A few months later than planned after the typhoon-caused cancellation of Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail in Vietnam last October, but this weekend we will finally crown the successors of Jeff Campbell and Priya Rai as Asia Trail Master Champions. Unless they manage to keep their titles, because both will be competing at the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong during the early hours of Saturday. Following the traditional 50 Miles (84km) course of the popular event, the qualified Season 10 Finalists will start at Rotary Park at the base of Tai Mo Shan, which is CP1 for the regular 9D participants. The ATM Championship Final measures a bit less than 72km and has 3800 metres of elevation gain before finishing at the Tai Po Tau Playground as usual. It’s a tough course in humid conditions, with the renowned Hong Kong staircases and light rain forecast for Saturday. Whoever comes out on top, victory won’t be presented on a silver platter.

Apart from the defending champions Jeff Campbell and Priya Rai , other previous ATM Champions are also keen to become the first two-time winner of our series. Not in the least 2023 Champ John Ray Onifa, long-time resident in Hong Kong and perfectly familiar with the course - having won the 50/50 stage race of 9 Dragons last year, too. Onifa spearheads a very strong Filipino men’s team that also includes 2022 ATM titleholder Arnie Macaneras and up-and-coming stars Godwin Mirar, Kik Suello, Roberto Cain III, Jevie Cagatin and Jomarc Ferrer. . All of them are podium material, but who knows they also run as a team with a masterplan to challenge Campbell and the second home favourite, Lodewijk Vriens. The Dutchman living in Hong Kong was mightily impressive in winning Ultra Fish n Sheep 75km in October last year and is tipped by many as the runner-to-beat on Saturday. Vriens, by the way, won the 50 Miles stage of 9 Dragons two years ago.

While most eyes will be on the trio of Campbell, Onifa and Vriens, we might as well see three other runners claiming the top prizes. Indeed, the men’s field has arguably never been as competitive as this season’s Final. Team Japan will be a serious challenger for Philippines and Hong Kong in the Team Championship thanks to a.o. the participation of Hiroki Kai and Hisashi Kitamura. While the Karate Kit is already highly known in ATM, Hiroki Kai , nicknamed Crazy Karo, is a regular top performer on the world stage who qualified for this season’s Final by virtue of his third place in Izu Trail Journey and second place in UIIT in Korea. Perhaps many won’t see him coming this Saturday and with Kitamura and Shoma Maruyama, who both ran 9 Dragons before, he has two great guides.

Malaysia will be counting on the usual duo of Milton Amat and Wilsen Singgin. Both have been stars on the ATM scene for many years, with Milton already claiming a top 3 championship result twice before. While both may not have the same top speed as the runners mentioned above, the expected tougher weather conditions may play in their favour, both undoubtedly being among the most technically-skilled trail runners in Asia. And then there’s still Alessandro Sherpa and Kristian Joergensen, running for Team Asia Expat, the latter a former winner of the 9 Dragons as well. It’s almost amazing that nobody talks about him, but he certainly knows what to do in this race while keeping in mind “if Campbell can become Champion, then me too!” . To conclude the men’s race preview, a dark horse from Vietnam, Nguyen Phuong Hieu - impressive race winner at Trails des Gombak 100 last June and keen to make a name for himself.

The women’s Final on paper looks a bit more clear-cut. She who wants to become ATM Champion needs to get passed Priya Rai. The still young Nepalese has only become stronger since winning Borneo TMBT in September 2024 and has been knocking on the door of the world stage. Combining competitive trail running with the last year of her university education seems to work really well for her, having seen her performance in Kalaw, Myanmar, just three weeks ago. In that 50km race, she waited patiently in the first half before switching on her engine mercilessly in the second half. Given that her main rivals for the win are unlikely to make it to Hong Kong (Team Nepal unfortunately suffered travel visa problems), Priya may adopt a similar wait-and-see tactic keeping her inexperience running in Hong Kong in mind. She certainly has one serious competitor from the home team to worry about: Man Yee Cheung, who will make her debut as an ATM Finalist. Perhaps better known as a 100 miles runner, Man Yee knows the trails better than anyone of the contenders, with the possible exception of Nepal’s Dilu Limbu, who lives in Hong Kong. Dilu was the winner of the women’s 100km at Gombak last June. Japan has a number of podium challengers, too. Chisato Kario won two races in season 10 and Miho Tsuboi is a highly respected performer in her home country. Plus, there’s Akane Nemoto - already twice on the podium in an ATM Final. The strong female side of Team Japan, with also Yasuyo Hotta and Miki Ueki, will keep Team Pilipinas on their toes this Saturday afternoon in the context of the Team Championship, wherein the finish times of the best three men and best three women count.

Singapore has a hot iron in the fire with Dening Lo. A fast-pace runner who has also upgraded her technical skill set over the past few years, having won a.o. Mantra 68 in Indonesia twice. Just a month ago, Dening looked superb in winning Vietnam Trail Marathon 70km. Outsiders for a top 3 podium spot, but not to be underestimated are Philippines’ Ritzy Amor and Shally Yuson, Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong and Asia Expat’s Tara Savage.

The race starts at 1 am local time on Saturday early morning, which means for the top runners it will be mainly a nighttime race. The estimated male winner’s timeframe is 9:30-10:00 am. As always, ATM will be livestreaming and updating on its usual channels with focus for video on facebook and youtube, highlights on X and Instagram.

Lodewijk Vriens

John Ray Onifa

Dening Lo

Chisato Kario

Man Yee Cheung

We are very excited to announce that the Season 10 Asia Trail Master Championship Final, postponed after the cancellation of Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail due to the devastation caused by typhoon Bualoi , will now be held on 28 February 2026! The place is Hong Kong and the event host is none other than The 9 Dragons! 

We are absolutely thrilled and grateful that RaceBase, in particular Steve Carr and Michael Ormiston, were immediately keen to substitute for the Vietnamese event following the latter’s cancellation. It did not take long for all the pieces to come together and we are convinced the organising team will design and put on a fantastic new race within their existing event programme.  The ATM Championship Final race will be held on a special course of 70km with approx 3800 elevation gain and a separate race start at 1 a.m. The trail will largely follow the default 50 Miles course, but then see a shortcut to bring the distance down to the standard 70-75 km window, as usual for the ATM Final.

The 9 Dragons has been a very popular classic in our Asia Trail Master series since 2018 and has always fostered a solid competition amongst elite runners, while simultaneously never losing sight of the overall event experience for the every-day runner. It will be the first time in ATM’s decade-long history that the Championship title will be decided in Hong Kong. 

All the runners who were qualified for the ATM Final at the Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail two weeks ago, remain qualified for the new Final at the 9 Dragons. The Season 10 points ranking is closed and will not be re-opened. The events taking place as of Luang Prabang Ultra Trail in Laos this weekend all count towards the new Season 11 ranking already. All relevant runners will soon receive details and guidelines for the 9 Dragons event .

Also, in the context of the regular 9 Dragons event, please note  that the 50/50 stage race and Sunday’s 50km remain qualifying points races for the aforementioned Season 11 Championship ranking. Registration for the 50/50 and other open public races is still open. Response has been superb this year, so if you wish to secure a spot for the open public races you better sign up quickly.

In addition, please note that it is also confirmed that Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail in Vietnam will now host the Season 11 ATM Championship Final on 3 October 2026. And last but not least, a priority agreement has been struck with MUTRA to host the Season 12 ATM Championship Final in Myanmar in 2027! For competitive-minded runners, the scene is set for the next two years. This longer horizon gives ATM stability and enables us to work on greater developments to benefit all in the years to come.

John Ray Onifa and Kanako Edamoto won the 50/50 stage race in 2025

After the unfortunate cancellation of Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail and therefore also the Season 10 Asia Trail Master Championship Final race due to the devastation caused by typhoon Bualoi, we are working on alternative solutions as we speak. While a definite and formal conclusion will probably not be announced within the next week, please note the following nevertheless:

1) The idea is to still have a Season 10 Final race with January 2026 as the target month. This also to allow the qualified Finalist runners to properly prepare and plan for this new race goal. Discussions with a one particular event have already begun. Interested event organisers are also welcome to reach out to Asia Trail Master via kris@asiatrailmaster.com .

2) All the runners who were qualified for last weekend’s race, remain qualified for the envisaged new race in January.

3) Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail has requested to host the 2026 Season 11 ATM Championship Final on 3 October 2026. ATM gladly accepts the bid as we remain convinced Mu Cang Chai will make for a fantastic championship race and overall running experience.

4) Season 11 kicks off as scheduled on 18 October with Luang Prabang Trail in Laos, followed by Ultra Fish N Sheep in Hong Kong and Lam Dong Trail in Dalat, Vietnam. Runners score ATM points already for the new Season 11 rankings that will decide the qualifiers for the aforementioned Mu Cang Chai Final on 3 October.

As previously mentioned, Asia Trail Master, Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail and the local authorities in Mu Cang Chai and Yen Bai Province wish to thank everybody for their understanding and acceptance that there was no way the event could be held last weekend.

It is a cliche as high as a skyscraper: you can be 100% ready and prepared to stage a wonderful event, but you can never book the weather. A very powerful typhoon hit Hanoi and Northwestern Vietnam on Monday and early Tuesday causing havoc and heaps of damage through landslides and flooding, even in Hanoi City. With road access to the Mu Cang Chai town and region blocked as well, the local authorities informed the organiser of Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail that the upcoming event, scheduled from 3 to 5 October, cannot be held in the given circumstances. On Tuesday night local time, the official announcement was published via the company’s facebook page and shared via Asia Trail Master.

The 2025 Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail event will not be re-scheduled for later this year and instead all efforts will be directed towards the 2026 edition already scheduled for the same first weekend of October.

In collaboration with the event organiser, Asia Trail Master is considering options for a new date and venue to still hold the Season 10 Championship Final race before year’s end.

Runners who are travelling to Hanoi can still make use of the previously planned hotel arrangement in Hanoi. Gatherings may be organised ad-hoc for Friday and Saturday.

A few runners, including reigning female ATM Champion Priya Rai, witnessed the typhoon first-hand as they had already arrived in Hanoi before. Grandmaster Ann Jiiian Pulanco got stuck between Hanoi and Mu Cang Chai during her journey to the event destination. 2022 ATM Champion and local hero Hau Ha stated that her hometown Sapa is also cut-off due to landslides.

Asia Trail Master and the event organising team of Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail are highly grateful for runners’ kind understanding of this force majeure situation. Further information is to follow.

Godwin Mirar and Rejlen James are the overall Points King and Queen, respectively, of Season 10 in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. Both scored 2000 points in total, more than anyone else in four races during the season that began with Dieng Trail Run in Indonesia last year and ended with Ijen Mountain Marathon, also in Indonesia, earlier this month. Godwin Mirar succeeds Wilsen Singgin on the palmares, while Rejlen James follows Julieann Morales. 

The ATM Points Title neatly reflects the maturity Godwin Mirar has gained over the past months, after a rocky start of his season. First, he DNFd together with Kristian Joergensen as the duo went off course in Lam Dong Trail, and then the 25-year-old Filipino saw a near certain victory slip out of his hands in the final section of a bitterly cold Vietnam Trail Marathon. A couple of months later came the reset. Godwin Mirar ran his home race in Bukidnon, Mount Kalatungan Ultra, and took his first ever ATM race victory. Barely two months later, he impressed everyone with his showing in Penang Sky Race - taking his second win in superb style. Two wins, a fifth place and a DNF did not suffice to qualify for the highly competitive Team Philippines, so Godwin added The Punisher and Borneo TMBT Ultra to his race schedule in August. On Samal Island he collected race win number three, in so doing eliminating the DNF in Lam Dong from his points tally. He also crossed the finish line first at TMBT, but a mandatory gear infringement relegated him to second place afterwards. Still, he also deleted the 375 points of VTM and replaced it with 450 of TMBT and in so doing ended up with 2000 points, also including the 50-point Abroad Bonus for having traveled to at least 1 race abroad. In the final points table, he has 75 points more than 2024 ATM Champion Jeff Campbell and Singapore’s Chris Timms. His Filipino compatriots Roberto Cain III and Kik Suello are fourth and fifth in the final ranking of the season, indicating once again how dense the competition in his country is. 

Godwin Mirar will be one of the logical race favourites in Saturday’s ATM Championship title race. If he can keep his nerves in check and his head cool, Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail may very well be his real international breakthrough. 

Rejlen James once again proved she is the trail Queen of Sabah this season, winning in all three major events: BUTM, KAR Ultra and Borneo TMBT Ultra! Combined with a second place behind Nepal’s Dilu Limbu in Trail des Gombak 100, that also results in 2000 points for her four best races of the season. She collected the 50-point Abroad Bonus for traveling to Philippines and do Sierra Madre Trail Ultra in the Rizal mountains near Manila. Given James has a reputation for struggling when racing abroad, she actually did well in that race also: second place behind local hero Cecille Wael. Overall, a highly consistent and impressive season again for Rejlen James, who deservedly takes the ATM Points Title this year. In the final ranking, she preceeds Philippines’ Shally Yuson (who clearly made a step forward in performance this season) and Kuala Lumpur-based Filipino Ritzy Amor - another exciting newcomer this season, combining trail running with boxing, muay thai and wall climbing. 

Rejlen James will not be claiming her spot in Team Malaysia for the ATM Championship Final this coming Saturday. Despite very good race results also in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, she could not deliver the same performance in the Finals and has therefore decided to give it a miss this year. Her place in Team Malaysia has been taken by first reserve Yvette Chong Mi Chin from Sarawak, a very busy bee in our ATM series who sees her perseverance rewarded with a second qualification for the Finals after the first in 2022. 

Men’s Overall Top 10 of Season 10

1. Godwin Mirar (PHI) 2000 points (6)

2. Jeff Campbell (CAN/HKG) 1925 (4)

3. Chris Timms (GBR/SGP) 1925 (4)

4. Roberto Cain III (PHI) 1900 (5)

5. Kik Suello (PHI) 1875 (5)

6. Kristian Joergensen (DEN/PHI) 1825 (5)

7. Muhammad Faris (MAS) 1775 (4)

8. Wilsen Singgin (MAS) 1775 (4)

9. Hisashi Kitamura (JPN) 1715 (4)

10. Oswald Maikol (MAS) 1700 (4)

Women’s Overall Top 10 of Season 10

1. Rejlen James (MAS) 2000 points (5)

2. Shally Yuson (PHI) 1925 (4)

3. Ritzy Amor (PHI) 1825 (5)

4. Adelinah Lintanga (MAS) 1630 (4)

5. Shekinah Velasquez (PHI) 1590 (4)

6. Lalitah Lintanga (MAS) 1580 (4)

7. Metzi Joy Alson (PHI) 1555 (4)

8. Cecille Wael (PHI) 1480 (4)

9. Nurul Emyra Fazira Isnariah (MAS) 1470 (4)

10. Yvette Chong Mi Chin (MAS) 1460 (8)

Following last weekend's KAR Ultra in Malaysia, the ATM Championship Points Ranking has been updated. You can check the full ranking on ATM Web with all details, how runners scored their points in each event. Important: the 50-point Abroad Bonus has now been applied and is included in the runners' totals. So, this is how we go into the last 3 points race events of Season 10, before the big Final at Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail in Vietnam on 4 October.

Quite a few runners are guaranteed of their spots in the teams already, and may already be contacted by our ATM crew in early August. The final qualifiers in each country team will be known after the Ijen Mountain Marathon in Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia on 6 September.

COMING UP IN SEASON 10:

• 16/08: The Punisher (Philippines) : 80km

• 30/08: Borneo TMBT Ultra (Malaysia): 100km/50km

• 06/09: Ijen Mountain Marathon (Indonesia): 50km

• Final: Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail (Vietnam): 75km

To find out details about Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail and the ATM Final, please consult the dedicated page on ATM Web. Qualified runners will be expected to arrive in Hanoi on Thursday, 2 October, in order to take the shuttle bus to Mu Cang Chai on Friday morning.

MEDIA RELEASE. - We are very happy to announce that the 2025 Asia Trail Master Championship Final will be held in Vietnam at the 5th edition of the incredibly scenic Mù Cang Chải Ultra Trail event in Yen Bai province, in the Northwest of the country. Mù Cang Chải was part of our 2022 ATM calendar and has only grown more in popularity since. The 2025 edition is scheduled for 4 October, making it a perfect host for the conclusion of Season 10, which began in Indonesia late September 2024. The ATM Championship Final race will take place on the 75 km long course with qualified runners in national country teams and with a separate start time. . The event programme of course also features other categories that are open for the general public, and three of those also offer a point for the ATM Grandmaster Quest: 100 miles, 100km and 75km. Less ambitious runners can also sign up for the 55km, 25km and 12km, implying that all ATM Finalists can bring lots of friends to Mù Cang Chải in moral support!

It will be the first time the ATM Championship Final takes place in Vietnam. Over the past few years, Vietnamese trail runners have become increasingly competitive and visible. Not in the least thanks to Hau Ha, the young woman and single mum, from nearby Sapa, who burst onto the ATM trail scene in 2022, winning our women’s championship on Mount Apo, the highest mountain in the Philippines. It was the beginning of Hau’s remarkable success story on the world stage . So far, Hau Ha is the only Vietnamese trail runner who has managed to win our championship, but great athletes such as Nguyen Si Hieu, Loi Luong and Julia Nguyen Thi Duong have been contenders and podium placers. With Mù Cang Chải as host of this Season’s Final, the Vietnamese community has home advantage and an excellent opportunity to show there is more than only Hau Ha!

Mù Cang Chải Ultra Trail is organised by the company Viet Jungle and is located in Yên Bái province, northwest of country capital Hanoi. It’s a large area famous for its spectacular rice terraces and hiking trails. It is mainly populated by the Black Hmong, a subgroup of one of Vietnam’s largest ethnicities.

As per tradition, the ATM Final will be held with all top runners together in one and the same race. The 75 km long course includes the best and most scenic parts of the Mù Cang Chải trail network and has a total elevation gain of 3700 hm. There are technical jungle trail sections, but the majority of the trails are quite runable, subject to weather conditions, of course. The race will start at Khuôn Viên at 5:30 am, roughly half an hour before sunrise. The finish line is at the same location.

As in the past three years, runners need to qualify for the ATM Championship Final by scoring ATM points throughout the season. Per Asian country, maximum five male and five female runners - the highest point scorers - will receive the invitation to join the Final. Former ATM Champions can score a wild card independent of the points ranking. A minimum of 2 ATM race finishes is required for everyone. The invitation includes 3 nights accommodation (1 in Hanoi, 2 in Mù Cang Chải), shuttle bus Hanoi-Mù Cang Chải-return, free race entry and the usual race pack collection perks. The top 10 male and female, plus the best performing team, will be invited to the ATM podium ceremony after the race.

The reigning ATM Champions are Jeff Campbell (Canada/Hong Kong) and Priya Rai (Nepal). Both are scheduled to defend their respective titles at Mù Cang Chải . The defending team champion is Team Nepal.

Below is the Mù Cang Chải event facebook page, where you can find all details on the event and also find the link to register for the open public races.. All specific information and details about the ATM Championship Final will be published, as usual, on the ATM Website on our dedicated webpage, and shared via our social network.

To get excited already, have a look at the 2025 teaser video and gallery below!

All details on the ATM Championsip Final will be made available on this dedicated web page.

Hau Ha is the only Vietnamese ATM Champion in our 10-year history

Last year, Loi Luong scored a great 4th place in the women’s ATM Championship Final in Malaysia

Nguyen Si Hieu was 6th in last year’s men’s ATM Championship at Borneo TMBT in Malaysia

After a thrilling race at Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, Hong Kong’s Jeff Campbell and Nepal’s Priya Rai crowned themselves as the new Asia Trail Master Champions. Both elite athletes came out on top of a star-studded field after over 80 km of racing on a treacherous course that saw various re-routes due to heavy rainfall preceeding the start. Campbell and Rai succeed John Ray Onifa and Rashila Tamang, winners of last year in the history of the ATM Championship, while Team Nepal claimed the ATM Team Championship ahead of Team Philippines and the home team Malaysia.

While Priya Rai turned out to be utterly dominant in the women’s competition, leaving Vanja Cnops and defending champion Rashila Tamang no chance, Canadian-born Jeff Campbell had to dig deeper than ever before to salvage an advantage he ran together halfway into the race. First 2022 Champion Arnie Macaneras, and then eternal competitor Hisashi KItamura, appeared hot on his tail in the final 10km , which is notoriously almost entirely uphill to the finish line.

After some early skirmishes following the 5:15 am race start , mostly featuring John Ray Onifa and four of the Nepalese runners, the men’s Final had a first decisive moment around aid station 4 (km 30). Nepalese runners Arjun Rai Kulung and Lokendra Rai missed a marker and went off course by a long way, effectively eliminating themselves from contention. Milan Rai, also still very young, paid better attention and arrived at the aid station in the lead with… Arnie Macaneras, closely followed by home hero Milton Amat, for whom the race seemed to be going perfectly. Jeff Campbell was just a minute behind, but Onifa came in later and visibly struggling with stomach cramps. Kristian Joergensen was next, not looking too happy either. Both Onifa and Joergensen would later throw in the towel at AS 6. Kitamura arrived 13 minutes after Campbell.

A long descent on a re-routed section, all on tarmac, proved ideal for Jeff Campbell to try a move. Gutsy, because we were not even halfway into the race yet. He opened up a substantial gap using his inherent road running speed and by aid station 6 even looked like he could cruise home with nobody really looking to chase him very hard. Not even Milton Amat, who by then showed signs of fatigue and was not in the best shape we had seen him in before when he won TMBT 100 in 2019 and 2022.

The last 28km loop was known to had the sting in the tail. Plenty of runners in the past have cursed the final 10km section over the years, known from the traditional 109km race course. That includes Hisashi Kitamura, who saw race wins go up in smoke there and who had never been able to make a fist anymore, having already burnt all his matches previously. Enter race strategy and race tactics, and the beauty of race pacing.

As a first-timer at TMBT, Jeff Campbell experienced what Kitamura and so many others had gone through before. His pace slowed, his legs began to hurt and the 15-minute gap was melting before the sun, which in fact managed to peak through the cloud cover as well on occasion. Arnie Macaneras had timed his last attack to perfection and came closer and closer as they started going uphill for the last 10km, as can be revisited via the GPS dot track asia platform. Campbell became aware of the threat, as he saw Macaneras arriving at the last water station just as he was leaving it again. However, what nobody had really noticed up until then was that Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura was also suddenly coming on strongly!

With 5km left to go, Campbell looked cooked, but so was Macaneras. Major cramps all of a sudden ended his challenge and attempt to secure the ATM Championship for the second time in his career. 'Arnie would settle for third, because Kitamura stormed by desperate to still catch Campbell in the dying moments of the race. In the end, Jeff Campbell managed to hold on to a slender advantage of just over two minutes to clinch his first ever ATM title, after scoring 9 race victories in our series already since early 2018. A wonderful achievement by someone who used to be the King of Short Distance, but has now fully grown into a long distance racer as well. Hisashi KItamura was nevertheless a happy second. His strategy nearly paid off, the question can be asked whether he left it a little too late.

The performance of the young Priya Rai should also be underlined as it was her first race of more than 50km. Winner of both Nepalese points races in April, she grabbed the bull by the horns nonetheless and immediately applied pressure on co-favourites Vanja Cnops and Rashila Tamang. Contrary to Jeff Campbell in the men, Priya did not slow down at all in the last uphill. A fantastic performance by another young talent of whom we have definitely not yet seen the last. Singapore’s Vanja Cnops again settled for second on the the podium, while Rashila Tamang took a solid third - being plagued by some leg discomfort. Rashila required her fighting spririt at the end to keep Vietnam’s Loi Leung at bay. South Korea’s Hee Joo Jang was a surprisingly strong fifth, finishing just over two minutes behind Loi Leung at the finish.

Photo by Priya

Outgoing champion John Ray Onifa and behind him co-favourite Kristian Joergensen both called it a day at AS 6 (km 55)

Season 9, the shortest season in the history of the Asia Trail Master Championship that ran from December 2023 to September 2024 will have an explosive conclusion this Saturday at Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia. The start list of the 78km long Championship race is full of regional trail elites, even to the extent that nobody can say for sure who will be the successors of John Ray Onifa, Rashila Tamang and Team Philippines as ATM Champions. In fact, we are happy to see that both Onifa (Philippines) and Tamang (Nepal) will be defending their titles so the likelihood of someone scoring a second ATM Championship victory are higher than ever - with also 2022 Champion Arnie Macaneras and 2018’s Alessandro Sherpa in the race along Mount Kinabalu on Saturday.

Borneo TMBT Ultra is one of Southeast Asia’s true trail classics and we are indeed delighted that the Borneo Ultras team led by Mr Claus Pedersen and Ms Aileen Yong decided to host this year’s ATM Final in cooperation with Sabah Tourism. TMBT hardly needs an introduction, it’s the 12th edition of an event where beauty and challenge go hand in hand. The runners in the ATM Final, who all qualified by scoring points in races on the ATM calendar throughout the season and finishing in the top five of their country’s points ranking, will embark on a modified and partially unique course of 78km with a separate 5am starting time. One hour later, at sunrise, there will be the flag off of the standard open public 110km and 50km races.

Trail fans can follow the race via the livestreams and video updates on Asia Trail Master’s Facebook and YouTube channels, with updates on Instagram as well. Moreover, a live GPS tracking platform allows anyone to follow one’s favourite runner in real time along the course.

John Ray Onifa is for several people still the top favourite to retain his title, but the Filipino star has been less dominant than he was last year. It is unlikely he will distance his closest rivals again by more than hour, as he did at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra in Indonesia last December. Still, Onifa is no stranger to TMBT - having won the 50km race here last year. He also returned from Europe two weeks ago with some frustration for not having achieved the results he had wanted. A competitive athlete whose pride got hurt can be double as dangerous. The fact that his compatriot Arnie Macaneras is also in the race on Saturday will motivate him even more. After all, Onifa and Macaneras both like to be considered the ‘number 1’ in their own country. In trail running, the top guys seldom compete against each other and, regardless of the others, Onifa vs Macaneras is a fantastic race-within-the-race that will keep Filipino trail fans on the edge of their seats this Saturday.

As long as they do not hurt each other so that someone else benefits to steal the bigger prize. Jeff Campbell managed to outpace Onifa in Singapore last June in his comeback race after a long injury break. Milton Amat is the home favourite in Sabah, having won TMBT 100 already twice in 2019 and 2022. In both races he managed to keep Hisashi Kitamura behind, the fast Japanese runner who has been chasing the ATM Championship title and a race win at TMBT for five years now. The ‘Karate Kit’ claims he is now in the best shape ever and has specifically trained on the last 10km of the course, the relentless uphill section where he got overtaken by Milton Amat the first time. Alessandro Sherpa is a pure Championship competitor and has been preparing himself in Bali and Chiang Mai since late July. After the title in 2018, 3rd place in 2022 and 2nd last year, the Italian hopes he will be the first runner to be crowned ATM Champion twice. Another expat, Kristian Joergensen from Denmark residing in Philippines, came third last year and is keen to improve on that result - having been successful in Malaysian races before. Joergensen had a wisdom tooth removed last week, so he may start with a handicap. The list of victory and podium candidates goes very deep, but one ‘dark horse’ is certainly worth mentioning still: Nepal’s Arjun Rai Kulung. The long ultra specialist will be making his debut in Malaysia and its heat and humidity levels, having qualified by doing both Nepalese ATM points races back in April. We know Arjun is strong and resilient. Does he have the fast pace to follow the others over 78km in the climate of Borneo? For sure, he is the biggest question mark of all the contenders in the men’s race.

The women’s race is projected to be equally exciting to follow. Rashila Tamang and Vanja Cnops will continue their battle of last year’s Final in Indonesia. While Cnops has the advantage of having already won TMBT 50km twice, Tamang also has some Malaysian racing experience under her belt. The defending ATM Champion seems fully recovered from the injury that plagued her early in the season and has been able to focus fully on her running over the months. Can she keep Cnops behind again? The Singapore-based Belgian is an outstanding short distance trail runner, but once beyond 50km her pace always seems to decline. Always smiling, Cnops does have a fighter’s spirit and after so many race victories in ATM, the motivation seems there to make 2024 her year. When the invitations were sent out to all qualified athletes, Vanja Cnops was the first to confirm her participation. However, it’s not only going to be between Rashila and Vanja. For starters, just like Onifa and his teammates, there are other Nepalese girls who might just as well win on Saturday! Priya Rai won both 50k races in Nepal in April and has been racing internationally before. One caveat: Priya has never gone beyond 50k in racing trim. That’s not the case for Padam Kumari Sunwar, winner of MTR 100km. And Chhoki Sherpa never finishes far behind Rashila when they race together. Could Vietnam’s Loi Leung take centre stage? Flying perhaps under the radar, let’s not forget she won Lam Dong Trail last year ahead of none other than Angelie Cabalo, who finished 3rd in last year’s Final behind Tamang and Cnops. By the same token, Loi Leung was pushed down to second place in Cuc Phuong 42km this year by Japan’s Akane Nemoto, another runner who should not be underestimated at TMBT. Small detail: Loi Leung and Akane Nemoto share the same coach as Hau Ha. What can we expect from the Philippines’ ladies this weekend? Julieann Morales won three ATM races this season and is faster than she’s ever been. TMBT will be her first race abroad, however. Also from Mindanao, Shally Yuson has probably been the young woman who has visibly been getting ever more competitive race after race. Clearly motivated for a good result in her first ATM Final, Yuson can be in the mix for the top positions on a 78km distance. The same applies for Cristine Montuya, another newcomer. Mary Joy Sumanda and the “reborn” Irish Glorioso complete a competitive and robust Filipino women’s squad, which gives them cards to play in their pursuit of also retaining the ATM Team Championship title. Team Malaysia will do everything they can to prevent that, of course. The 2022 Team Champions were off the pace a year ago, but now field a similarly strong team as the Filipinos. Rejlen James and Shamiera Auther are probably the two runners who can aim for the individual race win, with Adelinah and Lolita Lintanga, and Lynda Marylyn backing them up. Rejlen has been almost unbeatable on home soil in Sabah since the end of covid, and a year ago she had the better of Indonesia’s ultrarunning icon Shindy Patricia in TMBT 100. If Rejlen can keep her head together during the race, many people will be surprised how fast and tough she can be. But what about youngster Shamiera Auther? One of Malaysia’s greatest trail talents of late, Shamiera has been - wisely - restricting herself to 50-60k and shorter races, winning or podiuming them, but has accepted the opportunity to compete for Team Malaysia on the longer distance of 78km. Many insiders will be very keen to find out how she fares. She has been excellent in not attracting any attention to herself over the past weeks….

While Team Pilipinas and Team Malaysia are the obvious teams to watch for the Team Championship, one should not ignore some of the others. On paper, Team Hong Kong and Team Nepal are strong, and so is Team Japan. Also Singapore and Brunei have complete teams with three men and three women, the minimum requirement for a team ranking.

The outgoing and defending ATM Champions this Saturday: John Ray Onifa and Rashila Tamang

The home favourite: Sabah's Milton Amat has won TMBT twice already

Alessandro Sherpa: Champion in 2018, third in 2022, 2nd in 2023. Highly motivated to be number 1 again

The Dark Horse: Nepal's Arjun Rai Kulung runs in ATM for the first time outside his home country

After 3rd and 2nd the past two seasons, can Vanja Cnops win the biggest prize this Saturday?

Rejlen James: after covid she has been almost unbeatable on home soil in Sabah

Julieann Morales: pretty outstanding on home soil this season, can she also do it abroad?

Nepal's Priya Rai is used to 50km races. Can she keep her high level on Saturday's 78km?

The race course of the 2024 Asia Trail Master Championship Final at Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, has been finalised by the technical team of the event. The 78km long course will feature the usual highlights, such as Pineapple Ridge, plus a few unique and never before used trail sections. The start venue at Lingkubang and the finish venue at Perkasa Hotel in Kundasang are the same as for the 110km regular race, and the ATM Finalists will also pass by Kundasang already a first time for Aid Station 6, which is approx km 50.

As you can see on the map, runners go from the start in a mostly southern direction towards Kundasang, before entering a loop of 28km around Liposu (WS10) and Kibbas (WS11). From Kibbas it is basically uphill for 8km to the finish line, so contenders for the championship title still need a few matches to burn when they hit that final section! Remember local hero Milton Amat still passing Hisashi Kitamura for the win there in 2019!

Borneo is known to be potentially very hot and humid by nature. However, TMBT has always been more moderate in this context as the race course gradually goes upwards to above 1000m and even finishes at 1400m above sea level. The ATM Final also starts at 5am, one hour earlier than the open public race and therefore still in darkness.

Stay tuned in the coming few days for more updates on what promises to be a real nail biter this Saturday. Both the men’s and women’s race have several contenders for the victory and the title. Also the ATM Team Championship will likely see a tight battle between several country teams.

Season IX is approaching its big and exciting conclusion at the Championship Final hosted by Borneo TMBT Ultra in Malaysia in just under a month’s time. Points have been scored since mid-December last year, and the qualifiers in each country have been identified. The five highest male and female scorers per country in our ‘best-of-four’ points system will team up to compete for the individual and team championship titles, provided they have completed minimum two races on our calendar during the past nine months. Indeed, this has also been the shortest competitive season since our inaugural championship in 2015. Popular demand made us move forward the date of our Championship Final towards Q3 rather than the end of the year.

It will be the third year in a row that the ATM Champions will be crowned following a 1-day shoot-out between the best performers of the season in our series. A format that has definitely boosted excitement and anticipation for trail running fans and Asia’s competitive-minded trail runners. For some, just being part of their country’s team in the ATM Final is the goal, but for the elites it is a real opportunity to focus, challenge and test themselves against runners hailing from the same region or continent. A chance to be in a proper race for podium, prizes and recognition before a potential step further up the ladder at the sport’s global level.

Regularity also matters in sport and any elite can have a bad day on the day of the Championship Final. Hence, we also like to highlight the runners who in the course of the past season have scored the highest points totals: the Points King and the Points Queen. This year, the honour goes to Malaysia’s Wilsen Singgin and Philippines’ Julieann Morales! Both athletes have totalled 1900 ATM points in four races, more than any other male or female runner.

Wilsen Singgin managed to score two ATM race wins and, interestingly, both in the 50km medium distance category. The Sabahan has been around since 2019 and built up a reputation as one of the strongest and most technically-skilled long ultra runners in Southeast Asia, but this season his focus has very much been on the 50km - with great success. Younger than Sabah’s stars Milton Amat, Gustin Tiam and Daved Simpat, Singgin looked a bit stuck last year but his increased running pace this year has boosted his performances again. To the extent, he might just as well pull off an upset at Borneo TMBT next month - particularly if it were to be a wet and technical race. In the final points standings, Singgin preceeds Filipino Jevie Cagatin, who scored 1800 points, and fellow Malaysian Mohd Sulhan with 1750.

Davao’s Julieann Morales was outstanding from December to March when she won Mount Apo Sky Race 100, Bagtit Ultra 100 and Mount Kalatungan Ultra 80 and all three in great style ahead of other qualifiers for the ATM Final. It gave her a safe margin to take a rest from the ATM circuit and see what the others are doing. However, as also Angelie Cabalo found out, three race results - even though all victories - are insufficient in Philippines with so many strong competitors and a ‘best-of four’ points system. Even though Morales was unable to win her fourth race - The Punisher - and could only take 4th place after arriving late at the start line, she still totals 25 points more in the overall ranking than second-placed Adelinah Lintanga from Malaysia, and 50 more than Rejlen James, also Malaysian. Julieann Morales is our Points Queen of Season IX. Let’s hope she can also make it to Borneo TMBT. Morales has never traveled abroad and is currently awaiting the delivery of her (first) international passport.

Forever competitive: Wilsen Singgin won in Simpur and KAR this year

Three victories in four ATM races: Julieann Morales had one heck of a season

Season IX of the Asia Trail Master Championship series is gradually approaching its conclusion. With less than two months to go until Borneo TMBT Ultra, this year’s Championship Final race, the various country rankings are becoming increasingly definite. Still, the remaining four points race events on the calendar will be important for many runners aiming to qualify for their country’s team in Malaysia on 14 September. Particularly in this season’s home country Malaysia - the team champions of 2022 - the 10-person roster is not yet decided. The same applies for reigning team champions Philippines, although a few runners there are already certain of their qualification.

Among those are the reigning men’s ATM Champion John Ray Onifa and his predecessor Arnie Macaneras. Both obtained their wild card as former champions by finishing two ATM points races this season. They won’t be the only past champions in Borneo TMBT. Also current female champion Rashila Tamang from Nepal will aim to defend her title, most likely supported by several other Nepalese runners. Team Nepal could become a challenger for Phillipines and Malaysia in the team championship, which is based on the performances of the best 3 men and best 3 women in a team. Also Team Singapore can spring a surprise this season.

2018 men’s champion Alessandro Sherpa has been coming close to winning a second ATM title with a 3rd place finish on Mt Apo in 2022, and a 2nd place on Gunung Lawu last year. Nobody has ever won an ATM Championship twice, and Sherpa - always strong when it really matters - is going to try again at TMBT, a race he has already done before. Vietnam’s Hau Ha - female champion in 2022 - has also secured her wild card, but her participation is very much dependent on what happens in Chamonix at the end of august. Another certain qualifier , and one of the top favourites in the men’s race , is Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura. After having firmly settled in Tokyo, the Karate Kit is back at his best, as he proved on Mt Daisetsu by finishing 15 minutes ahead of Hong Kong’s Jeff Campbell, who in turn managed to beat John Ray Onifa in Singapore a month ago. With home runner Milton Amat most likely earning his spot in the team this coming weekend at KAR, the stage is set for a very exciting ATM Final once again!

Qualified runners will be contacted by ATM very soon, starting with those certain of their spot after the KAR Ultra event this coming weekend.

Meanwhile, runners can check our dedicated ATM Web section on Borneo TMBT Ultra here.

The (draft) course of the 2024 ATM Championship Final goes from A to B

Alessandro Sherpa: 2018 ATM Champion

Arnie Macaneras: 2022 ATM Champion

John Ray Onifa: 2023 ATM Champion

Rashila Tamang: 2023 ATM Champion

Hau Ha: 2022 ATM Champion