The 2nd race on the 2017 Asia Trail Master calendar is the Rizal Mountain Run in the Philippines, and the registrations open this Monday, 17 October. RMR, as the abbreviated name goes, is a tough 50k, not too far from Manila, that moves up from Candidate Race this year to a genuine points race in the Asia Trail Master championship. 

Organised by the team of Ahon, the local brand known for its gaiters and trail socks, the race received great feedback from runners last February. The competition in itself was a thriller with Danish-born Kristian Joergensen and Koi Grey going head-to-head for victory. The women's race was won by the experienced international trail runner Cheryl Bihag. 

Rizal Mountain Run 50k will offer the standard points total of 500 for the race winners (100 finisher points, 400 performance points for the winners). Remember that in 2017, each runner's best five points results will count for the final classification at the end of the year, as opposed to the best three this year. 

Please see below more details on the Rizal Mountain Run, a video trailer as well as the link to the registration portal. 

ATM cover page on Rizal Mountain Run

http://www.asiatrailmaster.com/#/rizal/

Event website & registration

http://rizalmountainrun.com/

This year Kristian Joergensen defeated Koi Grey in a fantastic man-to-man dual

We move on to April in our 2017 Asia Trail Master preview for the next confirmed entry. Korea 50k, arguably the country's flagship event, will have its third edition on - normally - 23 April 2017. The precise date could shift by one week and will be cast in stone in the next few weeks. Korea 50k is actually a 59km long race that takes place in Dongducheon, in the outskirts of capital city Seoul, to which it is well-connected via public transport. The Seoul subway reaches DDC, as the town is commonly called, which has the added advantage that the race can easily be included in a big family weekend city trip! Organised by the experienced RunXRun group, the event offers a solid course with 3100 metres of elevation gain that should not be underestimated. You will run large sections up and down hills in prime forest. 

All event details will be updated for 2017 in due course. In the mean time, what's stopping you to pencil in a nice city & running trip to Seoul! 

2016 Race Report Korea 50k 

2017 Asia Trail Master calendar

14/01/17 - Thailand - The Dirt Track
22/01/17 - Indonesia - Tahura Trail
29/01/17 - Philippines - Rizal Mountain Run
17-18/02/17 - Thailand - UT Unseen Koh Chang - SUPERTRAIL
25-26/02/17 - Brunei - Beach Bunch Trail Challenge
04-05/03/17 - Philippines - Cordillera Mountain Ultra
23/04/17 - South Korea - Korea 50k

The 2016 men's podium with China's Xu Xiutao in the middle

The 2016 women's podium had a Japanese winner, Yukari Fukuda

Our 2017 early preview continues with an event that received amazing feedback this year: the Cordillera Mountain Ultra, organised by the environmental NGO Cordillera Conservation Trust in Benguet, Philippines. Because of the event's success, the programme remains virtually unchanged except the date: the Cordillera Mountain Ultra will take place three months earlier and this on 4 and 5 March 2017. The 50k race with 2640 Hm remains the main show of the event, and anybody who witnessed this year's battle for victory between Marcelino Sano Oy and Al Tellias will remember how exciting relatively short trail races can be. CMU is not that easy, however, and even top athletes need to stay focused at all times. Just ask local female hero Majo Liao, who twisted her ankle in the early stages of this year's race. It paved the way for Gretchen Felipe to take the women's win, and a ticket for the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia, which she then won as well! CMU 2016 was a classic with lots of stories, and there is no reason why 2017 won't be the same! 

The 50km Cordillera Mountain Ultra trail is about Mt. Ugo in Benguet. Topping out at 2150m it features long ridge lines covered in Pine forests as well as superb views of the West Philippine sea, the entire Agno River Valley as well as the Cagayan Valley of Nueva Vizcaya. Host town of the event is Dalupirip, and the best international gateway to the event is Clark International Airport. 

Race registration will open on 1 November. 

Link to Event review 2016

2017 Asia Trail Master calendar

14/01/17 - Thailand - The Dirt Track
22/01/17 - Indonesia - Tahura Trail
29/01/17 - Philippines - Rizal Mountain Run
17-18/02/17 - Thailand - UT Unseen Koh Chang - SUPERTRAIL
25-26/02/17 - Brunei - Beach Bunch Trail Challenge
04-05/03/17 - Philippines - Cordillera Mountain Ultra

After Thailand and Indonesia, the 2017 Asia Trail Master series will move to Luzon in the Philippines on 29 January. That's the day of the 2nd Rizal Mountain Run! The 50km race was a Candidate Race last February and received excellent feedback from runners. Pintong Bukawe in San Mateo, Rizal Province is not too far from Manila and RMR becomes the first points race in the country next year.

The race offers a mix of terrain, including hills like Mount Purro and Mount Parawagan, and you will be running along rivers like Wawa River. At times you will also need to cross rivers. Enough technical sections thus to please every genuine trail runner. Winners of the inaugural edition this year were Kristian Joergensen from Denmark in 6:14:47 for 50km, and Cheryl Bihag in 9:33:05. 

The event is organised by the Ahon team, all of whose members are highly experienced runners themselves.

Rizal Mountain Run 2017 will be open for registration soon. 

2017 Asia Trail Master series : Race Calendar

14/01/17 - Thailand - The Dirt Track

22/01/17 - Indonesia - Tahura Trail

29/01/17 - Philippines - Rizal Mountain Run

Kristian Joergenson won the RMR as our Candidate Race this year in February