The 11th edition of the Southeast Asia classic Borneo TMBT Ultra is upon us this weekend with the traditional 100k and 50k as points races for the ATM Championship. ‘Beautifully brutal, brutally beautiful’ is the new tagline with which the Malaysian event enters its second decade of existence and the start lists at least promise another very exciting competition to follow. Hisashi Kitamura aims for a ‘third-time-lucky’ , albeit in the absence of eternal rival and local hero Milton Amat - who is in Chamonix this weekend.

TMBT is a reputed event with an exquisite stage (stunning views of Mount Kinabalu on many parts of the course) that every year attracts runners from virtually all continents. Therefore, let’s not be surprised if we get some surprising performances this weekend from people we had not yet discovered before in our series. Yet, runners like Hisashi KItamura and John Ray Onifa (on the 50km) nowadays have it in them to beat all comers. Now living in Tokyo again, the Karate Kit is not racing as often as before, but that is likely to make him even more sharp for every race he does compete in. We saw that already in his comeback race two months ago in Hokkaido, when he beat a quality field despite only having trained a couple of weeks since his nasty fall and broken wrist in Korea in April. Whoever wants to win the 100km this weekend, will need to pass Kitamura. Plenty of candidates who will give it a try, though. Amir Zaki, for one, boosted his self-confidence for long distances when he beat Andrew Farmers for the victory in the Borneo Miler event in June. Zaki was a very busy bee in that period, but wisely took a breather in order to be fully recovered and fit to tackle TMBT 100. Incidentally, also Australian Andrew Farmers is on the start list - and he might certainly fancy another podium in Sabah, where he has been living for a while. From Sarawak, there’s Irishman Mark Steacy who can challenge for a top position, from the Philippines we have the young John Ivan Zonio - excellent second place in Sierra Madre 75 behind Jeff Campbell ! - and from Malaysia we have several big-hitters such as Daved SImpat, former double winner of TMBT 100, Gustin Tiam, in-form but very busy Amierul Amin and Dzul Izwan Siri Ee - another newcomer on the ATM scene who has put in some great competitive results over the past months.

The women’s 100km is going to be exciting as well, featuring new local star Rejlen James. Winner of the Borneo Miler in June, and of BUTM 100 in March, James has her eyes very much set on winning TMBT this weekend. That would be a fantastic triple with TMBT of course the jewel in the crown as the most renowned event. In order to win, James will again need to finish ahead of Sarawak’s Sally Yap, which she did at BUTM early in the year. Both competed at Penang Eco just two weeks ago, with James winning the 50k non-ATM race, and Yap winning her debut 100 miler. It can be argued that Yap did not have to push herself to the limit in those 100 miles - still, from a competitive point of view it certainly was a risk if the ambition were to win TMBT against James, and some other strong runners in the field. We know also, however, that Sally Yap can suddenly be ‘switched on’ and extraordinarily focused to produce a sterling result like her second place in the ATM Championship Final last year on Mount Apo. In any case, both Rejlen James and Sally Yap will need to be awake on Saturday, because there is a serious contender from Indonesia on the start list, too. A very experienced ultra runner who has proven to be in the best shape of her life this season: Shindy Patricia. Just like her two Malaysian competitors, Shindy ran and won Bali Ultra 100 two weeks ago, so what counts for Sally, certainly also counts for Shindy. Will James benefit in the final 10km of TMBT from the potential fatigue of her two main rivals?

Other podium contenders on paper are Roan Biguasen, Celeste Teo, Aurora Santiago and Lynda Marylyn.

The 50km race also promises to be great with John Ray Onifa scheduled to face Brunei’s Sefli Ahar - he’s back! - and normally speaking Wilsen Singgin, who after winning the 100 miles of Penang Eco prefers the 50k over the 100k this weekend. Onifa requires no introduction, he’s been the star of the past two months winning both MUSPO 100 in Philippines and Akha Trail 80 in Thailand with remarkable ease and skill. Certainly, he is the hot favourite to add TMBT 50 to his victory trophy collection , but Sefli Ahar is not nobody and determined to have a good showing after years away from the ATM scene. Those who do not remember Sefli: the most awarded Bruneian runner grabbed six ATM race victories in the 2016-2018 seasons. His professional duties as a policeman prevented him from competing more and time doesn’t stand still, but just like a Daved Simpat and Gustin Tiam, Sefli Ahar can still be surprisingly quick when focused. There’s a number of Nepali runners on the start list, too, who could cause an upset. Other podium contenders are likely to be Amirul Tuah - also from Brunei and a Grandmaster, Yasbie Ismail and -who knows- our Filipino ATM contributor Richard Akol.

The women’s 50km has Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops as the most likely winner, she also won the race last year. And yet, there’s a lot of other talent on the start list with Philippines’ Angelie Cabalo - winner of MMTF 100 last year - and Siet Fah Lim, winner of Penang Eco 100 two weeks ago. In addition, there’s Malaysia’s youngest developing talent Shamiera Auther - winner of BUTM 50 in March - , Nur Amaani and the 3 Lintanga sisters: Jess, Adelinah and Lolita. A race within the race: which of the three sisters is fatest in their biggest home race event?

As usual, ATM will be reporting live from Sabah on our usual channels with livestreams and multimedia updates throughout the weekend.

11th Borneo TMBT with Kitamura, Onifa, Singgin & Cnops