Reigning ATM Champions Jeff Campbell and Priya Rai will both be fine-tuning their preparations for the defence of their titles at the Kalaw Ultra Trail Run in Myanmar this Saturday. Both runners from the T8 Team are the stars of the 50km race, held on a runable and dry course with start at 4am local time. Kalaw is the last event before our Season 10 Championship Final at the 9 Dragons in three weeks’ time.

KUTR was one of the highlights of the season last year, characterised by a smooth event organisation and a wonderful vibe among the many hundreds of runners across the various distances categories. Kalaw is a backpacker tourism hub in Myanmar’ Shan State, a short domestic flight north of Yangon or a five-hour car drive south of Mandalay. It is often combined with a visit to the majestic Inle Lake nearby. Trail runners can expect a runable course, especially as it is dry season right now, but should nevertheless take into account some elevation gain. After all, approx 1700 hm for 50km is not nothing. The participants on the 100km - an upgrade from the 80km last year - have about 2600 hm to conquer. Both distances are qualifiers for the Season 11 Championship points ranking, the 100km automatically also valid for the Grandmaster Quest.

Jeff and Priya are the logical favourites to claim victory on the 50km. The question is only how much they will push, given both are very keen to retain their ATM Championship title in Hong Kong soon. They have both been working specifically towards that goal and this weekend’s Kalaw race is part of their individual training programmes. Can anyone challenge them on Saturday? We are in Myanmar, very much still a new destination in Asian trail running and a community that is still in full blossom. Who is to say we won’t discover a brand new local talent? In any case, last year’s 50k race winners are also back on the start list. Wunna Lin won the men’s race in 6h13 a year ago, and Myint Myint Aye was best female in 6h43. Quite a few as yet unknown expat and international runners’ names on the list, too.

The 100km long ultra features last year’s extremely popular race winner and ATM Finalist Jack Speed, also known as Aung Thiha. He is Team Myanmar’s spearhead at the 9 Dragons in three weeks, and also for all of them Kalaw is the final big preparation. Thet Paing Oo, second last year, Thein Hto Aung, Aung Zaw Min and female runner Yi Yi Win are all on the 100k start list. Can anyone take top honours this Saturday? Certainly possible, but there are international challengers. Vietnam-based Singaporean Trung Nguyen is a very experienced long ultra runner and Grandmaster making a return to competition in ATM with a view to the Season 11 Championship Final in October. On his day, Trung can be really quick. Also Malaysia’s Golden Grandmaster Kenneth Mun Keat Yow could be in the mix for a podium place. Belgium’s Antoine Deligne was 3rd in Luang Prabang, Laos, in October. Vietnam’s Dung Vu Tien Viet could be the one nobody saw coming.

Yi Yi Win was 3rd on the 80k last year, albeit injured on the day. She will again be up against Myanmar-based Kazakh Altyn King - second a year ago -, but also Hong Kong’s Ellen Yin Kwan Cheng. A silver Grandmaster and previous race winner at V Trail in Laos. Malaysia’s Melissa Woo is also here.

To note is also that Golden Grandmasters Masafumi Yamamoto and Kenneth Mun Keat Yow will both begin their journey on the Trail to Immortality this weekend. That’s the new extension to the Grandmaster Quest as announced in December, for those having reached the Golden Level of 4 stars.

ATM will be updating live from Kalaw Ultra Trail Run starting at 4am local time (5:30 am HK time).

Jeff Campbell, 2024 ATM Champion

Priya Rai, 2024 ATM Champion

Jack Speed - last year’s popular winner of the. 80km

Trung Nguyen, 2020-21 ATM Points King, returning to the scene

Ellen Yin Kwan Cheng, Silver Grandmaster with podium chances this weekend

Kenneth Mun Keat Yow, Golden Grandmaster could eye a Top 3 this weekend, too

Masafumi Yamamoto: embarking on the Trail to Immortality

When trail runners think of Dalat in Vietnam, they generally see runable, gently rolling pine forest trails passing by several coffee and tea plantations. Time for something spicier. Brah Yang Trail Summit promises to cater for the lovers of tougher mountain terrain and high elevation runs. Organised by Unique Events & Media that also brings you Prenn Trail Summit, this event from 6 to 8 March will show a different side of the wider Dalat region and offers two qualifiers for the ATM Championship points ranking (100km and 50km) and also two Grandmaster Quest distances (100km and 70km).

Already last year, when Brah Yang was a Candidate Race, runners were surprised by the diversity of terrain. The 100km is a challenge. Starting at 9pm on Friday, runners have 37 hours to complete the course and conquer the nearly 9000 metres of elevation gain.

Conquer Brăh Yàng, Yan Doan, Ba Mountain, Co Tien Peak, and many other summits within a mighty mountain range.  At the same time, be immersed in the symphony of old-growth forests and cascading waterfalls, listening to the deep mountain sounds. Lose yourself in mythical tales weaving through each summit, live among the cultural richness of the K’ho people, and bask in the stunning natural beauty.

The 50km is a challenging yet breathtaking route that takes you to the legendary Yan Doan summit. As the website reads: “ To reach it, you’ll journey through an endless pristine rainforest where sunlight filters through the canopy, birds sing melodiously, leaves rustle in the wind, streams babble urgently, and your footsteps crunch softly over a carpet of forest leaves. It's peaceful and strangely enjoyable.” The 50km race has a total elevation gain of nearly 3500hm, making it one of the toughest of the season! The start is scheduled for Saturday at 5 am, making it a daytime race for most. Lucky, the temperatures in Dalat usually remain moderate. The cut off time is 21 hours.

Grandmaster Quest runners can also choose the 70km category with 5200 elevation gain. 

No matter which distance you pick, this is a race to prepare for physically and mentally. You can find all details via the website below, and stay up to date via the event’s facebook page. Make sure you read through the mandatory gear requirements and general race regulations when signing up. The host venue is the Kala reservoir irrigation dam at Di Linh Cultural Park. To get there you can take busses from Ho Chi Minh City, or domestic flights to Liên Khương International Airport in Đức Trọng (Dalat), from where you can take taxi or grab.

A Taiwanese and Singaporean race winner in the male and female 70km race underlined a very international edition of Vietnam Trail Marathon in Moc Chau last weekend. For Ricky Sung it was the maiden race victory, while Dening Lo already scored her fourth in our Championship series. Nearly 600 runners took the start for the longest distance of the event, held in quasi perfect weather conditions.

Ricky Sung had already shown great form in Izu Trail Journey in Japan last month, a very competitive race in the wet in which he finished 15th. At VTM, he looked composed and unfazed when local newcomer Vung A Tung set the pace early on as the sun was rising. Sung caught him on the way to CP5, which more or less marked marathon distance. While the gap to Vung A Tung and also Lo a Dao did not grow that much, Sung never looked in trouble to grab the race win in 6h40’51”. He is also the first Taiwanese race winner ever in ATM. Vung A Tung still held onto second with Lo A Dao closely behind in third. Also for them it was the first ever podium finish. Germany’s Phillip Seckers finished fourth ahead of fellow Europeans Nick Van den Bleeken (BEL) and Scott Pugh (GBR/SGP). Yuta Matsuyama, a pre-race favourite, had to settle for seventh and was never in the hunt for victory. He had hoped for less runable terrain.

Dening Lo arrived shortly after Matsuyama as eighth overall. The Singaporean, who says she actually does not like racing, was in control of the race throughout.. Initially, though, Nguyen Ngoc Anh gave her some pressure by staying only around 3 minutes behind, but by CP 5 the gap had begun to increase. It’s Dening’s fourth ATM race win and she looks podium material for next month’s Season 10 Championship Final. Nguyen Ngoc Anh took a great second place , ahead of last year’s winner Giang Linh. The latter said the weather in her native Sapa had not been ideal in recent weeks, preventing her from proper training.

Claire Stone took fourth, ahead of. Ta Thi Linh in fifth place. Nguyen Thanh Thuy concluded her race in sixth.

At VTM this year, two Silver Grandmasters also managed to reach level 4 of their Grandmaster Quest: 20 ATM long ultra finishes. Yvette Chong Mi Chin is the first Malaysian female to become Golden Grandmaster. Mario Yap is the second Filipino male to achieve this great feat.

The next Vietnamese qualifier for the ATM Championship points ranking this season is Brah Yang Trail Summit in the Dalat area in the south next month.

It won’t get as cold as last year, but some light rain might make the course of Vietnam Trail Marathon treacherous in parts. The 70 km race is one of the key ATM Championship qualifiers in Vietnam and sees ever more names and countries on its start list. Only the long distance category already features at least 585 runners this year! Everyone is looking forward to enjoying the truly fantastic Trails of Moc Chau on Saturday.

Both the men’s and women’s races could very well see some new names emerging at the top of the result sheets. Especially the male category does not have an obvious pre-race favourite, in the absence also of last year’s brilliant winner Nguyen Si Hieu. Expect Japan’s multiple ATM race winner Yuta Matsuyama (Mantra 116 last year, 2x UTCM before) to be close to the front in any case. Matsuyama is also prepping for the ATM Championship Final next month , a race where he always wants to look and be good - especially now that his country team Japan looks like a major challenger for the ATM Team Championship title. He also enjoys moderate temperatures and can combine pure running speed with a significant technical skill set. Could Singapore’s Scott Pugh, host of the Endurance Asia podcast, cause a surprise? Also Scott is prepping for a significant goal in a few weeks and could certainly be on or near the podium this weekend. He did score an ATM race podium in Vietnam before. On the local Vietnamese side, we should keep an eye on Vang A Tung and Lo A Dao, two up and coming runners who may step out of the shadows this weekend. As always, there’s a list of international runners who are lesser known on our scene and could steal the show. Poland’s Michael Lesniak and Germany’s Philiip Secker, for example.

The women’s 70km perhaps has two slightly distinct favourites for the victory. Not in the least last year’s winner Giang Thi Linh, who returns to try and score a back-to-back victory. It was her only ATM race last year, meaning she unfortunately did not qualify for Team Vietnam at the Championship Final. A protege of Hau Ha, Giang Thi Linh would otherwise certainly be a Top 10 contender, perhaps even Top 5. Let’s see the progress she has made this Saturday. She is up against Singapore’s Dening Lo, a runner with several ATM race wins on her record in various countries and also a Championship podium contender next month in Hong Kong. Other runners to watch out for are Tran Thu Trang, third last year, Le Thi Hang (let’s see if she recovered from Prenn Trail Summits last week), Nguyen Ngoc Anh and why not India’s Ashwini Bhat and Malaysia’s Syarifah Hamzah, who had some great competitive performances in ATM last season.

VTM 70 is also part of the ATM Grandmaster Quest of course, and this Saturday two Silver Grandmasters can earn their 4th star to become Golden: Philippines’ Mario Yap and Malaysia’s Yvette Chong Mi Chin (see also yesterday’s news post).

ATM will be reporting live from VTM all Saturday starting at 4:45 am for the race start at the event hotel in Moc Chau.

The Trail to Immortality is the long-awaited extension to the Grandmaster Quest announced two months ago (see link below). This weekend, Vietnam Trail Marathon in Moc Chau officially launches the ‘TTI’ with its 70km race category, the first ‘Grandmaster distance’ of 2026 in our series.

The Trail to Immortality opens for runners who have collected all four stars of the Grandmaster Quest, i.e. who have finished 20 long ultras on the ATM race calendar. They are also called “Golden Grandmasters”. At present, eight people have managed to complete this extraordinary feat, but many more are on the way, underlining the increasing popularity of ATM’s Grandmaster Quest. Following popular demand, we have introduced an extension to the Grandmaster Quest, so runners of all performance levels continue to have a clear goal to run and train for. The Trail to Immortality has two sections. Broadly speaking, when you score 500 points (1 km = 1 point) in minimum five different countries, you Become Legend. When you score 1000 points in ten different countries, you Become Immortal.

Details can be checked via the announcement linked below.

The 8 Golden Grandmasters in ATM so far are:

• Hisashi Kitamura (JPN, male)

• Masafumi Yamamoto (JPN, male)

• Rhea Batac (PHI, female)

• Tomohiro Mizukoshi (JPN, male)

• Munin Sundram (MAS, male)

• Kenneth Mun Keat Yow (MAS, male)

• Alfredo Reyes Jr (PHI, male)

• Ruth Theresia (INA, female)

This weekend at VTM, two Silver Grandmasters are going for their 4th and golden star: Malaysia’s Yvette Chong Mi Chin, who can be the first Malaysian female to achieve the Golden Grandmaster title, and Mario Yap, who can be the second Filipino male to become Gold.

What do you do when you collected all four Grandmaster stars? Become Legend, Become Immortal!

Yvette Chong Mi Chin

The 11th edition of Tahura Trail in Bandung, Indonesia, saw a number of surprising names popping up on the top of the finisher’s sheet. The top 3 in the men’s race was entirely claimed by local runners who are especially known as road runners. Putra Julio Ekdo Badayu and Rudi Febriadi sprinted for victory at the end with Putra Aldo Hamzah taking third a couple of minutes later. Last year’s winner Alessandro Sherpa had to be content with fourth place. He stayed just ahead of Japan’s Hiroyuki Matsuda. Former Mantra 116 winner Ma’mun Khariri took sixth. 2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono, last year still second in this race, now had to settle for tenth, two places ahead of Daniel Ortiz.

The 40km qualifier race for the Asia Trail Master Championship points ranking was held on a last-minute modified course following a nasty rain storm during the night that caused a few trees to fall and block the trails. As a consequence, participants had to run the short distance loop of 22km twice.

IIn the women's race it was good old Eni Rosita who remarkably won the race in what was her first ATM appearance in nearly a decade. Septiana Nia Swastika came second. The third step on the podium went to Anggia Noviarta Sari, who finished just ahead of Manis Manis. Yustina Wardhani was sixth.

The next Indonesian qualifier for the ATM Championship is BTR in Bali in the middle of May.

Men Top 8:

1. Putra Julio Ekdo Badayu in 3h05'31"

2. Rudi Febriadi 3h05'32"

3. Putra Aldo Hamzah 3h08'44"

4. Alessandro Sherpa 3h20'15"

5. Hiroyuki Matsuda 3h20'32"

6. Muhammad Ma'Mun Khariri 3h22'04"

7. Sobiri Haerudin 3h30

8. Slamet Riyadi 3h31'31"

Women Top 5:

1. Eni Rosita 4h41'50"

2. Septiana Nia Swastika 4h45'42"

3. Anggia Noviarta Sari 5h04'16"

4. Manis Manis 5h05'02"

5. Nuth Fasa Tirani Abditi Mandiri 5h06'07"

6. Yustina Wardhani 5h15'56"

Season 11 of the Asia Trail Master Championship series continues this weekend after the Christmas and New Year’s break with the classic Tahura Trail in Bandung. The 11th edition of the event, which returned to the calendar last year after a five-year-break, is the first Indonesian qualifier of the ATM season and also one of the shortest. Sticking to tradition, Tahura Trail retains its 42km ‘trail marathon’ as the longest category. Last year’s male winner Alessandro Sherpa will once again toe the starting line on Saturday morning.

Over the years, It’s not become any easier for IBA to organise Tahura Trail in the big park carrying the same name. For this edition, registration could only open two months ago. Nevertheless, runners signed up en masse for the various categories and more than 400 runners will compete on the 42km. The late scheduling did have some impact on the ‘elite’ field, which seems less dense than in previous editions. That could make for some exciting open racing, though, with newcomers grabbing the opportunity to get themselves known on the international scene.

Alessandro Sherpa is the logical favourite in the men’s race, of course. The Italian began his preparation for next month’s ATM Championship Final about two months ago after a lengthy work-caused break and Saturday’s race will be an indication where he stands competitively right now. After several podium places Sherpa won last year’s Tahura ahead of another former ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono. This weekend, his main challengers are likely to be Abdul Aziz Dermawan, who had a great Season 10 and is signed up for Team Indonesia in next month’s ATM Championship Final at the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong. Also, Yusuf Aprian remains a dangerman, even though he has shifted his attention mainly to the very long ultras in recent seasons. Indonesia-based Colombian Daniel Ortiz and Sobiri Haerudin can also eye a podium result, if not more.

The women’s race does not seem to have an outspoken favourite. Look out for Yustina Wardhani and good-old Eni Rosita to finish towards the front in any case. Singapore-based Vanja Cnops won the race a year ago ahead of local hero and former ATM Champion Ruth Theresia.

Tahura is a big park just outside Bandung City, which makes it also accessible and nice for the whole family to spend a weekend there. The park has lots of great restaurants, coffee bars and sightseeing activities.

ATM will be reporting live from the race on Saturday morning on the usual channels.

Alessandro Sherpa won the men’s race last year

Yusuf Aprian in the 2019 edition of Tahura Trail

Daniel Ortiz

We are excited to announce that Tulay Trail in Thailand enters the ATM Championship and Grandmaster Quest calendars on the weekend of 24-25 October, making it one of the first events in Season XII. Tulay Trail is a popular event and already open for registration: be quick to get a bib!

On the programme are three relevant distance categories, of which the 100km and 45km are qualifiers for the ATM Championship points ranking. Grandmaster Quest chasers should choose between the 100km and the 75km. Tulay Trail was a very successful ATM Candidate Race last October.

Tulay Trail is organised by RunRun and is part of the Tak Trail series in northern Thailand. The Tak Trail series’ events aim to elevate the regional trail running scene to international standards and showcase its natural and cultural richness. Elevation gain and technicality should be taken seriously before signing up. Tulay Trail 100 has an estimated elevation gain of 6300 hm and has a cut-off time of 34 hours at the finish line. The 100 km offers a very nice natural loop with the longest climbing coming immediately after the 3:30 am start, going from approximately 200m to 1400m above sea level. The start and finish venue is the Ban Mae Chawang School in Tha Song Yang District. The main village, however, is located about 7km before the school. It has several shops and restaurants. Note that the “100km” is actually 108km long. The 45km race starts at 4:30 am and has 2800 metres of elevation.

Tak is rather remote, but worth your effort to travel for a few days. The event organiser will assist international runners to make their journey as smooth as possible. You can contact the relevant team via the event facebook page below, or you can also contact info@asiatrailmaster.com first. There is a domestic airport called Mae Sot, from where you drive about 3 hours to the race village. From Chiang Mai and Bangkok the journey takes longer.

Last weekend’s ATM Candidate Race in Libertad, Misamis Oriental saw two of today’s biggest Filipino trail talents collect another race win. Bukidnon’s Godwin Mirar and Kimberly Flores were too fast for the competition on the 42km long main race of the event, held for the first time and organised by Bakyard. The event had to deal with a rather last-minute change of location and race course a few weeks ago, but nevertheless took place without any major hiccups.

Misamis Oriential is the province around Cagayan de Oro in the northwest of Mindanao. The 42km course had about 1750 metres of elevation gain and was run mostly at nighttime. Godwin Mirar completed the course in 4h45. That was 19 minutes quicker than Eric Candelanza and Edward Candelanza. Godwin will be one of the dark horses at the upcoming ATM Championship Final in Hong Kong (The 9 Dragons).

Ever since mid-2025, Kim Flores has been scoring race win after race win in her home region. Last weekend, she was 34 minutes faster than Maria Dannica Embalsado to win in 7h05. Merry Luz joined them on the podium with third place.

A nice return to the ATM calendar: Akha Trail in the far north of Thailand comes back after two years and will be one of the last qualifier events for the Season 11 Championship points ranking. Organised by Route Map Co, Akha Trail is scheduled for the first weekend of August and features a flagship race of 80km - which is also valid for the Grandmaster Quest.

Nicknamed “The Way of Tribes” , Akha Trail stems from the people inhabiting the mountain region, an ethnic group spread out over mountain areas in Thailand, Myanmar, Yunnan (China) and Laos. The Akha people are quite well-known on the tourist trail for their colourful and distinctive traditional customes. Their home terrain in the north of Thailand is spectactular mountainous jungle with a number of caves in the mix as well. Runners will face a challenge, especially on the long distance of 80km with over approx 4600 hm. The course goes up and down, although there’s one long uphill climb, too, that follows a long descent to the second checkpoint at km 14. The last 20 km is a test of strength for many runners, although overall the course has been made a bit easier compared to the first editions of 2023 and 2024.

Less ambitious runners have three more shorter distance categories to choose from, but bear in mind that only the 80km offers ATM points.

To get to Akha Trail, you can fly to Chiang Rai where shuttle busses can be booked to the event venue at Pha Hee Village. Information on these can be seen below. If you prefer to be independent, it is even possible to fly to Chiang Mai and arrange a Grab or other transportation there.

Registration for the race is already open. Click on the button below to find the details. It is also recommended to follow the Akha Trail facebook page to stay updated on latest news.

One of the most exicting and successful newcomers on the ATM Championship calendar last year was Trail des Gombak, near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The 5th edition of the event organised by Projek Hijo retains the same weekend of June with the race dates fixed for 20/21 June. As in 2025, both the 100km and 50km are qualifiers for the ATM Championship points ranking. Being over 70km long, the 100 also offers a Grandmaster Quest point for finishers.

New this season is a brand-new start & finish venue and some redesigns to the trail course. TDG will be hosted by the Stadium Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS), offering a more dynamic race village, improved facilities, and a world-class start/finish environment for runners, crew, and supporters. The running route has been redesigned to better highlight Gombak’s unique forest landscapes, cultural heritage, and trail diversity. The precise course map will be revealed in due course.

Trail des Gombak is tougher than many expect. The 100 km has an approximate elevation gain of over 6000 hm, which already puts it in the ‘rather serious’ category. The start of the race is also an unusual 2 am on Saturday early morning. The 50km will be flagged off two hours later at 4 am and features about 3200 metres of elevation gain. Yes, you are close to Kuala Lumpur but it is surrounded by hills!

There’s hotel accommodation nearby the race venue if you wish to stay close. There’s also a shuttle bus service scheduled with details to come soon.

Registration is already open and can be accessed via the button below. The web page also contains all other necessary information.

Last year, the 100km was won by upcoming Vietnamese talent Nguyen Phuong Hieu and Nepal’s Dilu Limbu in the women’s. The 50km also went to first-time race winners in ATM, Muhammad Faris and Ritzy Amor.

After a successful stint as ATM Candidate in 2024, we are delighted to announce that Danao City International Ultra Trail has joined the Grandmaster Quest calendar for its third edition on 18/19 April 2026. It will be the first time trail runners can score ATM Grandmaster points on the popular island of Cebu in the Philippines. Focus hereby is of course on the 100km category, the only category of 70+ km at the event.

The Danao 100 km is a tough one with well over 6000 metres of elevation gain, accumulated via numerous ups & downs in a real rollercoaster of a course. Start and finish is in the city centre by the sea. A beautiful setting for a challenging trail run. Less ambitious runners can also choose for the 50km, 35km or 15km.

Danao is located roughly one hour north of Cebu City and its airport, which has several international connections within the region. Known as a popular tourist destination outright, this is certainly one of the easier events to get to. You will need to fly in on Friday as the 100km starts at 3 am on Saturday morning. The cut-off time is set at 33 hours. The official course for this edition will be revealed soon but is based on last year’s, which is pasted below.

Interested runners should follow the facebook page linked below to stay up-to-date on news and information about the event. Registration will open soon.

Running back in time