Bukit Lawang Jungle Trail Run in Sumatra a new Candidate Race
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.
