The 7 Missions virtual team running challenge is opening for registration today. The latest collaboration between Asia Trail Master and Sportlicious Malaysia is set for 11 to 17 January 2021 as a prelude to what should become a year of optimism and international reunification after the dark months of covid-plagued 2020. The one-week virtual event follows the highly successful ATM 500 from last June, but is conceptually different and arguably more diverse. Both fun runners and elites have something to strive for. The essence remains the same, though: to take part in the 7 Missions you need to build a team of four runners.

Teams will be all-male, all-female or mixed (2+2) and feature a captain who collects the daily data and GPS files of his people. Teams will be invited to complete the daily Mission, i.e. a certain distance or timeframe to run, with minimum three of its members. It is not necessary to run together, and runners can skip three days as only four Missions are required per runner. Distances range from only 5km on Tuesday and Thursday to a 42.2km full marathon on Sunday.

After each day, the running time of the fastest three team members will be added up to produce the team time. Bonus time can be won every day, for instance when a team completes a Mission with all its four members, or when it reaches an accumulated elevation gain of 500 hm. At the end of the week, after Mission 7 - the marathon - the team who has completed all 7 Missions with the fastest time will be declared winner of the competition. While elite athletes therefore can focus on some nice sheer racing that they may have been missing out on for almost a year, the event emphasis will still lie on participation and the joy of running together as a team with a clear goal: complete the mission!

The event also offers two side-competitions designed for individual achievers. The Cheetah Cup is a point-based ranking for the fastest 15 runners, and the Mountain Goat Trophy will celebrate the runners who accumulate most elevation gain during the whole week.

Each of the 7 Missions will be thematised around a sponsor’s brand and a set of prizes will be offered to best performing teams and to lucky draw winners.

All teams will receive their minute of fame (or longer!) and will be celebrated throughout the entire week as they were during the ATM 500. The 7 Missions will launch an exciting new year of running in Asia, so… get your quartet ready and sign up to complete the 7 Missions come January!

In a nutshell, the 7 Missions: What is it ?

A new virtual team running challenge with a game-like concept that focuses on the fun of running together as a team, but also on pure athletic performances

• When is it ?

  11-17 January 2021.

  From Monday to Sunday. Every day from midnight to 10 p.m. local time, except on the last day when all activity must end by 10 pm Singapore time (GMT+8).

• Where is it ?

  Anywhere you like. You choose the place where you aim to complete the day’s Mission. Can be treadmill or your living room, too.

• For who is it ?

  Anybody, anywhere in the world.

• How can I take part in it ?

  You need to get a team together of four runners. Choose a team name and a team captain/coordinator, and have him sign up the team via our online registration form. Mandatory gear: a GPS tracker and a big smile! Oh, and please do read the conditions of entry so there are no misunderstandings.

• How do I win?

  By taking part! … But joking aside, you can win The 7 Missions Challenge by completing all 7 missions in the fastest team time. Each day three of your four members need to finish. Score bonus time if you finish a Mission with all four members. Three categories: male, female and mixed. Oh, and by the way, the elite runners in your team can aim to win a separate points-based individual competition, too: the Cheetah Cup! And if you have a mountain goat, he could go for the High Trail 9 Peaks Trophy!

Schedule of The 7 Missions

• Monday - Mission 1: 10 km

• Tuesday - Mission 2: 5 km

• Wednesday - Mission 3: 1 Hour Run For Bonus

• Thursday - Mission 4: 5 km

• Friday - Mission 5: 10 km

• Saturday - Mission 6: 21.1 km (half marathon)

• Sunday - Mission 7: 42.2 km (marathon)

For all details, regulations and conditions of entry, please link trough to our official 7 Missions landing webpage.

Returning for the sixth edition HOKA brings you the challenger ATR 6. The all-terrain shoes performs well on both on the trails and on the road thanks to its midsole geometry and outsole construction. Developed with broad, closely spaced zonal lugs, the Challenger ATR 6’s outsole delivers smooth transitions from one surface to another. This season’s iteration utilizes recycled Unifi REPREVE® yarn derived from post-consumer waste plastic.

Have a look at the HOKA website for further details and orders. Both the male and female version.

Among all the contenders for this weekend’s men’s Vietnam Mountain Marathon, Hung Hai was still the man to beat in the minds of many. Not only did he win the 100k race in 2018 and 2019, he had been training and preparing for a hattrick on the same trails around Sapa for two weeks. With already a victory in Dalat Ultra Trail 100 on his record from last June, Hung Hai looked set to conquer the lead in the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking as well. Alas, an ultra race always needs to be run.

2017 VMM Champion Quang Tran wasted no time in the early parts after the start on Friday night. Hung Hai was able to hang on, the other race favourites such as Romain Berion - winner of VJM 70 last month -, ATM Championship leader Gaetan Morizur, youngster Nhon Trong and Quang Duc Nguyen were a bit further behind. Quang Tran applied a lot of pressure in the nighttime and suddenly he was reported being in the lead by himself. Later it would turn out that Hung Hai injured himself quite badly and was forced to quit the race. What should have been a great success story turned into a bitter disappointment for the professional multisport athlete.

Quang Tran increased the gap to his rivals behind, but towards the end of the race he started to stuffer as well. As the Vietnamese hero struggled in the final kilometres uphill to the Topas Lodge, Frenchmen Berion and Morizur edged closer and closer to him. Eventually, Quang Tran made it only just, and in a new course record of 13h01. Romain Berion and Gaetan Morizur came in together as second and third place, only 3 minutes behind. Fifty-four minutes later, Nhon Trong came in fourth just ahead of Nguyen Si Hieu, who has become a regular name at the top of result sheets as well this year. Germany’s Markus Gnirck was a very solid sixth another ten minutes later, and keeps improving performance-wise as well. Those six were clearly separate from the rest of the field, led by Phi Lanh Le in seventh. Quang Tran collects a very useful 550 ATM Championship points with his victory, as VMM is this year’s Vietnam SuperTrail with 50 bonus points. It would be awesome if he could keep this form on at least four more occasions in 2021!

With Hung Hai not finishing, and Gaetan Morizur boosting his total ATM points tally to 925 by taking 500 for second place in VMM as opposed to the 450 in VJM last month (see regulations for retaining just one of those two points results), the French newcomer in competitive Asian trail running looked safe to carry his Championship lead into the new year. But then, Trung Dang Nguyen suddenly emerged as winner of the VMM 70km B-race, a Grandmaster race distance so there’s some Championship points to be scored as well! That’s an unexpected 420 extra points for the Vietnamese runner who is normally residing in Singapore… and that propels him to a total tally of 1015 points moving ahead of Morizur in the ranking! Before the race, Trung Dang Nguyen had been playing down his chances for a good result, saying he had hardly done any running training at all in the past two months. A textbook trick of course, but be that as it may, he saw a chance and took it. After scoring points in EcoTrail Al Ula back in early February before the pandemic, he scored also in Dalat and put the cherry-on-the-pie in Sapa.

The women’s VMM 100km race was won by ATM Championship leader Julia Duong Nguyen Thi in 17h20. It was third time lucky for “Little Sugar” after finishing second and third in previous participations in Sapa. It is also her third career win in an ATM poins race. She can look forward to 2021 with great confidence! France’s Nathalie Cochet, herself a former winner at VMM, was second and put up a good battle with Julia. Cochet arrived back at Topas just a good fifteen minutes later. Third place on the podium went to Trà My Cung Thị in 20h04.

We did not get a repeat dual between Duong Nguyen Thi and Thuỳ Dung Nguyễn after last month’s VJM race, as the latter opted for VMM 70km. However, Thuỳ Dung Nguyễn showed once more in what excellent running form she currently is by winning that race in 11:03:28, and significantly, 47 minutes ahead of France’s Constance Louasse! If the newcomer on the ATM Championship scene continues to develop at this rate, she could be a second Vietnamese iron in the fire for the title next year! Third place on the 70K went to Lan Hương Vũ, who also did well by coming in just five minutes behind Louasse.

Note: The 2020 ATM Championship was merged with the 2021 Championship already back in August as a result of the global covid 19 pandemic.

The postponed Vietnam Mountain Marathon takes place this weekend at the Topas lodge in Sapa with domestic runners-only. That’s unfortunate but no longer real news in these challenging covid-19 months, and it certainly won’t spoil the fun. Saturday’s 100km main race in the men’s category contains is a who-is-who of the most succesfull trail runners in Vietnam over the past years. On paper, they are all competing against each other in the same race rather than being spread out over the various race distance categories of the event. That’s pure publicity for the sport and we are all excited to find out who comes out on top this Saturday.

It is not for nothing therefore that the Vietnam Mountain Marathon was granted the ATM SuperTrail label after the initial postponement of Dalat Ultra Trail in spring. That means the winner of the 100km race collects 550 points instead of the usual 500. This places one of the big favourites in a position to conquer the lead in the 2020/21 Asia Trail Master Championship ranking. Hung Hai already scored 500 in Dalat last June and is the winner of VMM the past two seasons! The 36-year-old multisport athlete will indeed takeover from Frenchman Gaetan Morizur if he comes first (+550) or second (+500) this weekend. Morizur himself will be in the race, too. The revelation of the Vietnamese season (read our Q&A with Gaetan Morizur here) was second in VJM a month ago (450 points) and can boost his total by maximum 100 points to 975.

Hung Hai and Gaetan Morizur will have to deal with more serious contenders for the race victory. Quang Tran is the 2017 winner and proved in smaller events this year that he remains a very strong trail runner on his day. Most likely he won’t be running VMM 100 if he weren’t ready for it, so we expect to see Quang Tran at his best again. Originally from France but residing in Vietnam like Morizur, Romain Berion was the new name in ATM who won the Vietnam Jungle Marathon last month. Berion is a former competitive cyclist and it will be great to see him going against the likes of Hung Hai and Quang Tran on those tough mountain trails around Sapa.

There’s more contenders for the podium, and who knows even the prestigious race win. Until a year ago, Nhon Trong was a champion of the 50k trail distance but since then he has also been trying out his fortunes on the longer ultra distances. If Nhon Trong can keep his speed going over 100 km, the others better watch out. When it comes to trail running experience, stamina and overall toughness, Quang Duc Nguyen can also never be discounted. Expect him to make up ground in the second half of the race, when some of the others may blow up in their enthusiasm. And what to think of the unexpected return of Cao Ngoc Ha? The number 8 of the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship is making a return to high-level trail running after spending the past three years in - mainly - triathlon. Cao Ngoc Ha had some great results in ATM 2017, including a win at VJM. Yet, three years is a long time in competitive sports..

Other well-known competitors in the race who could aim for a podium are Phi Lanh Le and Trung Dang Nguyen, the numbers three and eight in the current ATM Championship ranking.

In the women’s 100km we will most likely get another dual between ATM Championship leader Julia Duong Nguyen Thi and VJM 70 winner Nguyen Thuy Dung, although it is not yet clear if the latter will run the 100k or 70k race this weekend.

Hung Hai: can he make it a hattrick in Sapa and claim the ATM Championship lead?

Return to the trail in Sapa: Cao Ngoc Ha!

Nhon Trong: could VMM become his real breakthrough?

After taking VJM, can Romain Berion repeat that feat in VMM? (pic: VJM)

ATM Championship leader Julia Duong Nguyen Thi has been second and third already at VMM, will 2020 be third-time lucky for the win?

It was supposed to be the second points race in South Korea this year, but for a well-known reason its entry in our Championship has been delayed to - normally - next year: High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju. A succesful Candidate Race back in 2018, was revived earlier this year and is certainly looking forward to the future and welcoming many international runners to Yeongnam Alp. As such, in association with the Korea Tourism Organisation, the event crew has come up with an innovative idea. Come to South Korea and run the High Trail 9 Peaks by yourself to score a range of benefits, including discounts on the registration for next year’s official event! If you then also make a selfie-video on top of one of the mountain peaks, you will get even more prizes and benefits!

Have a look at all details by clicking on the button below.

The event date for next year’s High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju event will be communicated in due course. This is a tough event that requires proper preparation with 105km and no fewer than 8800m of elevation gain to be conquered. It could actually be challenging Mantra Summits Challenge in Indonesia for the toughest mountain trail event in the Asia Trail Master Championship!

Julia Duong Nguyen Thi is the new points leader in the women’s 2020/21 Asia Trail Master Championship by winning the very wet Dalat Ultra Trail 100 in June and coming second in Vietnam Jungle Marathon 70 two weeks ago. It marks the first time a Vietnamese runner tops our championship sheet. Certainly, it is the year of corona with all its restrictions for many people, but achievements like these do not just fall out of the sky neither. ‘Little Sugar’ - as Julia is often nicknamed - grabbed the opportunity with determination, proper preparation and, of course, some pretty strong trail running on both race days themselves. Time to learn a bit more about Julia Duong Nguyen Thi and her inspiring journey to the top of the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking.

Q&A by Kris Van de Velde

Could you explain a little on your background. Where are you from in Vietnam and what made you become a trail runner?

I am from the countryside of Ha Noi. I am from Co Loa – Dong Anh- Ha Noi. Since I was young , I was always smallest in the class (when I was 15, I weighed only 30 kg.) I not only failed at sports, but I hated them. That why my name “ Tiểu Đường, or “Little Sugar”.
My family is very poor. When I was in high school, my sports teacher helped and encouraged me to take my exams for university. To show my gratitude to him, I volunteered for a 400m race. That was the first time I ever enjoyed anything sport related.

In Ha Noi Industrial University, I was also part of the running team for 5 years. We only practiced one month out of the year, and only ran 1.5 km for fun.

Afterwards, when I started going to work, I stopped running. In February 2016, I heard about the LDR long-distance runners team. When I heard that they ran a 15 km lap around West Lake, I thought they must be crazy! But one day when I attended, I found that I could run 15 km myself. I was surprised and wanted to challenge myself more, so I gradually started running more. I discovered that I love the running community. The people are so positive and social. 

When j Ioined in LoopUltraTrail 2016, Ms. Nha from Salomon gifted me with a pair of shoes. She said to me: “do your best, run VMM, and bring the prize back to Vietnam. We’ve never had a Vietnamese runner stand on the podium for this race, in our own home country! So I tried very hard to bring the prize to Vietnamese women. I was then of course very proud that I was a Vietnamese woman who could stand on the podium of the 100km race in 2017 to receive the award. My love for my country is what empowered me to achieve that honor.

So sports is actually a relatively new thing for you.

Yes, my 1st long run was that 15 km lap in February of 2016. I’ve only recently overcome my limitations and fallen in love with the sport.

Do you have a trail running coach or are you just going by yourself?

I m used to make my training plan myself, but with some advice from experienced runners. 

When I lived in Ha Noi, daily I run alone between 20h-22h00 * 2-3 Sunday/ months: I go to Ha Noi center 20km from home, running with team LDR long distance, DAR Dong Anh , LB Long Bien, Eco park ….Or go trail running, at Soc Soc province, 30km from home. After I moved to Ho Chi Minh City in August 2019, I often run alone. On Sundays I join long runs with the VNG team, UPFIT team, RFF team, ARteam … Now the nearest trail is 80 km away, so I only can trail run 1 times/ months.


For sure trail is still just a hobby? What do you do for a living?

That’s right. I found that I fell in love with running, but especially running on the trail. I learned studied chemical engineering at university. I had a high salary working for a Japanese company. Then In August 2019, I quit my job. I wanted to do something in the fitness world because it is my passion. I moved to Ho Chi Minh City. I got an interview with Mr. Al Morgan, who is one of the people who brought the gym industry to Vietnam over a decade ago. He started a new company called Upfit which specializes in fitness coaching and corporate fitness, and is passionate about bringing up the quality of training in Viet Nam. He said that I have a lot of energy and passion, so I can help many people. So I learned and changed my field. Now I am a coach for Upfit, and I am very happy and proud to say that I help people change their lives and become better versions of themselves.

You were the only official female finisher in the gruelling Dalat Ultra Trail 100 last June. How bad were the conditions for you that day?

2 weeks before DLUT, I had an accident. I sprained my ankle badly. It was very difficult for me to run, as I was supposed to ensure my ankle always keeps stable by landing flat. The heavy rain during the race… I am sad. Suddenly there was the accident with one participant, and the organization did try its best to handle the situation. If it takes place again next year, I will join again.

Two years ago you won VJM 70 in a time of 13:16:51. This year you finish second in 10:16:24, behind new name Dung Nguyen Thuy. You improved by 3 hours and you did not win. Has the Vietnamese trail running level improved that much in two years?

Ms. Dung surprised me and amazed me. She has gotten so much stronger. I am really happy that Vietnamese runners are getting stronger. It’s really great for our running community.
This year in VJM, I got really unlucky as the race fell on my “woman’s time”, and I had to push through a great deal of discomfort. But I tried my best and I’m very satisfied. And I feel that I improved a lot after starting a cross training program with Upfit in our home office of VNG Gym. I’m really thankful to Upfit and VNG for that. When I lived in Ha Noi, I only ran, and didn’t know anything about cross training.

You have already done quite a few races on the ATM tour, including in Malaysia (Penang Eco). Did it feel different to be running in a different country than Vietnam?

Being able to speak English makes it a lot easier to bond with runners outside of Vietnam. I love running races outside of Viet Nam for the opportunity to see the beauty of other countries and experience their cultures. I ran in China 42km , Thailand 100km, Malaysia 100km. It was really wonderful. However, it’s a little expensive, so I only race overseas about once per year.

Will you run VMM next month? If yes, which distance?

I’m already registered for the VMM 100 km, but I am still considering whether or not to join. Because between VJM and VMM, only one race of the two will be retained for my ranking for ATM in 2021. 
Also I’m registered for the VNExpress 42 km in my hometown for my birthday on November 28.

You are the new women’s leader in the ATM Championship with 950 points in 2 races. If you win VMM 100, you could still improve slightly and finish the year with 1000 points. Does it make you proud to be the first Vietnamese runner to top the ranking?

Regarding the position at the top of the ATM board, I am quite surprised, happy and humbled to have the honor of representing Vietnam

I really hope that I can achieve 5 more strong results in 2021. But as of right now, I haven’t decided which races to run.

I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate with sponsors in order to have the opportunity to participate in more foreign events, to add ATM points and mark Vietnamese women at prestigious international running competitions. I hope that Asia Trail Master can continue to develop and encourage more runners in Asia, so that we can join more famous races around the region and the world.

Thank you for this great Q&A, Julia, and best of luck in the months to come!

‘Little Sugar’ on her way to winning VJM in 2018, her first race victory on the ATM tour

Two weeks ago, Julia settled for second place at VJM, but it was enough to claim the points lead (photo credit: VJM)

Last week’s Vietnam Jungle Marathon in Pu Luong gave us two new points leaders in the merged 2020/21 Asia Trail Master Championship. While domestic star Julia Duong Nguyen Thi already had a pedigree in our series, the name of Frenchman Gaetan Morizur raised many eyebrows among followers of our championship. He had been around for about two years, too, but never came close to an ATM race podium until Dalat Ultra Trail last June, when he scored third place. Proving that was no fluke, he upped the ante even more and competed for the win last week against former cyclist Romain Berion and Quang Duc Nguyen. Ultimately he came second, but Gaetan Morizur has certainly made a name for himself at the higher levels of our competitive Championship series. High time to get to know the man a bit better.

Could you explain a little on your background. Where are you from in France and what made you come to Asia?

I’m from the north west of France, the region known as Bretagne or Brittany. I moved to Vietnam in 2009 initially for a 6 months internship. I fell in love with Asia region and Vietnam so I extended my stay. I moved to Cambodia for work during 5 years and I’m back to Vietnam since 1 year. I feel very fortunate to live here in such a dynamic environment.

Have you always been a runner or is this a relatively new hobby?

It is a relatively new hobby. In France I was in found of bodyboarding and surfing and spent most of my free time in the sea. When I moved to Vietnam I totally stopped sport for a few years. At some point I started to join some friends who were running occasionally. Then we started to register for longer races and participating to some ultras. I have been running for few years but at a very modest level and got more into it recently.

How do you compare Cambodia with Vietnam? How do you compare the running scene in both countries?

Running Scene in Vietnam really boomed in recent years and there is now a huge running community. It’s quite impressive, now each race has a few thousand participants… In Cambodia the running community is way smaller but also very bond together which makes it also very nice to belong to. For trail running there is more hilly terrain in Vietnam and also much more events so it is more motivating to train.

Rumours have it that your recent surge in performance form is due to your move to Vietnam. Have you joined any running team in Ho Chi Minh City, or do you have a trail running mentor there?

I prefer trails very much but living in Ho Chi Minh city I spend most of my time training on roads. I can enjoy trails during the weekend going to Dinh Mountain or during Holidays. My girlfriend is also a runner so we can enjoy running trips together. My recent improvement is due to the fact I started to train more seriously since the beginning of 2020. Romain Berion (who won VJM) gave me some useful training advice. I also read several books to understand proper methods. By doing more volume and adding progressively some variation (intensity and elevation) I was able to progress well.

For sure trail is still just a hobby? Are you surprised you made podium in both Dalat and Pu Luong?

Yes it is a hobby and will remain so for sure. In fact it was a big surprise for me to do a Podium in Dalat. After Dalat I had the motivation to train more seriously for the upcoming VMM.

In Pu Long I was feeling more confident and had good sensations so I tried to push a bit the pace to enjoy the race and see how it would go.

Where did Romain Berion make the difference to win ahead of you by a few minutes only?

For the first part of the race we were running at 3 very close together with Romain and Quang until CP 4. I also a bit of time in the check points where I really lacked of efficiency. Romain passed me at CP 4 while I was refilling. He then created a gap in the steep concrete uphill just after which he mostly ran - he is a very strong uphill runner. I had a low time after CP5 so I Think the gap reached several minutes there. After that I gave it my best but I couldn’t catch him up. He deserved to win.

What did you learn in those two big races this year?

I learned to trust my training and to focus on listening my own body feelings. Another good lesson is the critical importance of fueling well during the race and preparing well your nutrition plan.

Will you run VMM next month? If yes, which distance?

Yes, I will run the VMM 100 km. I hope authorities will allow the race to happen. It will be a very exciting event as it seems that all the best Vietnamese runners are joining: Quang Tran, Hung Hai, Quang Nguyen… and many more including Romain as well. I would like to thank the organizers the Topas team who make a lot of efforts to make those events happen which is not easy in the current context.

Your story sounds similar to the story of ATM protagonist and previous Championship leader Hisashi Kitamura, who also started modestly in trail to develop into an international trail race winner in little over a year’s time. How do you see yourself improving further as a competitive runner? Should the Kitamuras, the John Ellisses, Milton Amats and Kristian Joergensens become afraid of Gaetan Morizur in the 2021 ATM season?

Those runners are inspiring examples but I’m still far from their level and from their experience. I’m doing my best to train well and progress one step at a time to push my limits further and become a stronger runner. For now, my focus to prepare well to be hopefully in good form for VMM.

For 2021 I will start with Vietnamese events VTM (an ATM Candidate, kvdv) and Dalat Ultra Trail if it is confirmed. Then from there, we will see how the year goes and also if the borders re-open.

Q&A conducted by Kris Van de Velde

2020/21 ATM Championship Top 5 (31 October 2020)

1. Gaetan Morizur (FRA/VIE) 875 pts

2. Hisashi Kitamura (JPN/MAS) 850 pts

3. Lanh Le (VIE) 825 pts

4. Quang Duc Nguyen (VIE) 720 pts

5. Watchrin Luarlon (THA) 700 pts

3 more points races to go in 2020:

• Monkeys Trail 100km , Koh Samui, Thailand, 14/15 November

• Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100km/70km, Sapa, 21/22 November

• Izu Trail Journey, Izu peninsula, Japan, 13 December

  Note: Runners in Vietnam and Thailand who also competed in VJM and UTCR will only carry over to 2021 their best points result of the two races