Last weekend’s successful BTR Ultra event in Bali, Indonesia, saw the first ever ATM points race victory for upcoming long ultra talent Roberto Cain III (The Third). The Filipino was dominant in the tough 105km ultra across Bali’s three famous mountains Batur, Agung and Abang. He was already first on the summit of Batur before sunset on Friday evening, and kept his advantage throughout the night. In the early hours of Saturday morning, Cain III even still increased the gap to his nearest competitors underlining his superiority. Pre-race favourites like Arief Wismoyono never featured at the very front and later would even DNF. Earlier this ATM season, Roberto Cain III had already taken 2nd in Mount Kalatungan Ultra and 4th in Sierra Madre Trail Ultra. Good results, but this Bali victory really means a step up for him - particularly as it’s not even at home in Philippines. His finish time was 17h52, which proved the hard nature of this 100k and 7200hm course. In fact, runners were even lucky it was cloudy and not that hot for most of the event, set by the Batur Lake.

Almost an hour behind Cain III, Wai Hung Mok from Hong Kong grabbed second in his ATM debut. He was running most of the race with Java’s Akhmad Nizar, but had the edge in the final ten kilometres. Nizar somehow has a subscription on third places in ATM races. Nevertheless, it was third achievement of the current season and he is basically already guaranteed of qualification for Team Indonesia in the ATM Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October. In 2023, Nizar finished 8th in the Final. Behind Wai Hung Mok and Akhmad Nizar, it was Malaysia’s Yih Huan Sua , always good in Indonesia, with Philippines’ Maynard Encormal, having a superb performance just a week after taking a 3rd podium spot in the Mt Ugo Marathon. Yusuf Aprian made a nice comeback to the scene after a long injury break with sixth place. He was followed by Egypt’s well-known Ahmed Bedair, who had made a fast start with Cain III on Batur.

The women’s 100km ultra was dominated by Hong Kong’s Man Yee Cheung. Just two weeks after her miler on Fuji in Japan, the tall Hong Kong star seemed pretty well recovered and was a class on her own in Bali. She took her victory, her second in ATM after VMM 100 in 2023, as fifth overall in 21h13. Earlier this year she also finished second in the 9 Dragons. With a total of 950 ATM Championship points in two races, she might have already done enough to qualify for the Championship Final in Vietnam this season.

Behind her, it was a fantastic second place for Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong. She was almost the entire race in second and held off a long list of other regular ATM race podium contenders. Last season, she was a surprising 9th in the ATM Championship Final at Borneo TMBT. Indonesia’s Devi Devi claimed the third step on the podium. Earlier on Saturday morning, Ruth Theresia - who was on podium course - stepped out of the race with severe stomach cramps. Another pre-race favourite, Adelinah Lintanga, had a tough day but managed to get some ATM points for 8th place. Singapore’s Wei Xinshuang finished fourth and Malayia’s Law Guan Shin fifth. Then it was Japan’s Yasuyo Hotta followed by Anne Maridol (Philippines), Risa Kamiya (Japan), Adelinah Lintanga(Malaysia) and Nia Septiana. Syarifah Hamzah, who was 4th in Penang just two weeks ago, dropped down to 11th place in the last part of the race.

In the BTR 60k race, Hong Kong-based Dutchman Lodewijk Vriens scored his first ATM race win of the season in 8h37. Vriens was challenged initially by the newcomer from Ambon in the Moluccas, Haidar Ali Lestaluhu, but then took the advantage in the black lava field. After 4th in VUM in March, a good win for Vriens - one of the potential dark horses for the Championship this season.

He was followed by several of Indonesia’s ‘new generation’ runners. In second place was Sobari Herdiana, a good 20 minutes behind Vriens. Third on the podium, Ujang Ahmad Ahmad and Sobiri Haerudin took fourth place. Bali-based German Thimo Kilberth, now 50, was a fantastic fifth after a brilliant second half of the race. Kilberth showed once more what focus and dedication to a goal can do. His fourth successive qualification for the Championship Final is nearly a given already. Abdul Aziz Dermawan was seventh, ahead of Agus Juprit and Luis Alvelais - also on a good day. Malachy Kirwan was a DNS and Taofik Hidayat had a rough day to finish in 14th.

In the women’s, Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops took her 9th ATM race win and 2nd of the season, but only just so! Indonesian newcomer in ATM, Gita Harmoni, came closer and closer and stranded just 1’40” behind Cnops, the vice-ATM Champion of the past two years. What an introduction to Gita Harmoni, who is from Yogyakarta in Indonesia. Vanja Cnops required no less than 10h38 to win this 60k race across Batur and Abang, which was her longest race ever - yes, read that again. For Gita it was a step up in competition level after starting trail running in 2022.

France’s Manon Bourdoge was a happy third. she was followed in the finish by New Zealand’s Charlotte van der Lee, who managed to get ahead of Malaysia’s Shamiera Auther in the final 8 km. Lolita Lintanga and an injured Ritzy Amor were next. Ritzy retakes the overall ATM points lead from her Filipino compatriot Angelie Cabalo. Local Dian Pradina was eighth and Halimatun Sa’adiah ninth.

The next Indonesian points race event in the ATM Championship series is Mantra 116 on the first weekend of July. Later in early September, there’s also still the Ijen Mountain Marathon.

Runner in the black lava of Batur

Thimo Kilberth: fantastic fifth place on the 60

Newcomer in ATM: Gita Harmoni

A doubleheader weekend in ATM before a month’s break, as we are ending a very busy event period that began in early January. Jumla Rara Ultra takes place in remote western Nepal , and in Indonesia we have one of the country’s flagship trail events: BTR Ultra on the island of Bali. BTR has returned to the ATM calendar for the first time since 2022 and is de facto replacing Bali Ultra this season, the other event that has been postponed from August to a later date to be announced soon and in any case will be outside the framework of our current Championship season. Long-term followers of ATM know that BTR today is not the same as BTR 2022: the Mount Batur volcano is still the highlight, but the main race categories are now fully matured. Runners will embark on 60k and even a 100k journey, both distances offering ATM Championship points for the Top 25 in the race results. 100k finishers also collect a Grandmaster point. The question, though: how many finishers will be there on the 100k?

The 100k starts on Friday afternoon at 4 pm and is, in fact, 106km long for well over 7200 metres of elevation gain. Given the climatic conditions of Bali, this is what many would indeed call ‘brutal’, and in any case a serious test of physical and mental strength. With that in mind, it is both remarkable and admirable that Indonesia’s female trail star and 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia has chosen BTR 100 as her 20th long ultra in ATM, or in other words, the race that may crown her as a 4-star Golden Grandmaster!

Ruth Theresia is still among the favourites to win the women’s race as well, of course. Not competing as often as she did pre-corona, the Bandung runner has been opting for a more balanced approach to trail running with more shorter distance races following some injuries and ailments. But when she starts a race, she is never far from victory as shown this season again at Tahura Trail, where she came second behind Vanja Cnops. BTR 100 is hardly comparable and Ruth will be using her experience and thinking back on her numerous successes in gruelling races of the past to push her forward. Especially in the last hours of the race during the daytime heat on Saturday, when many participants are expected to get a knock of the hammer.

Plenty of other contenders for victory in the women’s 100km, by the way. Other local Indonesian runners such as Septiana Nia Swastika, Sandra Cianti and Yustina Wardhani have all earned kudos in these type of races over the years. Mostly out of the region’s and ATM’s spotlights, however, as Indonesian trail runners have not been competing a lot in the region since corona. Several international runners can eye victory as well this weekend. Starting perhaps with Man Yee Cheung from Hong Kong, second in the 9 Dragons this year already. Two weeks ago, however, Man Yee won the 100 Miler on Fuji in Japan and so it remains to be seen how fresh and recovered she is from that. Japan’s Risa Kamiya won Prenn Trail Summit 180km in Dalat last December. Thailand’s Siriporn Leumathong always performs well when it gets long and tough. Ninth in the ATM Final 2024, let’s not forget. One of those trail runners who suddenly seems to find an extra gear when motivated to compete. From Philippines, Anna Rongavilla could pull of a surprise and why not one of the many Malaysians in the race? Genre 2-star Grandmaster Adelinah Lintanga or Guan Shin Law? Lintanga has scored nice victories in 100 milers before in tropical climate, and coming from Sabah she won’t be that disturbed by it. The dark horse comes from China, although based in Singapore: Xinshuang Wei.

The men’s 100km will see many of the usual Indonesian long ultra specialists square off, with 2015 ATM Champion and 2-star Grandmaster Arief Wismoyono still labeled as the man-to-beat on this type of terrain and distance. Now 40, Wismoyono can still set a surprising pace as he showed in Tahura Trail in January, finishing not far behind winner Alessandro Sherpa. While Risqi Kurniawan -absent this weekend - kind of claimed the title of ‘fastest Indonesian’ on the medium distance, Wismoyono remains the benchmark on the long ones. Up to younger contenders such as Akhmad Nizar, Dedy Yusuf, Hilman Maulana and Yusuf Aprian to make a statement this weekend. Of those, Nizar is arguably the one with the most experience running against international competitors. He also finished 8th in the 2023 ATM Final. This season he has already banked 825 ATM points and is looking good for a new qualification into Team Indonesia for this year’s Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October. Incidentally, Arief Wismoyono can also collect his wild card as former champion this weekend, provided he finishes the race.

As in the women’s, there is a big Malaysian contingent to challenge the Indonesians in Bali. Many Grandmasters who can surprise on any given day, plus proven podium runners such as Yih Huan Sua. Also the Filipinos throw some tough irons in the fire. Roberto Cain III, for example. Or Maynard Encormal, who still finished 3rd at Mt Ugo Marathon last weekend.

Looking at the 60k , there are perhaps two more clearer favourites for the race win in the men’s and women’s competition: Lodewijk Vriens, from the Netherlands but based in Hong Kong, and the aforementioned Vanja Cnops, from Belgium but residing in Singapore and winner of BTR 30k in 2022. Whoever wants to win the 60k this Saturday will need to pass them. Vriens is also not unknown in ATM. He won the first stage of 9 Dragons 50/.50 last year, and this season he finished 4th in Vietnam Ultra Marathon 70. Reportedly motivated to qualify for the ATM Final this season, Vriens is hoping for a good showing in Bali. It’s a very long start list so runners may fly under the radar, but potential competitors for Vriens are Indonesians Taofik Hidayat, Sobiri Haerudin, Sobari Herdiana and Nizar Surydratama. Plus, Singapore-based Irishman Malachy Kirwan, Hong Kong-based Mexican Luis Alvelais and last-but-not-least Vietnam’s Nhon Trong. The latter used to be a 50k specialist before focusing on the long trail distances, but has recently again been trying to find back his old speed. Nhon is prone to ‘overheating’ , though, as we also saw in Penang two weeks ago.

Vanja Cnops has returned to Asia from the European Marathon Championships in Belgium, where she finished a respectable 25th place in 2h52. If her recovery went as planned, she could very well be flying this Saturday. For Cnops it would be her 9th ATM race win in a journey that also placed her on the ATM Championship podium three consecutive times (3rd in 2022, 2nd in 2023 and 2024). Scoring a win or a good result may provide her with enough points already to give it another go in Vietnam in October. Her expected rivals for the victory on Saturday are Philippines’ Ritzy Amor, Malaysia’s Shamiera Auther and Indonesia’s Henny Sutanda.

Ruth Theresia going for her 4th Golden Grandmaster star, plus a wild card for the ATM Championship 2025

Ritzy Amor : one of the new stars on the women’s scene

Vanja Cnops can already score her 9th ATM race win this Saturday on the 60k

Henny Sutanda: winner at Mantra last year.

2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono still going strong at home in Indonesia

Lodewijk Vriens: the one-to-beat on the 60k?

We are happy to announce that BTR Ultra in Bali is making a comeback to the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar on 10/11 May 2025. Organised by the Bali Trail Running community, the event offers breathtaking 100km and 60km points races with the longest race category including the ascent of Bali’s greatest mountain Gunung Agung. Start and finish is in Kintamani by the Batur lake.

Back in 2022, just after covid, BTR was one of the shortest races in our ATM history with a 30km that produced great sparks with Mohamed Affindi and Vanja Cnops taking top honours - short distance specialists as they have always been. You can rewatch the race summary below or on our youtube page. Since then, the event has continued to grow and develop longer trail courses. The advertised 100km is special as it includes the three big Bali mountains with Agung, Batur and Abang. Total elevation gain is quite serious, approx 7250 hm, and runners should also take the heat and humidity into account. Definitely, if one wants to finish the 100k, one should come focused and prepared. The cut-off time of 34 hours, for 106km by the way, is on the tight side. Please also note that the start is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 4 pm. The idea is that the majority of participants can enjoy sunrise on Agung.

The 60km also has no fewer than 3800 metres of elevation gain, but skips Agung. Runners need to conquer both Batur and Abang, and the latter should not be underestimated. Both for the 60k as the 100k races it is worth noting that the final 15km are quite runable so you better leave something in the tank. Apart from the volcano and mountain climbs, runners can also look forward to passages through the black lava field, pine forest and Trunyan Hill.

Kintamani and the Batur lake are located towards the north of Bali. International runners can make their way up from the Canggu, Seminyak and Nusa Dua areas via Grab or motorbike. It may be worthwhile to consider staying in popular tourist place Ubud before and after the race, to cut traveling time to the race venue.

Registration is open now. It is advised to sign up quickly to ensure you score a bib. Go to the website to find all details.

First ever ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono won the long ultra at BTR last year

The Batur lava field is always a highlight

There’s more than just vulcanoes

Risqi Kurniawan took his third ATM race win in Indonesia within little over a month and increasingly looks like a top favourite for this year’s ATM Championship title. Kurniawan outran a stubbornly tough Han Ching Su from Taiwan and his compatriots Akmad Nizar and Sobari Herdiana on the 50km of Bali Ultra Trail in Kintamani. On the 100km, Rachmat Septiyanto took his premier ATM race victory while Shindy Patricia proved her super-form again with her third ATM win of the 2023 season!

Bali Ultra Trail changed the race courses at the last moment to avoid potential repercussions following political statements that climbing Bali’s mountains would very soon be outlawed. This made the race more runable than originally planned, but it still proved tough enough - also due to the heat & humidity plaguing especially the many Japanese athletes.

The 50km was on paper the most competitive distance category and so it turned out to be. As said, Risqi Kurniawan again showed his amazing speed on this distance and it will be interesting to find out if he can stretch that to 77km on 2 December. What should help him in any case: he ran Siksorogo last year and Gunung Lawu is close to his hometown of Magelang! Team Indonesia is building up very nicely with also Akmad Nizar almost assured of qualification for the ATM Final. Nizar has been operating in the shadow of Kurniawan, but consistently so and the smart youngster can certainly produce something special at Siksorogo himself. Team Indonesia will also feature Bali-based German Thimo Kilberth, who had his best race of this season by finishing sixth and “only” 33 minutes behind Kurniawan. Fifth went to the second Taiwanese Pin Chi Chou. Great to see runners from Taiwan feature in an ATM race for once!

The women’s 50km developed into a tight battle between Japan’s Nami Ishihara and Germany’s Katrin Herzog. For a long time, Ishihara had the upper hand, but Herzog came back towards the end and managed to overtake her for the win. In third came Singapore’s Dening Lo, followed by Hszin Tzu Chao from Taiwan and Indonesia’s Siti Nuraini, who probably would have preferred to climb Mt Batur and Mt Abang. Bali’s home runner Dian Pradina had a great performance to finish sixth.

On the 100km, Japanese aces Yuta Matsuyama (male) and Tomomi Bitoh (female) set the pace for the first half, but both began to fade as a result of the climatic conditions and saw others coming back to them. Matsuyama was with Indonesia’s Abdul Salam at first, but he would DNF later and the experienced Rachmat Septiyanto was the one to claim the victory at the end. Second in Mantra 116 seven weeks ago, Septiyanto scored his first ATM race victory and is actually as good as qualified for the ATM Final and Team Indonesia. However, he is the lead organiser of Siksorogo Lawu Ultra and Septiyanto obviously cannot do both things. Matsuyama boosted his chances for qualification in Team Japan. Japan’s Takeshi Hashimoto was the third man on the podium, ahead of Vietnamese runners De Nguyen and Trung Hau Phan. Australia’s Washington Firmeza came sixth in another ATM race finish this season.

Shindy Patricia was chasing Tomomi Bitoh for a long time, being just a few minutes behind the strong and experienced Japanese runner. As often, Shindy is the one who slows down the least in the second part of ultras, and so it was again. In fact, Shindy went on to win comfortably but finished even second overall behind Septiyanto. Matsuyama came next but then it was Vietnam’s Julia Nguyen Thi Duong - in another wonderful performance of the weekend. Tomomi Bitoh still salvaged her podium in third.

Within just 2 months, Central Javanese youngster Risqi Kurniawan has propelled himself into a top fabourite position for the 2023 ATM Championship title.

Podium of the 50km women with Germany’s Katrin Herzog as winner

Wonderful to see a runner from Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) on the podium! Han Ching Su

Rachmat Septiyanto takes his first ever ATM race win

Third ATM victory of the season for in-form Shindy Patricia

Podium of the 100 km women

Podium of the 100km men

The second ATM Candidate Race of the weekend takes place in Bali, Indonesia. It’s the Bali Ultra Trail, an inaugural event originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but then postponed until now due to covid. The event mimicks somewhat the BTR Challenge from earlier in the year with a loop on and around the popular volcano Gunung Batur, but extends it with an out-and-back to the beach in North Bali to produce an ultra distance of 80km. The event, directed by ATM Grandmaster Dendi Dwitiandi, has been able to attract several of Indonesia’s star trail runners, such as Arief Wismoyono, Taofik Hidayat, Thimo Kilberth and Shindy Patricia. These are all spread out over 3 categories, however, with Thimo and Pablo Diago Gonzales, for example, opting for the 25K race on Sunday morning. On the longest 80k, Wismoyono is the top favourite, but there’s also Fandhi Achmad, Dzaki Wardana and Rachmat Septiyanto. On the 50K, all eyes will be on Hidayat, but there’s also Alan Maulana and a lot of unknown runners who could cause a surprise. Shindy will be the woman-to-beat, but there’s also Sianti Candra on the start list. Ruth Theresia features on it as well, but has reportedly decided to save her energy for the ATM Championship points race Jember Hills Classic in two weeks from now.

One month after winning Mantra Summits, Arief Wismoyono is again the top favourite in Bali Ultra Trail

Mohamed Affindi and Vanja Cnops were the great winners of the 2nd edition of the Batur Trail Running Challenge in Bali, Indonesia, last Sunday. For Affindi it was the confirmation of his excellent condition already on display at BUTM in March and his second ATM race victory of the still very young new season. For Vanja Cnops it was the confirmation she can be one of the women-to-beat in this year’s battle for the ATM title.

Trail running in Indonesia still has a number of covid-mitigation protocols to follow, such as a quota on the number of runners permitted to take part in the races, but the presence and participation of Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism in Bali was a wonderful token of support for the event organisers Bali Trail Running. The weather around the famous Batur volcano turned out to be fantastic as well on Sunday morning, so the atmosphere at the event was blissful to say the least. BTR Challenge could become a classic on the ATM trail circuit, indeed, and another welcome piece of evidence trail running does not always need to be about ultra long distances and massive elevation gain profiles.

While the big majority of local Indonesian trail stars decided to sit this race out, it was great to see a new Lombok face fastest out of the start blocks at 6 am. Moh Wisnu Haizufi entered the black lava field first after 2 km, and was able to stay ahead of the Singapore Shufflers trio of road stars Darren Southcott, Malachy Kirwan and Vincent Casanova for a few kilometers. Last year’s winner Thimo Kilberth, German but based in Bali for over ten years, Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi and first woman Vanja Cnops - Belgian but living in Singapore - were following a short distance further back. Last year’s female winner Emma Payne, predominantly a Bali-based UK triathlete - was showing grit by trying to keep up with Cnops, who just returned from a bronze medal in the Belgian Championship half marathon (1:15:46!). Haizufi would logically slow down a bit, which brought trail newbie Darren Southcott to the front of the race. The terrain in the lava field and low forest is runable and favours the quick legs in the participation field. A little surprisingly perhaps, or just a great tactical sense, Affindi already switched to a higher gear before the crucial ascent of Mount Batur, in pursuit of Southcott. Malachy Kirwan and Thimo Kilberth were three and four respectively.

Climbing and descending Batur, Southcott managed to keep Affindi some 45 seconds behind him in what was developing into a great dual. Kilberth counted on his wealth of trail experience on Batur to try and make his decisive move during the fast but often technical descent. He caught Kirwan, struggling on his Vaporflys, and put himself into a podium position, but the two leaders had run out of range.

Southcott came out of the lava field first to take on the final 2km long uphill road climb to the finish…. and suddenly ran completely out of fuel. Affindi caught him almost immediately and left the Britain standing as he kept running up that hill as if it was flat! Now age 37, the Malaysian winner of Tahura Trail in Bandung 2018 looked stronger than ever. Initially wondering what happened to Southcott himself, Affindi was delighted with his second ATM race victory of the year as he crossed the finish line in a course record time of 2:53. He is now the overall ATM Championshop points leader with 1000 points in the bag, and may already have nearly secured his spot in Team Malaysia - one of the most competitive - for the ATM Final in December.

A visibly exhausted Southcott held on to second place, which by all means is a big achievement in his first real trail race. Thimo was a happy third in 2:59, three minutes faster than last year. Malachy Kirwan took four, ahead of female winner Vanja Cnops, and Vincent Casanova completed the race in sixth overall - also on totally worn out Vaporflys (a pair he was ‘retiring’ anyway). Emma Payne beat her time of last year by 15 minutes to take second, and Elsa Bardin was another newbie on the podium in third place.

It has been a while since the last points race in our 2022 ATM Championship season given two planned races in April got postponed, but this weekend action returns! In a wonderful arena, no less: Mount Batur in Bali. The Batur Trail Running Challenge is the shortest points race with “just” 30 km, but it’s a spicy one. Runners and podium contenders, especially, will have to dig deep in this one, as the climb up Gunung Batur will test their resilience after a flattish beginning. The downhill is spectacular and fast for the technically-skilled, but coming out of the black lava field is approx 2 kilometres of uphill road to the finish. For runners who have already run out of fuel, those final couple of kilometres will be endless.

The BTR Challenge in Bali is the first Indonesian points race for the 2022 ATM Championship rankings, and will open the points accounts for many people. Unfortunately, several of Indonesia’s better-known pre-pandemic trail runners do not feature on the start list, but that leaves opportunity for new faces. On the other hand, the defending champions of this race return to Batur this Sunday: Bali-based expats Thimo Kilberth (Germany) and Emma Payne (UK) are looking forward to compete against some strong runners from, mainly, SIngapore and Malaysia.

Thimo Kilberth can nearly call Batur his second home. For months he has been training rigorously for Sunday’s race, as his strava account testifies. Looking fitter than ever, Thimo just relishes the challenge. Anyone who wants to win will need to pass him on Sunday morning. There are runners who should be able to keep up with him, at least until the ascent of Gunung Batur. Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi is arguably the most-celebrated runner on the start list, and a proven race winner on this type of trails and medium race distances. Winner of Tahura Trail in Bandung 2018, Affindi also started the 2022 post-pandemic season with a lot of motivation to perform well. Kilberth has the home advantage, but Affindi can be trusted to have the necessary technical skills to follow him in the fast descent of the volcano mountain. If he succeeds, Affindi has a tremendous kick to the finish line, too, as he showed us just two months ago in that incredible sprint finish against Safrey Sumping at BUTM 50k in Sabah (watch the video clip on our ATM facebook page). 37-year-old Affindi already bagged 500 ATM points in that race, and a second strong result this weekend will help him already a long way in securing a spot in Team Malaysia for the ATM Championship Final in Philippines on 17 December.

Kilbert and Affindi will need to look over their shoulders, though, as there’s more contenders for the race victory. The Singapore Shufflers are in Bali, and that includes some super fast road runners. Vincent Casanova (2:34 on the marathon less than two months ago) and Malachy Irwan, for example. They certainly have the speed to compete, but do they have the trail experience and technical skills - especially for that descent of Batur? Will they attack early in the flattish lava fields to gain a time advantage on the likes of Kilbert and Affindi before going up the mountain? It’s one of the big questions that makes Sunday’s competition very intriguing!

The Singapore team also includes Vanja Cnops, winner of MMTF 50 in 2019 and bronze medalist in the Belgian Championships half marathon two months ago in a new PB of 1:15:46 ! It goes without saying that Cnops is therefore the top favourite in the women’s race this weekend. Some even wonder if she can win the race overall. Also predominately a road runner, Cnops has proven already to be just as strong on short and medium distance trails. Let’s see how long Emma Payne - who of course has home advantage - can make Vanja Cnops nervous.

ATM will be reporting live from the event from start to finish via our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram).

The arena this Sunday: Gunung Batur and its immediate surroundings!

2021 men’s winner Thimo Kilberth

2021 women’s winner Emma Payne

2018 Tahura Trail winner Mohamed Affindi: one of the big contenders this Sunday

Vanja Cnops: Singapore-based Belgian bronze medalist on the national half marathon championships a few weeks ago

Less than three months ago, the BTR Challenge in Bali was one of the first real events that got organised in South East Asia after the long covid-related break. As a Candidate Race, the organisers of Bali Trail Running proved their skills and professionalism with a short, but solid and covid-safe experience that lay the foundation for more racing plans in 2022. To begin, the November 30k race has been moved forward to 15 May and has been accepted as a points race that counts for the Asia Trail Master Championship!

30 kilometres is obviously not the longest race in ATM’s history, but fans may remember the Japanese event Kushigata Wind Run from our early days. That one hardly reached 30 clicks, but just like the BTR Challenge had enough elevation and technical sections to test everyone’s mettle. The BTR Challenge is all about famous volcano Gunung Batur in the northeast of Bali. The course has 1230 hm and the cut-off time at the finish is six hours and thirty minutes.

Registration is already open and you need to be quick as spots are limited, still due to covid mitigation efforts. Please note that only the 30k provides ATM Championship points, not the 15k that is also on the event programme. Circumstances keep changing, but at present Bali and Indonesia are also making efforts to reduce the level of restrictions imposed on foreign tourists and visitors. Today people who have had a booster shot against covid are required to isolate for 3 days upon arrival in Bali.

Thimo Kilberth and Emma Payne, both residents in Bali, won the inaugural edition in an exciting competition of which you can watch the highlights again here below.

Thimo Kilberth in the descent of Batur and on the way to winning the inaugural edition last November. (Photo credit: darmasusila.dek_piyo)

Thimo Kilberth and Emma Payne are the great winners of the inaugural Batur Trail Challenge in Bali last weekend. Both arrived at the uphill finish line in KIntamani da solo with a clear advantage over their nearest competitors Michio Yoneda and Shindy Patricia, respectively. The new event, organised by Bali Trail Running headed by Ms Indah Immortel, was an ATM Candidate Race for the 2022 Championship series and received widespread praise from a diverse field of participants.

Covid 19 is of course still around us all and the event could only take place with a set of extra regulations and mitigation efforts to be adhered to. These were gladly accepted by the runners, most of whom toed a starting line for the first time in almost two years. That’s a long time without races, and it was no surprise to see several new faces at the front of the Batur Trail Challenge, which offered a 30 km course with the ascent and descent of Mt Batur as central piece. The organiser does have a longer course of about 55-60km already designed for 2022. Last weekend, again partially due to covid restrictions, runners had to make do for 30k. Despite the 1200m of elevation gain, it meant that competitive runners could go flat out from the gun. Having a quick default running pace therefore boosted one’s chances for a podium finish.

And familiarity with the race route. Jakarta-based Japanese “road” runner Michio Yoneda, who holds a 2:37 marathon PB, pushed Bali-resident Thimo Kilberth, who is fast on the road as well, forward until the summit of Batur. Then came the long descent, where Kilbert was able to use his technical skills and knowledge of the trails to open up the gap to Yoneda. Kilberth ran clear for over ten minutes, but not knowing how far ahead he actually was kept pushing hard to the finish and reached it in just over 3 hours. Yoneda secured second in a great debut at this level in an ATM-race. In third came another surprise, as Malang’s Mikha Tanujaya scored his first ATM race podium. Tanujaya stems from the ever-growing Mantra community by Heru Prabowo and Ivan Citraya, who have been doing excellent work in promoting trail running and required skillsets to local runners throughout the pandemic. In fourth, we had the second Japanese runner Fuminori Kondo and Indonesia’s Freda Wardana came fifth.

Shindy Patricia, arguably the best-known runner from Malang, was the top favourite in the women’s race. People who follow her on instagram know Shindy has kept on training consistently since the start of the corona situation, so if anyone was still going to be in shape it would be the 2019 Cameron Ultra winner. And yet, Shindy Patricia is a reputed ultra trail mountain runner and 30k might just be too short and too fast-paced. Elite triathlete Emma Payne, also known as Em J, felt like nothing to lose and immediately applied the pressure after the start, distancing Shindy and the other women already before the ascent of Mt Batur. Payne retained the gap on the mountain and cruised to the finish to score her maiden victory on the ATM circuit. Shindy secured second place, and France’s Manon Janin completed the podium in third place.

A comprehensive race summary of the Batur Trail Challenge can be watched on our YouTube and Facebook pages, or just here below. The broadcast includes a.o. fantastic footage of Mount Batur, shot by Santosh Vasan and Vincent Chalias, and interviews of several of the protagonists.

Watch our BTR Challenge race summary

9 Marathons for Bali: Germany's Thimo Kilberth, a well-known and strong trail runner based on the Island of the Gods, today has started his ambition to run across all 9 districts of Bali in 9 days. This translates into a full marathon a day.

His goal is to support 9 local charity organisations that have been hit hard by the economic collapse on the Indonesian island due to the covid 19 crisis. Charities that provide important humanitarian aid through their projects and that typically rely on donations and funding from the tourism industry as well. A tourism industry that has seen basically aii its activities stopped since March - soon half a year ago. Bali derives more than 80% of its income via tourism….

You can support Thimo in raising funds for the charities while he runs. All details can be found on the website 9 Marathons For Bali, and we will keep you updated on Thimo's achievements in the next days.

https://www.9marathonsforbali.org

As we announced a few days ago, we have received three applications from Bali to join the Asia Trail Master Championship series in 2021, and the second event is a brand new stage race that will take place on the Indonesian island in November 2020: Bali Volcano Race.

The event has been created by the team of Kike Borras in Spain, a fervent trail runner and event organiser in his home country of, amongst others, the Ultra Trail of Guara Somontano and the Half Marathon of Lleida. In Bali they will work together with a local team to establish the Bali Volcano Race with the aim of becoming a reference in the world of the trail with the idea of ​​combining sport, nature and tourism as an authentic experience for athletes, family and companions.

The event will feature three different stages in different parts of Bali. Beginning in Tabahan just north of the famous Tanah Lot temple, continuing in Bedugul and the Danau Bratan lake and ending in Kintamani on and around Gunung Batur. Three demanding stages with a total distance of between 120 and 150 km, but at the same time, they will be feasible for any moderately trained athlete. They will perfectly combine the different Balinese landscapes: the mountain, the jungle, waterfalls, beaches and rice paddies. The precise routes will become available early in 2020.

For runners’ companions, there will be a touristic programme combined with the attendance and following of the races. And after the event, everyone can enjoy some of the multi-day tourism packages, which we offer from the Bali Volcano Race to get more out of the visit to this wonderful island.

More details on the event website of Bali Volcano Race.

Bali Volcano Race, a 2021 ATM Candidate from 24 to 28 November 2020.

Bali is probably Indonesia’s best-known holiday island, but contrary to Java it has not yet really developed a culture in trail running or sports events in general. It is very complicated to set up events on Bali, as we also found out in ATM when last year’s X Trail event already got cancelled after just two editions. However, things seems to be changing now as we have recently been approached by no fewer than three different event organisers who are all introducing new trail events on the island in 2020 and aim to be part of the ATM Championship series in 2021! The first ATM Candidate Race that will take place on 5-7 June 2020 is the Bali Ultra Trail by recently crowned Asia Trail Grandmaster Dendi Dwitiandi.

Bali Ultra Trail proposes a very rich programme with no fewer than five race categories on and around the famous Gunung Batur volcano, arguably the most popular and accessible hiking destination on the island. Ultra runners can look forward to an 80k and 50k category, less ambitious runners can focus on a 33K, 22K or 11K race. Resto Apung in Kintamani is scheduled to be the main event centre, although the 80K will commence at the Batur Museum Geopark.

This could be stereotypical Indonesian trail race with lots of elevation gain. The precise route is yet to be confirmed but the current advanced draft contains a big 5000 hm for the 80K and 3250 hm for the 50k. Even the 33K is projected to have 2300 hm. The terrain will be a mix of runable and technical, but clearly one will require solid climbing power.

The amazing views of volcano mountains, lakes, forests, villages, hot springs and the friendliness of the residents will make for an unforgettable experience. To get there, you obviously need to fly into the international aiport near Kuta in the south. Transportation to Kintamani is easy to find, we do recommend you book a car, taxi or bus in advance. Most hotels in Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur or other Nusa Dua beach areas can also arrange for you should you wish to stay in a hotel over there.

Registrations are set to open on 5 January.