2019 vice ATM Champion Hisashi Kitamura starts the 5th edition of Cameron Ultra as the top favourite on the 100 km points race this coming Saturday at 3:45 am. The KL-based Japanese UGLOW Asia ace is in excellent form during the first months of Season VII and underlined that with a strong victory in Japan at Echigo Country Trail just a month ago. Confidence runs high also because the Karate Kit was already 2nd in Cultra in 2019, the last time the event was organised, albeit not part of the ATM series back then.

Cameron Ultra is one the most popular trail events in Malaysia alongside Borneo TMBT Ultra and MMTF. The route is essentially an out-and-back through pristine scenery and various types of terrain. Elevation gain is not to be underestimated for the 100k: over 3900 hm. The route includes Mount Berembun and Mount Perdah. Given the Cameron Highlands are generally located between 800m and 1600m above sea level, the climate is not all that bad for trail runners with cooler temperatures than in other Malaysian races. The Cameron Highlands are of course also famous for the tea plantations.

The main challengers for Kitamura are expected to come from Sabah in East Malaysia. Wilsen Singgin was not happy with his performance at BUTM earlier this year in March and is hoping to reconnect with the kind of running form that brought him victory at last year’s MMTF in December, ahead of Kitamura and Daved Simpat, his fellow Sabahan who also features on the start list this weekend. Other podium contenders are likely to be Jeffery Budin, Bernardo Linus Sanchez, Seiji Morofuji and Derrick Lau. Of course, there’s always a possibility for unknown runners to come to the foreground. Noteworthy is also that the Indonesian and Singaporean leaders in the country rankings are also on the start list: Abdul Rahman Muhammad Ishak (Indonesia) and Cao Wei (Singapore). The country rankings are important to determine who will qualify for their national country team at the ATM Championship Final on 17 December.

The women’s 100k race is expected to turn into a dual between 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Champion Izzah Hazirah and BUTM 100 winner Sally Yap. Izzah will launch her 2022 campaign in our series at Cameron Ultra. Highly experienced, also on technical trails, Izzah will be keen to add this race to her collection of victories. For newbie Sally Yap, from Sarawak, this weekend could be the definite breakthrough of a new trail talent.

Asia Trail Master will be reporting live from the 100k race throughout the weekend, via our usual channels on facebook and instagram, as well as on our new DTA-based interface.

Cultra 100: who can stop Kitamura?