We have just received the information from the local organisers of the Vietnam Jungle Marathon that the event has been moved forward from end of May to 14/15 April 2018. Registrations have also been opened this week, so you can start planning this beautiful 70K race in northern Vietnam. The event venue remains the Po Luong Nature Reserve, roughly 140 km southwest of Hanoi. The course is expected to remain largely the same as in 2017, with 3100 hm. This year, victory went to local hero Cao Ngoc Ha, ahead of Quang Tran. 

You can find more details of the race via our cover page, from where you can also link to the official event website and sign up. 

15/10 - Vietnam Jungle Marathon (VIE)

The registration for the penultimate SuperTrail of the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship is ending soon. Everyone who wishes to do the Clark-Miyamit Falls Ultra 50 miles in Clark, Philippines, on 26 November should submit his details online by 15 October.  

The event is a classic on the Philipines' race calendar and over the years has seen only the best of winners. Last year it was the scene of a great battle between Manolito Divina and Jan Nilsen for the men's Asia Trail Master Championship. This year promises no less. 

Registration is possible via this website link. 

More info on CM 50 Ultra via:

The Indonesia SuperTrail in the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship series brings a fantastic cast to the Mesastila resort in Magelang, Central Java, this weekend. Not only the top of the Indonesian trail scene signs present, but also plenty of regional trail stars keen on battling it out for the championship, and the prestigious honour of winning or scoring a podium in this by all means very tough race. Not just the main 100K, in fact, but also the 65K B-race will be hotly contested by well-known runners. 

Let's commence, of course, with the 100K that starts in the early hours of Saturday morning. Last year's champion and King of Indonesia (for winning Rinjani 100, MesaStila 5 Peaks and BTS Ultra 100 miles) Jan Nilsen will be back to defend his title after a season plagued by injury. Nilsen looked competitive at the end of July in the Mantra Summits Challenge, wherein he was overtaken by Fandhi Achmad only in the last flat section to the finish. But just how well his foot has healed remains a question, and the same Fandhi Achmad could again be his main foe this weekend.... only over double the distance as at Mantra. The Jakartian runner is making a move now on the Asia Trail Master Championship tour after winning two Candidate Races in six weeks. Three weeks ago, Fandhi Achmad also claimed the technical Bandung Ultra 100 win and races like Mesastila and BTS Ultra are definitely his cup of tea. While he is unlikely to still feature for the overall ATM Championship title this season, Fandhi Achmand can take points away from the others, such as his compatriot Arief Wismoyono. The 2015 Asia Trail Master champion - and winner of Mesastila Peaks Challenge that year - is currently in third place in the ATM standings and will be competing with Hong Kong's Isaac Yuen Wan Ho for the points lead in the absence of Steven Soonseng Ong. The Malaysian returns to action in Thailand soon at UT Chiang Rai, and may see both Wismoyono and Yuen Wan Ho overtake him as they finish their fifth points race of the year.  It will be interesting to see how they fare this weekend. Can Wismoyono at last grab another big win against top opposition, and can Yuen Wan Ho finally get rid of his label as "the nearly man". The sympathetic Hong Konger has a subscription on podium places in the ATM tour but so far he has only scored one victory: HK 168 last season. Fr sure, Yuen Wan Ho will recognise another runner at the start line this weekend, because he finished second behind him in the Magnificent Merapoh Trail race last year. Jason Robinson is another top international runner to watch out for. While Mesastila has about six times the elevation gain of Merapoh, Robinson is no rookie in trail running and might as well benefit from the fact he is relatively unknown on the ATM circuit. The same applies for a Filipino runner, who is coming over from Manila to show something: WIlnar Iglesia. According to insiders, Iglesia is no underdog to Manolito Divina when it gets rough and tough. Moreover, at Penang Eco 100K this year, he proved he can run a fast pace, too. Iglesia finished second behind Ong last May. Iglesia and Robinson are the main dark horses for the race win this weekend. Other contenders for the podium in this kind of mountain ultra are as always Yim Heng Fatt, still second in the ATM Championship with already five race results in his pocket this season, in-form Hendra Siswanto, Muhammad Fauzi - third last year - , Pramonosidi Wijanarko, Alan Maulana, Aris Sopiando Muklis and Abdul Aziz. 

A year ago Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid crowned herself as the Asia Trail Master champion here at Mesastila with a superb win in extreme conditions. This weekend that will certainly not yet happen, although the Malaysian can haul herself back to the top spot of the ranking in her fifth points race of the season. Interestingly enough, her main rivals to date are ALL present at Mesastila as well. Championship leader Lily Suryani will take part in her seventh points race of the season and will be looking to improve on her 4th place of Tahura Trail and Merapoh Trail. Second-placed Ruth Theresia started her remarkable performance progress at this event last year, and by all means she should be able to stay closer to Tahira on this occasion. Could an upset be in the making? In an ultra everything is possible. Ruth looked tremendous in February, but in races over summer some fatigue seemed to have slipped in. The Bandung Explorer has taken it easier since last month, and she may benefit from that now. Another important female runner to watch is Australia's Kim Matthews. The winner of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon two weeks ago will be doing the 65K this weekend to preserve energy for the final big races this year. If she wins that, it could prove to be a smart move because also in the female 100K there is a 'guest runner' who in the very least can challenge for the podium. Sydney-based Indonesian Valin Helam may be a few years older than her contenders, but she has the wherewithal to deliver a lesson to the youngsters on a good day. The same applies, albeit to a slightly lesser extent perhaps, to Shindy Patricia. The Malang runner is always a podium candidate and can do a good job for her own ATM ranking this weekend. 

Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid

Ruth Theresia

The 65K for men carries a lot of weight as well. The three top favourites are all serious ATM protagonists as well: Pablo Diago Gonzales is a double 70K race winner this year, and Yogyakarta's Dzaki Wardana won the 100K Ijen Trail last May. Moreover, Wardana was second behind Jan Nilsen on the 100K at Mesastila last season. Both of them will need to watch out for up-and-comer Mohammad Affindi from Malaysia, a teammate of Tahira at Malatra. Affindi delivered quite a statement last August to compete with Sefli Ahar at the Merapoh 100 in only his first 100K trail ultra! Again, Merapoh and Mesastila are two different animals, but Affindi himself claims he is even stronger at higher elevation trails! 

As usual you can follow the action live on facebook and instagram this weekend. 

It is always exciting to announce the opening of registration for the first event of the new season. Tahura Trail will once again launch the Asia Trail Master Championship in 2018 on 20 January. Close to two thousand runnes will be expected in the Forest Park in Bandung, Indonesia, of whom the majority will engage in the 42k trail marathon - the points race for the ATM Championship. As of this week, you can commit yourself to the first challenge of 2018 since the organisers of Indonesia Biking Adventure have opened the books. 

The 42k race has a good mixture of everything trail running is about. Nevertheless participants need to take potential rain showers and muddy trails into account when they venture to West Java at that time of year. A drop of rain won't stop the party at Tahura, though, and it is one of the relatively few events that makes for a splendid weekend outing for the whole family. The outskirts of Bandung are picturesque enough and the area is full of spas and other types of comfortable accommodation facilities. 

For more details of the race, visit our cover page or go straight to the event website, where you can also register. 

Female podium of this year's 42K race with ATM Champion Tahira on the top step

After Hakuba International Trails in Nagano three weeks ago, the Shinjo-Hiruzen Super Trail in Okayama was the second 2018 Japanese Asia Trail Master Candidate Race in less than a month. A very exciting development, and we are looking forward to opening more doors to Japanese events, because after all, if there is one Asian country that can be associated with running it is the Land of the Rising Sun. 

The Shinjo-Hiruzen is essentially a 74 km race across the Shiruzen Highlands. Total elevation gain is 3200 Hm, which is not nothing yet seemingly unspectacular neither. As usual, numbers never tell the whole story, as several climbs on the course of Shinjo-Hiruzen are so steep ropes are a must, and one cannot imagine what it would be like if it were wet and muddy on race day. The 350 participants on the long course (about 300 took part in a short race as well) certainly felt their legs and feet afterwards. 

The first part of the course is arguably the most scenic, with beautiful horizon views along the hilly trail. Last Sunday, runners even discovered themselves to be above the clouds. The highest peak was 1200m+ above sea level, after all. The second part, especially beyond km 45 is pure forest trail that goes continuously up an down. 

The event was very well-organised and also benefited from the strong local community support, which was illustrated by the nice pre-race welcoming dinner party on Saturday late afternoon. The Shinjo-Hiruzen area proclaims itself to be the most beautiful village are of Japan, and in fact it is indeed a very popular tourist area, particularly in autumn when the forest turns magnificent orange and yellow. For the culinary enthusiasts among the trail runners, Okayama Prefecture is not far away from Kobe, and the beef tastes just as exquisite!  

The 2018 Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Dalupirip is scheduled for the weekend of 3/4 March. The traditional 50K course features the ascent and descent of Mt Ugo and has been described as one of the most beautiful courses on the ATM tour.  

Registration opens on 1 November 2017.