Another hot edition of KAR Ultra in Sabah saw established protagonists Milton Amat, Dening Lo and Rejlen James take top honours, in addition to relative newcomer Azmil Bin Saripuddin. The latter trail runner from Sandakan in East Sabah won the men’s 110km race in convincing style - which given previous results came rather unexpectedly. Bin Saripuddin nicely tagged along with last-minute registrant and local hero Daved Simpat in the first half of the race. When Simpat pulled out with a thigh injury, Bin Saripuddin had no issue retaining his pace for the remainder, even though the equally surprising Filipino Rod Axel Butac and experienced Malaysian Syahrul Neyzam Sukasdi kept the pressure on some 15 to 30 minutes behind the leader. Last year’s winner Gustin Tiam continues to be hampered by injury and played no role at the front this year. Tiam would finish 8th .Behind the Top 3 it was Jainuddin Sainuddin, who may have secured his spot in Team Malaysia for the ATM Championship Final with this latest effort. Sainuddin crossed the line together with Haziq Asyraf, a finalist last year.

The women’s long ultra again saw Rejlen James a competitive class above the others. James has proven to be nearly unbeatable on home soil in Sabah, even though she has been struggling when traveling abroad. This was her 9th ATM race win ever, lest we forget! Philippines’ Cecille Wael, who had beaten her in Sierra Madre Trail last April, did not feature at the front in KAR. Wael lost a lot of time early on by a marshalling misjudgement and eventually had to settle for 11th place - which may jeopardise her chances to qualify for the ATM Championship Final this year. James is a guaranteed qualifier again for Malaysia, but the other spots in the team remain quite hotly contested and may only be decided come Borneo TMBT next month. Sarawak’s Grandmaster Celeste Teo ran a great 100k race - basically by herself nearly the whole way - and finished second last weekend. Adelinah Lintanga looked like a certain third place podium placer, but faded in the final 20km of the race. Jenny Jamilah Durat and Yee Ling Chai both still overtook her. Important 3rd place for Durat , in particular. She is one of several in the running for a spot in the championship final team. Behind Lintanga in fifth, it was youngster Shamiera Auther - who completed her debut on the long ultra.

The 60km medium distance for men saw a rejuvenated Milton Amat back on top. Amat had had a quiet season with only a 3rd place in BUTM 50 and this victory at least still gives him a slim possibility for qualification. He is also scheduled to run TMBT next month, but it’s a best-of-four points system and three races may just not be enough to finish the season in his country’s top five. At KAR 60, he kept Sabah’s new name Oswald Maikol behind by 17 minutes. Canada’s Francis Boutin came next, just five minutes later. Boutin reportedly will be around in SE Asia for two years, so we may get to see more of him. Wilsen Singgin was fourth - not what he had hoped for, but diarrhoea in the days before the race had weakened him. However, Singgin is certain of his spot in Team Malaysia already. It’s also his fourth consecutive qualification. Not many can say that. Hong Kong-based Mark Iandoli ran a great race and arrived at the finish in fifth place, boosting his chances for Asia Expat in the Final as well.

The women’s 60km went to Singapore’s Dening Lo as expected. Still, it remains a remarkable feat given Dening Lo did and won the tough high mountain ultra Mantra 68 just two weeks ago. Job done, too. with two race wins in the bag this season, Dening Lo should be safe to be part of Team Singapore in Vietnam on 4 October. Canada’s Elisabeth Petit, Lolita Lintanga and the surprising Sofia Raidin had a great competition for the remaining podium places. In the end, Raidin grabbed second and Lintanga third.

Malaysians still have another final chance to score ATM Championship points at home: Borneo TMBT Ultra takes place on 30/31 August.

KAR Ultra: Azmil Bin Saripuddin joins Amat, James and Dening Lo on top step