Last weekend two ATM Candidate Races took place in Indonesia and Malaysia. The Malaysian Transnaning Ultra Challenge, directed by 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong, turned out to be an extremely tough effort for even the most experienced and toughened ultra trail runners. That was expected, too, of course, and it was no real surprise that the two winners of the “Legend” five-loop race - 100 miles+ with almost 12000 hm - were Wilsen Singgin and Siokhar Lim. Singgin already had credentials for this type of challenge, having won the Ultimate 230 of Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in 2019. Siokhar Lim was 5th in the ATM Championship and is a Grandmaster who showed numerous times already that she will be there up front when things get really tough. The cut-off time of the Legend Race was 60 hours. Wilsen needed just under 50, and was over four hours ahead of Chin Han Keong and six-and-a-half ahead of Oh Jin Heng. Siokhar Lim timed her effort so as to finish within the cut off in 59 hours and 37 minutes. The other two finishers were Maihazan Nurafendy and Yuen Loong Ho. Milton Amat won the 4-loop race, Ahmad Tanjong the 3-loops, Mohammad Syahmim Nazmy the 2-loops together with Seiji Morofuji and Wai Kit Wong was quickest on the single loop. Sanisah Bujang was fastest female over 34km, Ellie Pang Hui Yi over 2 loops, Leumathong Siriporn over 3.

Over in Bali, many of the top runners were present around Mt Batur in Kintamani for the Candidate Race Bali Ultra Trail, which had been planned since 2019 but never happened until last weekend due to the corona crisis. On the programme 80k and 50k as the main race categories, with also a surprisingly competitive 25k and 10k. Overall, BUT also proved to be tougher than expected, with more technicality than the BTR Challenge last May.

The 80K race was won by “good old” 2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono, who once again proved to be back at his best level. Initially, he was dropped by Lombok’s Abdul Salem and Sulawesi’s Rachmat. Two very fast runners who have made name for themselves on the domestic Indonesian scene. Wismoyono knew, however, that his favourite terrain - Mt Batur - would come at the end and he was able to stay within ten minutes of the lead duo. Rachmat Septiyanto once again had to settle for a fourth place just off the podium, as he was ‘best of the rest’. Wismoyono actually still made it look easy in the last part of the race and finished with an ample bonus of 45 minutes over Salem and 1h15’ over Rachmat. With this kind of form, Wismoyono will be top contender to regain the Asia Trail Master Champion’s title on Mount Apo in Philippines on 17 December.

On the 50k we also had a very strong quartet competing for the podium. Initially they were even five, but Alan Maulana oncemore suffered from stomach cramps and pulled out over halfway distance. Up front, the twin brothers Sobari and Sobiri battled with their fellow-Bandung runner Taofik Hidayat and Riyadi Slamet. The latter was quickest before the first climb, Mt Abang. Later, Sobari looked like the strongest of them all, having opened up a gap of over 15 minutes to Hidayat with just 5k to go. But Sobari suffered from a heatstroke and dehydration on a sunny hot day in Kintamani and struggled his way to Resto Apung and the finish. He made it by only two minutes. Hidayat second, Sobiri third and Riyadi fourth.

Shindy Patricia added another victory to her ever-growing collection in the women’s 50k race. At the first aid station it looked like she could get some serious competition from Singapore’s Hu Xiaoqin, but this year Shindy has been performing really well in the mountains and in the end she was able to cruise home. Hu Xiaoqin took second. Thimo Kilberth took a nice and sold win on the 25K, which also included a double ascent of Batur. Kilberth chose to run the shorter 25k in preparation for Jember Hills Classic in a fortnight, a race where he could already secure himself a place in Team Indonesia for the ATM Championship Final in December.

Sabah’s Wilsen Singgin showed his remarkable endurance talent again at Transnaning Ultra Challenge

Shindy Patricia runs a lot, but also keeps on winning on the domestic Indonesian scene

Sobari Herdiana won the 50k race in Bali

Arief Wismoyono was again unstoppable and won the 80k very convincingly

Taofik Hidayat came close to Sobari Herdiana, but settled for 2nd place

Hu Xiaoqin, yet another Chinese SIngaporean coming to the fore in the women’s races recently

The second ATM Candidate Race of the weekend takes place in Bali, Indonesia. It’s the Bali Ultra Trail, an inaugural event originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but then postponed until now due to covid. The event mimicks somewhat the BTR Challenge from earlier in the year with a loop on and around the popular volcano Gunung Batur, but extends it with an out-and-back to the beach in North Bali to produce an ultra distance of 80km. The event, directed by ATM Grandmaster Dendi Dwitiandi, has been able to attract several of Indonesia’s star trail runners, such as Arief Wismoyono, Taofik Hidayat, Thimo Kilberth and Shindy Patricia. These are all spread out over 3 categories, however, with Thimo and Pablo Diago Gonzales, for example, opting for the 25K race on Sunday morning. On the longest 80k, Wismoyono is the top favourite, but there’s also Fandhi Achmad, Dzaki Wardana and Rachmat Septiyanto. On the 50K, all eyes will be on Hidayat, but there’s also Alan Maulana and a lot of unknown runners who could cause a surprise. Shindy will be the woman-to-beat, but there’s also Sianti Candra on the start list. Ruth Theresia features on it as well, but has reportedly decided to save her energy for the ATM Championship points race Jember Hills Classic in two weeks from now.

One month after winning Mantra Summits, Arief Wismoyono is again the top favourite in Bali Ultra Trail

You can now watch Asia Trail Master’s Tale of the Trail, the Race Recap of last weekend’s Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. The video in HD is available on our YouTube channel, Facebook Page or just here embedded below. Enjoy.

Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang, East Java, once more confirmed its reputation as the toughest event on the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. Heavy rainfall on Saturday night plagued runners even more and turned the 116k and 75k marquee races across Mount Welirang, Arjuno and Mahapena into a brutal adventure resulting in a long list of DNFs. Up front, however, we saw some fantastic performances, too. The Vietnamese duo of Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu - in their first race in Indonesia - controlled the 116k race together from the ascent of Arjuno (3300m) onwards, even though Yusuf Aprian was keeping them wide awake throughout the night. On the 75k race, 2015 Asia Trail Master Champion Arief Wismoyono showed incredible speed reminiscent of his most successful years and at the mature age of 38 is clearly back at his best level.

After the start at Kaliandra Eco Resort at 5am, participants on the 116k immediately had to climb up Gunung Welirang with the summit above 3000m altitude. It was the surprising Hadi Mustofa who reached the summit first in 2h59’23”, followed by Yusuf Aprian and Rachmat Septiyanto. Quang Tran, Nguyen Si Hieu and Fuminoro Kondo were not far behind. Local dark horse Fauzi Imdadur unfortunately sprained his ankle and decided to quit the race after Welirang already. Also the Jakarta-based Japanese runner Kondo was compelled to slow down, having entered the race with a swollen foot already. Vietnam’s Trung Nguyen was going to play the long game, but the rain on Saturday night turned his Mahapena ascent and descent into a nightmare and he never managed to feature among the frontrunners. His countrymen Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu on the other hand shifted to a higher gear on the alternative climb up Welirang and onto the highest summit of Arjuno. It’s essentially where they won the race. At the summit, they had nearly 30 minutes on Yusuf Aprian and an hour on Hadi Mustofa and Rachmat Septiyanto. Still, their victory was not yet in the bag because Bandung’s Yusuf Aprian, winner of the 75k in 2019 and the 55k in 2018, was not letting them get away any further and was matching their running pace for the next several hours. On Mahapena at night, Aprian made a brave and big effort to try and catch the Vietnamese. Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu saw that while leaving the checkpoint at the summit and going back down Mahapena (it’s an out-and-back section). Their acceleration ended the hopes of Yusuf Aprian to take the victory. Just after sunrise on Sunday morning, the duo arrived back at Kaliandra Resort and crossed the finish line together. When Heru Prabowo, event director, asked them who had earned the ‘gold medal’ most, Nguyen Si Hieu insisted that Quang Tran did. Their finishing time of approx 25 hours is very impressive, yet Sabah’s Milton Amat was one-and-a-half hours quicker in 2019. Nguyen Si Hieu collects another 450 ATM Championship points to add to his 425 from Dalat in March: he is the new points leader in Vietnam. Yusuf Aprian took third place about an hour later, a great and robust run by the runner from La Sportiva Indonesia. Rachmat Septiyanto took fourth. Grandmaster and local hero Shindy Patricia was the only woman on the 116k this year, so all she had to do was finish the race to take the win and the ATM Championship points that come with it. Shindy did that in style and certainly did not hold herself back. She returned to the resort in just over 31 hours.

The 75k race essentially saw the return of Arief Wismoyono to peak form. The 2015 ATM Champion, now age 38, stormed to victory as he boomed down Welirang and Arjuno with incredible speed and skill. Nobody could or dared to follow him. Only Taofik Hidayat, also from Bandung, was able to limit the gap somewhat by checking in 30 minutes behind Wismoyono at Wenerejo before going up Mahapena. However, the leader was on a mission to make a big performance statement and was just flying on the last of the three major ascents of this race. Hidayat was able to retain his second place and steadily increase the gap to the rest of the podium candidates led by Thimo Kilberth, Nhon Trong, Pablo Diago Gonzales and Hammam Aulia. The Mahapena climb proved too much for Nhon Trong, first at Welirang summit earlier in the race. The fast Vietnamese runner had made quite a few tumbles in the descents and with his poles broken as well felt the energy was leaving his body. Halfway up Mahapena, he took a scooter back down. No extra points for the ATM ranking after his second spot in Dalat last March. Surprisingly, Mahapena was also the end station for Pablo Diago Gonzales, 3rd in 2017, 2nd in 2018. The Singapore-based Spaniard did not have an ideal preparation this season, and the 75k of Mantra turned out to be still a bridge too far. As he was struggling while coming back down from the summit to the Wenerejo checkpoint Pablo decided to DNF. Despite the strong effort of new name Hammam Aulia, Bali-based German Thimo Kilberth was quite safe and collected his second ATM third-place podium finish of the season after BTR Challenge in May. Visibly marked by his effort, Thimo was happy to strengthen his position as leader in the ATM Championship ranking in Indonesia.

The women’s 75k race was won by Siti Nairuni, who led the majority of the race. Sianti Candra and the highly experienced Novita Wulandari were keeping some pressure on, and Candra actually managed to come closer to Nairuni in the late stages of the race. Great to see two new Indonesian names on the podium.

Only 17 finishers on the 75k from 75 starters showed how tough the day had been. The finisher rate was higher on the 116k, with 23 out of 46. 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia continued her comeback to peak form by winning the non-ATM 55k race category on Sunday.

Lots of multimedia material is available on our Instagram and Facebook channels.

Quang Tran ran his first race in Indonesia

Quang Tran and Nguyen Si Hieu stayed together and cruised to victory on the brutal 116k course

Grandmaster Shindy Patricia was the only woman on the 116k, but was not holding herself back at all

Fantastic scenery above 3000m altitude

The women’s 75k podium with Siti Nuraini in the middle

2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono is clearly back in his best form since years

This weekend arguably the toughest mountain trail race of the Asia Trail Master Championship season takes place in East Java, Indonesia: it’s the 4th edition of Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang with start and finish at the Kaliandra Eco Resort. The two longest race distance categories, the 116k and 75k, are both points races with equal status for the ATM rankings, which naturally implies some of the top runners favour to start one or the other. As it happens, both retain a strong field of competitors - especially in the men’s races.

That is largely due to the important participation of six elite trail runners from Vietnam, indicating once again that the country is becoming a powerhouse on Asia’s trail scene. Leading the pack is Quang Tran, who has been the benchmark in Vietnam since the advent of competitive trail running over there. He is tackling the 116k and its gruelling 8500m of elevation gain. If you wonder just how tough and technical this 116k race is, just look at the finishing times of the 2019 edition - the last one before covid. Milton Amat won it by nearly four hours (!) over… Hisashi Kitamura in 23 hours and 23 minutes. It sounds like it is 200 km, but it is really “just” 116 kilometres.

Let’s hope for their sake that the Vietnamese runners, and the other internationals and Indonesians of course, know what awaits them. Perhaps the videos of previous race winners that we have been posting all week on our social media channels may give them some inspiration, or indeed, warning.

Former winner of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon in Sapa, Quang Tran will be flanked by his compatriots Dang Hieu Nguyen and his, perhaps, better-known brother Trung, Van Da Bui and Hieu Nguyen Si - this year already third in Dalat Ultra Trail. They will compete against some of the most reputed Indonesian trail runners such as 2019 winner on the 75K and 2018 winner on the 55k, Yusuf Aprian. His teammate at La Sportiva Indonesia, Rachmat Septiyanto finished just outside the podium three years ago and will be looking to make that up - also being more experienced running mountain ultras now. A dangerous veteran of Indonesian trails and former winner of Ijen Trail, Dzaki Wardana, proved he is in very good shape again just about three weeks ago by winning a 70k race against the likes of Thimo Kilberth and Fauzi Imdadur. The latter is also on the start list of the 116k and on this kind of highly technical entreprises for sure a podium candidate. Last but not least, what can Japanese runner Fuminori Kondo do at Mantra? Two Japanese women already won here, can Kondo be the first Japanese man to do so?

Asuka Nakajima won the women’s 116k race in 2019, the year she ended being third in the Asia Trail Master Championship. Nakajima will be succeeded by Shindy Patricia… if the local hero manages to finish, of course. Shindy is the only woman on the start list this year. Another sign of the trend that sees trail runners prefer shorter distances nowadays? In 2019 we still had Nakajima, Siokhar Lim and Surabaya’s Sri Wahyuni on a complete women’s podium. For the in-form Shindy Patricia, it is therefore just about finishing this weekend and collect not only the victory, but also the 500 ATM Championship points that will already bring her a good way forward towards being part of Team Indonesia in this year’s ATM Championship Final on 17 December.

Over to the 75k race, where we will find another Vietnamese top runner, Nhon Trong. Nhon Trong was second in Dalat Ultra Trail last March and has continued to be active since. A smart runner with regional trail experience, Nhon Trong could be the most dangerous favourite for the race victory given his fast running pace. He will be joined by his compatriot Duc Pham. They will be up against Singapore-based Spaniard Pablo Diago Gonzales, a regular at Mantra. On the podium twice but never as winner, and a DNF in 2019. Pablo Diago Gonzales plays down his chances, but he has seen the scenery of Mt Welirang and Arjuno already… It’s a brutal course, even the 75k, and when Pablo feels good they will need to pass him to win. There’s plenty of strong Indonesian runners as well. 2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono is going well this season and long and high mountain climbs are his territory. Also from Bandung is Taofik Hidayat. Still relatively unknown outside Indonesia, but locally he has turned into a ‘one-to-beat’. Alan Maulana is a quick runner, always capable of a surprise. Thimo Kilberth, German but living in Bali for a long time already, has been prepping for this race and could be the dark horse. Kilberth is fast on the flat, but has improved a lot in the long mountains and … the 3000m altitude temperatures will probably please him more than most of the other podium candidates. Kilberth was third in Batur Trail Running Challenge in May already this Championship season.

Furtunately, there’s quite a few women on the start list of the 75k. There does not seem to be an outspoken favourite, but Novita Wulandari is a name of a very experienced trail runner always good for a podium. Singapore-based Malaysian Nicole Ng is another candidate. As always in trail running, maybe we will be surprised to see a new face emerging as well this weekend.

Asia Trail Master is in Malang and will be providing live race coverage as usual via our ATM social media pages on facebook and instagram in particular. The 116k race starts on Saturday morning at 5 am local time, the 75k runners are let go one hour afterwards.

Will Vietnam’s trail hero Quang Tran beat the local Indonesian armada this weekend?

Third in 2017, second in 2018, DNF in 2019. Pablo Diago Gonzales probably has a goal this season

Thimo Kilberth: highly motivated for a stellar performance this weekend

Taofik Hidayat: could this be his weekend to step out of the shadow of Arief Wismoyono in ATM?

Nhon Trong will be trying to score his first ATM race victory on the 75k this weekend

Not a crew member this year! Local hero Shindy Patricia is the only female starter on the 116k this weekend

This weekend’s Bukit Lawang Jungle Trail Run marks the first ever ATM-labeled event in Sumatra. A new destination for Indonesian and regional trail runners and we are looking forward to how the Candidate Race will unfold. On the programme is a 42k main race in which the bite comes at the end. Less ambitious and beginning runners will attempt the 24k or 11k races. Bukit Lawang Jungle Run largely follows the concept of Tahura Trail in Bandung and thus we will have a sunrise time start tomorrow.

The race venue is approx 3 hours from Medan, capital city of North Sumatra and also features the Gunung Leuser National Park, one of the richest rainforests in Southeast Asia. It is home of the Sumatran Orang Utan and a wide range of other animals. The race profile shows little dents and even goes slightly downhill until two peaks - the bukits - that need to be conquered in the last 15 km of the 42k race.

Some strong runners will take the start, including 2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono and Bali-based Thimo Kilberth, who scored a third place at the Batur Trail Challenge just a fortnight ago. But it will also be interesting to see how some of the local trail runners fare in their home race.

ATM will be at the race venue and reporting live on Saturday morning.

Arief Wismoyono returns to the ATM scene this weekend at the Candidate Race in North Sumatra

Mohamed Affindi and Vanja Cnops were the great winners of the 2nd edition of the Batur Trail Running Challenge in Bali, Indonesia, last Sunday. For Affindi it was the confirmation of his excellent condition already on display at BUTM in March and his second ATM race victory of the still very young new season. For Vanja Cnops it was the confirmation she can be one of the women-to-beat in this year’s battle for the ATM title.

Trail running in Indonesia still has a number of covid-mitigation protocols to follow, such as a quota on the number of runners permitted to take part in the races, but the presence and participation of Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism in Bali was a wonderful token of support for the event organisers Bali Trail Running. The weather around the famous Batur volcano turned out to be fantastic as well on Sunday morning, so the atmosphere at the event was blissful to say the least. BTR Challenge could become a classic on the ATM trail circuit, indeed, and another welcome piece of evidence trail running does not always need to be about ultra long distances and massive elevation gain profiles.

While the big majority of local Indonesian trail stars decided to sit this race out, it was great to see a new Lombok face fastest out of the start blocks at 6 am. Moh Wisnu Haizufi entered the black lava field first after 2 km, and was able to stay ahead of the Singapore Shufflers trio of road stars Darren Southcott, Malachy Kirwan and Vincent Casanova for a few kilometers. Last year’s winner Thimo Kilberth, German but based in Bali for over ten years, Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi and first woman Vanja Cnops - Belgian but living in Singapore - were following a short distance further back. Last year’s female winner Emma Payne, predominantly a Bali-based UK triathlete - was showing grit by trying to keep up with Cnops, who just returned from a bronze medal in the Belgian Championship half marathon (1:15:46!). Haizufi would logically slow down a bit, which brought trail newbie Darren Southcott to the front of the race. The terrain in the lava field and low forest is runable and favours the quick legs in the participation field. A little surprisingly perhaps, or just a great tactical sense, Affindi already switched to a higher gear before the crucial ascent of Mount Batur, in pursuit of Southcott. Malachy Kirwan and Thimo Kilberth were three and four respectively.

Climbing and descending Batur, Southcott managed to keep Affindi some 45 seconds behind him in what was developing into a great dual. Kilberth counted on his wealth of trail experience on Batur to try and make his decisive move during the fast but often technical descent. He caught Kirwan, struggling on his Vaporflys, and put himself into a podium position, but the two leaders had run out of range.

Southcott came out of the lava field first to take on the final 2km long uphill road climb to the finish…. and suddenly ran completely out of fuel. Affindi caught him almost immediately and left the Britain standing as he kept running up that hill as if it was flat! Now age 37, the Malaysian winner of Tahura Trail in Bandung 2018 looked stronger than ever. Initially wondering what happened to Southcott himself, Affindi was delighted with his second ATM race victory of the year as he crossed the finish line in a course record time of 2:53. He is now the overall ATM Championshop points leader with 1000 points in the bag, and may already have nearly secured his spot in Team Malaysia - one of the most competitive - for the ATM Final in December.

A visibly exhausted Southcott held on to second place, which by all means is a big achievement in his first real trail race. Thimo was a happy third in 2:59, three minutes faster than last year. Malachy Kirwan took four, ahead of female winner Vanja Cnops, and Vincent Casanova completed the race in sixth overall - also on totally worn out Vaporflys (a pair he was ‘retiring’ anyway). Emma Payne beat her time of last year by 15 minutes to take second, and Elsa Bardin was another newbie on the podium in third place.

It has been a while since the last points race in our 2022 ATM Championship season given two planned races in April got postponed, but this weekend action returns! In a wonderful arena, no less: Mount Batur in Bali. The Batur Trail Running Challenge is the shortest points race with “just” 30 km, but it’s a spicy one. Runners and podium contenders, especially, will have to dig deep in this one, as the climb up Gunung Batur will test their resilience after a flattish beginning. The downhill is spectacular and fast for the technically-skilled, but coming out of the black lava field is approx 2 kilometres of uphill road to the finish. For runners who have already run out of fuel, those final couple of kilometres will be endless.

The BTR Challenge in Bali is the first Indonesian points race for the 2022 ATM Championship rankings, and will open the points accounts for many people. Unfortunately, several of Indonesia’s better-known pre-pandemic trail runners do not feature on the start list, but that leaves opportunity for new faces. On the other hand, the defending champions of this race return to Batur this Sunday: Bali-based expats Thimo Kilberth (Germany) and Emma Payne (UK) are looking forward to compete against some strong runners from, mainly, SIngapore and Malaysia.

Thimo Kilberth can nearly call Batur his second home. For months he has been training rigorously for Sunday’s race, as his strava account testifies. Looking fitter than ever, Thimo just relishes the challenge. Anyone who wants to win will need to pass him on Sunday morning. There are runners who should be able to keep up with him, at least until the ascent of Gunung Batur. Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi is arguably the most-celebrated runner on the start list, and a proven race winner on this type of trails and medium race distances. Winner of Tahura Trail in Bandung 2018, Affindi also started the 2022 post-pandemic season with a lot of motivation to perform well. Kilberth has the home advantage, but Affindi can be trusted to have the necessary technical skills to follow him in the fast descent of the volcano mountain. If he succeeds, Affindi has a tremendous kick to the finish line, too, as he showed us just two months ago in that incredible sprint finish against Safrey Sumping at BUTM 50k in Sabah (watch the video clip on our ATM facebook page). 37-year-old Affindi already bagged 500 ATM points in that race, and a second strong result this weekend will help him already a long way in securing a spot in Team Malaysia for the ATM Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December.

Kilbert and Affindi will need to look over their shoulders, though, as there’s more contenders for the race victory. The Singapore Shufflers are in Bali, and that includes some super fast road runners. Vincent Casanova (2:34 on the marathon less than two months ago) and Malachy Irwan, for example. They certainly have the speed to compete, but do they have the trail experience and technical skills - especially for that descent of Batur? Will they attack early in the flattish lava fields to gain a time advantage on the likes of Kilbert and Affindi before going up the mountain? It’s one of the big questions that makes Sunday’s competition very intriguing!

The Singapore team also includes Vanja Cnops, winner of MMTF 50 in 2019 and bronze medalist in the Belgian Championships half marathon two months ago in a new PB of 1:15:46 ! It goes without saying that Cnops is therefore the top favourite in the women’s race this weekend. Some even wonder if she can win the race overall. Also predominately a road runner, Cnops has proven already to be just as strong on short and medium distance trails. Let’s see how long Emma Payne - who of course has home advantage - can make Vanja Cnops nervous.

ATM will be reporting live from the event from start to finish via our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram).

The arena this Sunday: Gunung Batur and its immediate surroundings!

2021 men’s winner Thimo Kilberth

2021 women’s winner Emma Payne

2018 Tahura Trail winner Mohamed Affindi: one of the big contenders this Sunday

Vanja Cnops: Singapore-based Belgian bronze medalist on the national half marathon championships a few weeks ago

Brought to you by the team that has been doing Ijen Trail since 2015 is the new Jember Ultra in East Java, which is part of a grand running festival on 20/21 August. The 70 km long trail race will be a points race for the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking, the third Indonesian one this season. Jember is an important university town in East Java, and the surrounding region is characterised by a beautiful beach area and the typical hilly and volcanic scenery when you go further inland. The event, highly supported by local authorities, has big ambitions: alongside the 70km trail race there will also be a road marathon, half marathon and 10k fun run. Something for everybody in other words!

Those familiar with Ijen Trail, which is one of the most runable mountain ultras on our calendar and remains tentatively scheduled for late October, should be aware that Jember Ultra is tougher on paper, offering a great mixture of runable sections with quite seriously techical bits. Total elevation gain does not exceed 2700 hm for the 70km , but gradients are often short and steep. Do not be fooled by the numbers and prepare yourself for a challenging trail.

Details and the confirmed course map and elevation profile will be released in due course following last week’s final route inspection. The start of the race will be in the hills, at the very popular hotel retreat in Rembangan. Runners will also be able to stay there. The finish line will be at the central square in Jember City. The last 4 km of the race will therefore be on tarmac, but the good news is this stretch goes slightly downhill.

The start will be at the Hotel Rembangan in the hills, the finish smack in the city centre of Jember

It is a pleasure for us to announce our first venture onto the huge Indonesian island of Sumatra this coming spring time. The inaugural Bukit Lawang Jungle Trail Run near Medan has just been confirmed as a new ATM Candidate Race, and the event has been scheduled for the weekend of 27/28 May. On the menu we find several race categories, of which the longest is 42 km with approx 1730 hm of elevation gain. The technical organisation is in the hands of Arras Adventure and the event is receiving considerable support from the Ministry of Tourism.

Bukit Lawang is a tourist destination in Bohorok District, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra Province, which is located about 80 km northwest of Medan city. More than 90% of the land cover in Bukit Lawang is still primary forest. It is a tropical forest which is also the natural habitat and roaming area of ​​the Sumatran orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus abelli) , an icon for the tourism industry. In addition, Bukit Lawang has two more primate species, namely the long-tailed monkey (Macaca fascicularis), and the kedih (Prisbytis sp.). Other fauna are hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), stone srigunting (Dicrurus paradiceus), eagle (Haliartus sp). All these rare animals are key for the protection and maintenace of the balance of the forest ecosystem around the Gunung Leuser National Park. This big national park contains one of the highest volcanoes and has some of the most dense tropical rain forest in Indonesia all together. These animals also play an active role in spreading the vegetation in the forest throughout their home range. The forest is accompanied by the melodious flow of the fresh and clear Bahorok rive, a rafting tourist destination. Mount Leuser National Park was awarded an international title as a Biosphere Reserve in 1981, ASEAN Heritage Park in 1984 and a world heritage site, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, in 2004 by UNESCO.

Bukit Lawang and the wider area is adopting the concept of sport tourism, especially as an arena for trail running sports on a national and also international scale. By joining the Asia Trail Master series, local stakeholders also wish to develop young and local running talent, and give them an opportunity to shine and gain media exposure.

The 42k main race promises to be an interesting one with a very runable-looking profile for two-thirds of the course, before two clear hill peaks catch our attention. Managing one’s efforts will be key for those runners looking to score a podium. Less ambitious trail enthusiasts can also opt for shorter race distances: 24km, 11km or 7km.

The nearest airport is Medan City, well-connected within Indonesia and with usually a few international connections as well. From Medan, it is roughly a 3-hour journey by car to Bukit Lawang. There is plenty of accommodation at the race venue, inn and guesthouse-style. Please see the PDF list below for further details on this.

Less than three months ago, the BTR Challenge in Bali was one of the first real events that got organised in South East Asia after the long covid-related break. As a Candidate Race, the organisers of Bali Trail Running proved their skills and professionalism with a short, but solid and covid-safe experience that lay the foundation for more racing plans in 2022. To begin, the November 30k race has been moved forward to 15 May and has been accepted as a points race that counts for the Asia Trail Master Championship!

30 kilometres is obviously not the longest race in ATM’s history, but fans may remember the Japanese event Kushigata Wind Run from our early days. That one hardly reached 30 clicks, but just like the BTR Challenge had enough elevation and technical sections to test everyone’s mettle. The BTR Challenge is all about famous volcano Gunung Batur in the northeast of Bali. The course has 1230 hm and the cut-off time at the finish is six hours and thirty minutes.

Registration is already open and you need to be quick as spots are limited, still due to covid mitigation efforts. Please note that only the 30k provides ATM Championship points, not the 15k that is also on the event programme. Circumstances keep changing, but at present Bali and Indonesia are also making efforts to reduce the level of restrictions imposed on foreign tourists and visitors. Today people who have had a booster shot against covid are required to isolate for 3 days upon arrival in Bali.

Thimo Kilberth and Emma Payne, both residents in Bali, won the inaugural edition in an exciting competition of which you can watch the highlights again here below.

Thimo Kilberth in the descent of Batur and on the way to winning the inaugural edition last November. (Photo credit: darmasusila.dek_piyo)

Thimo Kilberth and Emma Payne are the great winners of the inaugural Batur Trail Challenge in Bali last weekend. Both arrived at the uphill finish line in KIntamani da solo with a clear advantage over their nearest competitors Michio Yoneda and Shindy Patricia, respectively. The new event, organised by Bali Trail Running headed by Ms Indah Immortel, was an ATM Candidate Race for the 2022 Championship series and received widespread praise from a diverse field of participants.

Covid 19 is of course still around us all and the event could only take place with a set of extra regulations and mitigation efforts to be adhered to. These were gladly accepted by the runners, most of whom toed a starting line for the first time in almost two years. That’s a long time without races, and it was no surprise to see several new faces at the front of the Batur Trail Challenge, which offered a 30 km course with the ascent and descent of Mt Batur as central piece. The organiser does have a longer course of about 55-60km already designed for 2022. Last weekend, again partially due to covid restrictions, runners had to make do for 30k. Despite the 1200m of elevation gain, it meant that competitive runners could go flat out from the gun. Having a quick default running pace therefore boosted one’s chances for a podium finish.

And familiarity with the race route. Jakarta-based Japanese “road” runner Michio Yoneda, who holds a 2:37 marathon PB, pushed Bali-resident Thimo Kilberth, who is fast on the road as well, forward until the summit of Batur. Then came the long descent, where Kilbert was able to use his technical skills and knowledge of the trails to open up the gap to Yoneda. Kilberth ran clear for over ten minutes, but not knowing how far ahead he actually was kept pushing hard to the finish and reached it in just over 3 hours. Yoneda secured second in a great debut at this level in an ATM-race. In third came another surprise, as Malang’s Mikha Tanujaya scored his first ATM race podium. Tanujaya stems from the ever-growing Mantra community by Heru Prabowo and Ivan Citraya, who have been doing excellent work in promoting trail running and required skillsets to local runners throughout the pandemic. In fourth, we had the second Japanese runner Fuminori Kondo and Indonesia’s Freda Wardana came fifth.

Shindy Patricia, arguably the best-known runner from Malang, was the top favourite in the women’s race. People who follow her on instagram know Shindy has kept on training consistently since the start of the corona situation, so if anyone was still going to be in shape it would be the 2019 Cameron Ultra winner. And yet, Shindy Patricia is a reputed ultra trail mountain runner and 30k might just be too short and too fast-paced. Elite triathlete Emma Payne, also known as Em J, felt like nothing to lose and immediately applied the pressure after the start, distancing Shindy and the other women already before the ascent of Mt Batur. Payne retained the gap on the mountain and cruised to the finish to score her maiden victory on the ATM circuit. Shindy secured second place, and France’s Manon Janin completed the podium in third place.

A comprehensive race summary of the Batur Trail Challenge can be watched on our YouTube and Facebook pages, or just here below. The broadcast includes a.o. fantastic footage of Mount Batur, shot by Santosh Vasan and Vincent Chalias, and interviews of several of the protagonists.

Watch our BTR Challenge race summary