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

Lovers of the high mountains and technical trails every year look forward to early July, because that’s when Mantra 116 is on. The Indonesian event in Malang, East Java, remains for many the toughest challenge in the Asia Trail Master series, at least if you are going for the ‘signature race’, the 116km. 7400 metres of elevation gain is not the most, but those metres are hard to conquer at Mantra, and even the long descents do not provide a lot of relaxation. Still, the 116 route has been made a bit more palatable compared to the first years with the removal of the out-and-back section on Mahapena after the two main peaks Welirang and Arjuno. Runners have 33 hours of time to complete the course.

As always, runners score ATM Championship points and Grandmaster Quest points on two distance categories at Mantra: 116km and 68km.

The 116 journey starts and finishes at the event centre at Kaliandra Eco Resort (770 above sea level). Immediately after the start, runners climb to the peak of Mt. Welirang (3156 mdpl), then descend to Cangar (1600 mdpl) to climb back up again towards the peak of Mt. Arjuno (3339 mdpl). For safety reasons, the runners should reach the peak of Mt. Arjuno before 15.00 o’clock, to ensure the downhill from Mt. Arjuno is not done in the dark. For those who didn’t manage to reach the peak before 15:00, they will go down with the sweeper team towards the evacuation point. The race, however, will enter a long downhill to Bukit Kuneer at 55km point, the location of the first dropbag point. The trail continues passing Budug Asu towards UB Forest, until arriving at Wonosari at 88km point, the location of the second dropbag point. The sting is in the tail at Mantra 116, the route to Sepilar Temple features a technical and tough climb followed by a steep downhill. Afterwards, the finish line beckons.

The 70km course, named “The Double Summits” and technically measured at 68km, begins with hiking to the summit of Mt. Welirang and then onto the summit of Mt. Arjuno. After that, this route takes you down towards Mahapena, passing the beautiful Lincing savannah before continuing to Budug Asu and Wonosari Tea Estate. Finally, it’s Sepilar Temple in the last climb segment before the finish. While just under 70km, this race course has 5000m of elevation gain, which means all finishers can score a Grandmaster point as well. The cutoff time at the finish back at Kaliandra Eco Resort is set at 22 hours. The last couple of years, this race has been the playground of Indonesia’s Risqi Kurniawan - winning in 2023 and 2024.

Registration for Mantra 116 is open and can be done via the official website, linked below. Needless to say this is an event to prepare well for.

Gateway to Mantra 116 is Surabaya, unless you can fly domestic to Malang directly. From Surabaya, it’s a two hour drive to the Kaliandra Eco Resort. Information on logistics is also available on the website.

We are delighted to announce that the Ijen Green Trail event in Indonesia is joining the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar on 6/7 September with the Ijen Mountain Marathon race. This race is 50km in distance and includes the ascent of the fantastic Ijen volcano. The event has been organised successfully for several years already out of Banyuwangi in East Java. Ijen Mountain Marathon will be the last points race in Season 10, and thus the last chance for runners seeking last-minute qualification for the Championship Final one month later in early October.

The Ijen volcano has a long history in ATM. From 2015 to 2019 inclusive, Ijen Trail Running was one of the more remote yet more popular races on our calendar for international runners especially. That event, however, was by a different organiser and held out of Bondowoso, which is the regency to the west of Banyuwangi. The covid crisis meant the end of that event, but Ijen Green Trail has managed to survive - also because Banyuwangi is one of Indonesia’s hot spots in tourism development. You cannot go further east on Java island, and Banyuwangi City is just a short ferry ride away from Bali. As such, international runners can also consider flying into Bali and travel by bus/car/ferry to the event. Or by domestic flight. Banyuwangi has a small airport with connections to Jakarta, Denpasar and Surabaya as well.

The 50km on the programme is new and the precise course map and details will be made available soon. Those familiar with Ijen volcano mountain and the surrounding trails know that one should expect runable terrain, unlike many other big mountain ultras in Indonesia.

Indonesia is very fond of Instagram, so most event information can be found there on the Ijen Green Trail page (link below).

The 10th anniversary edition of Tahura Trail in Bandung, Indonesia, saw the ‘older’ established guard comprehensively take the measure of the young guns in the 42km ATM Championship points race. Alessandro Sherpa scored his 7th ever ATM race victory and Vanja Cnops collected her 8th in the women’s category. Both have been around for many years now and behind them were 2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono and 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia. Risqi Kurniawan suffered a leg injury and finished outside the top 25.

The course of Tahura Trail had been completely redesigned for its first edition in five years. Heavy rainfall already in the days preceding the event turned many sections into a severe mudfest, which was certainly not to everyone’s liking or expectation. Luckily, at least on race day there was a pause in precipitation. Tough and technical running conditions, perhaps it was therefore no coincidence that those with more trail experience took the biggest prizes at the end. Sherpa is even a former mountainbiker and Cnops a former national team cross country runner in the typical muddy fields in Belgium. Bandung runners Ruth Theresia and Arief Wismoyono are also among the most technically-skilled trail runners, and in the case of Wismoyono it was even a mightily impressive feat to finish second just about three minutes behind Sherpa. Now over 40, Wismoyono had not looked this fast and competitive in several years. For Sherpa it was his second consecutive victory in Indonesia, after Bali Ultra 50 last August. In third place came Ujang Ahmad Saripudin, a newcomer on the ATM scene. He did great finishing just eleven minutes behind the winner, and nearly fourteen minutes ahead of the likes of Akhmad Nizar, Muhammad Faris from Malaysia, Taofik Hidayat, Mikdarulloh and Sobiri Haerudin. In ninth place we had a great run by Thimo Kilberth, another good old trail runner who exceeded expectations. Consider he finished ahead of Sobari Herdiana and Risqi Kurniawan. The latter, the top favourite before the race, still hung on the leaders early, but then faded away citing pain in his legs. Another former podium placer at Tahura, Margono, also settled for just 23rd place. ATM regulars Luis Alvelais and Abang Jamadi Rosli finished in 13th and 15th, respectively.

Vanja Cnops was, as expected, too fast for the other women. Fitta Emike Sari ran a great race competing with Ruth Theresia for second place. Previously, Sari had already scored a second place in Mantra 116 in 2023, so her performance in the hard conditions in Bandung did not fall out of the blue sky. Theresia ultimately took the upper hand at the end, but Sari came in just a minute later.

The next Indonesian points race on the ATM Championship calendar is BTR in Bali on the second weekend of May. That event, returning to ATM for the first time since 2022, offers 100k and 60k options for runners seeking qualification for the Season 10’s ATM Championship Final in early October.

After a long five years interruption, the 10th edition of Indonesia’s most popular trail event in terms of participation numbers is back. Tahura Trail in Bandung was a genuine classic medium distance trail race before the covid crisis, and over 3500 runners will celebrate its return this weekend. Among them are many competitive runners for the 40km as well, hoping to score a podium finish and a good haul of ATM Championship points. Indonesia’s Risqi Kurniawan will face his usual local challengers, but also a.o. Alessandro Sherpa - who has already been 2nd (2020) and 3rd (2018) in this race before. In the women’s 40km, we have local hero and former ATM Champion Ruth Theresia and Singapore-based Vanja Cnops.

Taman Hutan Raya Tahura Ir. H. Juanda is the full name of the park where the event takes place, just outside the city centre of Bandung, one of Indonesia’s biggest cities in West Java. It’s a popular weekend destination where you can just go and relax, or engage in all kinds of outdoor activities. The trail race is not the longest at 40km, also not the toughest, but it’s always been exciting to follow. Weather plays an important role - this year’s edition could be more wet and muddy than the last two in 2020 and 2019 - , but it’s a course where each runner can find sections to his or her liking. It’s varied, but you better still have a solid running pace - as the race’s record indicates. Jeff Campbell won here twice and Mohamed Affindi scored his first ATM race victory here in 2019. Many ATM Champions have won Tahura, but our reigning champions will not. Lunar new year is close and Jeff Campbell and Priya Rai have other priorities in the coming weeks.

However, 2018 Champion Alessandro Sherpa is in with a good shot, although he himself downplays his chances for this Saturday morning. Sherpa had an up-and-down 2024 trail year, mainly due to a stubborn injury. It’s been rather quiet in the past few months, but two weeks ago, Sherpa felt some good vibes again in a road marathon in Malaysia. The competition in Tahura is for real, of course. Not many Indonesian men have actually won the race, and this time it feels like everyone is there. Risqi Kurniawan typically has the edge on medium distance course, but runners like Sobari Herdiana, Sobiri, Margono and Dedy Yusuf will certainly give it their all. And so will Bandung heroes Arief Wismoyono and Taofik Hidayat. Also in the field this Saturday: Luis Alvelais and Thimo Kilberth.

In the women’s 40k race, Vanja Cnops will be looking for her 8th ATM race victory after a winless 2024 in our series. The Singapore-based Belgian should love both the distance and the course in Bandung, so she is the logical top favourite. It’s her first race in Season 10, so she can open her points account with a maximum haul. We are also happy to see Ruth Theresia on the start list of her home race. Still the most successful female runner in our series ever with 11 race wins, and a true ambassador for the sport in Indonesia. Yustina Wardhani is another podium candidate, she was 9th in the 2023 ATM Championship Final.

Asia Trail Master will be reporting live from Tahura Trail all day on Saturday from 5:45 am local time onwards. The 40km is scheduled to be flagged off at 6 am.

Risqi Kurniawan is the top favourite amongst the Indonesian runners

Sherpa returns to Tahura : 3d in 2018, 2nd in 2020, victory in 2025?

Vanja Cnops can add another Indonesian race win to her record this Saturday

It has been five long years but - at last - the very popular Indonesian event Tahura Trail in Bandung is returning to the trail and Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. The 10th anniversary edition is scheduled for 25 January 2025 with a brand new course of 40km for Championship points, along a wide range of shorter distances for the less ambitious. Before covid struck, Tahura Trail was by numbers the most popular trail event in Indonesia and the traditional opener of the ATM season. It’s one of the shortest points races on the calendar, but it has always been an exciting one to follow with loads of fast runners taking part.

Our reigning ATM Champion, Jeff Campbell, has won it twice already, in fact. Including the last edition in 2020. Other winners in Tahura’s rich history are Tahira Najmunisaa, Kim Matthews, Mohamed Affindi, Asuka Nakajima and Charlotte Taquet.

The 40km course has nearly 1300m of elevation gain and is a great mixture of runable and technical sections. When it’s dry it’s fast, when it’s been raining it’s muddy and tougher than one would expect. It is the training ground for many of Bandung’s well-known trail runners, not in the least our former ATM Champions Ruth Theresia and Arief Wismoyono.

Tahura is the name of the large park next to the city of Bandung in West Java. It’s also a place for weekend retreats with lots of nice restaurants and coffee & teahouses. There is an airport in Bandung with a few international flights, but nowadays the journey from Jakarta to Bandung has also become much faster thanks to a high-speed train.

Registration has opened already , please go to the official website of Tahura Trail.

Tahura Trail : Running Back In Time

Indonesia’s top trail runners Risqi Kurniawan and Shindy Patricia collected their fifth and seventh ATM race victories, respectively, at the great Broder 50 event in East Java’s Bromo desert. Both elites finished clearly ahead of a solid field and underlined their ambitions for this season’s ATM Championship. Broder 50 consisted of two loops of 25km in the famous ‘desert’ around the Bromo volcano. A runable race that nevertheless got tough due the gale winds that struck runners in the second loop.

Risqi Kurniawan had an up-and-down year so far, plagued by injury, but very much looked in control again last Saturday. Competitors such as Akhmad Nizar, Muhammad Faris, Ma’Mun Khariri, Thimo Kilberth and Yuki Naotori all ran great races, but had to tolerate Kurniawan running away in the distance from early on. The battle for second place was exciting. Malaysia’s Faris was arguable most impressive in showing a fast running pace and keeping up with Khariri - winner of Mantra 116 and second in Bali 80 this year - and Nizar (ATM Finalist 2023 , finishing 8th at Siksorogo, and ‘eternal second’ behind Kurniawan. Towards the end, an injury-hampered Nizar still managed to score another second place, but Faris did complete the podium ahead of Khariri. Sponsored and coached by Team Ole Athletic, this was a great step-up in performance level for the Malaysian. Bali-based German Thimo Kilberth started his Season 10 campaign in style with fifth overall and first in the ‘veteran’ category. He stayed ahead of Japan’s Naotori.

Shindy Patricia was a late addition to the start list, showing up just one week after an unfortunate DNF in a mountain race in Sabah. Seemingly out for revenge on herself, she left the other women no chance. The East Javanese trail star took her seventh career win in ATM, after sitting out Season 9 to focus on road and marathon runs. Shindy is back with a bang! As with the men, the women’s race for second was interesting to follow. Malaysia-based Filipino Ritzy Amor , who joined the aforementioned Team Ole Athletic , looked set to grab the first runner-up spot, but was overtaken towards the end by the surprisingly quick Azarine Putri , also from East Java. In fourth, we had Indonesia’s Masrifah and Canada’s Isabelle Bedard. Pre-race favourite Lynda Marylyn DNFd after the first loop, running in fourth place, citing difficulties breathing after inhaling a lot of dust after the wind picked up strongly.

Broder 50 is a typically scenic Indonesian trail race organised by the Mantra team from Malang. However, as most other trail races in the country tend to be tough, technical to very technical, this one is runable, making for an interesting change.

The early part of Season 10 in our Asia Trail Master Championship series continues in East Java, Indonesia, this weekend with a new entry on our calendar. The second edition of Broder 50 is the latest event produced and directed by the well-established Mantra 116 team and takes place in the legendary Bromo desert. As the event title suggests, Broder 50 has a 50km main race category - the one that matters for runners who wish to score points for the ATM Championship ranking, which leads to potential qualification for the Championship Final in September 2025. The race starts at 3am on Saturday morning.

The early part of Season 10 in our Asia Trail Master Championship series continues in East Java, Indonesia, this weekend with a new entry on our calendar. The second edition of Broder 50 is the latest event produced and directed by the well-established Mantra 116 team and takes place in the legendary Bromo desert. As the event title suggests, Broder 50 has a 50km main race category - the one that matters for runners who wish to score points for the ATM Championship ranking, which leads to potential qualification for the Championship Final in September 2025. The race starts at 3am on Saturday morning.

A few of Indonesia’s usual top performers feature on the start list. First and foremost Risqi Kurniawan, who has been basically undefeated on the medium trail distance in his home country for quite a while now. Injury plagued him a few months ago, but in July the T8 runner still managed to take another victory at Mantra 65k. Broder 50 is normally a runable trail and this could place a few other competitors within striking distance. Akhmad Nizar is never that far behind Risqi and maybe on a good day he can put up a challenge in Bromo. In Indonesia there’s always runners who appear from nowhere on the top of the race leaderboard, so maybe we get to know some new faces as well. Bali-based Thimo Kilberth is in any case also a lover of runable trails where he can use his inherent running speed to get close to the podium. Malaysia’s Ole Athletic runner Muhammad Faris Azhari will also be a contender for the top 3 in the men’s race.

From the same team but coming from Sabah is Lynda Marylyn, Championship Finalist at Borneo TMBT last month. On paper, she has a great opportunity to score her first ATM race victory at Broder 50. Lynda, nicknamed ‘Butet’, is an upcoming young talent in Malaysia who has become increasingly competitive in the course of the past year. Other contenders are expected to be local Indonesian runners and Canada’s Isabelle Bedard.

ATM will be reporting live from Broder 50 on our usual channels.

The 50km course

The famous Bromo desert

Risqi Kurniawan

Lynda 'Butet' Marylyn

The scenic Dieng Trail Run in Central Java, Indonesia, opened season 10 of the ATM Championship and as expected saw a number of new faces enter into the spotlights. Yogyakarta-based Colombian Edixon Daniel was clearly the fastest runner on the 60km points race distance, winning comfortably in a time of 9h32. The 60km was held mainly at nighttime, which was probably a bit unfortunate given the majestic views one could enjoy in this part of Central Java. Daniel led almost from start to finish and saw Singapore-based Humberto Baeza take second place , and Asril Rozzaq third place on the podium. Baeza is reportedly a newbie in trail and is said to be one to watch in the coming months. Rozzag sprained his ankle early into the race, but managed to hold on. The trails were quite dry and hard-packed, making for a runable course.

The women’s 60k race saw Bali’s Endang Suryani Borupayung take victory ahead of West Sulawesi’s Fauziah and Christyo Widorukhi . Borupayong’s finishing time was just above 15h. Let’s not forget there were over 4000 metres of elevation gain to be conquered also.

One week after the thrilling conclusion of our Championship’s ninth season at Borneo TMBT Ultra in Malaysia, we already shift our attention to Indonesia for the opening of the next season, Season 10. Dieng Trail Run in Central Java gets the honour this year of opening the new series , which will again lead to a ranking hierarchy that determines qualification for next year’s ATM Final. Season 10 is indeed expected to cover again a full year, contrary to the 9+ months shortened season that just ended.

No amendments to the points regulations for Season 10, the top 25 men and women in each valid race score points. At the end of the season, each runner’s best four results will be taken into account.

At Dieng this weekend, that race to focus on is the 60 km category. This is a challenging course, with the hardest part coming into the second half. No fewer than 4000m of elevation gain need to be conquered. Runners will be at high altitude and often above the clouds. ‘Dieng’ literally translates as ‘abode of the Gods’ and that says all you need to know about this collection of small ancient temples set in the remarkable volcanic landscape of the Dieng Plateau. The misty location, sulphurous springs and colored lakes truly make this a place of natural wonder and cultural significance. The event carries an important ecological message as well , and is establishing itself as one of Southeast Asia’s unique ‘boutique’ events.

The start list does not feature a lot of big names, which can also not be expected one week after the Championship Final. We are therefore bound to discover new names this weekend. Rachmat Septiyanto and Ma’Mun Khariri are two of Indonesia’s ultra trail stars, but both signed up for the 100km category, which only provides a Grandmaster point for finishers. Two star GM Rija Gubes from Malaysia and also Georgy Mimi Chu are also on the 100k start list. Let’s see if, in particular, Khariri wishes to change distance last-minute. For the Mantra 116 winner in July, it would be a great start of his points campaign.

ATM will be reporting from Dieng Trail Run throughout Saturday and Sunday on our usual channels.

Ma Mun Khariri is one of Indonesia’s emerging trail stars

The 3rd edition of Bali Ultra saw one of the most international fields of our Asia Trail Master season, but nevertheless it were the expected runners who battled for the race wins on the 80km and 50km courses. Going up and down the Batur volcano again, these trail courses turn out to be quite underestimated as quite a lot of participants - particularly those on the 80km discovered the hard way. Temperatures were very modest and excellent at the start at 6am , but once the fog cleared up and runners began the first ascent of Batur it got hot. South Korea’s Kyuho Lee was the fastest starter, but already by km 5 Alessandro Sherpa caught him and set the pace from the front. Sherpa had just returned from Europe and will be staying in South East Asia to prepare for his next bid to regain the ATM Champion title at Borneo TMBT now just over a month ahead. As some of his rivals for the championship, Sherpa looked the part in Bali. In the end he was not truly challenged, although Banyuwangi’s newcomer Dedi Furqoni kept the Italian on guard for the first 33km, until muscle cramps threw him a bit further down the leaderboard and even off the podium. Sherpa cruised home in 6h38 to take his first ATM race win of the season, his sixth in total. Behind him we saw the ever more remarkable Aurore Dacier taking second overall as the first female finisher. Based in Singapore, Dacier won Lantau 70 in March and also MMTF 50 last November. This was her third ATM race win therefore, and ever more impressive given she overtook celebrated male runners such as Yoyong Sacayle and Akhmad Nizar towards the end of the 50k race. She will certainly be one of to look out for next season. Borneo TMBT does not fit into her previously planned racing schedule this year. Mindanao’s Yoyong Sacayle ran very well given he had such a hard time and finishing outside the top 25 in KAR 110 just a week ago - suffering from a heatstroke there. Always in the mix for the podium, he was faster than Akhmad Nizar at the end. The 450 points will be very welcome for him in his bid to get into Team Pilipinas next month. Akhmad Nizar, 8th in last year’s ATM Final, is once again qualified for Indonesia with his second podium of the current season after Mantra 68. Bali’s I Made Budiana ran a smart and consistent race to claim fourth place, ahead of Furqoni and Jesse Wilkinson. Thimo Kilberth finished in eighth, and secured his spot for Team Indonesia once again.

Aurore Dacier was a class on her own, with the second and third female podium placers finishing a while later. Hong Kong’s Flora Ching Wing Yee took it ahead of Joanne McNamara and Alison Gauthier.

On the 80km, it was a three-man-battle at the front until the second ascent of Batur, when Dedy Yusof no longer had the pace to keep up with last year’s Bali 100 winner Rachmat Septiyanto and season revelation Ma’Mun Khariri - the surprising winner of Mantra 116 last month. Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama, already third here last year, was never far back but also never managed to bridge the gap to the front. Meanwhile, first female Angelie Cabalo from Philippines was having her own nice day out on the trails. Cabalo, in only her second ATM race of the season, was no match for all the other women in the race and had her eyes set on the overall top three. Catching Matsuyama in the second half of the race, when the 80k runners return from the beach in North Bali, Cabalo looked like she was going to reach that goal. The Japanese runner, however, still had something in the tank and finished slightly ahead of Cabalo. He is qualified again for Team Japan next month, for Cabalo it remains to be seen. Many Filipino runners have been competing for the points all season, and so she finds herself in a tight spot to get into the top five. In any case, next weekend’s The Punisher race will be required. Especially since Irish Glorioso proved once again that she is back on-form , as she was in 2022. Glorioso finished second , a long way back from Cabalo , but nevertheless second and ahead of some very solid competitors such as Hong Kong’s Rachel Chan - who was second in Silabur 100 in May and qualified for the ATM Final again. Carly Balmforth ran a great race, too, also showing increased competitiveness. Balmforth ran second for a while, but eventually came in fifth, shortly behind India’s Ashwini Bhat , who got herself qualified for the ATM Final with her second top six finish of the season. Indonesia’s Yustina Wardhani, an ATM Finalist last year, came in seventh, behind Hong Kong’s Yin Kwan Cheng.

Rachmat Septiyanto and Ma’Mun Khariri in the end produced the most exciting battle of the event as the two went head-to-head on the final ascent and descent of Batur. Septiyanto opened up a small gap in the descent of about seven minutes. Khariri did not throw in the towel ,though, and chased Septiyanto all the way to the finish in those treacherously tough last five km on the road back up to the Geopark Museum. Septiyanto did hold on for his third ever ATM race victory. Still, Khariri showcased his trail talent again. Taken into account he ran and won Mantra 116 four weeks ago, and had another 100k road ultra afterwards, his performance raises eyebrows. With all that hard racing mileage in such a short timeframe, of course let’s hope he doesn’t burn himself out as happens ever so often in Indonesia… Fresh and on form, he could pull off a surprise at the ATM Championship Final next month!

Hong Kong’s Flora Ching Wing Yee grabbed a nice second place on the 50km

Ma’Mun Khariri narrowly lost out on his second ATM race win of the season after Mantra 116

With this weekend’s Bali Ultra in Indonesia we have already arrived at the penultimate weekend of this season’s qualifying period for our Asia Trail Master Championship Final at Borneo TMBT Ultra on 14 September. After Bali 80 and Bali 50 on Saturday, runners can only still score ranking points at Akha Trail in Thailand and The Punisher in Philippines. That means it’s crunch time for those keen to get a spot in their team for the ATM Final. Angelie Cabalo is among those, and no surprise she is lining up for the 80km this weekend. Cabalo was 3rd in last year’s Championship Final in Indonesia, and so has great memories of her last running visit here. On paper, the Bali 80 course, quite runable but with some pretty technical sections in it, should be ideal for the Filipino. Besides, contrary to last year, participants in this event are once again permitted to climb and descend Gunung Batur. Political disagreements have been solved, and so the famous ‘sunrise’ mountain is back on the course. For Cabalo, the 500 points for victory would be highly welcome. At present, she has only one result on her record this season and with so many ambitious Filipino runners in the mix, it will not be easy to still get a spot in the Top 5 of the women’s ATM ranking for her country. In any case, after Bali, she would also need to compete at The Punisher next week. It would certainly be a pity if Angelie Cabalo fails to qualify this season, as the TMBT course should suit her just as well in what promises to be quite an open women’s championship title race.

The men’s 80km will see the return of last year’s winner Rachmat Septiyanto and Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama. The latter probably has a higher pedigree, but often Matsuyama struggles with heat and humidity. Let’s see if this Saturday will be different. Also Dedy Yusuf will be a contender.

But arguably the 50k race will capture most attention this weekend, with Indonesian star Risqi Kurniawan scheduled to face off against 2018 ATM Champion. Alessandro Sherpa. Last time they met was at last year’s ATM Final on Gunung Lawu. Risqi had tried to follow eventual winner John Ray Onifa early on, but blew up and when Sherpa caught him a bit later he threw in the towel all together. Since that wake-up call, having realised that dominating all Indonesian races doesn’t mean you can do the same on an international competitive level, Risqi rehabilitated himself in February at The 9 Dragons 50km in Hong Kong, taking third place. An injury stopped him in his tracks for several weeks afterwards, but in Mantra 68 he proved to be back with another win ahead of Hilman Maulana and Akhmad Nizar. The latter will also be racing at Bali 50 and is always a dangerman for the podium. Alessandro Sherpa spent nearly four months back in Italy, but has now returned with a view to the ATM Final. Having finished third and second in the past two years, Sherpa really wants to try and get that second ATM Championship title this season, six years after his first - time flies. More podium contenders could be Yoyong Sacayle, provided he recovered from last week’s KAR Ultra, and Luis Alvelais. As always in Bali Ultra, there is very international start field and it is not excluded we get to see some unknown runners appearing at the front.

No longer unknown, however, is France’s Aurore Dacier - based in Singapore and winner of Lantau 70 in March, and MMTF 50 before that. Dacier has the competitive spirit and will be the top favourite on the 50km for women this Saturday. That would technically qualify her for the ATM Championship Final as well, but Aurore has already stated that she cannot make it this season. Yustina Wardhani is one of the local Indonesian runners who could think of a podium finish.

ATM will be reporting live from Bali Ultra from start to finish on ATM Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Singapore-based Aurore Dacier won Lantau 70 in March and is now aiming for Bali Ultra 50

Angelie Cabalo is going for the 80k win in her attempt to still qualify for Team Pilipinas 2024

Risqi Kurniawan will face Alessandro Sherpa on the 50k. Last year in SLU, Sherpa made him to DNF

After a few months’ off, Alessandro Sherpa has returned to Asia to be fully prepared for the ATM Final

Also Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama is back in Bali

Last year, Rachmat Sepiyanto won the 100k. He is back this year to try and do the same on the 80k.