The 10-year anniversary of KAR Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, was marked by two new race distance categories for the occasion, both qualifiers for the ATM Championship ranking and for the Grandmaster Quest. Some of Sabah’s great trail running stars grabbed the opportunity with open hands to score a big number of points in their bid to be part of their country’s team in the upcoming Season 11 Championship race at Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail in Vietnam on 3 October. Wilsen Singgin and Milton Amat first and foremost, but in the female races it was great to get better aquainted with Nurul Emyra Fazira Isnariah Absi and Hasnita Binti Asis - race winners on the 100 MIles and 80km, respectively.
Three years after The Borneo Miler, KAR Ultra offered a 100 Miles category for its anniversary edition. It attracted an enormous field of participants and - quite incredible - 234 managed to even finish the race! The cut off time was generous, but still it remains an outstanding statistic.
Wilsen Singgin was the expected race winner. He already took control quite early, especially as Oswald Maikol and last year’s KAR 110 winner Azmil Saripuddin left the race after both had had a promising beginning of the race. Singgin finished in 27h38 and again looks well on the way to be part of Team Malaysia in October. In second place, we had the surprising Mellveen Darius, 1h14 later. A strong finish by Darius, who clearly managed his efforts very well during the long race. In third place on the podium, there was Azman Salama, well-deserved, in a time of 29h24. Salama was very quick in the early stages, but smartly reduced his speed later on to avoid blowing up. Just ten minutes later, Jainuddin Sainuddin reached the finish line in fourth place. A strong second half of the runner, who kept a low profile for a very long time during the race. Sainuddin was already a solid competitor in Season 10 of our Championship and so he confirmed his status. Edward Edmun concludes his 100 Miles in fifth place.
In the women’s 100 Miles, there was victory for Nurul Emyra Fazira Isnariah Absi in a time of 34h05! In the lead by quite a margin after taking over from fast starter Celeste Teo, she was always ahead of the rest and took her first ATM race victory. Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong is second in 36h28 using all her experience. Third on the podium was youngster Shamiera Auther in her 100 Miles debut in a time of 38h00! Shamiera is a former winner of the 50k at KAR and other 50k races, but has recently begun challenging herself on the longer ultras.
In the 80km race, there was no stopping Milton Amat! Arriving late at the start, the Sabahan trail star made his way to the front and dropped the strong and brave Jude Maikol in the last 25 km for another ATM race victory and another one at KAR Ultra! It's his second ATM points haul of the season. Jude Maikol finished 29 minutes later in second place. Good old Gustin Tiam, himself a former race winner at KAR, still managed to score a fantastic 3rd place on the podium, actually just 45 minutes behind Amat. Fast starter Willy Wilson was fourth , followed by Christantine Christer, who again scored points this season. Brunei's Shamsuleffandy Bin Haji Sulaiman did great to reach the finish line in sixth place. A wonderful race result for the Bruneian!
Hasnita Binti Asis won the 80 km women in a time of 14h42! A great performance by Hasnita, who was even 7th overall today! Harlin Richard was second but at respectable distance from the winner. Her second ATM podium of the season after BUTM in April. Amilisah Laisang took a great third on the podium! In fourth place, we found Satiau Satiau, followed by Kona Liau.
The next Malaysian ATM Championship Qualifier is also in Sabah, the classic Borneo TMBT Ultra at the end of August, followed one week later by Jagoi Ultra in Sarawak.
