The second SuperTrail race of the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship series is taking place this weekend in Malaysia. The 3rd edition of Penang Eco 100 in Bukit Mertajam is the biggest so far and can sport an outstanding quality field of participants on the 100 miles and 100k races. As such, this event can again have major implications for the championship, as it did last year when Manolito Divina and Tahira Najmunisaa laid the foundation here for their respective ATM champion titles. Organiser Seow Kong Ng, himself a relished ultra runner since many years, is delighted to see his event grow so well and attracting some of the best runners in Asia. Because make no mistake, despite the relatively modest elevation gain, Penang Eco is a hard one with most of the venom in the tail. The 100 miles, especially, is basically flattish for 100k (!), before it becomes quite hilly and technical for the last 60 km, which makes this race quite unique. You need to be a solid runner, and keep enough fuel in the tank to survive the hills at the end. 

When looking at the start list of the longest race distance, the podium favourites are plenty, but a few known names stick out: current ATM championship points leader Arief Wismoyono, his Indonesian compatriots Abdul Aziz Dermawan, Hendra Siswanto and Alan Maulana, Yim Heng Fatt from Malaysia, and Hong Kong's Isaac Yuen Wan Ho. We can expect an intriguing battle between these runners for the 575 points that are up for grabs in this 100 miles race, more points than in any other race on the ATM calendar. Wismoyono has prepared himself with focus on this weekend. The Bandung Explorer ace already scored a race win at Coast To Coast Night Trail this season, along with a third place in Sungai Menyala and fourth in Tahura Trail. However, these were all relatively short races. Can he keep his momentum over 100 miles in the same way that Isaac Yuen Wan Ho has proven he can. The sympathetic Hong Kong runner is a true 100 miler, winning HK 168 last year and always moving up the leaderboard the longer a race lasts. Isaac was second in Beach Bunch Trail Challenge 100 this season, and just like Wismoyono has ambition for the ATM championship. Also Hendra Siswanto is already doing his third race of the ATM season. Currently ranked 9th in the championship, he can move up a few places this weekend. Ultron runner Yim Heng Fatt is even entering his fourth race already and can find himself in second place in the ranking after Penang Eco, or even in first should Wismoyono fail to reach the finish. Maulana - 9th in Tahura Trail - and Aziz Dermawan are set to get their ATM campaign really going this weekend. Watch out for the latter - as he might as well steal the spotlights away from the others! Henry Yang from Singapore is another dark horse. Yang is in Penang to get revenge. He was running in second place last year, until a fall in the late stages of the race forced him to retire with an injury. 

The women's 100 miles also sees the participation of 6 runners, who should all be applauded for their bravery. The cut off time of 40 hours is very tight, as was proven last year by Tahira Najmunisaa, who finished in 38 hours. We can expect a contest between Ruth Theresia from Indonesia and Sabah's Adelinah Lintanga. Theresia normally has the edge in terms of speed, but Lintanga loves this race and won the Penang Eco 100 k race last year in impressive style. It is unchartered territory for both, as it will be their first 100 miler. Currently ranked third and seventh, both runners can make a good move in the women's championship ranking, but they cannot catch championship leader Cheryl Bihag, who has already done five races this season. The other starters are Lily Suryani, Mila Marlina, Christine Loh and Siti Hailwa Marjunit. 

The 100 km race distance also has a comprehensive list of potential winners and podium candidates. Steven Soonseng Ong is arguably the home favourite and very much in shape this season. Ranked fifth in the current ATM ranking, Ong was of course the joint winner of UTKC in Thailand and second at Sungai Menyala. At Penang Eco, he will have to try and cope with the pure running speed of Brunei's Sefli Ahar, the dominator of the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge in the past two years. A former winner of the Hong Kong half marathon, Sefli Ahar has developed an appetite for trail running. What he owns in speed, he lacks in technical trail experience. And that is what Steven Ong and other contenders may need to count on this weekend. 

It is great to see Eni Rosita back in action this year and that is an understatement. Victim of an incomprehensible acid attack last October that required multiple skin surgeries on both her legs, the Indonesian runner has not only returned, she has already found back her quick pace of before, illustrated by podium places and victories in local trail and ultra road races. This weekend in Malaysia, she enters the Asia Trail Master series on the 100k. Given her pedigree, Rosita starts clearly as a podium candidate, and will likely have to deal with her compatriot Shindy Patricia and Australia's Kim Matthews for the victory. Both runners also know how to win races. Other known runners with podium chances are Siawhua Lim (MAS), Montha Sunthornwit (THA) and Jocelyn Cheung (HKG). 

While the 100 miles offers extra bonus points for finishers, you of course need to finish first to score any points. The 100k may therefore turn out to be a smart tactical move by some with a view to the ATM championship. 

As usual, we will be reporting live from the race via our social media channels.  

Isaac Yuen Wan Ho 

Ruth Theresia

Sefli Ahar

Yim Heng Fatt

At the end of another month, the official race registrations for two hot Asia Trail Master points races are coming to a close. First of all, the Malaysia SuperTrail race, Penang Eco 100, and also the unique Mt Apo Sky Race in Mindanao, Philippines. 

Both events are trail events pur sang. Penang Eco 100 features 100 miles, 100k and 50k races and 30k races and is for the second consecutive year credited with the Asia Trail Master SuperTrail label, which means all finishers on the 100 miles and 100k races get 50 bonus points for the points championship. 100 mile finishers even get an additional 25 as of this year.  However, remember the amount of performance points on both 100 miles and 100k is the same: 400 for the winners, which is a significant difference compared to last year, following feedback from multi-race participants. Several top contenders for the ATM championship have already signed up, underlining the importance of SuperTrails and its bonus points. 

Of course, the 100 miles and 100 k are also qualifiers for the Grandmaster Quest.  Please note that the cut off for the 100 miles is tight to very tight, while the 100k is slightly looser. 

Registration ends on Friday, 31 March. Click here to go directly to the reg page. More info on the event here. 

Two weeks earlier, a very special event takes place on Mount Apo, the highest mountain in the Philippines at just below 3000m above sea level. The Mount Apo Sky Race is a technical 70 km virtually out-and-back race that is unique as the mountain park is currently closed for regular tourism. If you want to visit this pristine environment, you need to do this race! Total elevation gain is 4000 hm and the cut off is 22 hours. Less ambitious runners can also opt for 35k, but please note that no ATM points are awarded on that shorter distance. 

The 70 km is also a qualifier for the Grandmaster Quest, and rumour has it that Grandmaster Aleksis Capili will be aiming to score his 10th point at Mount Apo, which translates in a Grandmaster Shield featuring 2 stars! 

Registration ends on Friday, 31 march. You can sign up directly here. More event info is here. 

The Philippines' Manolito Divina was a true class of his own in the Malaysia SuperTrail race in and around Bukit Mertajam last weekend. Divina even quickly left other established runners like Jan Nilsen far behind and took victory in less than 30 hours over the 100 miles race distance. After his joint-second place - with Nilsen - at UTHK earlier this year, Divina is now the new points leader in the 2016 Asia Trail Master championship at the expense of Hong Kong's Yuen Wan Ho. Also in the women's race, a clear winner emerged from the rainforest: Tahira Najmunisaa was in fact the only woman to finish the longest distance race, which was characterised by extreme heat, humidity and rainfall - even for Malaysian standards. After winning in Brunei's Beach Bunch Trail Challenge, Tahira also moved into the points lead of the Asia Trail Master championship with her second victory of the season - and her third ATM race title of her still young career (Tahira also won the Bromo Tengger Semeru 100k Ultra in Indonesia last year). 

Manolito Divina: simple hydration was very important in Malaysia last weekend

Podium of the men's 100 miles race

There was another great racer and winner last weekend: Aleksis Capili, also from the Philippines but residing in Thailand, became the first ever Asia Trail Grandmaster. And, wow, did he complete his Quest in style: second place in the 100 miles race behind Divina, his best race result to date in an Asia Trail Master event! Capili has thus completed six races of 70km or more within two calendar years. Starting with Borneo TMBT last year in August, he followed up with the Vietnam Mountain Marathon, CM 50 in Philippines, Bromo Tengger Semeru Ultra in Indonesia, UTHK in Hong Kong, and now Malaysia Eco 100. As a Grandmaster he will receive his first badge of honour including 1 star, enter the Hall of Fame, and receive a host of other prizes. Now Capili has reached the all important first level, he can add stars to his badge in the next months without any time pressure.  A second star follows after completing another four ultra distances. 

Capili is a superb example of the tough ultrarunner who somehow always makes his way to the finish. Arguably not the fastest of all in the field, his resilience, stamina and body never seem to let him down when others on occasion take a fall or suffer an injury. Jan Nilsen, for instance, is a protagonist wherever he starts and the Norwegian has been in excellent form lately as well. However, Nilsen is blister-prone, and after 100km and with a quasi guaranteed podium place in sight, he had to retire from the race just like he was forced to in the Bromo race last November. Nilsen was disappointed, but his feet tend to recover quickly and he'll be back strongly again soon. Divina was then already two hours ahead by himself, and Singapore's Henry Yang became his closest chaser. Unfortunately, Yang slipped on a wet rock at nighttime and hurt himself in the process. After taking medical care at the next refreshment station - which were all well-prepared - Yang gave it another go to try and finish the race, but to no avail. And so Capili moved up to second place, and Malaysia's own Abdul Rahman - husband of Tahira Najmunisaa - suddenly had a podium finish in his grasp in his debut race over an ultra distance! Rahman, a navy seal, ran with his wife for most of the race, but then wanted to secure third place and so he did. The next runner to reach the finish was Thean Sin Bong, who was slightly ahead of Tahira.

Only 8 starters on the 100 miles reached the finish out of more than 40 starters. Malaysia Eco 100 did not have excessive numbers of elevation ( approx 4500 hm ) , but it was obviously more than hard enough. The DNF quota on the 100km race distance was also very high with just 24 finishers  out of roughly one hundred.

The next points scoring race in Malaysia will be the Magnificent Merapoh Trail at the end of July.

Abdul Rahman and Tahira Najmunisaa both are part of the Running Project Team

The finishers of the 100 miles race:

1. Manolito Divina (PHI) in 29:47:08

2. Aleksis Capili (PHI) 34:41:14

3. Abdul Rahman Abu Hassan (MAS) 36:08:04

4. Thean Sin Bong (MAS) 37:16:35

5. Tahira Najmunisaa (MAS) 37:17:49 - winner female

6. Kian Philip Yong Yeo (MAS) 38:34:17

7. Meng Piow Low (MAS) 38:49:26

8. Chin Tat Lim (MAS) 39:16:24

100 km - Winner - Men

1. Alan Toh (MAS) 23:27:20

100km - Winner - Women

1. Adelinah Lintanga (MAS) 

Aleksis Capili is the first Asia Trail Grandmaster