With regret we need to announce that the new-style Luang Prabang Ultra Trail in Laos has been moved to 2023 as a consequence of ongoing covid-19 mitigation measures in the country. Concretely, access to the UNESCO World Heritage town remains restricted so holding a mass participation sports event is not yet feasible. Luang Prabang Ultra Trail was scheduled for the weekend of 24/25 September. The news, provided by event organiser Green Step, serves as a reminder that - unfortunately - we are all not out of the woods yet. Nevertheless, Green Step emphasises that their traditional trail running event in the country’s south, Vang Vieng Trail (aka V Trail) is confirmed to take place on the weekend of 12/13 November. International access to that event is via Laos’ capital Vientiane. V Trail is one of the tougher jungle mountain races on our calendar with Salva Rambla and Alessandro Sherpa sharing the victory in 2018 and Milton Amat dominating in 2019.
We are delighted to announce that both Luang Prabang Ultra Trail and V Trail in Laos have been confirmed as points races on the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship series calendar. Both events return after a two-year break due to the covid crisis, and are receiving a fresh look as illustrated by the new event logos.
Vang Vieng’s 85km long V Trail has already obtained a reputation on the ATM circuit as being one of the toughest races around, and was the original Laotian trail event on the calendar. In 2019, Milton Amat - the Sabahan jungle mountain runner par-excellence - required 15 hours and 40 minutes to complete the course. A year earlier, Alessandro Sherpa and Salva Rambla even needed over 17 hours for the 85k distance! The event retains its November slot on the calendar, and more precisely the weekend of 12/13 November.
Green Step, the team that organises V Trail, is adding more mass participation events to its company portfolio and Luang Prabang Ultra Trail is the second major trail event that will feature in ATM this season. This event, scheduled for 24/25 September, will offer runners a choice between 100 km and 50 km (but Grandmaster Quest challengers should of course focus on the 100k only). Luang Prabang, a city in north central Laos and former capital, is also a major tourist attaction due to the UNESO World Heritage label it holds since 1995.
More details and registration for both events will be coming soon.
Women’s podium of 2019 with winner Montha Suntornwit (left), and 2nd placed Rhea Batac (right)
The inaugural trail running event in Laos is already entering it’s third edition this season on 21/22 November. The V Trail in Vang Vieng, in the south of the country, has quickly established a reputation for being one of the most technical and adventurous trail races on our Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. The 85 km long main points race has about 5100 metres of elevation gain through often thick mountain jungle. The 2020 recipe remains unchanged after an initial plan by organisers Green Step/Teelakow to boost the distance to 100k was shelved for another year. Sharp observers will of course have noticed that the event is now scheduled two weeks later than usual.
Vang Vieng is a small town north of Vientiane, sitting alone the banks of the Nam Song River. It's surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves. Previously known for its controversial backpacker party culture, the local government a few years ago decided to improve the reputation of the town and has gambled all-in on developing ecologically-friendly adventure travel. The V Trail event is part of that plan.
The online registration for the event is open now. Asia Trail Master point-seekers need to focus on the 85 km race. Less ambitious runners can also opt for one of the shorter distances.
V Trail 2020 teaser video
The second edition of the V Trail in Vang Vien, Laos, saw the sudden appearance of three main protagonists in the Asia Trail Master Championship. Both Milton Amat and Koi Grey in the men’s, and Montha Suntornwit in the women’s, saw a great opportunity to boost their championship ambitions and took part in this very technical 85 km long race. Sabah’s Uglow Running Project runner Milton Amat and Thailand’s Siangpure runner Montha Suntornwit maximised on it by winning, while Filipino Koi Grey suffered an unfortunate DNF after km 60 due to serious digestive issues. In terms of the ATM Championship, it means Milton scores an extra 50 points and keeps his title-winning chances open. Montha moves up to fifth place in the women’s with this win - her fifth result of the 2019 season. Koi Grey stays fifth and will be competing in Taiping on 14 December to keep that Top 5 spot.
Second place in the men’s race went to Thailand’s Teerawat Kanjanasuttiyakorn, who last month became 10th in the Ultimate 230 in Chiang Rai and earlier in the year scored 4th in Ultra Trail Luang Prabang. Local Lao runner Duangpeng completed the podium. In the women’s Rhea Batac from Philippines took second.
Koi Grey was running in second place when he had to retire with serious digestion problems
All smiles: Montha Suntornwit from Thailand scores a solid race victory in Laos
The 2nd edition of V Trail in Vang Vien, southern Laos, promises to be a hotly contested race for some of the final Asia Trail Master Championship points on offer this season. Top contenders Milton Amat from Sabah and Koi Grey from Philippines will be attempting to boost their total points tally even a bit more before the final day in Taiping, Malaysia on 14 December.
Milton Amat is currently third in the Championship ranking with quite some margin still to improve on points. The Malaysian starts as the favourite in V Trail, given his credentials in the most technical of trail races in South-East Asia. The 85 km should suit him as much as Koi Grey, another technical runner who this year has shown great consistency in his running. Grey is 5th in the Championship ranking and could leapfrog Tomohiro Mizukoshi once again as the gap is only 26 points. Amat and Grey will get competition from Michael McLean - never to be underestimated - and a list of Thai and local runners.
Connectivity-permitting, we will be updating regularly about the action in Laos on Saturday.
Milton Amat is the dangerman in the ATM Championship for Ellis and Kitamura
Koi Grey is a solid fifth in the ATM Championship and keen on doing even better than that
Lots of Grandmasters and runners still on the Quest for their first star in Luang Prabang this weekend for the inaugural edition of the Ultra Trail. The new event follows V-Trail as the second major international trail race in Laos, and given its location has everything to become a cracker in the future. Organising company Teelakow from Thailand in any case has big plans for the development of trail running in Laos.
Luang Prabang is quite a popular backpacker destination already in South East Asia, thanks to its UNESCO World Heritage status. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Laos until 1975, when political developments moved that title to Vientiane further south. The city actually consists of several villages linked together and has been preserved remarkably well.
Sports is still in its infancy in Laos, in particular the leisure and mass participation industry. By means of UTLP, V Trail and more races already planned for 2020, organisers aim to develop a healthy lifestyle among its citizens as well as open up the country even more to the outside world. In V Trail last year, we already had a strong Lao runner finishing not far behind Alessandro Sherpa and Salva Rambla. Let’s see who emerges this weekend!
On the start list of the 96 km - the distance that matters for the ATM Championship - we find of course current female championship leader Carrie-Jane Stander, who continues her busy schedule at the beginning of the season. UTLP will already be her fourth race, and given her consistency and solid pace over longer distances she is definitely a podium candidate as well. The Canadian in any case looks set to open up a nice points gap to her nearest competitors in the championship, which means she might stay in the leading position for quite some time with ramadan and a more quiet period from late April to mid June approaching!
Another podium candidate for the women’s race in Laos this weekend is Thailand’s Montha Suntornwit - winner of Ultra Trail Chiang Rai 230 last October - and her compatriot Natthanan Matthanang.
In the men’s, we will be looking at the announced return of Japan’s Wataru Iino. Iino was a familiar face in Thailand in 2017, when he finished on the podium of UTKC and UT Panoramic. His regular work schedule did not allow him to compete much in Asia last season, but he re-emerged on the ATM scene at Izu Trail Journey in his native Japan. This weekend he should be the top favourite, even though Iino has struggled with hotter temperatures before. Two of his main competitors will be the rejuvenated Michael McLean and Sukrit Kaewyoun, who both ran an excellent Dalat Ultra Trail a fortnight ago. Grandmasters Ohm Malaihom and Masafumi Yamamoto are on the start list, too. Both of them also ran and completed the Vietnam SuperTrail, and Yamamoto even claimed his 2nd Grandmaster star in that race! Britain’s Stephen Wiseman is on the verge of achieving his Grandmaster Quest as well this weekend.
Stay tuned for updates from Luang Prabang during the weekend.
Wataru Iino is set to return to the ATM scene in Ultra Trail Luang Prabang
Masafumi Yamamoto is now a 2-star Grandmaster and starts chasing his 3rd star immediately in Laos now
The first Thai Grandmaster: Ohm Malaihom will be in Luang Prabang for his 9th ATM race of 70+ km
Montha Suntornwit was the big winner of the Ultimate 230 in Chiang Rai last October
This weekend it is finally happening: the first major international trail running event in Laos! The V Trail in Vang Vien is organised by the established crew of Teelakow in Thailand and is the first event of a scheduled four in 2019. The V Trail offers a very selective and technical course on most distances, not in the least the 85k ultra.
As this is a new sport in a new destination, most of the runners come from outside Laos. Quite impressive therefore that the start list features almost 800 names! Among them is also Asia Trail Master Championship leader Alessandro Sherpa. The Italian returns four weeks after struggling to a place of honour in the Plataran X Trail Bali with injury. Last week, Tomohiro Mizukoshi failed to hop ahead of him in the standings at Fifty Mapawa, but Sherpa is certainly hot home yet. The men’s championship remains open with several candidates remaining for the title. In fact, due to his many SuperTrail performances this season, Sabah’s Milton Amat is in a very strong position, although he still needs to deliver one big result this season to grab his option on the championship title.
At V Trail, Sherpa will be facing competition from amongst others Salva Rambla and Michael McLean. The former had a string of podium finishes in Indonesia before a DNF due to overheating at UT Chiang Rai 2 weeks ago. The Spaniard is keen to set that straight in Laos, although on paper the course might not be as suitable for him. McLean on the other hand does well on technical trails and has something to make up after a rather unexpected early DNF at UTCR 230. Also Thailand’s Wasin Mangkholmalee is a podium candidate this weekend, after finishing fifth in that same 230 km Ultra Trail Chiang Rai race.
In the women’s, we may have a Malaysian top favourite in Siokhar Lim, who was, amongst other results, second in Penang Eco 100 last May. Lim is also ranked 9th in the current ATM championship and can move into the top five if she delivers a good performance in Laos.
The first edition of the V Trail in Laos will open registration next week on 1 May. The event is the first major trail event in the country and technically organised by the teelakow team from Thailand that also brings you UT Koh Chang and UT Chiang Rai to name just two. The race courses for V Trail are now also 100% confirmed and it was decided to have a 85 km course as main race, and a 52 km as middle race. Shorter distances are also available, but the two longest matter for the Asia Trail Master Championship.
Laos is a new destination on the trail map and of course will be characterised by jungle and mountains, and lots of technical single trail. The 85 km features nearly 5200 hm, but in the fine teelakow tradition you get 30 hours for that - which is still no walk in the park given the terrain, though. Runners should be prepared for a tough technical race in hot conditions.
Participants can best get to the event via the international airport in Vientiane. From there it's a bus drive north to Vang Vien.
Below are the profile maps for the 85 km and 52 km.
Registration will be open via www.teelakow.com
Pencil in now: V-TRAIL in LAOS! We are happy to announce a brand new entry in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship, as well as a new destination: V-Trail will be taking place in Vang Vien, north of Vientiane, in Laos on the weekend of 3/4 November 2018!
On the programme will be a 100K and a 60K with 4500 hm and 2400 Hm respectively. V-Trail will be run almost entirely on natural trails and will be a true adventure for all participants. Effectively, this will be the first high-profile trail race in Laos. The technical organisation is in the hands of Thai company Teelakow, known for several other ATM points races such as UTKC in February.
Registration for the V-Trail will open soon.