Kitamura. In 2019 they created a thriller at the end, ultimately won by Amat. Kitamura wanted revenge this season. Both ATM protagonists had been performing exceptionally well in the course of 2022, but Kitamura showed signs of fatigue in his previous two races. It was a foreboding, and indeed, Kitamura did not have the pace last Saturday to even follow Milton Amat, who already went solo on the way to CP 2. Milton’s early move resulted in his third win at TMBT after 2017 and 2019. A very dominant run and a finish time of 15h15 approx for the 109k course this year. Despite now being 40 years of age, the forever modest Milton seems to be in the best shape of his life. On current form, he will certainly be one of the men to beat in the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship Final on Mt Apo in Philippines on 17 December! Not only does the Sabahan hero have the technical mountain skills, he has added extra running pace and an incredible dose of self-confidence. Last Saturday morning, he started totally at ease somewhere halfway the field of approx 1000 runners on the 100k and 50k race categories, while Hisashi KItamura and the other pre-race favourites immediately set the pace from the gun. The Sabahan then quietly ran his way to the front and took the lead in one go. He quickly built a gap towards his main competitors for the race victory, and when they suddenly came very close again at CP 8 (km 75) - he said because it was very hot in the afternoon, but also because he had received no pressure from the others - he just shifted to a higher gear again. Incredible stuff.

Hisashi Kitamura was happy to finish second on a day with 'bad legs'. He nevertheless fought bravely for another ATM podium. Kuala Lumpur-based Yakov Kozlov was a great third place on the podium, matching the pace of Kitamura and the others from the beginning. Kozlov is a former race winner in ATM, fastest in Tengri Ultra Trail in Kazakhstan in 2018, a race sadly no longer part of our series. Another Sabah star, Wilsen Singgin scored his third fourth place of the ATM season. He was followed by Ireland's Mark Steacy, who did well and proved that his 3rd place in the Jagoi Heritage race three weeks ago was no coincidence.

Below and on our ATM facebook page, you can find lots of videos, interviews and photos taken during the race. A few are pasted here below.

The women’s 109k race was won by ‘roadie’ Siet Fah Lim from Sarawak in 22h13. She was in front basically all day, as much as BUTM race winner Sally Yap, also from Sarawak, tried to catch her later on. The 53-minute gap at the finish made it clear that Siet Fah Lim was the strongest. Her first ATM race victory. In third place, only 14 minutes behind Sally Yap was 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Champion Izzah Hazirah, who is clearly getting back in top shape now. Norlela Ismail came fourth.

For the first time, also the 50km race on the TMBT programme provided points for our Championship ranking. The men’s race developed into a great competition between Pierre-Victor Morales, the surprising Yasbie Ismail, Muhamad Affindi and Sapirin Sumping. When the newbie Yasbie Ismail pushed hard halfway through the race, the group - also containing women’s star Vanja Cnops - splintered up. At the last checkpoint, however, Yasbie Ismail looked to be tiring and KL-based Frenchman Pierre Victor Morales caught him. Affindi and Sumping would be contesting third place. Morales and Ismail went head-to-head in the final very tough 10km, and it was the expat who reached the uphill finish line first. His first ATM race victory after some great showings in our virtual events at the beginning of this decade. Ismail held onto second and Affindi came in third, another podium for him and a now almost guaranteed entry into Team Malaysia for our ATM Final in December. Jude Maikol still managed to get ahead of Sumping to take fourth. That became third, however, as Yasbie Ismail received a time penalty at the renowned harsh post-finish mandatory gear check at TMBT. His hard-fought second place went up in smoke and he got relegated to sixth. Nobody contests the necessity of mandatory gear checks, but should it really be done after the finish line?

Vanja Cnops was in a league of her own in the women’s 50km. She finished 5th overall in a classy field.Law Guan Shin and Megan Davies were second and third on the podium , each with very nice runs of their own.

At last, we have the 10-year-anniversary of Borneo TMBT (‘The Most Beautiful Thing’) around Mt Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia this weekend. Cancelled twice due to covid, it’s been a rough two years for the event organisers of this Southeast Asian trail classic, and we are all delighted it’s back on, and with a large and attractive start list as well. The main event is of course the 109 km race, but for the first time runners will also score ATM Championship points on the equally competitive 50k race distance this year. Still, the eyes of most people will be on the meanwhile popular dual between local hero Milton Amat, winner in 2019 and 2017, and Hisashi Kitamura, second three years ago after a fantastic fight. The Japanese Karate Kit was in the lead at the last checkpoint, but had no answer when Milton Amat found an extra gear on the long moderate uphill climb to the finish line. Beforehand, Kitamura had announced he “would beat Milton in his home race”, which of course enhanced the spectacle for the Sabahan running communities and all the fans. This year, Kitamura has proven to be even better as a trail runner and has naturally again stated that TMBT is marked red hot in his race agenda of 2022. During the course of the season, Kitamura has proven to be more confident on technical trail courses, and running smarter and more tactical when the situation permits. But. There is a ‘but’. In August, Kitamura showed signs of fatigue, both physically and mentally, at the Punisher in Philippines and at the Jagoi Heritage Run in Sarawak, an ATM candidate race. In fact, the Jagoi 50k race course suited him perfectly, and yet it was … Milton Amat who won the race! Milton has been running exceptionally well this year, too, and clearly has increased his general running pace on flatter trails. The two went head-to-head until the finish at BUTM 100 in March half a year ago (Milton won after Kitamura got penalised for mandatory gear infringements), but since then it would appear that Milton has kept his top form and Kitamura’s has been slightly going backwards since winning Cameron Ultra 100 in mid-July. Was that planned and deliberate to take the edge off for several weeks? Kitamura is being coached, so it is certainly possible that we may see the very best Kitamura again this Saturday. And that would make for a superbly exciting race, which everyone can follow via our GPS live tracking platform (link https://live.asiatrailmaster.com/tmbt2022/).

There are of course other top Asian runners on the 109 km start list. To begin with the other Sabahan aces, Daved Simpat and Wilsen Singgin. Simpat has been running much better and consistent than before the covid crisis and has remained injury-free. A former winner of TMBT, can he score an upset tomorrow using all his experience and, who knows, his friendship with Amat should the latter have an off-day? The youngest of the Sabahan trail stars, Wilsen Singgin, has not yet shown the level of speed that is probably necessary to win a race like TMBT. But who knows? Singgin was an impressive winner of MMTF mid-December last year, and if the trails are indeed more wet, muddy and technical than usual following extensive rainfall of late- according to the race director- , Singgin might be in his element here.

From peninsular Malaysia, Akmal Adzmi is a podium contender, and so is Singapore’s Deric Lau, who was second in UT Chiang Mai just three weeks ago. Two other expats should be considered: Mark Steacy from Ireland living in Kuching, and Yakov Kozlov, Russian living in Kuala Lumpur. Steacy ran great behind Amat and Kitamura to third place in the previously mentioned Jagoi 50k race, and Kozlov is a known fast guy from the MKRC team.

In the women’s 109km, we can expect a battle for the victory between Sally Yap, this year’s new name in Malaysia, and Izzah Hazirah. Other podium contenders are on paper Isabelle Bedard, local hero Adelinah Lintanga, Laslin Sarawi and Siti Hajar Razali.

On the 50k start list, we find some big names of runners who have already scored wins in ATM races this season. Mohammad Affindi even already has two victories on his record. He will be up against Sapirin Suming, Malachy Kirwan and Moo Sat, but also Pierre Victor Morales, French but based in KL from the aforementioned MKRC Team. And in the women’s 50k, Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops will aim to get another ATM points race victory after BTR in Bali in May. Cameron Ultra 100 race winner Vincere Zeng is also on the start list, and so is TMBT’s arguably best-known ambassador: Jassica, aka Jess, Lintanga.

Running back in time… 2019 - Race Finish of Milton Amat

Muhamad Affindi has already won 2 ATM 50k races this season. Hattrick this Saturday?

Last week Ha Hau beat all the men during VMM 100, can Vanja achieve the same on TMBT 50?

Jess Lintanga has been one of the ‘faces’ of Borneo TMBT Ultra since many years. She has podiumed a number of times, this year she will try again on her favourite distance, the 50 km

Malnad Ultra on 26 November is the first ATM points race event in India. It is widely perceived as the most popular trail running event in the country and the organising team is highly welcoming runners from across Asia and and the ATM community. Malnad Ultra offers runable 100k and 50k points races, and also have a 30K for less ambitious and newbie trail runners.

To reach the event venue comfortably and without hassle, it is highly recommended to book a travel package. Malnad Ultra has tied up with Active Holiday Company, which will offer packages that include travel and accommodation on a shared basis. We strongly recommend participants to consider taking one of these packages and leave all the logistics to them. The event is conducted in a remote area and we request participants to plan their logistics well in advance. Please take a few minutes to look at the sample itineraries on the official website before you plan.

It is very tricky to try and reach the destination, 15km northwest of Attigundi, on your own. Please DO NOT follow instructions provided by Google Maps (they are wrong!) and use the instructions that are provided on the official Malnad Ultra website.

If you like new destinations and a bit more adventure in your trail experiences, Malnad Ultra is your pick of this season. Most international runners will arrive in Bengaluru (Bangalore), the capital of India's southern Karnataka state. The center of India's high-tech industry, the city is also known for its parks and nightlife.

A sensational Hau Ha (Hà Thị Hậu) beat all the men in the 100km race of her home race Vietnam Mountain Marathon at the Topas Ecolodge in Sapa. The 33-year-old wonder woman came back and dropped the first man in the race, Gaetan Morizur, in the last 6 km to finish line. Hau Ha had been amazingly confident from the beginning, but had a weak moment on the longest hillclimb of the race. Morizur put on the pressure and gained an advantage of over 20 minutes. But in a great show of mental strength, Hau Ha found her second breath in the descent afterwards and began chasing the Frenchman down. Morizur and Hau Ha know each other already from Dalat Ultra Trail in March, a 70k race where the man still had the clear upperhand over the woman. Last weekend, however, she astonished him and everyone else by returning to the front and immediately pressing forward. A definitive move that led to victory: a first in the history of the ATM Championship series. At Topas, the gap was 20 minutes for a finishing time of 15h15. The Vietnamese single mum delivered a show and performance reminiscent of Veronika Vadovicova in a couple of races in 2019, notably VJM against Hisashi Kitamura. It is her second ATM race victory of the season after Dalat, but certainly VMM is her breakthrough moment on the Asian scene. Hau Ha only started to take running seriously in 2020 in an attempt to lose weight and gain fitness while business slowed down due to covid 19.. We certainly have not yet seen the best of her. Despite her efforts to win the race overall, she looked fresh and anything but exhausted at the finish and the hours afterwards. In two weeks she will be competing at the next Vietnamese ATM race, Mu Cang Chai Trail 50 and her big goal is to win the Asia Trail Master Championship decider on Mount Apo in Philippines on 17 December.

Gaetan Morizur had nothing but respect for Hau Ha, and despite a psychological defeat went home as the winner of the men’s race - his second of the ATM season as well. It was a strong showing by all accounts, too, because the men’s field was competitive last weekend with several ATM race winners and podium placers at the starting line. Philippines’ coming man Larry Apolinario not in the least. The impressive winner of MUSPO 100 last July actually was running together with Morizur and Hau Hau until the halfway point. Sadly, Apolinario’s stomach began to rebel and he had to stop up to five times to throw up. Weakened and unable to digest anything decent afterwards, Apolinario was compelled to reduce his running pace and actually restored to fast hiking most of the second part of the race. Such was the leader’s early pace, however, that Apolinario still had enough time advantage to reach the finish line in 8th place. In so doing, he collected still a solid 330 points for his ATM Championship ranking, putting him on 830 total points. At present, that gives him some breathing space to qualify as one of five male runners for Team Philippines at the ATM Final in December.

The battle for second place in the men’s race was contested between Tomohiro Mizukoshi, Nhon Trong and Italy’s Lorenzo Revelant. Mizukoshi battled hard as always, and looked much stronger than in 2019 when he finished 6th in VMM, but Vietnam’s Nhon Trong found a last burst of energy to claim his best race result ever over the ultra distance.

In the women’s 100k, Nguyen Thuy Dung was a very good second, despite suffering an injury towards the end. She was comfortably in the top 10 overall for most of the race. Canada’s Rachelle Komarnisky completed the podium with third.

There was also an inaugural 100 miles race on the VMM programme last weekend. The timing of the race was perhaps a bit unfortunate, as male winner Quang Tran and second-placed Hung Hai delivered fantastic performances and a racing spectacle that went largely unnoticed due to finishing in the middle of the night. After a 4am start the previous day in pouring rain, Hung Hai had been in command for half of the race during the four initial loops that were introduced as a result of the poor weather making the trail conditions of the original route too dangerous. Afterwards, Quang Tran - winner of Mantra Summits Challenge in Indonesia two months ago - shifted to a higher gear. He caught Hung Hai with 35km to go and went on ahead by himself. Back at Topas just after 3am , he had an advantage of over one-and-a-half hours to Hung Hai. Tran’s race time was a superb 23 hours and 19 minutes for 162 km and over 7000 elevation on wet and slippery trails. In third place, as expected, was Nguyen Si Hieu in 27h53: his third ATM podium of the season. Lanh Le was fourth in 29h32 and Jean-Henri Haquenaut finished strongly to claim fifth half an hour later.

The women’s miler was a contest between Nguyen Phuong and Phuong Vy Le, after Filipino runner Emily Raga slowed down somewhat towards the middle of the race. Phuong Vy Le caught Nguyen Phuong halfway through, but apparently it cost her too much effort to keep up the same pace and Nguyen Phuong again went solo in the lead. Enough for the victory in 35h37. Phuong Vy Le was second two-and-a-half hours later, and Danang’s Le Xuan Suong still managed to overtake Emily Raga for the final podium spot.

Gaetan Morizur was putting pressure on Hau Ha on the long hillclimb, but the local young woman came back

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Quang Tran was equally superb in the 100 miles race, but his performance got ‘snowed under’ by his 3 am finishing hour and Hau Ha’s stunt on the 100km .

Nguyen Phuong was in command of the women’s 100 miles race from early on and withstood the pressure from Phuong Vy Le halfway through the race

We are happy to reveal the first set of national country team t shirts for the 2022 ATM Championship Final race in Philippines on 17 December. With special thanks to the designers and manufacturers of the Tees! All the qualified runners for the 75K ATM Final at the Mount Apo Sky Race in Santa Cruz, Davao, Philippines on 17 December will receive 2 pieces of this running tee. Wearing the T shirt during the race is mandatory.

This year’s ATM Final will for the first time be held in a winner-takes-all race and held in national teams of maximum five male and five female runners. Runners will be competing for the individual’s men’s title, individual women’s title and team title. The team result will be based on accumulating the best three male and best three female runner times of each team.

Overview national team tees:

• Team Philippines (by OTSO)

• Team Malaysia (by T8)

• Team Vietnam (by Mude)

• Team Thailand (by T8)

• Team Japan (by OTSO)

• Team Singapore (by UGLOW Sport)

• Team Indonesia (by Summit)

• Team Hong Kong (by T8)

• Team Korea (by OTSO)

• Team Australia (by T8)

Coming soon: Team Indonesia, Team China, Team India, Team Asia Expat

September kicks off with the two Southeast Asian classics on back-to-back weekends. Starting on Friday morning there’s the Vietnam Mountain Marathon in Sapa and next week we have the Borneo TMBT Ultra around Kota Kinabalu. Lots of the region’s top runners will be in action at either one of these two events, so we are looking forward to some great trail excitement. The VMM event this season has added yet another category to its programme with the 100 miles ultra, for the first time in Vietnam. It promises to be a brutal challenge with the weather forecast also predicting quite a bit of rainfall. The two dominators of the Mantra Summits Challenge in Indonesia two months ago, Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu, have accepted the challenge and will be joined by one of the country’s other trail stars, Hung Hai. All local experts agree that those three are the most likely podium candidates with Quang Tran expected to collect his second ATM points race win of the season. But in trail and over 100 miles, a lot can happen and there can always be an unknown face appearing at the front. Theoretically more competitive is the meanwhile traditional 100k race at VMM, which also offers ATM Championship points. Picking a winner in the men’s 100k race is certainly more difficult. Dalat Ultra Trail winner Gaetan Morizur will be there, together with Nhon Trong - hoping to finally score his first ATM race victory. But there’s others strong contenders from Philippines and Japan. Larry Apolinario will be making his international debut at VMM, and showed in MUSPO 100 two months ago he does not mind a bit of mud sliding. Can Apolinario do one better than his countryman and former ATM Champion Manoliton Divina in 2017? Given the competition he will face in Vietnam, it certainly would mean his Asian breakthrough. Two strong competitors from Japan are also in the mix of podium contenders, and who knows, the race win. They’re even both called Tomohiro by first name. Tomohiro Mizukoshi no longer needs any introduction to ATM followers. He will be doing his second VMM 100 and based on his Echigo performance in June, third -after a very difficult period of time with illness and injuries -, he could aspire for more than 6th in 2019. If it gets very wet, however, Mizukoshi might struggle more with the trail conditions than the likes of Apolinario, for example. The second Tomohiro, Tomohiro Machida, is the dark horse of this race. Machida has three ATM race placings under his belt, 6th, 4th and 14th in the highly competitive Izu Trail Journey 2018, 2019 and 2020. That means he is very fast on a tough, cold and runable trail. How will he perform on a hot, humid and slippery trail? The fact that the 100k race starts on Friday evening will probably play in his favour.

The women’s 100k race will also feature Hau Ha, who had a dominant victory in Dalat in March - her first appearance in an ATM race. Hau Ha is the local superstar in Sapa and betting against her this weekend is almost inconceivable. Nevertheless, it will be her first 100k trail ever, moving up from 70k in Dalat. In between she has competed mainly in road marathons with great success, yet often with digestive issues as well. In order to finish first you first need to finish, and it will be interesting to follow how she performs vis-a-vis the top men. In Dalat, she was fourth overall..

In the 100 miles category, there’s some strong women who will be going for it. Ultra distance specialist Emily Raga from Philippines/Singapore and Tamae Harada from Japan are serious contenders, along with My Cung Thi Tra and Trang Tran.

Vietnam’s female trail star Hau Ha is aiming to repeat her win at Dalat Ultra Trail in her first 100k race at VMM

Quang Tran looked very comfortable at Mantra Summits Challenge two months ago

Gaetan Morizur, here at VJM 2018, was a superb winner of Dalat Ultra Trail last March

Hung Hai switches between trail and duathlon and can never be ruled out for a race victory

Larry Apolinario was the dominant winner at MUSPO 100 and earlier Sierra Madre Ultra 75 this year

Tomohiro Mizukoshi returns to VMM 100, hoping to do better than 6th in 2019

Tomohiro Machida has had an impressive string of placings at Izu Trail Journey over the years