It’s early July and that means it’s Mantra time again! Arguably the toughest mountain trail race on our ATM Championship calendar, the 2024 edition has once again attracted a considerable field of trail runners in both the 116km and 68km categories - both also valid for the Grandmaster Quest. Most of Indonesia’s trail elites will be competing, with former ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono on the 116km against the likes of Taofik Hidayat, and Risqi Kurniawan against Akmad Nizar on the 68km.

The 116km has 7400 metres of elevation gain, which is not the highest number, but the technicality of the Welirang and Arjuno ascent and descent makes this race incredibly tough. Throw in the high altitudes of well above 3000m, potential cold temperatures, rain and wind and you are in for a real adventure. It’s the kind of race that elite mountain runners want to have on their record of wins, and regular runners want to have the finisher tee or medal of. While the 68km usually has a stronger competitive field, the 116km does draw most attention at this event.

Arief Wismoyono is approaching 40 now, but still ranks as the benchmark in Indonesia when it comes to long mountain ultras. His younger Bandung teammate Taofik Hidayat will be challenging him this weekend, along with Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama - who just ran Deep Japan Ultra 100 miles and finished fourth. There’s a strong Malaysian contingent featuring the likes of a.o. Hijazi Rija and Jin Heng Oh. The women’s race looks potentially more open, even though local runners such as Sianti Candra and Septiana Nia Swastika can be expected to lead the pack along with Mei Li. Malaysia’s Guan Shin Law, Japan’s Tamae Harada, Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong and Philippines’ Irish Glorioso are all podium contenders this weekend on the 116km.

Risqi Kurniawan, already winner of the 68km last year, will again be up against Akmad Nizar and Hilman Maulana, podium runners a year ago. Normally speaking Risqi should have the edge on them, but he has been plagued by injury in recent times reducing his performance on the trails. Mohd Sulhan, Amierul Amin, Faris Azahri and Jeffery Budin from Malaysia could be challengers - at least for a podium spot. Thimo Kilberth has always been more competitive on the runable trails, but he has focused on Mantra this season. In the women’s race, Silabur Cave Trail winner Dening Lo from Singapore is one of the top favourites alongside former ATM Champion and former Mantra winner Ruth Theresia. However, Sabah’s Rejlen James may find Mantra to be a trail 100% to her liking. Also Malaysia’s Lynda Marylyn, in-form Yvette Chong and Halimatun Sa’adiah can be podium contenders.

ATM will be covering Mantra 116 throughout the weekend on our usual channels, with live feeds and most updates on ATM Facebook.

Arief Wismoyono: top favourite on the 116km

Rejlen James: if she can beat the high altitude, she could be hard to beat on the 68km

Singapore’s Dening Lo is one of the favourites on the 68km

Akhmad Nizar: always a strong podium contender, and who knows more than that this weekend

Jeffery Budin: impressive winner of Silabur 50 two months ago: can he repeat that performance?

We are happy to announce that the 2nd edition of Broder 50 in the Bromo desert of East Java in Indonesia is a new entry on our race calendar of Season 10! The event is organised by the established team of Mantra 116 and takes place on 12 October 2024. The key points race is the 50km.

It has been a few years since ATM has had a race in Bromo on the schedule. Running in the high-altitude desert with its magical volcanic scenery. This race will be catering for trail runners with a good pace in the legs. The loop around the crater will be done twice, and refrains from including sections deemed too technical for the average runner. It is not flat-flat, with 1200m of elevation gain to be overcome. The cut-off time is set at 10 hours, so you need a minimum pace of 5km per hour.

Registration for the event is already open. Just go to the official website below. To get to Bromo, international participants best fly to Surabaya, main city in East Java. From there you can take ground transport to Probolingo and Lautan Pasir Bromo. The 50km race starts at 4am on Saturday morning.

Season 10 of the Asia Trail Master Championship series will thus initiate with two events in Indonesia. On 21/22 September, the season begins with Dieng Trail Run in Central Java.

We are delighted to announce that Dieng Trail Run in Central Java, Indonesia, will be the opening event of Season 10 in the Asia Trail Master series. ‘DTR’ , as it is commonly known , will have its 3rd edition on 21/22 September and offers points for both the ATM Championship ranking and the Grandmaster Quest. Organised by the experienced Goat Run Team, Dieng Trail Run offers one of Java’s typically breathtaking trail courses and is not for nothing taglined “Run Above the Clouds”.

As the official website, linked below, states: “Dieng Trail Run isn’t just a race; it’s a commitment to a positive impact on the environment and local communities.” Event organiser Jeffri Riccardo is driven by a passion for trail running, but also for environmental protection and focus on sustainability. The event upholds the principles of Leave No Trace, and has a commitment towards a positive impact on the environment and local communities. The team is also active in raising awareness amongst runners and has introduced the option to register without purchasing an event shirt, reducing carbon footprint and waste.

It is not the first time Indonesia will host the ATM Season opener. Before the covid crisis and before we changed our season parameters, Tahura Trail in Bandung was our traditional and highly successful opener in January. Central Java has had several points races on our calendar over the years, not in the least the 2023 Championship Final in Solo and the Siksorogo Lawu event.

Technically, runners first of all need to be aware of cold temperatures at nighttime, despite being in Indonesia. The Dieng plateau is the highest one on Java island as has an average altitude of 2100m above sea level. Both the 100k and 60k will have nighttime running. The 100k starts mid-afternoon on Saturday, the 60k has a flag off at midnight. This is a mountain trail run, so make sure you check the mandatory gear list and the route description carefully on the event website. GPX files will be provided and should be downloaded.

The 2024 edition is significantly different from last year’s ATM points race, in which Risqi Kurniawan took the measure of mountain running veteran and former ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono in a 50km race. It was regarded as the ‘changing of the guard’ in Indonesia’s trail community - at least for the medium distances. This year, the medium distance has been boosted to 60km and a 100km has been added to the programme. The 60k has no fewer than 4000 metres of elevation gain, and by far most of it comes in the second half. In other words, the first Championship points race of the new season will be a tough one.

Registration is open already and can easily be done via the official event website.

There are various ways to reach the event venue at Taman Syailendra Dieng. As described on the website, you could fly to Yogyakarta, Semarang and Surabaya and take a bus from there. Or you just go to Jakarta and hop on a long distance bus or train. To reach the event location, you will at the end always need a bus or car to Lapangan Pandawa. International runners with questions on logistics can contact event director Ms Ayu by email on info@diengtrailrun.id , or find her telephone number on the website.

Last year’s men’s podium with Risqi Kurniawan defeating Arief Wismoyono

Event teaser 2023 edition of DTR

The third edition of Bukit Lawang’s Orang Utan Trail in North Sumatra this weekend is also Indonesia’s first ATM points race of the season. ‘BLOT’ is one of our series’ most exciting boutique events taking place in a remote but scenic river town catering for adventure, outdoor and - of course - orang utan enthusiasts. The race for ATM Championship points is the 50km, which is more or less a copy of last year’s with a runable first half through plantations followed by a technical second half through the jungle and into the orang utan’s natural habitat.

It’s an event that has always had a great vibe with a big marqee tent on the city square surrounded by local shops and restaurants and the wide range of sponsor booths. In order to minimise exposure to potential sun heat , the race start of the 50k has been moved forward this year to 4:30 am. Over the past two seasons, we have gotten to know several great trail talents from Sumatra, proving that there’s more to Indonesian trail running than just Java and Bali. Runners such as Erwin Simanjuntak and Andre Sinaga, last year’s excellent 1-2 in the men’s race ahead of established ATM protagonists such as Chris Timms, Jose Luis Alvelais and Thimo KIlberth was testimony to that fact. Unfortunately, it remains difficult for Sumatrans to take part in races elsewhere. Travel expense is often the main stumbleblock - even within Indonesia.

Andre Sinaga is confirmed as a participant again this weekend, at least on the start list. He will face David Longo, the Hong Kong-Australian from T8, in the battle for race victory in the men’s. Unless, as usual, there’s again new faces appearing on the scene. Risqi Kurniawan is unable to start due to injury sustained in another race two weeks ago. In the women’s 50k race, we will see 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia back in action for the second time this season. Finishing this weekend means she gets the wild card for the ATM Final at TMBT on 14 September. She is the logical favourite to win as well, although Bangkok-based American Tara Savage may keep her focused during the race.

Stay tuned for our coverage of the event this weekend on our usual channels. The 50k race is scheduled for Sunday morning.

Vanja Cnops truly enjoyed her race last year

Local Sumatrans Andre Sinaga and Erwin Simanjuntak stole the show in the men’s race last year

The 3rd edition of Bali Ultra Trail is set for 3 August and will once again return to Gunung Batur in both the 80km and 50km ATM points race categories. The exciting and popular event is now open for registration. Bali Ultra will be one of the last three events where runners can score points for qualification into the ATM Championship Final at Borneo TMBT Ultra on 14 September.

The race route has again been redesigned after it was not permitted to climb Batur a year ago. Those political issues have now been solved, and the famous volcano and the crater rim are again featured in both the 50 miles (80km) and 50km courses. The other climb, Mount Abang, has not been recovered, however. The new route is essentially an out-and-back from Kintamani across Batur to the northern beach shore. Total elevation gain for the 80km is estimated at 4400hm and for the 50km at 2700hm. Start and finish is still at the Geopark Museum in Kintamani. There’s plenty of boutique-style accommodation and a few bigger hotel resorts in Kintamani. Alternatively, major tourism hub Ubud is not that far away neither and one could take a motorbike or taxi from there, too. The start is more or less at sunrise, 6am local time, so Bali Ultra Trail is a daytime race for the most part. Runners should be aware and prepare accordingly, as Bali obviously gets hot during the day. Running during the day of course means you will enjoy the the great scenery to the maximum.

Registration is open via the official website below.

Shindy Patricia won the 100km women’s race last season

Popular Nami Ishihara was 2nd just under two minutes behind Katrin Herzog last year on the 50km. Ishihara is already on the points table again this season with her 10th place in Izu Trail Journey

Akmad Nizar and Sobari Herdiana: always protagonists in Indonesian trail races

Since 2017, mountain runners who focus on Asia Trail Master have set their eyes on Mantra 116 in East Java’s Malang in Indonesia. It is the high mountain trail per excellence in our series with altitudes reaching way above 3000m and trails that remain mouthwatering for even the most technically-skilled trail runners. The event is set for 6/7 July this year and will again feature the 116km long ultra and the 68km medium distance as points races for the ATM Championship ranking and Grandmaster Quest. Registration is open.

The event will again start and finish at the Kaliandra Eco Resort, roughly two hours drive from Surabaya in East Java, the main international hub to get to the event. The 116km has a total elevation gain of 7400hm, but it will feel like more. Gunung Welirang and Arjuno remain the attraction, and runners will start climbing basically right after the start. Since 2023, the gruelling and by many disliked out-and-back section on Mahapena has been removed from the course, making the race a bit more manageable. Nevertheless, the Putuk Lesung climb will certainly test your mettle towards the end.

Participants need to be aware that it can get very cold on Welirang and Arjuno, especially if there’s rainfall. Even though it’s Indonesia, you need to be prepared for ‘northern’ conditions. The organisers are, rightfully, paying a lot of attention on safety and security and will not tolerate any infringements on the mandatory gear list. Mantra 116 is not a walk in the park.

Accommodation and food can be found in and around the race venue at Kaliandra, or nearby.

Watch our race recaps of the 2023 and 2022 races at Mantra below to get an idea of what will be awaiting you in July.

News reel Mantra 116:

The 3rd edition of Bukit Lawang Orang Utan Trail is set for Sunday morning, 12 May. The boutique event in the picturesque riverside town of Bukit Lawang in North Sumatra, Indonesia, has been one of the most popular newcomers on the ATM scene, offering a solid organisation in a great place featuring a fun arena with a big marquee tent, a varied running course and - of course - orang utans in the rainforest. Compared to last year, the start time of the 50km ATM points race has moved forward to 4:30 am, so more runners can avoid the heat of mid-day.

The race course is largely unchanged, which means a very runable first half around and through plantations followed by a technical second half characterised by single and hilly rainforest trails that can also be slippery. However, runners enjoy sliding on those descending trails in Bukit Lawang. The orang utans can be seen, too. They are roaming freely and approach the river in the early morning, so of course not every single runner may be fortunate to meet them. Incidentally, runners on the 25km and 10km short courses tend to have more luck in this.

The 50km race has seen the emergence of great young local trail talent over the past two years. Not in the least a year ago, when Erwin Simanjuntak and Andre Sinaga took the measure of a.o. Chris Timms and Luis Alvelais. Vanja Cnops was a very happy winner in the women’s race last season.

Accommodation is in local homestays, guesthouses or in one swiss-owned hotel on the other side of the riverbank for those looking for something more upmarket. It takes roughly 4 hours to reach Bukit Lawang from Medan airport and a shuttle bus will be arranged. For details on that you can contact the local organising team at Arras Adventures with info@asiatrailmaster.com in copy.

In Bukit Lawang we always discover new Indonesian trail talent

[Updated]

After a beautiful race at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra in Tawanmangu, Central Java, Indonesia, Philippines’ John Ray Onifa and Nepal’s Rashila Tamang crowned themselves as the 2023 Asia Trail Master champions. While Onifa dominated the 77km long men’s race from start to finish in one of his most impressive trail displays ever, Tamang battled with Singapore-based Vanja Cnops throughout the race and, eventually, won thanks to her superior descending skills coming down from Mount Lawu (3250m). Team Philippines won the ATM Team Championship.

The qualified ATM finalist runners took off in all-by-all good weather conditions at sunrise in Tawangmangu, near Solo in Central Java, Indonesia. Torrential rainfall in the days leading up to the race had caused some to fear a slow mudfest instead of the relatively runable trail course on paper. Always a fast starter, John Ray Onifa was clearly not intimidated by all the other stars and race favourites. By the second aid station he already had a gap on rising local star Risqi Kurniawan, who had scored 3 ATM race wins within Indonesia but never really competed at this level previously. Kristian Joergensen and Alessandro Sherpa followed a bit further, and then came Jeff Campbell with Hisashi Kitamura, the latter fresh from a 1:12 half marathon in Japan two weeks prior. Fastest woman was Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops, just like a year ago, but Nepal’s Rashila Tamang stayed surprisingly close and immediately showed she was going to be for real. Angelie Cabalo was third, followed by Shindy Patricia - the most experienced female favourite and title candidate after her best ATM campaign ever with three race wins and a second place (Shindy Patricia is the 2023 overall female points leader in our ranking this year).

At the foot of Gunung Lawu, the highlight of the course with a long ascent and descent and its peak at 3250m above sea level, Onifa had already built up a gap of 20 minutes over his first two chasers. Looking powerful and totally lucid, Onifa already then seemed to have wrapped things up - as long as he stayed concentrated. Risqi Kurniawan on the other hand appeared to be struggling. Just before the gate to the mountain climb, he got caught by Sherpa and was even immediately under pressure by the Italian’s pace. Sherpa was having a good day - as always on the days when it really matters. Between AS 2 and AS 3 he even dropped Kristian Joergensen by a few minutes - which later even turned out to be decisive for their dual. Jeff Campbell was a bit in no man’s land by himself in fifth place, not far behind the other chasers but any hopes of still catching Onifa were fading quickly. The same applied for Kitamura, who later admitted that on a high mountain course like Siksorogo Lawu Ultra - fifth was the best result possible. The Karate Kit had to work for that, nevertheless, as Yoyong Sacayle from Philippines stayed within a minute for nearly the whole day. From a competitive viewpoint, Sacayle’s running pace was arguably the surprise of the men’s race. Known as a very skilled technical trail runner, he has found some good speed in his legs now, too, which looks very promising for 2024.

In the women’s race, Vanja only managed to open up a gap of about five minutes to Rashila Tamang as they began the Lawu ascent. Quite a long way behind them, Angelie Cabalo, Shindy Patricia, Rachel Chan and Akane Nemoto were close to each other. Siti Nuraini was further back, but on Lawu used her mountain trail abilities to bridge the gap with the aforementioned.

During the Lawu summit attack, the men’s order remained unchanged. Except that we were suddenly missing Risqi Kurniawan. Later it turned out he had made a U-turn shortly after beginning the main climb. Kudoes to the 26-year-old Indonesian for trying to keep up with Onifa and then Sherpa. It was brave to try, certainly without meaningful international racing experience. Meanwhile on the summit, Onifa had extended his lead even slightly more. Sherpa held onto second place and kept Joergensen in check by a few minutes. Vanja Cnops reached the top as first female, but as soon as they started the descent was caught and passed by Rashila Tamang. The Nepalese runner used all of her mountain trail experience to full effect to descend like a hawk and applied serious pressure on the more prudent Vanja Cnops - who still combines trail racing with road racing all year round. As they reached AS 5 following the Lawu descent, Rashila had built a lead of twelve minutes! The big question then: can Vanja switch her engine back on in the more flattish and runable remaining 25km of the race? Behind the top duo, Shindy Patricia battled her way passed Angelie Cabalo.

In the early afternoon, most participants had to cope with one or two heavy rain showers. The water affected especially those still on the Lawu trail, which became slippery and treacherous in parts. Up front, Onifa just kept powering on and in the end ran to the finish completely unbothered by anyone or anything. His finish time of 9h45 even exceeded his own expectation of 10 hours. For the second consecutive year, the men’s Asia Trail Master Championship title goes to a Filipino runner after Arnie Macaneras last year (Macaneras pulled out of this year's race a week previously citing a lack of training). 32-year-old John Ray Onifa had been dominant in our series since July with six race wins and no losses prior to Siksorogo. He has won the championship shoot-out, but also finishes the 2023 season with first place on the overall ATM points ranking.

Alessandro Sherpa secured second place by keeping a charging Kristian Joergensen behind until the finish. A fine performance by the 2018 ATM Champion, who last year scored third in the Mt Apo Final. With three ATM Championship podiums, Sherpa is the most successful runner in our series ever. Staying ahead of Joergensen and Jeff Campbell - on sheer pace - certainly raised a few eyebrows and further boosts his legacy as a competitive trail runner in Asia - where he is now staying just a few months per year. Kitamura secured his anticipated fifth place, just ahead of Malaysia’s Wilsen Singgin - who once again came to the foreground in the second part of the race. Singgin managed to grab sixth just ahead of Yoyong Sacacle. Another Indonesian, Akhmad Nizar, did well with 8th ahead of Yuta Matsuyama and Alex Tilley, who rounded up the men’s top ten after Malaysia’s Amierul Amin suffered from nasty cramps in the final kilometers.

Vanja Cnops pushed as much as she still could and did come closer, but in the end not close enough. Rashila Tamang is the first Nepalese ATM Champion. A wonderful success and proof of all the good things we had seen and heard of her during the season. While not exactly a newbie with already six years of experience, also for Rashila it has not been easy to get the required travel documents for racing internationally. Her visa for Indonesia only arrived three days before the race and just in time to catch the flight from Kathmandu. Let’s see if her ATM Championship title inspires many more Nepalese runners to raise their game and compete for international podiums against fellow-Asian athletes. In any case, we may have a points race in Nepal next April: the Jumla Rara Ultra was a solid Candidate Race this season…

Always smiling, Vanja Cnops expressed her happiness with second place, one place better than in the Final a year ago. While everyone at the finish line was expecting Shindy Patricia to take third place, it was instead Angelie Cabalo who appeared and crossed the line. The Filipino had shown great mental resilience by chasing and then overtaking Shindy again in the final five kilometres. A few minutes later, the experienced Indonesian admitted that Cabalo just had too much running pace in her still. Fourth place for Shindy, just like last year. ATM points leader 2023 is her price of comfort. Siti Nuraini scored fifth place with a great second half of the race. Akane Nemoto, struggling in the rainy descent, had to settle for sixth in her ATM debut season. Hong Kong’s Rachel Chan, second in MMTF 100 four weeks prior, took seventh place. The top ten was completed by Tamae Harada (fine result!), Yustina Wardhani (third Indonesian in the top ten!) and Mary Joy Sumanda, who stayed ahead of her compatriot Cecille Wael in another unexpected performance boost.

Team Philippines took over the ATM Team Championship title from Malaysia. While the Indonesian women scored a fantastic team result, two of the men in their team DNFd, which eliminated their chances. Thailand had a decent overall performance but without a stand-out performer in the top ten it was always going to be hard to win the team competition. Defending champions Malaysia knew beforehand it was going to be difficult this year as some of the country’s key runners were missing from the roster for a variety of reasons. On top, Amir Zaki had returned sick from a business trip to Europe and Rejlen James - a serious podium candidate for the women’s race - unfortunately had her day of the month on race day. Team Pilipinas was the favourite, and they delivered in great style with Onifa, of course, but also Cabalo, Sacayle, Versola and Sumanda as ‘over achievers’, compensating somewhat for Sean Aying and Cecille Wael, who both had a tough time on Lawu. Great team work!

ATM Championship SLU 77km - Men:

1. John Ray Onifa (PHI) - New Asia Trail Master Champion

2. Alessandro Sherpa (ITA/Asia Expat)

3. Kristian Joergensen (DEN/Asia Expat)

4. Jeff Campbell (CAN/Hong Kong)

5. Hisashi Kitamura (JPN)

6. Wilsen Singgin (MAS)

7. Yoyong Sacayle (PHI)

8. Akhmad Nizar (INA)

9. Yuta Matsuyama (JPN)

10. Alex Tilley (GBR/Asia Expat)

ATM Championship SLU 77km - Women:

1. Rashila Tamang (NPL)

2. Vanja Cnops (BEL/SIN)

3. Angelie Cabalo (PHI)

4. Shindy Patricia (INA)

5. Siti Nuraini (INA)

6. Akane Nemoto (JPN)

7. Rachel Chan (HKG)

8. Tamae Harada (JPN)

9. Yustina Wardhani (INA)

10. Mary Joy Sumanda (PHI)

ATM TEAM Champions : PHILIPPINES

• John Ray Onifa

• Yoyong Sacayle

• Avelino Versola III

• Sean Aying

• Angelie Cabalo

• Mary Joy Sumanda

• Cecille Wael

• Irish Glorioso

• Roan Biguasen

Risqi Kurniawan took his third ATM race win in Indonesia within little over a month and increasingly looks like a top favourite for this year’s ATM Championship title. Kurniawan outran a stubbornly tough Han Ching Su from Taiwan and his compatriots Akmad Nizar and Sobari Herdiana on the 50km of Bali Ultra Trail in Kintamani. On the 100km, Rachmat Septiyanto took his premier ATM race victory while Shindy Patricia proved her super-form again with her third ATM win of the 2023 season!

Bali Ultra Trail changed the race courses at the last moment to avoid potential repercussions following political statements that climbing Bali’s mountains would very soon be outlawed. This made the race more runable than originally planned, but it still proved tough enough - also due to the heat & humidity plaguing especially the many Japanese athletes.

The 50km was on paper the most competitive distance category and so it turned out to be. As said, Risqi Kurniawan again showed his amazing speed on this distance and it will be interesting to find out if he can stretch that to 77km on 2 December. What should help him in any case: he ran Siksorogo last year and Gunung Lawu is close to his hometown of Magelang! Team Indonesia is building up very nicely with also Akmad Nizar almost assured of qualification for the ATM Final. Nizar has been operating in the shadow of Kurniawan, but consistently so and the smart youngster can certainly produce something special at Siksorogo himself. Team Indonesia will also feature Bali-based German Thimo Kilberth, who had his best race of this season by finishing sixth and “only” 33 minutes behind Kurniawan. Fifth went to the second Taiwanese Pin Chi Chou. Great to see runners from Taiwan feature in an ATM race for once!

The women’s 50km developed into a tight battle between Japan’s Nami Ishihara and Germany’s Katrin Herzog. For a long time, Ishihara had the upper hand, but Herzog came back towards the end and managed to overtake her for the win. In third came Singapore’s Dening Lo, followed by Hszin Tzu Chao from Taiwan and Indonesia’s Siti Nuraini, who probably would have preferred to climb Mt Batur and Mt Abang. Bali’s home runner Dian Pradina had a great performance to finish sixth.

On the 100km, Japanese aces Yuta Matsuyama (male) and Tomomi Bitoh (female) set the pace for the first half, but both began to fade as a result of the climatic conditions and saw others coming back to them. Matsuyama was with Indonesia’s Abdul Salam at first, but he would DNF later and the experienced Rachmat Septiyanto was the one to claim the victory at the end. Second in Mantra 116 seven weeks ago, Septiyanto scored his first ATM race victory and is actually as good as qualified for the ATM Final and Team Indonesia. However, he is the lead organiser of Siksorogo Lawu Ultra and Septiyanto obviously cannot do both things. Matsuyama boosted his chances for qualification in Team Japan. Japan’s Takeshi Hashimoto was the third man on the podium, ahead of Vietnamese runners De Nguyen and Trung Hau Phan. Australia’s Washington Firmeza came sixth in another ATM race finish this season.

Shindy Patricia was chasing Tomomi Bitoh for a long time, being just a few minutes behind the strong and experienced Japanese runner. As often, Shindy is the one who slows down the least in the second part of ultras, and so it was again. In fact, Shindy went on to win comfortably but finished even second overall behind Septiyanto. Matsuyama came next but then it was Vietnam’s Julia Nguyen Thi Duong - in another wonderful performance of the weekend. Tomomi Bitoh still salvaged her podium in third.

Within just 2 months, Central Javanese youngster Risqi Kurniawan has propelled himself into a top fabourite position for the 2023 ATM Championship title.

Podium of the 50km women with Germany’s Katrin Herzog as winner

Wonderful to see a runner from Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) on the podium! Han Ching Su

Rachmat Septiyanto takes his first ever ATM race win

Third ATM victory of the season for in-form Shindy Patricia

Podium of the 100 km women

Podium of the 100km men

Bali Ultra is one of the most anticipated points race events of the 2023 ATM season and the last one in Indonesia before the country of islands hosts the Championship Final on 2 December. That means for those Indonesian runners who do not like or can travel abroad, this is the final shot at a points haul to try and get in the top 5 of the ranking and inside the host Team Indonesia. No surprise that many of the country’s trail running stars feature on the start list, but there’s a very large foreign presence as well, notably from Vietnam, Japan and Malaysia.

The event takes place in Kintamani, in the volcanic north of Bali. Many people might have heard already that the local governor has recently been pushing for an outright ban on climbing Bali’s mountains, including the famous and very popular Mount Batur - highlight of plenty a tourist visit to Bali and of Bali Ultra Trail. Whether or not the ban will effectively come into law still remains to be seen (a formal decision in September is rumoured), but the organisers of BUT have seen no other choice but to comply already, so as not to potentially jeopardise the event’s future. The consequence is that both the 100k and 50k are now much more runable than originally planned, as also the ascent of Abang has been omitted from the course. Good and fast distance runners, rather than volcano climbers will thus likely be seen at the top of the leaderboards and result lists this weekend.

On paper that means the Japanese runners, if they can deal with the tropical heat, are arguably the top favourites for the podium places and the race wins - at least on the 100k. Yuta Matsuyama in the men’s, and Timomi Bitoh in the women’s will indeed be the ones to beat. Matsuyama, double winner of UT Chiang Mai over the years, also wants to win to collect the 500 ATM points. He has expressed his desire to be part of Team Japan in the ATM Final this year. He already scored a 6th place in Dalat Ultra Trail in March, but now he is in better shape again than half a year ago. There can always be a surprise, e.g. from Vietnam, but his main rivals are probably going to be Solo’s Rachmat Septiyanto and Fuminori Kondo. Septiyanto may find the new course a bit too flat for his liking, though. Tomomi Bitoh was 2nd in Seoul 100k last year, and has just done a long ultra in Mongolia. Question thus is if she is recovered enough from that to deal with the rejuvenated Shindy Patricia, who has never looked faster and stronger than in the past eight months. Julia Duong Thi Nguyen, Isabelle Bedard and Qheiza Wiranda Edelwise are other podium contenders we know.

Patricia aside, most of Indonesia’s current top runners are on the 50k, including Risqi Kurniawan. He won this race last year and it is hard to bet against him this weekend, but there’s many unknowns on the start list. Akmad Nizar could be strong on this course as well. What about Taofik Hidayat, Sobiri Haerudin, a motivated Thimo KIlberth - who actually likes the redesigned course from his competitive point of view? Misha Ushakov looked solid in Mantra until he abandoned.

On the women’s 50km, former ATM champion Ruth Theresia features on the start list, but it is not clear yet which distance she will run after her nasty kidney infection a few months ago. Ruth is still on the way back, but showed great promise by winning the 30k race at Mantra. This weekend, Mantra 60 winner Siti Nuraini could secure her spot in Team Indonesia for the finals. Let’s see how she fares on the more runable trails. Many podium contenders also here, including Malaysia’s Jess Lintanga, Halimatun Sa’adiah, several japanese runners such as Yuuka Maeno, Novita Wulandari (winner in Dieng a month ago), Yustina Wardhani and so on.

Siti Nuraini, double winner of Mantra 75, can qualify for the women’s Team Indonesia this weekend

Rachmat Septiyanto was 2nd in Mantra 116 and hopes to collect another podium en route to potential Team Indonesia qualification at the ATM Final

Tomomi Bitoh is one of the favourites in this weekend’s 100km race

Shindy Patricia: what can she do now the course is more runable?

In just a matter of a few weeks, Javanese runner Risqi Kurniawan has totally emerged from the shadows and has proven to be a serious force on the medium distance ATM circuit. In a very interesting direct race against ‘good old’ champion Arief Wismoyono, Kurniawan took his second ATM race win in a fortnight. Last Sunday, the youngster outpaced Wismoyono by a big 34 minutes on the 48km long Dieng Trail Run and cements his recently gained status as the Indonesian benchmark on the 50k. With his victories in Mantra 65 and Dieng 50, he now has 1000 points already, which could be sufficient to secure his spot in Team Indonesia for the ATM Finals. He is also scheduled to run Bali Ultra 50 next month. On our facebook page, you can watch a short interview with the new Indonesian trail star. Arief Wismoyono himself secured his wild card for the Final at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra as a former ATM Champion (2015). In his post-race interview, he showed his class by admitting Kurniawan is now too fast for him on 50k runable courses, and that he is looking forward to running with him in an attempt to win the ATM Championship for Indonesia.

The race started at midnight and was held at an altitude of 2000m and above, which felt very cold for many runners. Kurniawan and Wismoyono immediately set the pace, followed by Kasmana, another new name from Bandung. Kasmana is a protégé of Wismoyono and finished third, less than 10 minutes behind his mentor. Singapore’s Chris Timms was trying to keep up as he had podium ambitions, but went off course early on and that saw his chances evaporate. Timms settled into fourth together with Thimo Kilberth, who had his best ATM race in a while. Sumatra’s Andre Sinaga unfortunately twisted his ankle badly and retired from a race that could have brought him into a position to join Team Indonesia in December. Sinaga, second in Orang Utan Trail ahead of Timms and Kilberth, will need to try again in Bali Ultra next month.

The women’s competition in Dieng was won by La Sportiva’s highly experienced and popular runner Novita Wulandari. Her first ATM race victory. Indah Julita, a.k.a Meili, came second and Qheiza Wiranda Edelwise third. For Edelwise it’s her second points result of the season, which puts her now in second place behind Shindy Patricia in the women’s Indonesia ATM ranking. Bali Ultra on 19 August will be an important event to get into the top five as that will be the fourth and last Indonesian points race of the 2023 season before the big championship final event at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra in Central Java on 2/3 December.

The men’s podium with Kurniawan, Wismoyono and Kauswana

Novita Wulandari and Meili : the two fastest women in Dieng Trail Run 50 !

Qheiza Wiranda Edelwise scored 3rd on the podium in her 2nd ATM race of the season!

The three podium placers plus Chris Timms and Thimo Kilberth as fourth and fifth

The second points race this weekend takes place in Indonesia: Dieng Trail Run in Taman Syailendra in Central Java. Second edition of the event organised by Goat Run and ESA, and featuring a very interesting 50km race with nearly 3400 hm of elevation gain. The participation field is not the biggest, but the quality is definitely there. Arief Wismoyono will be facing some of the most talented young Indonesian trail runners post-covid, including Risqi Kurniawan.

It’s just been two weeks since the tough mountain trail Mantra 116 in Malang, but Wismoyono and Kurniawan - winners of the 116km and 65km races respectively - clearly have energy left in the tank. In fact, Kurniawan even did and won a 60k race in Malaysia last week, too. Let’s hope for him it isn’t ‘overkill’ because a victory against Wismoyono would resonate in the ATM world. On paper, the 2015 champion is now clearly most competitive on the long mountain ultras, which plays into Kurniawan’s hands. A weekend of rest could just be what Wismoyono needed to give his young foe a run for his money on Sunday’s 50km - which starts at midnight. There’s a few other runners who could take the victory as well, however. Medan’s Andre Mozes SInaga was one of two exciting Sumatran runners in Orang Utan Trail at the end of May. Sinaga was second, narrowly behind Erwin Simanjuntak, but a few minutes ahead of Singapore’s Chris Timms. The latter is also competing in Dieng, and is keen to get his first ever ATM race win. For Sinaga, Dieng Trail Run, is an important race also to show himself against his compatriots. Sumatran runners do not have a lot of opportunity to race elsewhere, even within their own country Indonesia. As for Kurniawan, a second great result this weekend could already give Sinaga a spot in Team Indonesia for the ATM Championship Final. Wismoyono just needs to finish the race to score his wild card as former ATM champion. Bali-based Thimo Kilberth has already had two points races this season, and is aiming for a third result in Dieng to ensure his spot in the national country team again. After Dieng, there’s only Bali Ultra Trail left to score ATM points within Indonesia itself.

There’s several other men on the start list with podium potential, and so are many women. None of the better known Indonesian names are running this weekend, so it is an excellent chance for Novita Wulandari, Malaysia’s Siti Hajar Razali and Heroin Parulian to claim the spotlight. Parulian and Desi Ariyani already collected a heap of points in Orang Utan Trail and could secure their spots on Team Indonesia for the ATM Final.

ATM will be reporting live from Dieng Trail Run 50km on our usual channels.

Risqi Kurniawan is having a busy month. A good result in Dieng may already secure him a spot for Team Indonesia in the upcoming ATM Championship Final

Andre Sinaga (front) was one of the two surprisingly quick Sumatra runners in Orang Utan Trail in May

In Mantra 116 two weeks ago, 2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono proved he still has what it takes

Chris Timms, 3rd in Orang Utan Trail, will aim for his first ATM race win this weekend