Pencil in now: V-TRAIL in LAOS! We are happy to announce a brand new entry in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship, as well as a new destination: V-Trail will be taking place in Vang Vien, north of Vientiane, in Laos on the weekend of 3/4 November 2018! 

On the programme will be a 100K and a 60K with 4500 hm and 2400 Hm respectively. V-Trail will be run almost entirely on natural trails and will be a true adventure for all participants. Effectively, this will be the first high-profile trail race in Laos. The technical organisation is in the hands of Thai company Teelakow, known for several other ATM points races such as UTKC in February. 

Registration for the V-Trail will open soon.

With special thanks to Race Timing Solutions, leading registration and time-keeping company in Hong Kong, we are now ready to officially roll out our race and runner database to the ATM community. Most of you have already noticed that a lot of things are 'clickable' in the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking interface, and we invite you all to try and click on your name. What you will find is your running profile and history of ATM race performances. As of now, you can edit your profile, and add as much content and information as you like. To do so, you need to follow a few steps first. Essentially, you need a personal password to enter. 

Sign-up and log-in webpage

For runners to access their ATM profiles, you just need to e-mail RTS at info@racetimingsolutions.com and their staff will issue you with a password. Your e-mail address will serve as your log-in ID.

Once you are into your own page, you can add content as much as you like. It is YOUR page. 

Please note that the results database goes back to 2016, when we launched the system together with RTS. The race results of the first ATM season in 2015 are therefore not (yet) integrated into the database. 

One important element we would like to highlight: the famous ATM ID. As you can see below, each runner has an ID number in ATM, which is very important as it allows us to add your race results to your profile automatically. 

Race registration providers such as Raceyaya (Rizal Mountain Run, Akyathlon, CMU, Sungai Menyala etc) now have a special line in their race form asking for your ATM ID when you sign up. Although not mandatory, we kindly request that you always enter your ID number into this field when requested by a race organiser. This does help us a lot to save time, and will also allow us to update the ATM ranking even faster after every points race. We thank all of you in advance for your assistance. Besides, isn't it great to have a track record of all your ATM races in one place? 

In Asia Trail Master there is the championship, and then there is the Grandmaster Quest. For newbies to our website and social media channels, the Grandmaster Quest is an individual challenge open for all trail runners to accomplish. What do you need to do to become an Asia Trail Grandmaster? Finish six ATM races of 70 km or longer (or shorter but with 4500 hm) within two years. That is level 1 for which you earn 1 star and entry into our Hall of Fame. Continue running to 10 race finishes, without further time pressure, and you earn yourself a second Grandmaster star! At the end of 2017, 15 runners have now achieved Grandmaster status. Interestingly, the gender balance tills in favour of the female sex: we have 8 women for 7 men! Can women suffer discomfort more, longer and more frequently than men? It would appear trail running can now have its own chapter in the eternal discussion about the stronger and weaker human gender... We will explore this interesting conclusion of the 2017 ATM season more in depth soon! 

Of the 15 Grandmasters, three of them reached the second level in 2017. Aleksis Capili was again first, followed by Isaac Yuen Wan Ho and also Bali's Lily Suryani earned her second star as first female with an incredible string of ultra trail finishes between May and November. Lily's Hall of Fame profile shows that no fewer than 9 of her 10 eligible Grandmaster race finishes since 2015 were 100 km or longer. This includes 6 ultra race finishes in the last six months, and actually even 7, as Lily also completed BTS Ultra 100 again. However, as it was the third time she finished that same race it no longer provided any extra Grandmaster point. Earlier this month, Lily Suryani still started in HK 168, but arguable it was the one race too many for this year. Not being the youngest runner on the ATM tour, Lily Suryani proved that determination and focus get you a very long way in trail running, and a genuine congratulations are in order! 

Isaac showed his stamina as well in the second half of the year with six ultra race finishes since Penang Eco 100 miles in May. The Hong Kong star now totals 11 Grandmaster points, and in combination with his 6th place in the 2017 ATM Championship he certainly is one of the year's top performers! 

Aleksis Capili was the first Grandmaster ever, and he obtained 2 stars also as first ever at the Mount Apo Sky Race in Davao, Philippines, last April. Since then, Aleksis has added one more race to his record, which brings his Grandmaster record to 11 race finishes as well! As Lily in BTS Ultra, Aleksis did CM50 Ultra for a third time, but a third-time finish of the same race does not increase the Grandmaster total. 

While some ATM Championship contenders have naturally also reached Grandmaster status, others who are not so often in the spotlights deserve a mentioning for reaching their big objective: Joseph Sibal, Cheryl Bihag from Philippines, and Ali Ajis Rasil from Brunei have all had ups and downs during their Grandmaster Quest, but they have succeeded in securing their 1 star at Ultra-Trail Panoramic in Thailand earlier this month. Well done! 

Below is the overview of the current 15 Asia Trail Grandmasters. Who will join them in 2018? 

2 stars

10 or more races of 70+ km 

Grandmaster Quest

Aleksis Capili 

Philippines / Thailand

1st Male ** Grandmaster

1st Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Isaac Yuen Wan Ho 

Hong Kong

2nd Male ** Grandmaster

4th Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Lily Suryani

Indonesia

1st Female ** Grandmaster

3rd Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

1 star

6 ATM races of 70+ km in 2 years

Grandmaster Quest

Arief Wismoyono

Indonesia

3rd Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Ina Budiyarni

Indonesia

1st Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Shindy Patricia

Indonesia

6th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Jan Nilsen

Norway / Thailand

2nd Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Ruth Theresia

Indonesia

2nd Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Tahira Najmunisaa

Malaysia

4th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Yim Heng Fatt

Malaysia

5th Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Adelinah Lintanga

Malaysia

5th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Kim Matthews

Australia / Vietnam

7th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Joseph Sibal

Philippines

6th Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Ali Ajis Rasil

Brunei Darussalam

7th Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Cheryl Bihag

Philippines

8th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

As previously announced, the points regulations for the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series do not differ a lot from 2017. Perhaps the most prominent innovation is that runners who do five (or more) races are expected to have done 1 SuperTrail as well by the end of 2018 or suffer a points penalty of 250 points. This measure is of course to avoid that a strong runner collects race wins - and thus 500 points - in slightly smaller races on the ATM calendar and in so doing potentially become champion without ever facing the other protagonists in the championship. 

A second interesting novelty is that 100 miles finishers will now get 50 bonus points instead of 25. 

Finally, an important remark that was already there in 2017 but we wish to emphasize it for 2018: joint finishes are only accepted in the first quarter. That means, as of Sungai Menyala Forest Trail on 1 April, if runners come together hand-in-hand into the finish we will make a distinction between them by looking at their ranking at the last - or an earlier - checkpoint during the race. 

Please take a look at the image slide below for the key points: 

As in the past two years, maximum six races will be credited as SuperTrail in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series. Each SuperTrail offers 50 bonus points for finishers of the race and this can be important for those runners chasing a high ranking in the championship. Following popular demand by 'protagonists' in our series, we are now introducing a few changes to the SuperTrail selection in two countries: Philippines and Indonesia. The main argument being that also top runners sometimes like to see something new and breathe some fresh air during their trail campaign. As such, the Philippines SuperTrail in 2018 will be the Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Dalupirip, organised by the Cordillera Conservation Trust on the weekend of 3/4 March. It is also the shortest SuperTrail on our calendar, as CMU measures "just" 50k but does feature considerable elevation gain (2640 hm) with the ascent of Mount Ugo. Most importantly, for two years in succession, runners and spectators are raving about the event! 

In the past two years, the races were hotly contested with Marcelino Sano-Oy winning in 2016 and Arnold Lozano this year. Will Manolito Divina add his name to the record books in 2018? The women's race was won by Gretchen Felipe in 2016, while Sandi Menchi took one of her three 2017 ATM wins in Dalupirip. 

19/11 - Cordillera Mountain Ultra (PHI) - CANCELLED

The Japan SuperTrail on the Izu Peninsula proved to be a genuine SuperTrail. Not only because of the fantastic course, but also because of the harsh temperatures and the incredible average speed of the Japanese trail runners. It has to be admitted: the South-East Asians who came to Japan had a hard time competing with the elite of the country for the top positions. Japan is of course the distance running country par excellence, but it turned out that many of its top runners were also waiting for a race like Izu Trail Journey to motivate themselves to stay in shape during the cold winter. As such, Izu Trail Journey was an eye-opening experience for many participants. The race was controlled by four runners up front: last year's winner Tomohiro Tsuji, Kota Araki, Yuya Kawasaki and Yoshihito Kondo. These four took off after the first climb of the 72 km race roughly 9 km into the race. At that point, Brunei's Sefli Ahar, who was challenging for the Asia Trail Master Championship as the last man to still overtake Steven Ong on points, was running in 9th place and just 3 minutes behind the front quartet. Sadly, Ahar did start to suffer from the cold. Temperatures were only marginally above zero and the gale winds in the mountain zone made it feel a lot colder still. Winner of CM50 and BTS Ultra in the last six weeks, Sefli Ahar could not close the gap with the Japanese top runners and lost terrain as the race progressed. Suffering from frozen eyes and breathing problems, the 43-year-old Bruneian nevertheless finished the race - 61st - and with his chin up. Sefli Ahar certainly made the ATM Championship exciting until the last moment and we are looking forward to seeing him back in 2018. 

Meanwhile, Kota Araki turned out to be the strongest of the leaders and pulled away. Only Yuya Kawasaki was able to stay close and kept the pressure on. Kawasaki almost paid a price for that, though, as he faded towards the end and saw Yoshihito Kondo finish less than a minute behind him in third place. First non-Japanese was New Zealand's Richard Coughlan. Time of the winner, Kato Araki, was 6:43:48. Izu Trail Journey is 72 km with 4300 Hm and run in a deepfreezer. Araki and Kawasaki will allegedly now represent Japan in the Trail World Championships in Spain next year. Spain's Pablo Diago Gonzales was just outside the top 100 and Hong Kong's Isaac Yuen Wan Ho, who became a two-star Grandmaster,  just outside the top 300, which proves the very high level of Japanese trail running. 

The women's race was a tight battle between Ayano Saito and Kaori Asahari. Both runners were never far apart from each other, and finished also just three minutes separate. Okinawa-based Corinne Williams was an excellent third place. Philippines' Patricia Ann Morota and Indonesia's Shindy Patricia are two ATM protagonists who also finished the race. 

Jun Kaise being greeted by pandas at the km 42 mark

Kota Araki was the strongest runner and won the Japan SuperTrail 

Yuya Kawasaki was a great second with a lot of fighting spirit 

The top 3 of the Izu Trail Journey

The two top women at Izu: what a battle decided in favour of Ayano Saito 

Steven with Thai RD Nop 

The 2nd edition of Ultra-Trail Panoramic from Maehongson to Pai in the Northwest of Thailand was again the final 100 miler in the Asia Trail Master Championship. While participant numbers were still on the low side in 2016, this year the event attracted many hundreds of runners including some of the best ultra trail runners in Asia. And yes, the winner - Steven Ong - crowned himself the new champion in the process! 

Steven did not have the best memory of his last visit to Thailand, when he had jelly legs that eventually even resulted in a DNF at Ultra-Trail Chiang Rai last October. As such, Ong made his life chasing the Asia Trail Master title much more difficult. The 40-year-old Malaysian was the hot pick for the championship after the first semester, and especially after his commanding victory at Tam Dao Mountain Trail in Vietnam. He looked to have everything under control when he traveled to Europe during the summer. But then came Chiang Rai and the zero points, when his main rivals such as Arief Wismoyono, Sefli Ahar and Manolito Divina were collecting top points everywhere in Asia. 

But then came Chiang Rai and the zero points, when his main rivals such as Arief Wismoyono, Sefli Ahar and Manolito Divina were collecting large doses of points everywhere in Asia. Suddenly, it was make-or-break for Steven Ong and it all had to happen in one race: Ultra-Trail Panoramic. On paper the task was huge. Ong was facing tough competition from 2016 ATM Champion Manolito Divina, who beat him in April at the fast Sungai Menyala 50k, Italy's Alessandro Sherpa, Japan's Wataru Iino and last but not least Thailand's own Sanya Khancai. A lot of good trail runners who could steal necessary points away from Ong. As the race unfolded, Ong again adopted a sit-back and see-what-happens approach, which is becoming his trademark. After 100 km he was ranked alongside Khancai in third place, but nearly an hour down on Wataru Iino, and also Sherpa was running ahead of him. Manolito Divina, unfortunately, had already dropped out by then. AT CP2 he was visibly unwell with severe stomach issues, which ended his ATM season on a sad note. 

As mobile connectivity is limited in the forest area near Pai, everyone was expecting a Japanese race victory at the finish line. Until all of a sudden, reports from the field announced the imminent arrival of Steven Ong into the finish as leader of the race! The new Asia Trail Master champion ran a very strong final section to pass both Iino and Sherpa and grab his fourth race victory of the ATM season. In fact, also Sanya Khancai still overtook the early leaders to take second place on the podium. Iino salvaged third. 

New ATM champion Kim Matthews struggled with stomach cramps

In the women's race, the new Asia Trail Master champion Kim Matthews pulled out rather quickly due to stomach cramps as well. Matthews, who was certain of the ATM title following the DNS of Tahira Najmunisaa,  had started her first ever 100 miles, but it wasn't to be on this occasion. Her role, however, was taken over in splendid style by another Australian runner: Joanna Kruk. Kruk, from Polish descent, raised eyebrows last October by winning Ultra Trail Chiang Rai with a formidable pace. And did she do it again! Always running right behind the top four men, she even managed to catch Alessandro Sherpa still going into the finish. Joanna Kruk lives in Australia and has been flying over for the races. If she does that five times in 2018, we have another championship contender! With three races this year, she still manages to score 1575 points and 7th place in the championship, ahead of Sandi Menchi who also 3 races in the books. Joining her on the podium of the 100 miles race were Hong Kong's Shuk Kuen and South Korea's Been Lee. 

Joseph Sibal is a popular new Asia Trail Grandmaster after finishing the 100k race!

Another Australian woman dominated the race: Joanna Kruk! After UTCR a second BIG win

Thailand's Sanya Khancai was second in the men's 100 miles after winning UTN100 in October

The 2017 Asia Trail Master season is a wrap and we are very happy to announce the following two runners as our new Champions: Steven Soonseng Ong from Malaysia and Kim Matthews from Australia. Both excellent trail runners held off the charge of previous champions Manolito Divina, Arief Wismoyono and Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid, respectively. Ong crowned himself last weekend by winning UT Panoramic in Thailand, while Kim already had the title assured before last weekend's race as Tahira is still in recovery and could not start. Below a few key details about our new champions!  

Steven Soonseng Ong

The 40-year-old Malaysian impressed everybody this year with his intelligent approach to ultra races that resulted in four big wins. In his last one, Ultra-Trail Panoramic in Thailand last weekend, Ong came back from third place to catch the two front runners in the final 60 km. Not only is he the new Asia Trail Master Champion, he is also a real "Trail Brain" !

Kim Matthews

Born in Victoria, Australia, Kim has since lived in Thailand and since recently Vietnam. A runner for nearly ten years, she is also an ambassador for the vegan community in Asia. We got to know her this season as a woman who goes beyond the limit to reach the finish - especially when it was hot and humid. Kim Matthews is a well-deserved Asia Trail Master Champion and successor to Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid! Congratulations!!

It’s the last weekend of the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship and it is going to be a thriller. Two races, Ultra Trail Panoramic in Northwestern Thailand and Izu Trail Journey in Japan, determine the outcome of an exciting points championship that still has five runners in contention for the men’s title. While Vietnam-based Australian Kim Matthews is already assured of the women’s Asia Trail Master title, Arief Wismoyono (Indonesia), Manolito Divina (Philippines), Steven Soonseng Ong (Malaysia), Sefli Ahar (Brunei) or Pablo Diago Gonzales (Spain/Singapore) will be crowned the men’s champ on Sunday afternoon. 

All five will be in action in either Thailand or Japan, except Arief Wismoyono, who leads the ranking at present with 2475 points. The Bandung Explorer Ace has suffered from shin splinters following BTS Ultra last month is not recovered enough to compete in ultra this weekend. A pity for the 34-year-old, who this year returned to his best level and will just have to wait and see what the others do. Last year’s ATM champion Manolito Divina is only 25 points down on Wismoyono. He already has five results in the bag this year, which means he needs to do better in UT Panoramic than his “worst” result, i.e. 450 points at Vietnam Mountain Marathon or UT Mapawa. Divina needs to be first (525 points) or second (475 points) in the 100 miles race of UT Panoramic to achieve that and hop ahead of Wismoyono (Divina beat Wismoyono in a straight dual at Sungai Menyala Forest Trail in April, so in case of equal points he gets the advantage). 

However, it is Steven Ong and Sefli Ahar who hold the key to the championship. The Malaysian and the Bruneian so far only scored four results (both also had a DNF this season), which means they can still get a full whack of either 525 points (Steven at UT Panoramic) or 550 (Sefli at Izu Trail, the Japan SuperTrail), as for the championship it is the best five that count! The beauty is that now they both have 2100. They are 375 points behind Wismoyono, and need 425 in case Manolito wins in Thailand…  That means minimum 3rd place for Steven (on equal points Manolito wins as he beat Steven in a straight dual), minimum fifth place for Sefli. So, there’s a lot of scenarios possible. One thing is for sure: If Steven wins UT Panoramic, Sefli needs to win Izu. And if somehow we get a really crazy weekend in which Sefli, Steven and Manolito all DNF and Pablo Diago Gonzales delivers an outstanding run to win Izu, it will be the Spaniard who takes home the 2017 Asia Trail Master title. Unlikely but as we always say: ‘in ultra everything is possible’. 

Of course, there are more top runners at the start in both races this weekend who could spoil the party for either one of them by taking away important points. In Thailand, local hero Sanya Khancai has recently looked the part in UT Nan 100 and certainly cannot be discounted for the 100 miles’ win. Another dangerman for the day’s victory is Alessandro Sherpa. The Italian led the race at BTS Ultra last month until a drop bag issue forced him to retire. Also Japan's Wataru Iino is back in Thailand. He was a joint winner of UTKC 100 early this year before he went to India for work reasons. In Japan, Sefli and Pablo will be up against strong Japanese runners, quite simply because there’s so many of them. 

While the men’s championship will keep everyone in suspense, the women’s title has already changed hands. Defending champion Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid is still unfit to race ultras and has ultimately decided she will not be starting in either race. Tahira prefers to think long-term and needs time to fully recover. The big showdown with Australia’s Kim Matthews is therefore postponed to 2018 and the recent winner of CM50 in Philippines is mathematically assured of the championship win! Ruth Theresia, also injured following CM50, ends the season in third place. Kim Matthews started the season with a win at UTKC 70 in Thailand where she was living at the time. Her pace raised the eyebrows of many, and Matthews showed her speed again in Malaysia during Penang Eco 100k. She led the race until the final 10k. Dehydrated, she fell asleep at the last checkpoint and saw China’s Dong Minfei come back to beat her at the very end. With hindsight, it was the last time Matthews did not win a race. While suffering from the heat at Tam Dao Mountain Trail as well, the Melbourne-born runner just kept on winning races and when she did so at the Vietnam Mountain Marathon and MesaStila Peaks Challenge 65 in Indonesia, she became a serious title challenger for Tahira and Ruth. Two weeks ago in Clark, she had the better of Ruth Theresia and collected the SuperTrail bonus points for winning CM50 and in so doing overtook Tahira in the points ranking. 

Kim Matthews will be running the 100 miles in Thailand this weekend without pressure. It is, in fact, her first attempt at the distance. While it may not always feel like it during the race, it certainly will also be a race of honour for her. Kim Matthews is the new Asia Trail Master champion! 

Kim Matthews: the new Asia Trail Master champion!

Important news coming from Indonesia this week: the Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang, East Java, has moved forward its event date by two weeks. The tough mountain race is now scheduled for 14/15 July 2018.

This implies that MSC, as it is called in brief, now takes place one week before Ijen Trailrunning further east in Java. The Wolf the Trail combo of both events remains therefore, only that the order of events is switched around. One significant consequence is that international runners better arrive in Surabaya and exit Indonesia via Bali. 

The Wolf the Trail package currently in design will feature training and sightseeing runs/hikes on Bromo and other nearby volcanic sites between Malang and Bondowoso. 

More info on Mantra Summits Challenge here:

Mantra 116

We are happy to formally announce the entry of Hakuba International Trails in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series. Hakuba takes place in and around a major ski resort area near former Olympic host city Nagano and is scheduled for 9 September 2018. 

A Candidate Race this year, Hakuba International Trails is already a very popular classic event in Japan. The 53 km course will largely be the same next year, which implies an elevation gain of approx 2800 hm - implying a tough profile. The long distance race takes place in the mountains. Several rivers need to be crossed as well. About 1700 runners are expected to take part in the event that also offers three shorter distances to cater for the whole family. The first start is at 7:00 a.m. and the COT for the 53km is 10 hours, which does imply participants need to move on during the race. Only the 53 km race offers ATM championship points. 

Read more or on cover page (click on the image)

Hakuba Trails

Hong Kong-based Briton Tom Robertshaw was a class of his own last weekend in the 100 miles race of HK 168. While he initially still somewhat tolerated the nearby presence of Fan Yang and Yanzhong Qin, he gradually began to pull away from the field and finished the race in an astonishing 24 hours and 15 minutes. Remember this was 100 miles. Robertshaw is one those Hong Kong runners who has the potential to grow into a major Asian trail running star, and we certainly hope to see him more often on the Asia Trail Master circuit in 2018. 

Last year's HK 168 winner and third in the current ATM points ranking, Isaac Yuen Wan Ho, did not have the speed to keep up with the front leaders from the beginning, but he did move up during the race and hauled himself onto the podium in third place behind Fan Yang. For Isaac it means no gains in ranking position, but a higher points total that could cement his top five placing in the 2017 championship. In fact, he is scheduled to race Izu Trail Journey this weekend as well still. To note was the great fourth place, not far behind Isaac, of George Major and fifth place of veteran runner Tze Wan Wong. 

The women's race was a battle between Habiba Benahmed and Lv Siqing, decided in favour of the former in a great time of 31:47:55. Yuen Kit Shan, who in the past won UTHK twice for women, had third place in sight, but saw fellow Hong Kong runner Charis Chan return and grab the podium place instead. 

The last weekend of the 2017 Asia Trail Master championship is coming up next and will decide who will be the champions. In the men's four runners are still in the game, while in the women's it's just two and - unfortunately perhaps - if rumours are to be believed the new champion is already a certainly. Stay tuned!

Tom Robertshaw unbeatable in HK 168 last weekend (photo: archive)

Isaac Yuen Wan Ho had to settle for third place this year (photo: archive)

After a good run at Echigo Country Trail in Japan last June, Hong Kong's Charis Chan scored a great third place in the women's 100 miles race!