An early but exciting announcement regarding Season XII’s Championship and Grandmaster Quest calendars: Soimalai Trail in Thailand is a new entry scheduled for the weekend of 11 to 13 December. A new end-of-year event , courtesy of a very successful Candidate Race stint two months ago. Soimalai is one of the events of the annual Tak Trail series, which also includes Tulay Trail at the end of October. Doi Soimalai is a mountain area covered in pine forests that lies roughly 1600m above sea level, and is known for its ‘sea of fog’.

On the event’s facebook page you can see plenty of jawdropping images from the 2025 edition. Soimalai is an event that has two editions each year: one summer and one winter edition. Please note that it is only the winter edition that offers points for the ATM Championship ranking and runners’ Grandmaster Quest challenge.

On the programme we have two Championship qualifiers: 100 Miles and 65km . Grandmaster chasers can choose between the 100 Miles and the 100km races.

Starting at 4 am on Friday, the 100 Miles measures 166km and has an elevation gain of approximately 6800 metres. Cut-off time has been set at 52 hours. There’s three distinct peaks in the couse profile.

The 65km profile shows a rather traditional profile with one long uphill followed by a rollercoaster on a high level plateau before the descent to the finish. Elevation gain is estimated at 3100 metres and the COT is 20 hours. This race starts at 4:30 am on Saturday morning. Day time races, but remember it’s december in northern Thailand and we go higher than 1000 metres above sea level.

The 100km starts together with the 65km and has a cut-off time of 30 hours for 5300 metres of elevation gain.

Soimalai lies in Tak province, south of Chiang Mai, which is the closest international airport. From Chiang Mai, you can take a bus to reach the event destination. Details can be found via the below facebook and registration pages, or the whatsapp number mentioned. Please note that Soimalai is a popular event and may sell out well before race day.

Grandmaster Quest chasers can also choose the 100km category

Last weekend’s Soimalai Trail in Tak province in northern Thailand saw many hundreds of runners taking part in one of several race distance categories, which even included a 100 miles and 100km. Soimalai Trail is the fourth and last event of the annual popular Tak Trail series and had obtained the ATM Candidate Race label - just like Tulay Trail six weeks ago. Doi Soimalai is a mountain area covered in pine forests that lies roughly 1600m above sea level, and is known for its ‘sea of fog’.

On the 100 miles we saw very familiar Thai face, Sanya Khancai. However, he had to settle for second place as Kodthananat Anupan managed to grab the win by just two minutes in 27h51. Santichai Salad was third on the podium. Kittiya Piyawan was first female in just under 40 hours. Keson Sinchang and Ravikarn Kumkong joined her on the podium.

Apirat Chaitanarit and Limsiao Ai took the victory on the 100km in the men’s and women’s respectively. Chaitanarit completed the course in 18h33, Limsiao Ai in a solid 20h40. There was also a 65km with the win going to Phissanuwat Inon in 8h27 and Arlene de Abreu in 10h26. The 45km went to Paween Kongyai in 5h21 and Sirikanya Phoobhuaphet in 6h47.

On the official event facebook page of Soimalai you can find a big collection of great photos taken at the event last weekend. Stay tuned for more news on the 2026 edition!