One of peninsular Malaysia’s toughest trail races keeps its spot on our Grandmaster Quest calendar this season, but runners should take note of the new event date: Himalaya Sports Tamping Transnaning Ultra has now been scheduled for the weekend of 24-26 July. A race in loops through the heart of Transnaning, featuring seven peaks in 34 km. Grandmaster Quest chasers need to aim for the Ultra race of 68km (4800 hm!) or the Challenger race of 102km (7200hm).

This is an authentic tropical rainforest trail with lots of local history. Start and finish of the event is at the Tampin Water Park in Negeri Sembilan.

The official website describes the route very well: “ Starting from Tampin Water Park, runners begin by taking on the outer segments of the Trans Naning route. This opening section serves as the warm-up, but make no mistake, it is no easy start. Over the first 14km, runners will face more than 600m of elevation gain, with rolling hills on tarmac and forest access roads through the rural foothills. Along the way, runners will pass Kolam Marine A.R.M and the rustic Malaysian kampung landscape before reaching Gunung Datuk Foothill where the real adventure begins. From there, the next 20km reveals the true heart of Trans Naning: a rugged traverse along the southern spine of the Titiwangsa Range, summiting all seven (7) iconic peaks:

1. Gunung Datuk

2. Gunung Rembau

3. Gunung Gagak

4. Puncak 701

5. Puncak 705

6. Gunung Tampin Utara

7. Gunung Tampin Selatan

A checkpoint/water station awaits at the valley between Puncak 701 and Puncak 705 (a.k.a Kem Ultra). The ascent to Puncak 705 is a true test of stamina, as runners drop to the valley floor, reset their elevation, and climb all over again. After passing Gunung Tampin Selatan, runners will then descend and return to Tampin Water Park to complete one (1) unforgettable loop.

Expect dense jungle, narrow ridgelines, steep ascents, and wild, natural terrain throughout the course. With a generous but firm 14-hour cut-off, this category is built for trail runners ready to embrace distance, elevation, and the raw beauty of Malaysia’s mountain heartland.”

Alongside Mantra 68, Transnaning Ultra 68 is valid for the Grandmaster Quest thanks to its elevation gain numbers of more than 4500 hm. It goes without saying that participants therefore need to come prepared for this race.

Registration and more details can be found on the CPS official webpage linked below.

The 2nd edition of Arakan Mountain Run in Mindanao, Philippines, last weekend counted towards the Grandmaster Quest, but saw some solid competition as well. Ulyses Esteva even managed to win the 80km men’s race by a big margin over none other than Roberto Cain III. In the women’s 80km race, Guia Cabigas once again raised her competitive profile with another victory in Mindanao.

Arakan is a municipality between Davao del Sur and Bukidnon and blessed with natural resources and magnificent landscapes. Organised by Vertical To Sky, Arakan Mountain Run is aiming to become one of the classic events in Mindanao, alongside Mount Apo Sky Race and The Punisher, established by the same company and its director Doi Calbes over a decade ago and still going.

Offering a good mixture of technical and runable terrain, Arakan has something for everyone. Ulyses Esteva was the surprise winner of the men’s long distance ultra, completing the course in 11h04’. Impressively, that was almost one hour ahead of Roberto Cain III and Ronie Jandog. Whilst not taking anything away from Esteva’s performance, Cain III does seem to find himself in a competitive slump - finishing below expectations in the Season 10 Final at 9 Dragons three weeks ago, too.

Guia Cabigas also won her race with a big margin in 19h43. As Shally Yuson, Cabigas is gradually becoming a repeat race winner in Mindanao and someone who keeps improving pace-wise. She was flanked on the podium by Devere Galo and Realyn Lugo last Sunday.

Arakan Mountain Run is on the shortlist to also become a Championship Qualifier in Philiipines in Season 12.

Podium 80KM Distance

*MALE

1st Ulyses Esteva (M'Lang Cotabato) - 11:04:48

-nd Roberto Cain III (Davao City) - 12:00:10

3rd Ronie Jandog (Zamboanga City) - 12:00:54

*FEMALE

-1st Guia Angelie Cabigas (General Santos City) - 19:43:38

-2nd Devere Galo (Libona) - 21:13:52

-3rd Realyn Lugo (Zamboanga City) - 21:17:43

Event Director of Vertical To Sky Doi Calbes with race winner Ulyses Esteva

Guia Cabigas boosts her competitive profile once more with a new and clear victory at Arakan

We are pleased to announce that Vietnam Jungle Marathon returns to the Asia Trail Master calendar this year, in particular the Grandmaster Quest calendar! One of the more popular events in the pre-covid era - when VJM was held in May - still offers a highly scenic 70km race in and around the Pu Luong Nature Reserve, around 160km southwest of Hanoi. VJM 2026 is scheduled for the weekend of 17/18 October.

VJM is part of the Vietnam Trail Series organised by the Topas Group, which also includes VTM and VMM. For many trail runners, all three are bucket-list races given their great organisational quality, scenery and vibe amongst the participants. We are indeed happy that people aiming to complete the Grandmaster Quest can now again score a point at VJM. Obviously, the 70km is the target distance for this.

As the website reads, “Pu Luong is an area where time stands still. Pu Luong is home to ancient jungle, soaring limestone peaks, waterfalls, rivers, vibrant rice paddy fields and small villages where life goes on as it has for generations.” The Nature Reserve is filled with rice terrace scenery and you will pass by several small minority villages during a varied race, featuring both runable and technical sections. Estimated total elevation is 3100 hm for the main category, the. 70km.

All details on the course can be found on the official website linked below. Via the website you can also register for the 70km race. Pay attention to the accommodation options and the travel packages on offer from Hanoi including the usual bus transportation from the West Lake on Friday morning.

This weekend, runners chasing Grandmaster points can do so for the first time at the Arakan Mountain Run in Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines. Organised by Vertical To Sky, the second edition of the event has a scenic 80km long ultra. The event venue is the Katipunan Central Elementary School in Arakan.

The race has attracted a solid field including Golden Grandmasters Mario Yap and Kenneth Mun Keat Yow who are already on the Trail to Immortality as well. Several other multistar Grandmasters like Henry Yang and Nick Pilapil also feature on the start list. On the competitive side, Roberto Cain III is arguably the top favourite to win the race. Roberto was an ATM Finalist at the 9 Dragons three weeks ago, but unfortunately did not have a good day there. He can reclaim confidence this weekend at Arakan. The best known female 80km runner is Guia Angelie Cabigas.

Arakan is a municipality between Davao del Sur and Bukidnon and blessed with natural resources and magnificent landscapes. Runners should definitely also try the local cacao drink, which is a genuine treat. The 80km course features the 3 famous waterfalls of Arakan -Matigol, Epol and Lebbas. It has an estimated total elevation gain of 3600 hm.

As always, Vertical To Sky remains true to its boutique style of trail events with restricted participation numbers to give everyone the chance to fully enjoy the place and the trails.

Kenneth Mun Keat Yow

Mario Yap

Guia Cabigas

Roberto Cain III

The Trail to Immortality is the long-awaited extension to the Grandmaster Quest announced two months ago (see link below). This weekend, Vietnam Trail Marathon in Moc Chau officially launches the ‘TTI’ with its 70km race category, the first ‘Grandmaster distance’ of 2026 in our series.

The Trail to Immortality opens for runners who have collected all four stars of the Grandmaster Quest, i.e. who have finished 20 long ultras on the ATM race calendar. They are also called “Golden Grandmasters”. At present, eight people have managed to complete this extraordinary feat, but many more are on the way, underlining the increasing popularity of ATM’s Grandmaster Quest. Following popular demand, we have introduced an extension to the Grandmaster Quest, so runners of all performance levels continue to have a clear goal to run and train for. The Trail to Immortality has two sections. Broadly speaking, when you score 500 points (1 km = 1 point) in minimum five different countries, you Become Legend. When you score 1000 points in ten different countries, you Become Immortal.

Details can be checked via the announcement linked below.

The 8 Golden Grandmasters in ATM so far are:

• Hisashi Kitamura (JPN, male)

• Masafumi Yamamoto (JPN, male)

• Rhea Batac (PHI, female)

• Tomohiro Mizukoshi (JPN, male)

• Munin Sundram (MAS, male)

• Kenneth Mun Keat Yow (MAS, male)

• Alfredo Reyes Jr (PHI, male)

• Ruth Theresia (INA, female)

This weekend at VTM, two Silver Grandmasters are going for their 4th and golden star: Malaysia’s Yvette Chong Mi Chin, who can be the first Malaysian female to achieve the Golden Grandmaster title, and Mario Yap, who can be the second Filipino male to become Gold.

What do you do when you collected all four Grandmaster stars? Become Legend, Become Immortal!

Yvette Chong Mi Chin

After a successful stint as ATM Candidate in 2024, we are delighted to announce that Danao City International Ultra Trail has joined the Grandmaster Quest calendar for its third edition on 18/19 April 2026. It will be the first time trail runners can score ATM Grandmaster points on the popular island of Cebu in the Philippines. Focus hereby is of course on the 100km category, the only category of 70+ km at the event.

The Danao 100 km is a tough one with well over 6000 metres of elevation gain, accumulated via numerous ups & downs in a real rollercoaster of a course. Start and finish is in the city centre by the sea. A beautiful setting for a challenging trail run. Less ambitious runners can also choose for the 50km, 35km or 15km.

Danao is located roughly one hour north of Cebu City and its airport, which has several international connections within the region. Known as a popular tourist destination outright, this is certainly one of the easier events to get to. You will need to fly in on Friday as the 100km starts at 3 am on Saturday morning. The cut-off time is set at 33 hours. The official course for this edition will be revealed soon but is based on last year’s, which is pasted below.

Interested runners should follow the facebook page linked below to stay up-to-date on news and information about the event. Registration will open soon.

Running back in time

We are happy to announce that Zamboanguita Mountain Ultra Trail has been added to the Grandmaster Quest calendar on the weekend of 9/10 May 206. Organised by Happy Feet Events and Rhodel Sarande, ZMUT - as the event is called in brief - takes place on Negros Oriental, one of the southern islands in the Philippines. Previously in ATM, the company also organised the Mount Talinis Mountain Marathon.

The main race distance in which trail runners can score a Grandmaster point is the 70km category. It is a tough 70km with an estimated elevation gain of over 4000 hm. To note also is the maximum number of participants for the race, i.e. 300. The start is scheduled for 3 o'clock in the afternoon and runners have 24 hours of time to complete the course. Host of the event is the town of Zamboanguita and along the course runners will enjoy great scenery: waterfalls, lakes, dams and grassland ridges. Mount Talinis will also appear in view.

To reach Zamboanguita, you need to fly to Negros Oriental’s main airport city Dumaguete City, which is connected to Manila, Cebu, Davao etc.

Registration for the event will open very soon. You can stay tuned via its facebook page.

We are happy to announce that the 5th edition of Pahang Eco in peninsular Malaysia joins the ATM Grandmaster Quest calendar on the long weekend of 21 to 23 August 2026. Known as one of the toughest trail races in the country, Pahang Eco has gained a lot of prestige over the past four years. The event was an ATM Candidate back in 2023 as well.

Organised by Elpis Event Management, the race’s event blurb describes a journey that will take you across breathtaking landscapes, from pristine white sandy beaches and shady coastal pines to rugged cliffs and scenic trails through Bukit Pelindung Bukit Tokki and historical Bukit Galing. Along the way, you’ll experience the coastal charm of Pantai Pelindung, Pantai Beserah, and Pantai Batu Hitam. The start and finish venue is Teluk Cempedak. Trail runners should expect a good blend of tarmac, beach, and forest trails, featuring challenging hill sections designed to test your endurance and determination. Be sure to include hill training in your preparation so you can take on the climbs with confidence and maintain your strength throughout the race.

Also due to the typical Malaysian humidity and heat, Pahang Eco tends to have a high DNF rate on the longer distance, so proper preparation is indeed a must. Less ambitious runners can also go for the 50km, 23km or 12km - but note these obviously do not offer a GM point. Make sure you also check the mandatory gear list.

Pahang Eco takes place on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, in Kuantan. The town has plenty of accommodation options and is well-connected by highway to Kuala Lumpur.

Registration and all details can be found via the button below. You can also stay up to date via the event’s facebook and instagram pages.

We are thrilled to announce a brand new extension to our Grandmaster Quest, the individual trail challenge for runners of all performance levels. This comes in response to popular demand by some of our Golden **** Grandmasters and even Silver *** and Bronze ** Grandmasters - who have been asking ATM for a new goal and new incentives to keep on participating in trail running events after completing the four levels of the Grandmaster Quest.

Months of contemplation and brainstorming have now resulted in two additional levels that will nudge Golden Grandmasters on the Trail to Immortality !

In a nutshell:

• For Golden 4-Star Grandmasters who wish to continue exploring the trails of Asia

• The gate leading to the Trail to Immortality opens on 1 January 2026

• No time limit to complete the Trail to Immortality .

• Two steps to reach Immortality

1. Become Legend

2. Become Immortal

• Become Legend by running Grandmaster distances at ATM promoted events in five different Asia/Pacific countries.

• Collect 500 points in as many races as you want. Each kilometre = 1 point (i.e. 100km = 100 points, 75km = 75 points).

  Note that running 5x 70km races is therefore not enough as only 350 points, and that you must be an official finisher in each race to score points

• Become Immortal by running Grandmaster distances at ATM promoted events in ten different Asian countries and collect 1000 points.

  Your points achieved to become Legend remain active and valid (i.e. no points reset).

• Bonus Points for elevation gain: for every 25000 hm accumulated : 25 bonus points

• You must be an official finisher of the race to score your points

• Each event, and each country, only coints once during the Trail to Immortality. However, you can choose an event you did already during your Grandmaster Quest

Runners who become Legend and Immortal will receive exclusive achievement tokens as trophy. The Trail to Immortality has been designed also keeping the four core objectives of Asia Trail Master in mind. We hope that this new addition to the Grandmaster Quest will inspire trail runners to keep going!

The Trail to Immortality opens for runners who have collected these four Grandmaster caps

It’s been well over two years since Masafumi Yamamoto grabbed his 4th star.

After scoring gold, Philippines’ Rhea Batac has been taking a break from trails

We are glad to announce that Harkor 4: Ultra Trail Balakayo Mountains will offer a Grandmaster Quest point for all finishers of the 75km race category in 2026. The event, an ATM Candidate last May, is the first of its kind offering GM points in General Santos, which is a city in the south of the large Mindanao island in Philippines. It is scheduled for the weekend of 16/17 May 2026.

The event features a 75km main race distance with over 4000 metres of elevation gain, but is known to be quite runable. The event is organised by the Drunken Runners Team and Team Akbri.

Registration for the event is already open and can be accessed via the button below. There is a quota on the participation numbers, so if you are keen - better be quick. In 2025, the 75km had a cut-off time at the finish of 25 hours. Important, flag off is on Saturday at 14:00 in the early afternoon.

New on the Grandmaster Quest calendar in 2026 is Arakan Mountain Run in Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines. Organised by Vertical To Sky, the second edition of the event has a scenic 80km long ultra and is scheduled for the weekend of 21/22 March. The event venue is the Katipunan Central Elementary School in Arakan.

Less ambitious runners can also choose the 42km, 25km or 14km options.

Arakan is a municipality between Davao del Sur and Bukidnon and blessed with natural resources and magnificent landscapes. Runners should definitely also try the local cacao drink, which is a genuine treat. The 80km course features the 3 famous waterfalls of Arakan -Matigol, Epol and Lebbas. The 2026 course map will be released in due course.

As always, Vertical To Sky remains true to its boutique style of trail events with restricted participation numbers to give everyone the chance to fully enjoy the place and the trails. For registration, kindly check-out the details on the poster, or you can do an onsite registration at Podium Multisport in Davao.

We are happy to announce that Kokol Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, joins the Grandmaster Quest calendar in 2026. The event was a Candidate a few years with good review, but with (too) much tarmac on the running course. Redesigned since then, Kokol has grown in popularity and will be a great new addition on our GM calendar. The 2026 event i scheduled for the weekend of 23/25 October with a 70km as main distance category.

It’s not so common for events to open registration so early and therefore the event organisers also have the opportunity to provide a limited set of 40% discounted bibs. The 70km is the race that matters, of course, but less ambitious runners can also choose the 50km, 35km, 21km or 15km distance categories. The registration link is pasted below.

Cut-off time for the 70km is set at 24 hours. It is advised to pick up the race pack on Friday, 23 October.

The event is organised By Expertise and is quite easily accessible from Kota Kinabalu, the main city in Sabah where the airport is also located. Follow the event’s facebook page to stay up to date with the latest developments.