It is only end of February and this weekend we can already look forward to the sixth points race in the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship series. The Beach Bunch Trail Challenge in Brunei was an exciting newcomer last year, and this time the event goes from marathon to ultra! The list of participants shows several big names, including the almost inevitable Asia Trail Master champion, Tahira Najmunisaa. Winner of the Beach Bunch race last season, the 26-year-old Malaysian will be going for the 50k barely a week after her stunning victory at UTKC in Thailand. She will not get her 8th ATM race win on a silver platter on Sunday, though, as Great Britain's Margaret Rait could give her a challenge coming off a win in another race on Borneo last weekend.

Sefli Ahar is back for the 100k

The 100 km in the men's will see last year's local running hero Sefli Ahar, winner of the marathon here twelve months ago, give it a shot on  the ultra distance! Interestingly, he will be up against, amongst others, Isaac Yuen Wan Ho again. The Hong Kong runner was chasing Ahar in the Beach Bunch Trail Marathon last year, and having had a wonderful time returns to Brunei this weekend. Yuen Wan Ho was third in the final 2016 Asia Trail Master championship ranking. Initially collecting podium placings, he finally got the well-deserved race victory at HK 168 last November - a 100 miler, no less. The BBTC will be his first of the 2017 campaign. 

Also in the field and a podium candidate, returning from Koh Chang, is Malaysia's Yim Heng Fatt. On the 50k, local runner Hj Saifullah is one to watch out for. 

Jessica Lintanga aka Jess Boubie

While Tahira Najmunisaa thus opts for the 50k, the 100k bursts with female trail running talent as well. Indonesia's Ruth Theresia is in prime shape this year and could be the top favourite. A COMPRESSPORT athlete, Theresia won the Coast to Coast Night Trail Ultra two weeks ago and has ambition for this year's ATM championship. The two Borneo sisters Adelinah and Jessica Lintanga could be her main competitors on Sunday, along with Singapore star Jeri Chua. Adelinah won the Penang Eco 100k last season, and her sister the MesaStila 4 Peaks Challenge in Indonesia. Jeri Chua of course does not need an introduction as one of the pioneers in Asian trail running. It will be her first start in an ATM points race, though. Other podium candidates are Mila Marlina and Filippino Cheryl Bihag, both already active this season with podium placings in Coast To Coast and Rizal Mountain Run, respectively. Local ultra star Melissa Woo will be trying to get herself in the mix, too. 

ATM Championship points seekers have a choice between 100 km and 50 km, and winners on each distance will be rewarded with 400 performance points along with 100 or 50 finisher points, respectively. The 100k will start at midnight on Sunday, and as usual you can follow all the action live on our social media channels. 

Ruth Theresia, 26,  came to the fore at MesaStila and BTS last autumn 

Brunei's Beach Bunch Trail Challenge is one of those new events in 2016 that caught the eye of plenty a trail runner in Asia. Brunei as a new destination for runners, but the race itself as it had a 50% DNF quote despite "only" being of 42k marathon length. For once, the term "challenge" in the event's title was not just randomly added. The race was a test of running abiility, but arguably even more so of mental resilience and even tactical choice of running gear.  While the forest section in the first half of the course definitely was made for hardcore trail shoes, this type of footwear sank people's feet deep into the loose beach sand in the second half, draining their legs. Significantly, a pure road runner won the men's race: Sefli Ahar, a former winner of the Hong Kong Half Marathon, pushed Isaac Yuen Wan Ho into second place. 

In 2017 the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge goes ultra with the main races over 100 km and 50 km. There is also a 30 km distance for beginners. The tale of the trail reveals that elevation gain is limited to 1830 hm on the 100 km, and a mere 570 hm on the 50 km, so lovers of runnable courses should still mark this race red hot in their calendars. In terms of points for the Asia Trail Master championship, special conditions will apply to this event. On both the 100 and the 50 km races the winner will pocket 400 performance points. The difference will be, logically, in the finisher points, whereby 100k finishers score the usual 100 and the 50k finishers 50 points. As such, the winner of the 100k will have a 50-point-advantage over the winner of the 50k, but in the grand scheme of things (in 2017 each runner's best five results count for the final ranking at the end of the year) the difference might be neglible. 

Running along the beach is of course an important part of the race: mind your choice of shoe! 

Rizan Latif, organiser of the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge, is looking forward to seeing the protagonists of his 2016 race and of the Asia Trail Master championship come to Brunei on 25-26 February, for what will effectively be the first ever ultra trail distance in the country on Borneo island. 

Registration is open until 6 January 2017, but it is advised not to wait till last-minute as slots do fill up quickly. 

But it is not all beach neither: the forest section was determinant in 2016! 

Bandar Seri Begawan also catches the eye from a tourism point of view

42k winner and local hero Sefli Ahar

Local running star Sefli Ahar and up-and-coming female star Tahira Najmunisaa from Malaysia were the big winners of the first ever trail marathon in Brunei on the island of Borneo last Sunday. The Beach Bunch Trail Challenge, new in the Asia Trail Master series this year, saw approx. 330 enthusiastic runners take the start on Tungku Beach for 42k or 21k. The marathon distance only offered 630 metres of elevation gain, but turned out to be much harder than anyone had expected.  

The so-called Shahbandar rainforest section, from roughly km 5 to 15 was a steep rollercoaster with 14 short but steep hillclimbs that drained runners' legs before they had to cope with loose beach sand in the second half of the marathon.  The choice of running shoe plays a role in this race. While trail shoes gave a grip advantage in the forest, road shoes were gliding better in the loose sand and didn't get sucked in as much. 

Combined with a 30 degree tropical heat, the DNF quote on the 42k was around 50%, so anything unlike the "easy extended training run" some people had in mind! Race winner Sefli Ahar won the Hong Kong Half Marathon a few ears ago, amongst other international victories, and made his debut on the trail scene. While the 42-year-old Bruneian enjoyed the experience, he also admitted to have underestimated the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge. His finishing time of 3:53:23 is over 1 hour and 10 minutes slower than his personal best on the road marathon. Yet he was nearly 40 minutes ahead of Hong Kong's Isaac Wan Ho Yuen in second place, and over an hour of his compatriot Alexander Chung in third. 

Isaac Wan Ho Yuen came second, only a week after finishing 4th in UTHK! He is the new Asia Trail Master points leader

Isaac Wan Ho Yuen delivered a remarkable performance, only a week after finishing fourth in the 156k Ultra Trail Hong Kong! His top placings in the first two races of the 2016 Asia Trail Master series earned him already 900 points for the championship ranking, which he is now leading.  "It was a good race, although it was very hot for a Hong Kong runner," said Wan Ho Yuen afterwards. "I like it that there were so many runnable sections in this race. I prefer that over continuous mountain climbing. To defend my Asia Trail Master ranking, I may consider to run the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia in July. Another race with not too excessive elevation gain." 

Isaac Wan Ho Yuen will be one to watch out for this year, and so is the female champion of the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge, Tahira Najmunisaa. In an interview the day before the race, the young mother of three said the Asia Trail Master championship is a goal for her this year. Part of the Running Project Team in Malaysia, Tahira Najmunisaa is not a new face, in fact, as she already won the Bromo Tengger Semeru Ultra 100k last November. In Brunei, she was unbeatable and even finished the marathon in 4th place overall! A solid second place, half an hour behind, went to Singapore-based Japanese runner Itsuko Tanaka. The podium was completed by New Zealand's Moana O'Sullivan. 

Rizan Latif, organiser of the race and President of the Beach Bunch environmental NGO to keep Brunei's beaches clean from waste pollution (a necessary work), was a happy man after the event. Encouraged by the positive feedback on his event, he is already looking forward to 2017. "The race will be back and again in February. Maybe we even add a third ultra distance to the event! But in any case, the most important remains raising awareness in Brunei of the need to keep the beaches clean. Plastic waste pollution is a big and persistent problem."

Well-organised, participants agreed the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge is a great and special addition to the Asian trail calendar!

Top 10 result: Men:
1. Sefli Ahar (Brunei) 3:53:23
2. Isaac Wan Ho Yuen (Hong Kong) 4:32:55
3. Alexander Chung (Brunei) 4:57:56
4. Guillermo Rocco (Argentina) 5:27:03
5. Razif Yahya (Malaysia) 6:10:55
6. Hj Muhammad Yazid Hj Musa (Brunei) 6:14:41
7. Chiew Lie Chieng (Brunei) 6:15:03
8. Hung Zheng On (Brunei) 6:16:37
9. Abang Jamadi Rosli (Malaysia) 6:25:36
10.Mohd Akram Mohd Akbal (Brunei) 6:31:45

Top 6 result: women
1. Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid (Malaysia) 5:22:18
2. Itsuko Tanaka (Japan) 5:50:59
3. Moana O'Sullivan (New Zealand) 7:05:06
4. Katherine Mitchell (Great Britain) 7:13:10
5. Melissa Woo (Brunei) 7:30:58
6. Wan Chy On (Brunei) 7:50:34

Isaac Wan Ho Yuen added 450 (100 finisher points + 350 performance points) to his tally after UTHK, and now leads the men's Asia Trail Master ranking with 900 points after 2 races. Tahira Najmunisaa enters in a joint second place with 500 points, behind Yuen Kit Shan, who won the Hong Kong SuperTrail last week (550 points

One week after UTHK, the second race of the 2016 Asia Trail Master series is already on the programme this Sunday with Brunei's first official trail marathon at Tungku Beach. The Beach Bunch Trail Challenge is a long-awaited event in the smallest but richest part of Borneo Island, and has environmental awareness as its key theme.

Beach Bunch is an NGO that aims to keep Brunei's beaches clean from pollution and has been very active on that front for a few years. The half marathon organised last year was a first test to see how local citizens respond to the idea of an endurance run on trails, and the result was: very positively! This weekend's race had sold out its available 300 slots already in December, which prompted the organiser, Rizan Latif -himself a trail runner- , to consider the possibility of 30 more slots. These also went out the door in no time. 

The Beach Bunch Trail Challenge is arguably not the hardest in terms of terrain, but the tropical heat (31 degrees and sunshine are forecast) will put each runner to a firm test. An army of volunteers will ensure that everyone stays hydrated at several checkpoints. Start and finish are on Tungku Beach, but the race does go inland into rainforest area with in total 630m of elevation gain. Fast runners with perhaps fewer technical skills have a chance at glory in this race, but will need to preserve adequate energy for the final 18km again run on potentially shoesucking beach sand. The locals will be cheering for Sefli, a very experienced road marathon runner with 2:41 as P.B. , and In the women's race for Melissa Woo, the 2015 Brunei Trail Master. From an Asia Trail Master championship perspective, last weekend's 4th placed UTHK 156k finisher Isaac Yuen Wan Ho is amazingly also racing in Brunei. A mere finish will already give him enough points to gain the lead in the Asia Trail Master standings ahead of his Hong Kong compatriot Raymond Ching! In the women's Malaysia's Tahira Najmunisaa is expected to open her points account in style on Sunday, and who knows with a race victory. It would not be her first: Tahira won Bromo Tengger Semeru Ultra 100 in Indonesia last November. 

In any case, the event and all its participants will not go unnoticed. Media and government support is substantial, and already now there are more ideas circulating for the development of the sport in the country.

You can follow all the action this weekend via our facebook, instagram and twitter feeds. Stay tuned to Brunei's debut on the trail running scene!

Earlier today a press conference was held for the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge.

It is not only sand and beach during this race

In order to start 2016 on a fine note, we are happy to give away 1 free race entry for the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge event in Brunei on 28 February. The event is a new entry in our Asia Trail Master series, and excitement is high, given the domestic race slots were already sold out before new year. 

The Beach Bunch Trail Challenge features races over a marathon and half marathon distance. Our lucky draw for the free race entry is ONLY valid for the 42km marathon distance (no changes allowed afterwards neither), and does not include travel and accommodation. 

Our online competition runs for just 24 hours, and this on Thursday, 7 January, starting and ending at midnight Hong Kong time. Please note that this competition is targeted at international runners, i.e. coming from outside Brunei.

To have a chance to win the free ticket, you only need to provide the correct answer to the following question:

• What is the name of the beach where the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge starts and finishes? 

Participants can submit their answers via the form above, or via a message on the Asia Trail Master Facebook page. From among all the correct answers we will pick the winner by lucky draw on Friday, 8 January.  

GOOD LUCK! 

Best wishes to all of you for a happy, fun and healthy 2016!

The Asia Trail Master Team. 

The course of the 42km Beach Bunch Trail Marathon

On 28 February 2016, Beach Bunch will host the first major trail running race in Brunei, one of three countries on the large island of Borneo. The President of the environmental NGO is also the main organiser of the event, which will be the second points scoring race in the 2016 Asia Trail Master series. Mr Rizan Latif is himself an enthusiastic runner and therefore a great guest in our Talking Trail Running series. 

Q: Mr Latif, first, could you please tell us in a few words what Beach Bunch stands for, and what was the reason you launched this project.

RL: Beach Bunch is a registered Non-Government Organization who's objective is aimed at protecting Brunei's beaches from waste pollution. Our vision is to keep them clean and enjoyable to all including its coastal wildlife.

Our natural beaches have been pristine up until the last decade, especially so with the emergence of plastic waste. Something had to be done. In 2010, a group of friends and I gathered for a cleanup at Tungku and the rest is history. Now, we've done 31 cleanups and have had up to nearly 4,400 volunteers and have collected a not so great; waste collection of 16 tonnes. 

Q: Had the situation on Tungku Beach or in Brunei in general become so bad?

We've done lots of cleanups on various beaches in Brunei and the cleanliness varies from slightly dirty to OMG it's a dump situation. Tungku beach is the latter, it has and still requires a lot of TLC, not just from cleanliness end but waste management as well. It's chaotic on any given Sunday with the combination of food vendors on the beach and beach visitors.

Q: Where does the majority of the pollution come from?

The majority of the pollution is generated locally by visitors to the beach. This is mainly due to a lack of rubbish collection and disposal in designated areas.

Q: Beach Bunch aims to keep the beaches clean for humans and for wildlife. What kind of wildlife is there?

Wildlife that we've encountered on the coast are the sea turtles, mainly Olive Ridleys & Hawksbill as  well as seabirds where most of them are on the endangered and protected list. Dugongs and dolphins are also seen but they are more towards the marine coastline. We are doing conservation programs on the sea turtles in Brunei which includes youth camps and doing nightly night watches for sea turtle landing during the nesting period.

Q: Is there still a lot of cleaning-up work to be done?

Yes indeed. When Beach Bunch started getting into groove of things, we soon realized that no matter how many cleanups we do, the rubbish will come back again. We decided to take a different approach. Our cleanups are now more educational which involves the community; from schools, organisations and families, to get them down to the beach and be apart of that 'feel good' feeling.

Q: Why did you start with the organisation of a 21km half marathon trail run?

I was looking at how we could connect fitness and health with the beach environment, a healthy activity where people could enjoy the beautiful scenery of the beach. Running was the first activity that came to mind. I wanted it slightly challenging and to introduce locals to  long distance trail running. With that set in my mind, I started looking (running) around the beaches here and found the spot. A 21km loop going through 3 beaches; Empire, Tungku and Berakas Forest Reserve. 

Q: Do you also organise other types of events to raise funds or awareness for Beach Bunch?

Yes, I have led numerous beach cleanups, the largest being of 1,000 volunteers as well as a river and island cleanup. I've brought several groups of volunteers at night to the beach for sea turtle landing during the nesting season here.

Q: Is running a popular leisure activity in Brunei?

Open road running has been a popular leisure activity for the last 2 decades. This goes to short distance trail running too. Long distance road running came up over the  last decade or so and the 1st competitive full road marathon started back in 2005. To date, Brunei has only done 4 full road marathons and our event will not only be the fifth full marathon but also the first of its kind as a long distance trail run.

Q: What is the most popular sport in Brunei?

Like any Asian country, football has been the most popular sport in Brunei. Nuff said.

Q: You will be organising a workshop on the day before the race. Could you tell us a bit more about that?

Yes I'll be organizing a workshop for the 2 days prior to the race. I'm working on bringing in a professional international trail runner and not will not be forgetting the local flavor because we too have elite runners, the only difference is not being under the professional category. The aim of these workshops is to educate the runners on long distance trail running as well as to promote trail running. Most of the runners are local Bruneians who range from 2 extremes; from experienced long distance trail runners, road marathoners, ironmen to the other extreme where it would be their first ever marathon and on top of that, on trail!

Trail running has long been established here in Brunei due to our jungle and hilly terrain. Most of the local competitive trail events are of short distance. Long distance trail running is still new here and this will be the inaugural event to do so.

Q: Are you an active runner yourself, and if yes, what have been your main achievements

Yes. Back in the day I used to play football like any local in Brunei. I got into running back in 2012 and like most runners, I started off with a 5km run. To date, I've now done 3 full road marathons and 3 ultra marathons both local and international; the latest one was Sabah's The Most Beautiful Thing 50k category. I managed to finish it and grab first for the Bruneian 50k category.

Q: Do you have any specific trail running ambition yourself?

I'm now looking forward to the TNF's 100k in Australia which will be in May 2016. In terms of ambition, to me it's more about fun... serious fun and not forgetting the pain and suffering that comes with that fun. LOL

Q: The race course of the BB Trail Challenge looks very varied with several very distinct sections. What type of runner has the best chances of winning in your opinion? 

An experienced long distance road runner with a knowledge of the local terrain and weather will be able to win this. With the right strategy on pacing and nutrition/ hydration, this runner will be able to blaze through the course. This is due to route being relatively flat on the beaches and the elevation is of hilly variance rather than mountainous compared to normal ultra trail environment. 

Q: On the website we read that the temperatures in February are scorching, humidity is high and there is a high chance of rain. Should participants be afraid of the natural elements?

They SHOULDN'T be afraid of it but EMBRACE it like any natural outdoor loving person. Coming into the race with a well prepared body and mind through proper training regimen, and well equipped gear through the mandatory kit, participants should be enjoying the weather and the race.

Q: Hydration will be very important during the race. How many water stations are you planning, and what recommendations would you have for runners traveling in from colder climates? 

There will be 5 water stations throughout the route. Runners who are not acclimatized to the high humidity and temperature of Brunei, please adhere to the 1.5 liter current capacity of your hydration as part of your mandatory kit.

Q: Who do you regard as a favourite to win the races in the men's and women's categories? 

As a local brethren, I'm supporting our local elite long distance runners to win the race in both categories since the participants compromise 75% locals. But of course, the international elite runners will be a running for their money for the top spot! It will be exciting from start to finish!

Beach Bunch's Trail Challenge is open for registration. Careful: standard registration with a full gift package closes on 15 December. Click here to sign up for this great new addition to the Asian trail running scene.