CM50: first points race victory for Joergensen!
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After five podium places - including two at CM50 Ultra - Kristian Joergensen has won his first ever Asia Trail Master points race last weekend. In Clark, the Philippines-based Dane was clearly the strongest in the 8th edition of CM50 Ultra, finishing more than 40 minutes ahead of Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi. The Tokyo runner therefore lost 50 important championship points, which unfortunately has put him out of contention for this year’s ATM championship title. Mizukoshi is highly likely to end the season in third, although a top result at Izu Trail Journey could still propel him ahead of Salva Rambla. For Joergensen it was his third ATM race of the year after scoring second places in Rizal Mountain Run and Borneo TMBT Ultra.

Triple CM50 winner Manolito Divina was also in the mix early on in the race, which started at nighttime. But the 2016 ATM champion is still chasing his best form after taking many months off running. ‘Tolitz’ slowed down in the second half of the race. Carlo Chiong and Joseph Gentileo kept the Filipino honours high in the men’s race with a third and fourth place ahead of Spain’s Ander Iza Rekakoetxea. To note was the excellent performance of 2-star Grandmaster Aleksis Capili. A big fan of CM50, Capili produced his fastest run to date and came in as eighth, but having Rekakoetxea within his sight!

In the women’s race we had an unexpected winner, Cheryl Navarro. Insiders had noted she could finish close as, after all, she won the 60km B-race of CM50 a year ago. As it happened, Navarro was a lot quicker than the rest and even finished inside the overall top ten. Let’s see if she will feature more often in other ATM points races next season! Malaysia’s Jassica Lintanga continued her fine form of this season with another podium placing as second. Lintanga also jumps into the top five of the ATM Championship. The final step on the podium was for Cecile Wael. Aggy Sabanal did not have her best race last weekend and had to be content with 8th place. It means Sabanal stays third behind Sri Wahyuni in the ATM championship. She has another chance to get second in Izu Trail Journey in 2 weeks.

Kristian Joergensen dominated the CM50 race this year

Kristian Joergensen dominated the CM50 race this year

Rambla outruns Sherpa in Singapore!
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The Trail Blazer race in Singapore had not stolen its name: the shortest and fastest points race in the Asia Trail Master Championship series this season produced a great direct battle between championship leader Alessandro Sherpa and Spanish challenger Salva Rambla. While many local runners toed the starting line as well, nobody was able to keep up with the leading duo over the 26 km distance, partially on slippery trails. Sherpa and Rambla know each other quite well after they jointly ran to victory in the V Trail in Laos a month ago, but in Singapore no gifts were handed out. After a great dual, Salva Rambla had the quickest dash to the finish line and won the race, keeping his Asia Trail Master Championship ambitions very much alive. Sherpa was second some 30 seconds later and nevertheless happy as he still increased his total ATM points tally by another 25 points.

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Will the champions be crowned this weekend?
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The final two weeks of the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series but still four points races to go. On Sunday, the new COMPRESSPORT Trail Blazer in Singapore and the traditional CM50 Ultra in Philippines will already shed a big light on who the ultimate championship challengers are this year, and -who knows- maybe it will all be decided already! Both points leaders in the championship will be running, too, albeit with different motivations.

Ruth Theresia has accumulated such an advantage over the other women by winning three back-to-back races in Indonesia in September and October, only a mathematical possibility remained for some other race winners of this season to still overtake her on points. But time has run out. Carole Fuchs will be doing Izu Trail Journey on 9 December, but that won’t be enough to catch Theresia. Corinne Williams has decided to end her season after Borneo TMBT Ultra due to other life commitments. Singapore’s Evelyn Lek - who burst onto the scene by winning both Magnificent Merapoh Trail 100 and Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100 - will compete in her home race this Sunday, but even if she wins it and follows up with Izu and HK 168, she cannot reach the 2650 total points tally set by Ruth Theresia. The leading lady of the renowned Bandung Explorer Team can therefore rest on her laurels and enjoy her second participation in CM50 Ultra supporting her friends. Ironically, exactly one year ago, Ruth lost her chance to become ATM champion in this same race after a great battle with Kim Matthews. While Ruth has emphasised not to look for her at the front of this weekend’s race, another finish would mean her 16th Grandmaster race finish! At the end of 2018, she is the only runner who is a 3-Star Grandmaster!

Who can we expect to compete for the race victory in Clark? Plenty of good local athletes on the start list, such as Aggy Sabanal, Melanie Hingpit, Ann Pulanco and Khaterina Visperas. Sabanal, who is also scheduled to run in Japan in 2 weeks, will be eyeing the first runner-up position in the ATM Championship behind Theresia. In addition, there is the in-form Malaysian Jassica Lintanga. The Sabahan runner will aim to score another podium - and who knows a first ever ATM points race win - and in so doing cement a top five ranking in the 2018 ATM Championship.

The men’s race in Clark will see Manolito Divina in action for the second time this season after his comeback on the ATM tour in Plataran X Trail Bali. He will be competing against tough guys like Spaniard Ander Iza Rekakoetxea, and other Filipino top runners such as Jared Teves, Joeffrey Camara, Ray Cabanig, Arnold Lozano, Aleksis Capili, Kyle Antolin and Felmer Hiponia. In the context of the ATM Championship, eyes will be cast on Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi first and foremost. He is ranked second behind Sherpa, and still has potential to challenge leader Alessandro Sherpa on points by improving on his ‘worst’ results of the season. Mizukoshi is currently 210 points behind, but a win in CM50 could reduce that gap to 110. And in 2 weeks there is his home race, Izu Trail Journey, where last year he ran very well, too. More runners to watch out for in Philippines are Sungsik Joh and Kristian Joergensen, the Manila-based Dane, who ran a fantastic Borneo TMBT early September. A Joergensen in that kind of form will be a serious contender for the race victory in Clark as well.

While Mizukoshi will be trying to catch up with Sherpa, the Italian himself will do his utmost to further increase the gap in the new Trail Blazer race in Singapore. Previously Sherpa had announced an end to his season to allow his injuries to heal properly, but he clearly feels his points margin is not wide enough to sit back and relax. Attack is always the best defence, as they say in sports. The name of the Singapore race is not a coincidence: the 25 km will be very fast for a trail race, of course aided by the fact that the nation state does not have any serious elevation gain to speak of. Sherpa has a great running speed, but how much will his knee and ankle hamper him? In addition, Spain’s Salva Rambla will be giving him a run for his money, too. Rambla himself is not entirely out of the Championship neither, especially should he win this Sundays’s Trail Blazer. Furthermore, in an atypical and non-technical trail race like this one we can expect several road runners to appear who may upset the normal order of things. In any case, while Ruth Theresia can prepare for a big celebration party on Sunday, Sherpa is unlikely to find himself in that situation already.

Dawn at CM50 is always something magical

Dawn at CM50 is always something magical

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ATM 2019 preparation in full swing!
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Some of you might have wondered how come there hasn’t been more news about the next 2019 season of Asia Trail Master yet. The reason is simple: because we still focus very much on the remaining races of this year’s championship, but also because we are revamping the website and communication platforms for next year. After four years - and three years using the current design - we felt the time has come for a change and upgrade, if you feel. The new website and all details about the 2019 ATM Championship series will be revealed immediately after the Izu Trail Journey in Japan, final race of the season on 9 December.

In the mean time, you can of course already prepare and - especially - secure yourself a spot for the first set of fantastic races in our 2019 calendar: Tahura Trail (Indonesia), The 9 Dragons Ultra (Hong Kong), Pilipinas Akyathlon (Philippines), Cordillera Mountain Ultra (Philippines) and Dalat Ultra Trail (Vietnam).

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Dalat Ultra Trail becomes SuperTrail on 16 March!
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The phenomenal success of Dalat Ultra Trail in Southern Vietnam has not escaped our attention at Asia Trail Master, and we are therefore happy to announce that the 2019 edition, scheduled for 16 March, will be the Vietnam SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship series! Dalat Ultra Trail is expecting 3500 runners next season, split up over four race distances, and the 70 km is the one that matters for the Asia Trail Master Championship contenders and those on the Grandmaster Quest.

DUT, as the event is known in its abridged form, received a major boost in participant numbers this year and runners proclaimed themselves to be very happy with the event weekend in the cool Central Highland city, roughly in-between Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Nha Trang (the famous beach resort area). The 70 km makes one big loop through pine forests and coffee plantations and is generally quite runnable. Nevertheless, these are the Central Highlands, so you can also expect 2000m of elevation gain.

Registration numbers went through the roof very quickly as soon as they opened. For the 70k, runners are also advised to sign up quickly online via : https://123go.vn/dalatultratrail/checkout

Dalat Ultra Trail will therefore be the 3rd SuperTrail of the 2019 Asia Trail Master Championship, after The 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong on 1/2 February and Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Philippines on 10 March. Penang Eco will again be the Malaysia SuperTrail, but this time takes place on the third weekend of June following the muslim Holy Month. In Thailand, the SuperTrail label goes to Ultra Trail Chiang Rai after the decision was made that UTKC cannot be held next year. The decision on the Indonesia and Japan SuperTrail is yet to be taken.

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Laos enters the trail scene with V Trail!
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This weekend it is finally happening: the first major international trail running event in Laos! The V Trail in Vang Vien is organised by the established crew of Teelakow in Thailand and is the first event of a scheduled four in 2019. The V Trail offers a very selective and technical course on most distances, not in the least the 85k ultra.

As this is a new sport in a new destination, most of the runners come from outside Laos. Quite impressive therefore that the start list features almost 800 names! Among them is also Asia Trail Master Championship leader Alessandro Sherpa. The Italian returns four weeks after struggling to a place of honour in the Plataran X Trail Bali with injury. Last week, Tomohiro Mizukoshi failed to hop ahead of him in the standings at Fifty Mapawa, but Sherpa is certainly hot home yet. The men’s championship remains open with several candidates remaining for the title. In fact, due to his many SuperTrail performances this season, Sabah’s Milton Amat is in a very strong position, although he still needs to deliver one big result this season to grab his option on the championship title.

At V Trail, Sherpa will be facing competition from amongst others Salva Rambla and Michael McLean. The former had a string of podium finishes in Indonesia before a DNF due to overheating at UT Chiang Rai 2 weeks ago. The Spaniard is keen to set that straight in Laos, although on paper the course might not be as suitable for him. McLean on the other hand does well on technical trails and has something to make up after a rather unexpected early DNF at UTCR 230. Also Thailand’s Wasin Mangkholmalee is a podium candidate this weekend, after finishing fifth in that same 230 km Ultra Trail Chiang Rai race.

In the women’s, we may have a Malaysian top favourite in Siokhar Lim, who was, amongst other results, second in Penang Eco 100 last May. Lim is also ranked 9th in the current ATM championship and can move into the top five if she delivers a good performance in Laos.

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Fifty Mapawa: local runners again top the sheets!
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Jonathan Pido has won the inaugural 50 miles of the Fifty Mapawa event in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, Philippines, two years after taking the 50k crown of the same event. Pido had to dig deep, however, as his compatriot Carlo Chiong was less than a minute behind in second place. Both of them were a class apart on the major rollercoaster that is Fifty Mapawa. Established names Kyle Antolin and, especially, Tomohiro Mizukoshi, had to settle for third and fourth place respectively more than one hour behind. Mizukoshi therefore improves his total points tally for the Asia Trail Master Championship, but it isn’t enough to leap ahead of points leader Alessandro Sherpa.

It is not the first time that local runners top the results sheet here in Mapawa. Runners from the south of the Philippines are rapidly making a name for themselves in the Asia Trail Master circuit and beyond.

The 50k race illustrated that fact even more when Arnie Macaneras broke the course record set last year by John Ray Onifa by 3 minutes to win in 6:59:48. Macaneras is from Davao and known as a road runner. Clearly his trail skills are not bad neither as Fifty Mapawa is a technical trail course. Macaneras was unchallenged, yet Spain’s Ander Iza Rekakoetxea and Germany’s Franz Bellot were not slow either. The women’s 50k race was won by Jennifer Quia, who beat Gennifer Bonita and Aggy Sabanal. The latter makes a good move in the ATM Championship, but it will become tough to end the year on the championship podium. Still, Sabanal is just early twenties and certainly one of the discoveries of the season. Majo Liao in the end did not take part in the Mapawa race.

We are looking forward to seeing all those new names back on the ATM tour soon!

Fifty Mapawa: Mizukoshi continues the Sherpa Chase
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After the Thailand blockbuster weekend, the action on the Asia Trail Master circuit continues in Philippines this weekend. Fifty Mapawa is the new name of the Cagayan de Oro event in Mindanao, the second points race on the large southern island of the Philippines after Mt Apo Sky Race last April. Not only the name has changed for this popular race in the Mapawa Nature Reserve, there’s also a new 50 Miles course on the programme alongside the traditional 50k. As this addition came late, it was decided that both the 50 miles and the 50k will be recognised as A-points races for the Asia Trail Master Championship, meaning the winners of each will walk home with 500 points in the bag. Of course, it also means that the field of participants is split up in two and competition will be less dense.

It takes a long time to travel to Cagayan de Oro, but Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi has a mission after his recent inaugural race victory in Plataran X Trail Bali. The Tokyo runner from Roppongi has been an active bee this season and his good string of performances have placed him among the top runners in the Asia Trail Master Championship. Now that he also won a race, and nobody else is really dominant this season, Mizukoshi finds himself in second place, just 110 points shy of championship leader Alessandro Sherpa. The Japanese has already finished 8 points races this season, so is currently trying to eliminate his worst race results under the five-best-count system of our championship. Plataran X Trail gave him the boost, and Fifty Mapawa could propel him into the championship lead this weekend, if he wins the 50 miles race he signed up for. Mizukoshi’s fifth-best result in the ATM books is 6th place in Echigo Country Trail, which gave him 350 points. Only a win in Mapawa (500 points) can put him ahead of the Italian, as a second place equals 450 championship points. That’s a difference of 100, and he needs 110 to overtake Sherpa’s 2300 total.

Obviously, Mizukoshi won’t be running alone and this is a very challenging rollercoaster course that may not be his preferred terrain. Local runner Jonathan Pido won the 50k at Mapawa two years ago and could be his main contender, alongside Kyle Antolin. Fifty Mapawa is the race where in recent years a lot of local talent was discovered, so it will be interesting to see if history repeats itself this weekend in that respect.

In the 50k race most of the attention will go to the female competition. Two of Philippines’ leading ladies will be squaring off against each other for the first time since Cordillera Mountain Ultra earlier this year: Aggy Sabanal and Majo Liao. Sabanal still the new kid on the block, Liao the established front runner with international pedigree. For a long time this season, Sabanal seemed to be a true challenger for the ATM title, but things went quiet after Mt Apo and in Vietnam Mountain Marathon she had to DNF feeling unwell. Today Sabanal ranks sixth. However, a strong result in Cagayan de Oro can put her back on track for a high finish in the championship, which would set her up for some good opportunities in the next season. The same applies for Majo Liao, now 8th in the ranking. The race between them will be exciting as on paper the Mapawa course should appeal to both runners.

Tomohiro Mizukoshi is 110 points shy of Alessandro Sherpa, but can come closer this weekend

Tomohiro Mizukoshi is 110 points shy of Alessandro Sherpa, but can come closer this weekend

Majo Liao returns to action this weekend and is the favourite on the 50k course

Majo Liao returns to action this weekend and is the favourite on the 50k course

Fifty Mapawa is a continuous up & down rollercoaster

Fifty Mapawa is a continuous up & down rollercoaster

Great runs in Thailand's blockbuster weekend!
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Two amazing events on the same weekend is always a tough choice for runners and event contributors, but in Thailand it is a particularly hard nut to crack. Both Singha Ultra Trail Chiang Rai and Compressport Ultra Train Nan rank among the very best events in the Asia Trail Master Championship and together bring more than 3000 runners to the trails of northern Thailand. A sign of the great possibilities for the development of the trail scene in the country. All the known Thai protagonists took part in one of the two events. Sanya Khancai won the 122km race in Chiang Rai, Pharait Varesin was unchallenged in winning the 109 km in Nan and Jay Jantaraboon opted for a solid 38k training run in Chiang Rai as preparation for a main goal of his coming next month.

In Nan, a lot of attention went to the ladies’ race featuring Ruth Theresia from Indonesia, who could beat the all-time ATM victories record set by Tahira Najmunisaa. But Theresia will need to wait a bit longer for her 11th race win. As it happens, Ruth is a woman and Nan’s race day was on that one day a month. The Bandung Explorer runner who is about to be crowned ATM champion when it is a mathematical certainty end of November, still tried to compete with Thailand’s emerging Waroonluk Chuenjit at first. As she struggled with pains more and more, she let go and just focused on finishing the 109k distance - another Grandmaster point for her. And guess what: it’s her 15th Grandmaster point - more than anyone else in the ATM circuit - and that’s another level completed. Ruth Theresia is any case the first three-star Asia Trail Grandmaster!

One of Ruth’s contenders for the ATM Championship, Carole Fuchs, virtually admitted it will be very hard to still catch her on points this season. Fuchs has recently moved to Tokyo, which has had a serious impact on her training and as such she opted for the 50k in Nan. She won comfortably, but the 50k offers no championship points.

The men’s race in Nan was won by Pharait Varesin, after his DNF last year when Sanya Khancai proved to be a little too fast. As the latter ran Chiang Rai this season, Varesin had no match on the tough 109k race. It was his first ever ATM race win as a matter of fact. His winning time was:13:48:56. The podium was competed by his Thai compatriots Perawat Silapaariya and Karan Popaichayon. After Theresia let go, Thailand’s Waroonluk Chuenjit stormed to a by all means impressive victory in the women’s in 19:46:16. That was two hours faster than Duangruethai Pakdeevanissukho in second and Sukanya Tongma.

Over in Chiang Rai, Sanya Khancai actually returned to the ATM scene after a long period of forced inactivity due to managerial issues. However, he certainly had not lost his speed in the process as he put the hammer down from the flag-off. Spain’s Salva Rambla, coming off three podium finishes including a race win at Ijen 70k, was immediately put on the back foot in a race that suits his characteristics. The pace was fast initially and no fewer than 9 runners were staying close to each other for about 30 to 40k until gaps began to widen. Khancai wasn’t waiting for anyone and Rambla began to suffer from the heat on what was indeed turning out to be a smoking hot day in Chiang Rai’s huge nature park. Meanwhile, Singapore-based Britain Gordon Parkinson was keeping a consistent pace and gradually moved up the leaderboard as others, such as South Korea’s Sungsik Joh, were fading away. Also the 100k winner at Ijen last month struggled with the extreme temperatures. Late in the afternoon, Salva Rambla even decided to retire. He had just been passed by Parkinson and suffering not only from heat but also from a nasty blister. With Rambla out, Khancai had an hour advantage over Parkinson with 27k to go to the finish. The British runner, in his second Asian outing, did remarkably well to maintain more or less the same pace as the Thai leader. But coming closer seemed impossible. Khancai grabbed his third career ATM victory ahead of Parkinson and the Thai duo of Narin Kongsiri and Thongcai Wonsgaard. The women’s 122k race was won by Hong Kong’s Cheng Yinkwan, ahead of Singapore’s Janelle Seet and Thailand’s Pakanee Burutphakdee. The DNF rate on the 122km was very high with just 17 official finishers out of 110 starters. It is testimony to the underestimated nature of the course, which has 5500m of elevation gain. Not nothing, but not out-of-the-ordinary for Asian standards neither.

It was in any case interesting given that there was also an extreme trail race on the UTCR programme with a higher finisher rate percentage-wise. The Ultimate 230 km made a huge loop around the Singha Nature Park with a large section along the Myanmar border in the north of it. A unique challenge that was taken up by 40 registered runners, of whom 34 effectively started. It was perhaps no coincidence that two 2-star Grandmasters were among them: Aleksis Capili and Lily Suryani. Capili hadn’t been seen on the ATM tour since last year’s UT Panoramic (which won’t take place in 2018 but returns re-designed in 2019) as the Thailand-based Filipino shifted his focus to better and targeted training rather than more racing. Capili’s race positions have indeed been improving since he adopted this approach, and in Chiang Rai he was taking the bull by the horns in the early part of the double ultra race. Capili was joined at the front by his compatriot Jag Lanante, Brunei-based Canadian Michael McLean and a local black dog, who accompanied the front runners for 86 kilometres! The dog became a star during the event, as the day after he also ran the 38 km race (as Jag Lanante would do as well…).At around km 55, Capili began to feel pain in his knee, and had to slow down the pace. McLean also had his issues. Severe stomach and belly cramps forced him to even retire in the evening of the first day. All that meant Jag Lanante was able to take over and control the race from then on. Also from Philippines originally, Lanante is known as an ultra runner for whom no distance is too long. He actually kept on moving all the way and finished back in Singha Park in just over 37 hours! Capili walked and struggled his way to the finish twelve hours later. In third and fourth were Thailand’s Supeeraphan Sreeduangjan and Korea’s Kwanghoo Lee.

Two fantastic events.

The big question trail runners have: will they again be on the same weekend in 2019?

Jag Lanante measured his effort perfectly. The Ultimate 230K is of course something made for him

Jag Lanante measured his effort perfectly. The Ultimate 230K is of course something made for him

2-star Grandmaster Lily Suryani completed the Ultimate 230k, but unfortunately outside the COT.

2-star Grandmaster Lily Suryani completed the Ultimate 230k, but unfortunately outside the COT.

Ruth Theresia is a woman and UT Nan was on that one day of the month.. Still, she completed the course and became the first 3-star Grandmaster!

Ruth Theresia is a woman and UT Nan was on that one day of the month.. Still, she completed the course and became the first 3-star Grandmaster!

New name from Thailand to watch out for: Waroonluk Chuenjit!

New name from Thailand to watch out for: Waroonluk Chuenjit!

Jag Lanante was unstoppable on the 230km and even did the 38K the day after as well

Jag Lanante was unstoppable on the 230km and even did the 38K the day after as well

Ruth to surpass Tahira in Nan?
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Bandung’s Ruth Theresia just keeps on running these weeks. In Nan, Thailand, she will start her fourth ATM ultra in five weeks tomorrow and it is again a special one. The likely new female Asia Trail Master Champion can surpass Malaysia’s trail icon Tahira Najmunisaa in total career ATM race victories! Winning in Nan would be Ruth Theresia’s 11th and would be the cherry on the pie of what has been a fantastic and mature season of the Indonesian number one.

“Normally, Nan will be my last big race of the season, though,” she says a day before the start. Understandably so, as her biggest rival for the Championship, Frenchwoman Carole Fuchs, has opted to downgrade to 50km in Nan citing lack of training following her recent move from Thailand to Japan. Fuchs needs at least three more race victories, including the Izu Trail Journey as Japan SuperTrail with its 50 bonus points, to still have a shot at Ruth Theresia’s points lead in the ranking. “Only if necessary, I will do HK 168 early December,” Ruth adds. Mathematically speaking, she will be guaranteed of having won the ATM championship at the end of November following the Trail Blazer race in Singapore and the CM 50 Ultra in Philippines. Other runners who could in theory still spit in her soup are Corinne Williams (winner 9 Dragons Ultra Hong Kong and Borneo TMBT Ultra) and Evelyn Lek (winner Magnificent Merapoh Trail Malaysia and Vietnam Mountain Marathon). Ruth does not need to win in Nan, as it would not increase her total points tally under the five-best-count system.

There are many local runners, currently little known, who may or may not make life difficult for Ruth in trying to win her 11th ATM race. Let’s find out how it all unfolds as of tomorrow. A video interview with Ruth Theresia will also be uploaded on our facebook page later today.

In the men’s 100km, which is actually 107km, Thailand arguably has the fastest runner on the start list with Pharait Varesin. However, as always to finish first you first need to finish. Varesin ran Nan last season as well, but retired half way leaving Sanya Khancai to run solo to the victory. Among all known people on the start list, Varesin is the top favourite, perhaps with France’s Emmanuel Abadie close behind. Abadie has scored good results in Malaysia and Thailand before. To note is also the 7th ATM race of the season of Malaysia’s Grandmaster Muhammad Shahrin Faiz Bin Roslan. The busy runner has made it into the top 10 of the ATM championship as 9th thanks to his string of finishes in tough races including two SuperTrails.

Stay tuned all weekend for updates from Ultra Trail Nan in Thailand via our social media pages.

Ruth Theresia can score her 11th ATM race victory in Nan, Thailand, this weekend

Ruth Theresia can score her 11th ATM race victory in Nan, Thailand, this weekend

Beautiful scenery all along the 107 km long course of UTN 100

Beautiful scenery all along the 107 km long course of UTN 100

Ultra Trail Chiang Rai opens with 230 km double ultra!
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The 2nd edition of Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in Thailand already begins on Friday early morning. Reason is a novelty, and also a one-off, according to race organisers Teelakow. The Ultimate 230 km features a giant loop around the big Singha Nature Reserve in the north of the country. Perhaps surprisingly enough, 40 runners of whom more than 1/3 foreigners feel attracted to this double ultra. Several are well-known in Asia Trail Master circles, such as 2-star Grandmasters Aleksis Capili and Lily Suryani, who both live up to their reputations as being the champions of ultra trail finishes. Both the Filipino and the Indonesian also have a realistic chance to score a podium result in the race. Capili has reduced his racing regime significantly this season, but after his European excursion has prepared himself for this colossal 230 km undertaking in the dry heat of Chiang Rai. Suryani returned from injury over summer to score a third place on the Ijen 100k a month ago.

Aleksis Capili will face another strong Filipino runner, Jag Lanante, who is no stranger to these distances. Among the known other starters we find Canada’s in-form Michael McLean, who scored great results at Borneo TMBT and Bandung Ultra 100 recently, as well as Robert Butcher from Great Britain, who was 2nd on the 122 km race distance of UT Chiang Rai last year. Malaysia’s Lau Say Niong is here, as well as many runners we still need to get to know, among which six Japanese. At present, it is still unclear if ATM Champion Steven Ong will run this weekend or not. He is on the start list, but indicated in Bali two weeks ago it is time for his injuries to heal first. Rumours have it that Steven is nevertheless on his way to Thailand.

As the Ultimate 230 km is of course an odd-one out, the 122 km race of this event has also been labelled an A-race for the Asia Trail Master Championship. Concretely, this means both the 230 km and 122 km score 500 points. The 230 km victor gets 50 bonus points, however, as 230 is more than 100 miles (the so-called 100 miles bonus for all finishers).

Therefore, the 122 km also has a competitive field even when current ATM Championship leader Alessandro Sherpa has pulled out. The Italian also has to allow his body, particularly his ankle, to rest for a while before resuming the ATM championship chase at the V Trail in Laos in two weeks. Sherpa leads the championship, but several others are still well within striking range. The men’s championship is more open than ever, and even Spain’s Salva Rambla can still join the title debate. A newcomer on the scene since a month, Salva finished on the podium of each of his three Indonesian races. Now running the 122k in Chiang Rai, the Catalan is certainly a man to watch. His main rival for the win is likely to be Thai: Sanya Khancai returns to the ATM scene eight months after his fantastic dual and second place in UTKC. Khancai has had to cope with management issues in the past months, and is keen to put all that behind him in Chiang Rai. His main challenger in Thailand, and winner of UTCR last year, Jay Jantaraboon will be running a shorter distance this season.

Another remarkable name on the start list since his victory at Ijen 100 is South Korea’s Sungsik Joh. For many it was an upset victory, but look at the course characteristics and his previous good result in Sungai Menyala, and one realised that Sungsik Joh had been flying under the radar for many months. In Chiang Rai, he also finds a course that should be to his advantage. Based on Ijen, the sympathetic South Korean could run to the podium this weekend as well.

It will be interesting to see if there’s any Thai runners making the jump to the top of the leaderboard this weekend, besides Sanya Khancai.

We will be reporting live from Chiang Rai throughout the weekend.

The race preview of the second Thai race this weekend, Ultra Train Nan, follows tomorrow.

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Successful introduction to Mt Talinis Mountain Marathon
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The inaugural edition of the Mt Talinis Mountain Marathon, a 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race, was a success with participants applauding the organising team of established trail runner Rhodel Sarande for the course and technical management. Mt Talinis is one of the highest volcanic mountains in the Philippines at an altitude of nearly 2000m above sea level. It is located roughly 20km from Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, a province located in the Central Visayas. It was the first time an ATM labeled race took place in this part of the Philippines.

The climb of Mount Talinis is quite foresty, often foggy and has several mountain and crater lakes. The region has a very rich biodiversity but unfortunately also suffers from illegal logging - one of the reasons this event has been put up with support from local authorities, who like to drive up regional eco tourism and create alternative revenue streams for the communities. Runners had to dig deep into jungle forest - as images by Eskapo Mountaineers below show - during the ascent. The main race was indeed very technical over a length of 50 km.

Fastest runner was Joseph Gentileo, a known athlete on the ATM circuit. His findings were described in an interview linked below. He finished in 9:46, roughly 15 minutes ahead of Carlo Choing. The male podium was completed by Jomar Buclay in 10:39. The women’s race saw Zha Malana take the victory in 14:40. She was followed by Maria Luisa Jaugan and Lyra Valles.

Race Director Rhodel Sarande has confirmed the event will take place on the same weekend in 2019, i.e. 5/6 October 2019. Following the positive feedback we are also happy to lift the option and develop the Mount Talinis Mountain Marathon as a new points race in the 2019 Asia Trail Master Championship series. More details on next year’s event will become available in due course.

LINKS:

Press article about race winner Joseph Gentileo.

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Video trailer of Mt Talinis Mountain Marathon