Siokhar Lim fastest in Tampin Transnaning as Mun Keat Yow becomes Legend
Trail runners looking to score an extra Grandmaster point on their records had a great opportunity at Tampin Transnaning Ultra in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, last weekend. Meanwhile a traditional annual event, the event takes place on a renowned loop of 34 km with seven hill summits in it. Participants could choose between two or three loops to score a Grandmaster point, given the 2 loops, i.e. 68km, has more than 4500 hm of elevation gain - similar to e.g. Mantra 68 in Indonesia a few weeks ago. Tamping Transnaning Ultra thus caters for technically skilled mountain trail runners with a strong endurance basis.
It’s the kind of long ultra that Grandmaster Siokhar Lim truly enjoys and excels at. Once again, she proved that by finishing the 102km race as overall winner in a time of 28h01! She finished ahead of Golden Grandmaster Kenneth Mun Keat Yow (30h19), but he had another thing on his mind last weekend: becoming Legend! A few weeks after Philippines’ Mario Yap, the Malaysian trail runner has become the second runner overall to become an ATM Legend, the new milestone created and announced last January for those who have scored four Grandmaster stars. To become Legend, Golden Grandmasters are required to collect 500 points - i.e. 500 kilometers - in at least five different countries. For Kenneth, finishing Transnaning 102km meant ‘mission accomplished’ (more in separate news announcement).
Interestingly, also third place overall on the 102km went to a female runner: Cheng Yutong finished the tough race just a few minutes behind Kenneth Mun Keat Yow. Amongst the runners who completed three loops was also 2-star Grandmaster David Khoo.
On the 68km or 2-loop race, we saw an outstanding competitive performance by Adam Danial, a new name on the ATM circuit. Danial managed to finish in an amazing time of 12h28, which was 3h30 quicker than second-place Henry Joe Cottilon from Philippines, who everyone knows is a solid competitor himself. Low Keng Sin took third on the podium, finishing slightly ahead of female race winner Ang Yee Mei in 16h23. 2-star Grandmaster Beng Siong Lee was next in 16h33. Siow Yen Wong and Chee Lai Lim were second and third female in the 68km race. A number of other Grandmasters fulfilled the challenge, such as Jyh Horng Lim, Swee Boon Lee and Yuen Loong Ho.
It’s trail running’s high season in Malaysia right now and already next weekend there’s another event on the Grandmaster Quest calendar: the Magnificent Baling in Kedah towards the north of peninsular Malaysia. An event that has grown to become one of the best attended trail events in the country.
Siokhar Lim - fastest overall on the 102km! Photo credit: II Image
2-star Grandmaster David Khoo and Golden Grandmaster Kenneth Mun Keat Yow, now ATM Legend! Photo credit: II Image
