The 9th edition of Tahura Trail in Bandung will not be the same spectactular trail festival weekend as usual, but at least there will still be ‘real’ trail running on the original 42k marathon course, and ATM Championship points up for grabs on Saturday, 23 January. Good news for runners in Indonesia, who have a chance to score points in the same manner those in Vietnam, Thailand and Japan have been able to do in the past couple of months. It is a brilliant and laudible effort by the running division of IBA, technical event organisers, to make this happen in an area where the health crisis is currently far from over. Registration opens on Boxing Day, 26 December.

Under the tagline “The new normal” , the Tahura Trail event as a whole will actually last for two full weeks, as covid 19 prevention measures do not allow more than 150 people inside the park and on the trail course on the same day. The event protocol has been agreed with local authorities and will be strictly policed. Even though everyone has a fortnight from 16 to 31 January to run the course in the various race distance categories, it is important to emphasise that the elite runners aiming for ATM Championship points must sign up for the race on the 23rd, as all other days do not count. The main reason is to of course ensure everyone will be running in the same weather and trail conditions.

The Indonesian country borders remain closed for the time being, so the event will be held with domestic residents-only. Race packages, including timing chip, will be sent by post to successful registrants, who also need to hand in a valid rapid test result certificate from a hospital when they come to the Tahura park. Runners are required to download the race route onto their GPS watch or phone app, and follow the permanent marking signs along the route. Very important for result verification is also the requirement to take photos at the starting point, all checkpoints along the route and the finish point. The official starting time for the elite 42k race is between 6 and 8 am.

Last January the Tahura Trail race was won by Jeff Campbell, who had already won once back in 2018, and Charlotte Tacquet. In the upcoming edition, local and other Indonesian trail stars such as Ruth Theresia, Arief Wismoyono, Yusuf Aprian and Taofik Hidayat will have a great opportunity to boost their ATM Championship ranking before international events resume again.

What a podium in the men’s race last year. Jeff Campbell took his second win at Tahura

Max 150 runners permitted per day, but that should still provide for a great race on the 23rd when the ATM Championship points are on the line

At home in the Tahura Park: Ruth Theresia. She could move up to 2nd place in the 2020-21 ATM Championship ranking

Will Yusuf Aprian grab the chance to run himself into the international picture this time around?

Planning anything has become a game with an uncertain outcome in most sectors of public life during the covid 19 pandemic, and even more so when it concerns mass participation events and international country border crossings . Later than usual, but very happy to be able to do so, Asia Trail Master is now releasing the ‘intended’ 2021 event calendar for the merged 2020/2021 Asia Trail Master Championship and Grandmaster Quest. We felt that ‘intended’ describes the current calendar better than ‘provisional’, as it signals our dedication to make the below a reality, and give all runners a reliable guideline for what they can expect in the coming year. Nevertheless, more than ever this is a temperamental animal and we hope runners will understand and remain cautious when doing any planning.

Even though there are several positive sounds coming out in the media these weeks about the approval and availability of vaccinations soon, we must be realistic and accept that nothing much will change yet in the first quarter of 2021, and possibly even longer. We have therefore decided to focus very much on the second semester in the belief - or should it be ‘hope’ - that international trail running events will again become possible by then. Certainly, not every country will open its borders at the same time and we will remain flexible to make adjustments, if needed, and in agreement with the local event organisers.

In the mean time, following Thailand, Vietnam and Japan, Indonesia is one of the Asian countries that looks set to allow events to take place for domestic runners-only. Tahura Trail in Bandung, West Java, and the returning Coast to Coast Night Trail Ultra in Yogyakarta, Central Java, are scheduled for 23 January and 27 March, respectively. As we have approved in the other countries just mentioned, participants will be scoring points for the Asia Trail Master Championship but only their best of the two results will be retained if they run both events.

Tahura Trail will therefore once again be the official first race of the new season. More details will be coming out later this week.

The below event calendar is by no means complete. Some events originally scheduled for early in the year are postponed to an as yet undecided later date. These events, such as Cau Dat Farm Ultra in Vietnam and EcoTrail Al Ula in Saudi Arabia, have been left out of the calendar for the time being. Also UTKC in Thailand, one of the more popular early season events since several years, will be skipped in 2021 and substituted by a new Thai entry in our series in November: Doi Nhok Trail. Other new entries so far are High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju in South Korea and Mu Cang Chai Trail in Northwest Vietnam. The 9 Dragons in Hong Kong already announced the cancellation of the 2021 event a few weeks ago.

The Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival (MMTF) in Taiping will close the season on 18 December.

As we approach 2021 and draw a line under this difficult year, Asia Trail Master will keep providing updates to the calendar, as weil as launch a series of innovations to enter the new year full of optimism and energy. In this context, we also recommend everyone to get your friends together and team up for the 7 Missions virtual team challenge from 11 to 17 January!

Intended 2021 event calendar

• more events will still be added

• Championship chasers should check carefully which race(s) of an event offer points

• Grandmaster Quest challengers always score a point when a race is 70km or longer

• all is subject to pandemic development

2020/21 ATM Championship:

23/01/21 - Indonesia - Bandung - Tahura Trail - 42 km
27/03/21 - Indonesia - Yogyakarta - Coast To Coast Night Trail Ultra - 70 km (to be confirmed in due course)
24/04/21 - South Korea - Dongducheon - Korea 50K - 58 km (event date to be confirmed)
06/06/21 - Philippines - Negros Oriental - Puncak Tanawan Ultra 70 km (event will be confirmed before 1 April)
20/06/21 - Japan - Niigata - Echigo Country Trail - 60 km
26/06/21 - Thailand - Koh Samui - Monkeys Trail - 160 km & 1 medium distance to be confirmed (both A status)
10/07/21 - Indonesia - Malang - Mantra Summits Challenge - 116 km & 75 km (both A status)
17/07/21 - Philippines - Mindanao - MUSPO Ultra - 100 km
24/07/21 - Malaysia - Cameron Highlands - Cameron Ultra - 100 km
07/08/21 - Thailand - Chiang Mai - Ultra Trail Chiang Mai - 160 km & 65 km (both A status)
28/08/21 - Vietnam - Sapa - Vietnam Mountain Marathon - 160 km & 100 km (both A status), 70 km (B status)
11/09/21 - Malaysia - Sabah - Borneo TMBT Ultra - 100 km & 50 km (both A status)
18/09/21 - Vietnam - Yen Bai - Mu Cang Chai Trail - 50 km
25/09/21 - Malaysia - Kemensah - The Great Malaya Trail - 50 km
02/10/21 - Indonesia - Bondowoso - Ijen Race to the Blue Flre - 105 km (A status) & 75 km (B status)
09/10/21 - Malaysia - Penang - Ultimate Trails of Penang - 100 km
16/10/21 - Japan - Nagano - Hakuba Trails - 52 km (event to be confirmed)
16/10/21 - South Korea - Yeongnam Alp - High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju - 105 km (event date to be confirmed)
16/10/21 - Vietnam - Pu Luong - Vietnam Jungle Marathon - 70 km
23/10/21 - Thailand - Chiang Rai - Ultra Trail Chiang Rai - 250 km & 100 km (both A status)
30/10/21 - Hong Kong - Lantau Island - Lantau 70 - 70 km
06/11/21 - Thailand - Doi Nhok Trail - 110 km & 58 km (both A status)
20/11/21 - Laos - Vang Vien - V Trail - 85 km (event to be confirmed)
28/11/21 - Philippines - Luzon - Cordillera Mountain Ultra - 47 km
04/12/21 - Philippines - MIndanao - The Punisher - 80 km
12/12/21 - Japan - Izu Peninsula - Izu Trail Journey - 70 km (event date to be confirmed)
18/12/21 - Malaysia - Taiping - MMTF - 80 km (ATM Final, precise race distance to be confirmed)

ATM Candidate Races:

13/03/21 - Malaysia - Langkawi - The 9 Dragons
11/04/21 - Malaysia - Sarawak - Jagoi Heritage Run
Dates to be confirmed for: Alicia Ultra (PHI), Bali Ultra Trail (INA), Bali Volcano Race (INA), Malnad Ultra (IND) and more

The bridge to a better 2021?

Yuya Kawasaki was the big winner of a star-packed Izu Trail Journey 70 km race in 5:58:09, ahead of last year’s winner Hirokazu Nishimura in 6:06:22! Previously, Kawasaki already scored two second places in ATM points races: Izu 2017 and Hakuba 2018. This is his first victory on the ATM Championship circuit and as Izu is the Japan SuperTrail he collects 550 points that he will take into 2021.

Third place today went to Saturo Suga, followed by Tatsuya Yabe and Tomonori Onitsuka. Even more than usual, this season’s Izu Trail Journey was like a Japanese national championship race. Team Uglow's Yuta Matsuyama was 16th, ahead of Kazufumi Ose, another well-known runner in our series as past winner of the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong. Ryo Murata, who won Cameron Ultra 100 in 2019, finished 21st yesterday. Hiroaki Matsunaga, third at CMU a few years ago and 9th in Izu 2017, was 26th. Tomohiro Mizukoshi decided not to start to allow a knee injury to heal properly and be 100 % fit again for the 2021 season.

The women’s race also saw stellar performances. Honoka Akiyama turned out victorious in a very fast time of 6:59:41. She was 20th overall and ahead of e.g. Ryo Murata! Second-placed Yuri Yoshizumi was not even that far behind in 7:06:32 and Chihiro Aibara third in 7:22:52. Asuka Nakajima ran a great race herself to come home in sixth place in what was really her elite trail debut race in her native country Japan. Nakajima set a finishing time of 7:57:12. Tellingly, she was ahead of Yumiko Oishi - the woman who was second behind Veronika Vadovicova last year.

Comparing times year-on-year in trail running is in many ways a meaningless exercise, and this year’s Izu course was not even exactly the same as last year’s. Most elites who ran also last season, needed roughly between 10 and 30 minutes longer this year. In that perspective, the finishing times of top females Akiyama (6:59) and Yoshizumi (7:06) are outright stunning when you know Vadovicova took the 2019 win in 7:05…

Yuya Kawasaki already scored 2nd twice in ATM races, now he got a big win (photo archive Hakuba 2018)

Asuka Nakajima ran to an excellent 6th place in her domestic trail debut (photo archive SMFT 2019)

This weekend is the traditional Izu Trail Journey weekend, and the Japan SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship series is taking place in REAL and not just virtually! Obviously, the participant list exclusively features runners who live in Japan, but other than the many local elites there will be a number of athletes whom we have gotten to know well over the years in our ATM series. Perhaps more importantly, the simple fact that ITJ is permitted to be run is very hopeful for a return to a more normal trail season in Asia in 2021 - as well as a sign that the Olympic Games in Tokyo may happen next summer as well. The Izu peninsula south of Tokyo will host a number of sports disciplines of the Games, such as track cycling in its velodrome.

Last year the course of ITJ had to be shortened and modified due to the destruction of some trails caused by a massive typhoon a number of weeks prior to the event, but now runners will be more or less back on the original course for 70 km. Veronika Vadovicova was the first international winner of the women’s race , and despite a very busy race schedule Hisashi Kitamura made it into the top 10 of the men’s race. Purely competitively speaking, Izu Trail Journey arguably is the hardest race on the ATM calendar as most of Japan’s elite runners take part every year. For the local stars, ITJ is also a “Japanese Championship” , which may also determine who gets into the national team for international championship events.

Apart from the local stars, ATM Championship contenders such as Tomohiro Mizukoshi will be competing in ITJ on Sunday as he has been in the past seasons. It will be a bit of a comeback for him, too, as Tomohiro suffered from (non-covid) illness for quite a while in the middle of the year. Asuka Nakajima, third in the female ATM championship last year after winning several races in Indonesia and coming second in Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 in Malaysia. She will be running ITJ for the first time, after relocating from Jakarta back to Tokyo this year. It will be interesting to see where she ends up among the local elite. And we have another ATM race winner from 2019 on the start list in Team Uglow's Yuta Matsuyama. He was quickest in Ultra Trail Chiang Mai in Thailand a year ago, beating several top runners on the day. Matsuyama, by the way, is also the new race director of Echigo Country Trail, the traditional ATM points race in Niigata in June.

Follow tomorrow’s Izu Trail Journey live on YouTube! Starting at 5 am (Tokyo time) on Sunday, you can follow what happens on the iconic run throughout the day. Due to travel restrictions, our ATM media team cannot be present this season, but via our social media channels we will be keeping you all up-to-date as well about the big race. It’s the Japan SuperTrail, and the winner collects 550 ATM Championship points.

Veronika Vadovicova won ITJ 2019 as first non-Japanese woman to achieve that

Hisashi Kitamura saw John Ellis become ATM Champion in Thailand the day earlier, but converted that disappointment into energy to score a great 10th place in the highly competitive men’s race

Asuka Nakajima returned to Tokyo earlier this year and will be competing in her first ITJ race

Tomohiro Mizukoshi is returning to action after a difficult year.

Yuta Matsuyama won the very wet Ultra Trail Chiang Mai last year

We are excited to announce that the new South Korean mountain trail event High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju is supporting the Mountain Goat Trophy of the 7 Missions virtual team running challenge from 11 to 18 January 2021. The male and female runner who score most elevation gain during the whole week of the 7 Missions will be crowned “Mountain Goat” and win a free tour package and race entry to the High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju event in late 2021. In addition, HT9PU will also claim the fifth Mission of Friday. The second 10 km Mission of the week therefore becomes the Mission to the High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju!

Best performing teams on that Mission will be receiving prizes as well:

• 1st Team: free registration of 2021 9 Peaks and tour package (this is including local transportation and accommodation but excluding flight)

• 2nd Team: 50% discount of registration fee with tour package

• 3rd Team: 30% discount of registration fee with tour package

On top of that, HT9PU will also hand out race souvenirs to lucky draw winners among all the participants in Friday’s Mission.

High Trail 9 Peaks Ulju was a successful Candidate Race before, and is hoping to confirm its 2021 spot on the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar soon. The event has been held in early November so far, but the local authorities and event organisation are hoping to move forward to mid-October for milder climatological conditions. The organisation, by the way, is spearheaded by the team behind Korea 50K.

This is a pure mountain trail race, even when the highest elevation is approx 1200 m above sea level. Obviously, the main race totals 9 different hilltops to reach and a total elevation gain of 8800 hm over 105 km distance. Less ambitious runners have three shorter options as well, of which the second longest is 44 km and 3500 hm. (2020 race data)

The OTSO Hour is the new name of the third of The 7 Missions team running challenge that will take place from 11 to 17 January 2021. Runners will be required to run as far as possible in exactly one hour time. The mission will be supported by OTSO, our customisation partner with base in Andorra, in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain.

As in each of the 7 Missions, participants can choose where they run and it is not necessary to run together with the other members of your team. What matters is that three of the four team members complete the mission and run for 1 hour. For the team competition as such, the accumulated distance will be converted into minutes and subtracted from a team’s total time as bonus. Of course, the fastest 15 individual runners will also score points for the Cheetah Cup, and those who aim for the Mountain Goat Trophy can try to gain as much elevation as possible within one hour.

The young and expanding brand OTSO represents leadership, strength, courage, power, struggle, cunning, trust, freedom, loyalty, resistance, generosity, humility, family and individuality, values ​​that represent very well all those who like to live sports as a lifestyle and passion. OTSO has specialized in integrating the best design and the best technologies to make specific products of custom, limited editions, unique and exclusive collections for mythical races and sporting events in different places around the world.

OTSO will be handing prizes to the best performing teams of the OTSO Hour, as well as to some lucky runners who get picked out of the lucky draw hat.

The OTSO Hour is the only mission where the focus is on time instead of a given distance. Have you ever wondered how far you can run in 1 hour’s time? Here is your chance to find out!

The final weekend of The 7 Missions virtual team running challenge will be a thrilling experience. On Sunday there’s the full marathon on the programme, and a day earlier is the half marathon. The 21 km virtual race will be highly supported by UGLOW, the leading sports & lifestyle apparel brand famous for its stich-free items creating the highest comfort during your exercise. We are delighted that UGLOW will be providing prizes for the best performing teams of the 21 km competiton, but less ambitious runners will also have a chance to score prizes via the lucky draw among all the participants of the UGLOW 21 Mission.

As announced last week, on every day of the 7 Missions everyone can run wherever he or she likes. As long as the day’s Mission requirements are met. In the case of the UGLOW 21 Mission, this implies minimum three of your four team members need to run 21.1 kilometres, or in other words a half marathon distance. Team members do not need to run together. This is the second longest distance during the 7 Missions week from 11 to 17 January 2021, and for teams who want to compete rather than just complete it is a day that matters!

Individual achievers in each team can also try and set the fastest time for the Cheetah Cup ranking, or if you need elevation, you have 21 km to score pretty high elevation levels for the Mountain Goat Trophy ranking!

To get ready for the UGLOW 21 Mission, you might wish to check out the new 2020 C3 Collection, which has a few splendid items for colder temperatures in winter as well.

The online registrations for The 7 Missions team running challenge from 11-17 January 2021 are open. Each of the 7 days has its own distance, time and/or elevation objective, but Sunday’s final Mission, the full marathon of 42.2km, of course demands respect. We are happy to announce that T8 will be motivating all of you to complete that 7th Mission in style!

T8 offers prizes to the best three performing teams in the three categories (male, female, mixed), but will also reward random others with prizes coming out of a lucky draw among all participating runners in the T8 Marathon on Sunday, 17 January 2021.

As announced last week, on every day of the 7 Missions everyone can run wherever he or she likes. As long as the day’s Mission requirements are met. In the case of the T8 Marathon that means minimum three of your four team members need to run 42.2 kilometres. In fact, given it is the longest distance of the whole week, those looking to do well in the Mountain Goat Trophy by-competition can score a lot of elevation gain on this seventh and last mission.

As you prepare for the T8 Marathon, why not take a look at all the T8 gear that will aid you on your longest run, such as the Commando underwear, the Sherpa Shorts and the BOCO Truckers. Everything with specific designs for men and for women. In fact, if you need an appropriate face mask to run outdoors in your area, T8 also has a highly recommended facemask in store. Check it all out! Don’t forget, T8 was co-founded by the reigning Asia Trail Master Champion John Ellis. Can a young brand offer better credentials?

Reigning ATM Champion John Ellis is co-founder of the T8 brand

[MEDIA RELEASE] We are delighted to announce that the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival, better known as MMTF, will again host the Asia Trail Master Championship Final event from 17 to 19 December 2021. The main title race is scheduled for Saturday. Set in and around the city of Taiping in the State of Perak, MMTF delivered a stunning conclusion to last year’s championship series with its very tough but beautiful race course and an event arena that fostered camaraderie and unity among the couple of thousands of runners who took part over the weekend.

“Exactly a year ago, MMTF was sheer promotion for the sport of trail running in Asia, and for the city of Taiping. We are indeed thrilled to return next season for what will undoubtedly be another exciting conclusion to our competitive championship series. Runners and fans can expect a lot of add-ons and other innovations in the build-up to the event.,” says Kris Van de Velde, founder and general manager of Asia Trail Master.

Benefitting from participants’ feedback from last year, the main race course will see a number of modifications but the total distance is expected to remain between 80 and 85 km. Less ambitious runners will as always be able to opt for one of the several shorter distance categories on the programme of the event.

"We are excited and happy to be given the trust to host ‘ATM Season Finale’ for a 2nd time in 2021 after coming out on top against 3 other established races who were bidding for the job,” says Ewegene Tan, founder and event director of MMTF.

“Its been an uncertain and challenging year for everyone in 2020 which also resulted in the ATM Championship for 2020/2021 being merged into 1. In lieu of that, we hope to provide everyone with an unforgettable year-end trail party experience in 2021. There will be more competition, more fellowship, more music and more food, indeed, as the race will continue to take runners into the ‘Virgin Jungle Reserves’ (VJR) around the city. Besides that, plans are being made to start the race in the heart of Taiping town in the highly renowned Taiping Lake Garden famous for its pristine lush greeneries, which include more than a century old raintrees and pre-war man-made lakes. Hence, runners can certainly expect a ‘grandeur’ Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in 2021 befitting of an ‘ATM Season Finale’. "

Further details will come out after new year.

In response to the covid 19 pandemic and the subsequent wave of event cancellations throughout Asia, Asia Trail Master already announced in August that the 2020 Championship is being merged with next year’s 2021 Championship series.

Start your journey to MMTF 2021 with the Virtual edition as of 16 December

You can start your journey to the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival 2021 by registering for MMTF - VIRTUAL EDITION @ RESET AND CHALLENGE THE NEW NORMAL. MMTF is using the project to help everyone reset and challenge the new normal with the hope it will help everyone to look towards the future with more positiveness. Besides, part of the registration collected will be channeled to support the community surrounding us. MMTF also hopes that the virtual event will help everyone end the year as a winner in their own right. You can gain priority slots for the 2021 ‘real’ edition of MMTF, and also 10-20% discounts upon completing the challenge. Registration for MALAYSIA MOUNTAIN TRAIL FESTIVAL 2020 - VIRTUAL EDITION @ RESET AND CHALLENGE THE NEW NORMAL is currently underway at www.mmtf.my/mmtfvr2020.

End the difficult 2020 in style with the MMTF virtual event, and continue after the new year celebrations with ATM’s own virtual team running challenge, the 7 Missions.

Official documentary MMTF 2019 (by ICARUS)

China’s Xie Wenfei was one of the revelations in ATM at the end of 2019. Can she make the Championship an objective next year?

2018 ATM Champion Alessandro Sherpa returned to peak form last year with a great 2nd place

Manila-based Kristian Joergensen was outstanding and won his biggest ATM race to date

Veronika Vadovicova crowned herself as ATM Champion with arguably her best trail performance of her entire incredible season

John Ellis already had the ATM title in his bag by winning UT Panoramic in Thailand a week earlier, but showed fantastic physical and mental resilience to finish among the top five

Finish 2020 with your mind set on 2021: the virtual MMTF edition begins 16 December