You can now watch our latest episode of Tale of the Trail, on the UTOP race in Malaysia on 8/9 October. The 105km very technical race had a surprising male race winner in Jeffery Budin, while local trail hero Siokhar Lim proved to be the strongest woman of the field.
Jeffery Budin was the surprising but well-deserved winner of Ultimate Trails of Penang 105km last weekend, while local trail hero Siokhar Lim confirmed her current top form with a clear victory in the women’s race. Budin’s success ranks among the greatest upsets in ATM race history. Having been around for a few years in the lower half of the Top 10, Budin rose to the occasion when most of the pre-race favourites weren’t paying attention early in the tough race and went off course. Apparently, a local marshal at an aid station to be used twice in the race, pointed them into the wrong of two directions. But surprisingly, most of the affected runners continued for plenty of kilometers before realising they were on the wrong of two different loops. Others trusted their GPS watches’ warning signals and turned back earlier. It’s a classic unfortunate situation, which ultimately demotivated some of them to throw in the towel all together and DNF. Wilsen Singgin, aware of the opportunity to safeguard his Top 5 spot in the ATM Malaysia ranking that qualifies him for our ATM Championship Final in December, did continue his race, however. According to Thimo Kilberth, who had a slow start with “blocked legs” due to a delayed travel from Europe, Singgin probably was only 40th when he saw him and rejoined an out-and-back section of the proper race course.
Meanwhile, Jeffery Budin, Seiji Morofuji, Ben Lee Ben Siong and Nem Chee Ng found themselves in the lead of the race with about 75 km still to go. This is where Budin earned his victory. He didn’t go the wrong way, suddenly found himself in a race leading position, then managed to stay cool and focused, ran with determination while, arguably, unlocking powers he did not realise he had himself, and brought it home in style. Not only is it Budin’s first ATM race victory, it’s even his first podium finish! A wonderful story for the humble and talented Malaysian, who has been supported by Sportlicious Malaysia for a few years already and who reportedly has very little chances to do any real training for races. Could this be a game changer for Budin? In any case, having been a busy bee in ATM already, his Top 5 spot in the ATM Malaysia ranking seems secure and Budin can expect to be part of his country’s team in the Final on Mount Apo.
The very experienced and solid competitor Seiji Morofuji was trying and hanging on about ten minutes back for most of the race, but eventually cracked and even still had the resurgent Wilsen Singgin pass him in the last three kilometers. Singgin’s Strava record read 121 km after the race, indicating he had been off course for a total of about 16 km… That’s 16 km of tough, technical hilly rainforest terrain. Kudos to the Sabahan for not giving up, his reward is big: it is actually his first ATM podium of the season after 3 fourth places earlier. Morofuji was all smiles, too. For the KL-based Japanese runner it was his second ATM podium finish after Merapoh Trail in 2019. His qualification for Team Japan at the ATM Final also seems secure. Pre-race favourite Thimo Kilberth eventually arrived in 7th place and was nevertheless a happy finisher.
Lem Chee Ng was in contention for the podium, too, but missed out by just 11 minutes. He crossed the finish line together with Siokhar Lim, who proved how much progress in running pace she has made since 2019. Being one of the most technically skilled female trail runners, Siokhar Lim, with this kind of form, could be a podium contender at the ATM Championship Final. The women’s podium was completed by Philippines’ Irish Glorioso, who ran a remarkable race herself, overtaking Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong in the final sections. Both scored their first ATM podiums, and Glorioso even placed herself in contention for the ATM Philippines Top 5.
Masafumi Yamamoto was another high profile finisher at UTOP, because the Ho Chi Minh City-based trail runner collected his 20th Grandmaster Quest point, and therefore has joined Hisashi KItamura as a 4-star ATM Grandmaster. Miri’s Yvette Chong Mi Chin accomplished her Grandmaster Quest, too, with her fifth ultra finish of 2022, following MMTF in 2019. And also Lim Jyh Horng completed his Quest at UTOP! Jyh Horng started with three races in 2019, the points of which are still valid this year, and added Cameron Ultra, Ultra Trail Chiang Mai and UTOP to it. Congratulations to all three great trail runners!
Masafumi Yamamoto: now a 4-star Grandmaster
Yvette Chong Mi Chin: Grandmaster *
Lim Jyh Horng: Grandmaster *
The 4th Malaysian points race in the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship series provides an opportunity for a few competitive runners to bring themselves in a more comfortable position towards qualification for the ATM Final in December. Team Malaysia is certainly one of the tougher teams to get a spot on, given the vast elevated level of trail runners in the country. Race favourite for the tough but beautiful UTOP 100km race on Penang island is Wilsen Singgin, a busy bee and always at his best on tough courses. Singgin will be running his fourth ATM points race of the season and with another good result would basically be assured of qualification. This year’s points ranking is based on a ‘best-four-count system’. Singgin and Mount Apo also sounds like a good match!
Buff Epic Ultimate Trails of Penang is organised by Endurance Nature, the event management team around Malaysian ultra legend Seow Kong Ng and Allan Lee. ATM followers know their other, older, event Penang Eco in Bukit Mertajam already very well. Before covid-19 hit, it had been agreed that we would be alternating Penang Eco with UTOP as ATM points race event in the coming years. It has taken longer than expected, but finally we will now have UTOP making its debut on our ATM Championship calendar. Runners who have done it already, argue that UTOP is a step-up in terms of trail technicality but the overall difficulty is counterbalanced by incredible vistas of the island and the ocean around it. Some even claim UTOP 100 is on paper the toughest trail race in Malaysia.
The dominator of Borneo TMBT Ultra 100, fellow Sabahan Milton Amat, is sitting this weekend out and will thus not add any points to his total. Amat currently has 1000 points out of two races and can be overtaken by Jeffery Budin and Bernardo Linus, both also competing in their fourth race of the year in Penang. Malaysian points leader Muhammad Affindi, like Amat, won’t be running this weekend.
Wilsen Singgin probably needs to watch out most for Aqmal Adzmi at UTOP 100. The tall runner is very keen on earning a spot on Team Malaysia as well and this weekend’s race could give him a great shot at collecting a podium and a big points haul for that purpose. Not entirely satisfied with his performance at TMBT three weeks ago, Adzmi had barely crossed the finish line and already talked about UTOP that night. What can Sarawak’s Abang Jamadi do on a technical 100k? Jamadi is probably best known as a 50k podium competitor, but will be going for it tomorrow on the double distance. 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong features on the start list as well, but having recently completed TOR in Italy he is reportedly changing to the 60k race category, which at UTOP does not provide any points for the ATM ranking. Ong has had global event ambitions this year and is not a factor in this year’s ATM Championship. Andy Lee and Jack Oh are outsiders for a podium spot this weekend, and last but not least also Thimo Kilberth. The Bali-based German is returning from a stint in Germany, where he a.o. ran the Cologne Marathon, and will be testing his resilience on the 100 km in Penang. Kilberth has been competing almost primarily on Indonesian trails, so UTOP is also a bit of a step into the unknown for him. Similar with Wilsen Singgin, it’s his fourth ATM race of the season so his qualification for Team Indonesia will be cast in stone if he finishes. Another Indonesian, Abdul Rahman Muhammad Ishak, is currently sitting third in his country’s points ranking and is also doing his fourth ATM race already. Not immediately a podium contender, but a decent race finisher nonetheless who has been collecting points left and right this season while some of his better-known compatriots have been idle.
In the women’s race we can probably expect a battle for the win between Halimatun Sa’adiah, one of the exciting newcomers on the scene this year, and Grandmaster Siokhar Lim, who is running at home. Can the youngster keep the very experienced and ultra distance specialist behind as the finish line approaches? We already know from Cameron Ultra that Sa’adiah can grit her teeth together if she must, but we have also seen a very fresh-looking and consistently strong SIokhar Lim over the past couple of months. We can imagine she’d like to win UTOP this time.
Looking at the Malaysian ATM ranking, points leader Sally Yap is absent but quite safe with 1400 points in 3 races. For Sa’adiah it’s her fourth race, so she should normally be assured of qualification after this weekend, too. The numbers 3 and 4 are also competing for the fourth time: Norlela Ismail and Chong Mi Chin. That will put some pressure on others who are currently just with two or one race behind their name.
After UTOP 100, there are still many points races left this season. In Malaysia itself, of course MMTF 100 and 50 is still around the corner in Taiping on 19 November.
UTOP 100 takes place on the island proper and is genuinely tougher than it may look at first sight!
“Mr 4th place” this year. Can 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Champion Wilsen Singgin finally get on the ATM podium this weekend… and why not even win the race?
Halimatun Sa’adiah has been making a name for herself this season. Can she claim her first race win this weekend?
Aqmal Adzmi is looking for a better run than TMBT three weeks ago. If he finds his best legs, watch out!
Grandmaster Siokhar Lim : it’s her home race this weekend
Back from Germany, Thimo Kilberth will be eyeing a great result on unfamiliar territory
Only a day after the cancellation announcement by Borneo TMBT Ultra, another Malaysian event everyone was really looking forward to has thrown in the towel. Ultimate Trails of Penang cannot take place in a fortnight. The Botanical Garden, where the event’s start and finish is located, is no longer giving permission to use the agreed venue due to the recent wave of increased Covid-19 cases throughout the country. Event Director Seow Kong Ng, who had spared no effort in the past weeks to make UToP happen within the currently permitted framework put forward by government, sees no chance to find an alternative event venue in such a short time and has decided to look forward to 2021 from now on out. UToP has been scheduled for the weekend of 9/10 October 2021.
This means that there will not be any points races in Malaysia in 2020. The five scheduled events this year were Cameron Ultra, The Great Malaya Trail, Borneo TMBT Ultra, Ultimate Trails of Penang and the TNF Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival. All events remain on the 2021 Asia Trail Master calendar.
For the remainder of 2020, only the events in Thailand (Ultra Trail Chiang Rai, Monkeys Trail), Vietnam (VJM and VMM) and Japan (Izu Trail Journey) are looking to go ahead as planned. Lantau 70 in Hong Kong has not officially been cancelled yet, but seems increasingly unlikely to happen. The same applies for The Punisher on Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
Welcome to Ultimate Trails of Penang in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series! The 3rd edition of the event by Endurance Nature substitutes its elder sister Penang Eco in our series and is scheduled for 10/11 October 2020.
The Malaysia programme for ATM 2020 will see a quite lot of changes compared to previous years. The classic Borneo TMBT Ultra remains and its upcoming 10th anniversary already been announced as the new Malaysia SuperTrail, but both Sungai Menyala Forest Trail and Magnificent Merapoh Trail (TMMT) will not be organised this year. With UToP - the abbreviated title of Ultimate Trails of Penang - taking the place of Penang Eco as well, it means we will effectively have four new Malaysia events on our calendar, which we will all reveal in the next few days. Plenty of new trails to discover in other words, and on top of those there will be a handful of 2021 Candidate Races in peninsular and East Malaysia to boot!
Seow Kong Ng and Allan Lee, the men behind Endurance Nature, are proud of Ultimate Trails of Penang and have every reason to be. When ultra legend Seow Kong gets involved, it will always be tough but participants in the previous two editions of UToP have indeed been excited about the race routes. The main event is the 100 km, which has approx 6000 metres of elevation gain. The precise course for the 3rd edition in October will be announced later this month. Of course, the event also has shorter race distance categories as well for the somewhat less ambitious.
As UToP takes place entirely on the island of Penang itself - unlike Penang Eco - this event is very family-friendly and easy-to-get-to. Main city Georgetown has an international airport so there is no immediate need to travel to Kuala Lumpur first. Should you wish to do so nevertheless, there are plenty of domestic flights from KLIA to Georgetown or you can just take one of the frequent and comfortable long distance busses.
Below you can watch the video highlights of last year’s edition.
Registration for 2020 will open soon. Meanwhile, block the date in your calendars!