We are very happy to announce that the 2024 Asia Trail Master Championship's ‘Season’s Final’ will be held in Malaysia at the classic and very popular Borneo TMBT Ultra event in Sabah! The event hardly needs an introduction. TMBT is the oldest trail event in Malaysia and one of the oldest in South East Asia overall. It has been a member of our Championship series for many seasons already and - in line with our calendar readjustment - is the perfect host for the conclusion of Season IX (9). Scheduled for Saturday, 14 September 2024, the ATM Championship Final race will take place on a special and dedicated course of approx 78km with qualified runners only. The event programme of course also features the traditional 100km, 50km, 30 km, 37 km Night Run, 12km and 7.5 km family run, and these are open for the general public.

It will be the second time the ATM Championship Final takes place in Malaysia. In 2019, the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival (MMTF) in Taiping took the honours and did so in great style. John Ellis and Veronika Vadovicova crowned themselves as the last champions before the covid pandemic. Borneo TMBT Ultra is centred around Mount Kinabalu, a world heritage site with spectacular views to the mountain throughout the race course. Racepack collection is in Sabah’s capital Kota Kinabalu and the event is organised and managed by the well-established local team of Borneo Ultra Trails, led by Claus Pedersen and Aileen Yong.

The ATM Final will be held on a specifically designed course that brings together the best and most scenic parts of the traditional 100k and 50k courses, connected by some brand new trail sections. The (in)famous Pineapple Ridge is of course also included. The total race distance will - as usual - measure around 78km and the total elevation gain is estimated at over 4500 hm, which is significant. There are some technical jungle trail sections, but the majority of the trails are quite runable, so the main obstacle for many participants will likely be the heat and humidity of the region. The race will start in Lingkubang at 5 am, roughly one hour before sunrise. The finish line is at the Perkasa Hotel in Kundasang.

As in the past two years since covid, runners need to qualify for the ATM Championship Final by scoring ATM points throughout the season. Per Asian country, maximum five male and five female runners - the highest point scorers - will receive the invitation to join the final race. A minimum of 2 ATM race finishes is required for everyone.

The reigning ATM Champions are John Ray Onifa (Philippines) and Rashila Tamang (Nepal). Both have already qualified to defend their respective titles at TMBT. The defending team champion is Team Philippines. Host nation Malaysia last held the ATM Team title in 2022.

Below is the Borneo TMBT Ultra event website, where you can find all details on the event and also register for the open public races.. All specific information and details about the ATM Championship Final will also be published, as usual, on the ATM Website on our dedicated webpage here.

Of course, the event is also open for everyone else with several race categories on offer

A 3-time winner of his home race, including in his last 2 appearances in 2019 and 2022: Milton Amat. Can he become the 3rd Malaysian ATM Champion after Tahira Najmunisaa (2016) and Steven Ong (2017)?

Podium placers in last year’s ATM Final in Indonesia

Last year’s ATM Team Champions: Team Philippines!

Have a genuine Borneo experience at TMBT!

Always around during TMBT : Mount Kinabalu

Last year’s Team Malaysia.

A little later than usual due to very heavy workload over the past few weeks, here is the Tale of the Trail video of the 11th Borneo TMBT Ultra from just over a month ago in Sabah, Malaysia. The 100 km and 50 km races were points races for the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking. Local Sabahans Daved Simpat and Rejlen James gave the home crowd great wins on the 100km, while John Ray Onifa and Vanja Cnops were unbeatable on the 50k. For Simpat it was his third 100k victory at TMBT after 2015 and 2018. Hisashi Kitamura bit the dust in second place for the third consecutive time. For Cnops it was her second consecutive victory on the 50k. Rejlen James successfully concluded her ‘Sabah Triple’ as this season she had already won BUTM 100 and Borneo Miler. Onifa broke the course record on the 50k, despite just ‘warming up’ in the first 15km of the race - leaving good old Bruneian Sefli Ahar, making his comeback, alone out in front for half of the race before reeling him in and dropping him by over fifty minutes. TMBT 2023 had a lot of big stories!

Borneo TMBT Ultra was part of our original series in 2015. After a brief hiatus, the event returned on our calendar in 2018 and has been there ever since.

Organised by Borneo Ultras, TMBT will return to ATM also in mid-September 2024 as well as BUTM in March.

After five long years, Daved Simpat ran himself to the top step of the podium again in his most prestigious home race Borneo TMBT 100, which he had also won for the first time eight (!) years ago. Simpat was outstanding and did not give Hisashi Kitamura any chance on his way to a course record of 13h55 - 27 minutes faster than fellow-Sabahan Milton Amat in 2019. It is not always fair to compare finishing times between editions of the same trail running event as conditions are different and the course is hardly ever exactly the same (e.g. since 2019 TMBT 100 is actually 109km long), but last weekend’s winning time does indicate Simpat is relieved from all injuries that plagued him over the past. few years and that at 40+, competitive trail life is not over yet.

The longest race of the 11th TMBT event was held in hot but dry conditions throughout for the faster runners. Ireland’s Mark Steacy, fifth a year ago and confident he could do a bit better this time around, was clearly the most awake at the traditional sunrise start. After km 12 and the initial 500 metres of elevation gain, Steacy found himself in the lead by himself by a nice margin. Thoughts of a potential upset-in-the-making were quelled quite soon afterwards, though, as Daved Simpat upped his pace and followed his former teammate John Ray Onifa - who. was running the 50km race (see separate news) - all the way up to Kitamura and then Steacy by aid station 2. Already at that point, Kitamura did not look like he had an answer to Simpat’s pace - much like last year, when he trailed Milton Amat the whole race in vain. The Karate Kit pushed Amat to the very limit in 2019 and ever since has hoped to add TMBT to his victory collection. It was again not to be. His flight from Tokyo to Kota Kinabalu suffered a delay of 12 hours and destroyed his race preparation. However, mentally it must have been even more difficult seeing the energy and enthusiasm of a rejuvenated Daved Simpat, whom he had basically beaten comfortably in all races they ran together over the past five years. For a long while he managed to keep the gap limited to about 8 tot 10 minutes. But around km 75 he threw in the towel. At least for Kitamura there was a big void behind him as well, so his third consecutive second place in TMBT was never in doubt as long as he made it to the finish. Which he did, and immediately lay down to sleep afterwards. That was nearly two hours after quite an emotional Simpat started his victory celebration. This was a very popular win for the large trail running fanbase in Sabah.

In third place we found a very nice performance by a young newbie on the long ultra: Oswald Maikol . Another Sabahan and one who has scored several podiums before in local races on the medium distance. Maikol kept the very experienced Gustin Tiam behind in 16h27, and was still smiling and within his comfort zone at the finish. One to watch for the coming years. Busy bee Amierul Amin - second two weeks ago at Penang Eco 100 miles - never featured at the front, yet managed to end his race in sixth place behind Willy Wilson. Mark Steacy suffered in the second half of the race, hiking the majority of it to arrive in ninth. That was still better than many other prominent runners, such as Amir Zaki, Andrew Farmers and even Wilsen Singgin, who all DNFd before km 60. The same happened in the women’s race: Sally Yap and Lynda Marylyn to name two retired from the race. Evidence that the course of TMBT 100 may be a little underestimated?

Victory in the women’s race was actually only decided in the last kilometre. New local star Rejlen James and Indonesia’s in-form Shindy Patricia had been running together all day unthreatened by the rest of the field. James seemed to have the upper hand as Patricia was struggling with a painful knee. Two weeks ago the latter still won Bali Ultra 100, while James settled for the non-points 50km race at Penang Eco in order to be fully fit for TMBT. A strategy that paid off. James outsprinted Patricia to take a big victory that goes into the record books also: Rejlen James scored the Borneo Ultra’s Triple Crown: winning BUTM 100, Borneo MIler and TMBT 100 in the same year! She certainly also looks to be the new benchmark in Malaysia’s competitive women’s field. Shindy Patricia was happy with second nevertheless, after three consecutive ATM race wins this season. With the ATM Championship Final in her home country in December, she will now take a rest to be in peak condition at Siksorogo Lawu Ultra. But that will also be Rejlen James next goal…

Until halfway the race Team Kolumpa’s Lynda Marylyn was in the game for third place, but serious digestive issues and cramps forced her to withdraw from the race. The young Marylyn was third in Borneo Miler in June and needs to find another race or two to try and get into Team Malaysia for the abovementioned Final in December. That seems not the case for Celeste Teo, who took third place and already seems to have her spot secured after a great season so far. Celeste Teo is not the youngest in the field but often showing her younger competitors how long ultras are done. Georgy Mimi Chu and Heliana Hj Mohd Arshad were four and five. 2022 Team Malaysia member Halimatun Sa’adiah backed up her decent Bali result with eighth place and appears to be slowly coming back to the type of form that gave her a great 9th place in the ATM Championship last season.

Check also:

Race Report 50 km

John Ray Onifa continues to look very much the part these months with another impressive display of speed and technical skill at the 11th edition of Borneo TMBT in Malaysia last Saturday. The Filipino demolished the rest of the competitive field on the 50km and finished in a new course record of 5h27’46”. Singapore-based Vanja Cnops was equally outstanding in the women’s race, albeit slightly slower than her own winning time of last year. From sunrise, the race was held in entirely dry conditions with less cloud cover than desired for many runners, which added to the often underestimated difficulty of this event.

Having already collected wins at MUSPO 100 and Akha 80 in July and August, Onifa was keen to start his first ever TMBT and already quasi ensure his qualification for the ATM Championship Final in December. The 32-year-old was so confident in his own ability, he allowed the returning Bruneian star Sefli Ahar run ahead in the initial 12km. Ahar was one of the great protagonists in the early years of ATM, scoring six race wins between 2016 and 2018 before a combination of professional duties and covid restrictions left him out of the spotlights. No longer the youngest now, Ahar for a while still looked like a serious challenger for Onifa. However, soon after the first aid station, Onifa switched on this engine, left his friend and former teammate Daved Simpat - who was running the 100k (see other news) - and began the chase. First he collected Sabahan Yasbie Ismail who was going well in second, and soon after, by AS 3, he already caught and passed Ahar en route to what would still turn out to be a crushing victory. Onifa was 53 minutes ahead of Ahar at the finish! Both the Bruneian and Ismail were also in their own league, followed by a surprisingly sharp Benardo Linus arriving in fourth place - his best ATM race result ever! Linus was preceeded at the finish by the first woman, Vanja Cnops. The Belgian repeated her win from a year ago, but had a little struggle in the downhills of section two, which largely explained her somewhat slower time. Second ATM win of the season, and sixth in her trail journey. Cnops was third in last year’s ATM Final on Mt Apo, and is looking to do at least one better this time around. More than an hour behind her, we had Philippines’ Angelie Cabalo - the surprising winner of MMTF 100 last year. Initially, Cabalo was running just a few minutes behind Cnops - close enough to be featured in our livestreams including at aid station 2. However, she did have to reduce her pace somewhat while at the same time knowing there was nobody else coming from behind. There was quite a nice competition for third place, though, and it was ‘good old’ Jessica Lintanga who used her many years of racing experience to outrun youngster Shamiera Auther and Kona Laiu to snatch her 10th (!) ATM podium, her first in five years. One of those ten was a 65k race win at Mesastila in Indonesia in 2016. She also beat her younger sisters Adelinah (11th) and Lolita (14th). What happened to Siet Fah Lim? Last year’s winner of TMBT 100 and Penang Eco 100 just two weeks ago, unfortunately, had her day of the month and had to settle for 9th place.

Bernardo Linus has been competing for years. TMBT 2023 was his best competitive result ever in ATM races.

The Lintanga sisters!

The 11th edition of the Southeast Asia classic Borneo TMBT Ultra is upon us this weekend with the traditional 100k and 50k as points races for the ATM Championship. ‘Beautifully brutal, brutally beautiful’ is the new tagline with which the Malaysian event enters its second decade of existence and the start lists at least promise another very exciting competition to follow. Hisashi Kitamura aims for a ‘third-time-lucky’ , albeit in the absence of eternal rival and local hero Milton Amat - who is in Chamonix this weekend.

TMBT is a reputed event with an exquisite stage (stunning views of Mount Kinabalu on many parts of the course) that every year attracts runners from virtually all continents. Therefore, let’s not be surprised if we get some surprising performances this weekend from people we had not yet discovered before in our series. Yet, runners like Hisashi KItamura and John Ray Onifa (on the 50km) nowadays have it in them to beat all comers. Now living in Tokyo again, the Karate Kit is not racing as often as before, but that is likely to make him even more sharp for every race he does compete in. We saw that already in his comeback race two months ago in Hokkaido, when he beat a quality field despite only having trained a couple of weeks since his nasty fall and broken wrist in Korea in April. Whoever wants to win the 100km this weekend, will need to pass Kitamura. Plenty of candidates who will give it a try, though. Amir Zaki, for one, boosted his self-confidence for long distances when he beat Andrew Farmers for the victory in the Borneo Miler event in June. Zaki was a very busy bee in that period, but wisely took a breather in order to be fully recovered and fit to tackle TMBT 100. Incidentally, also Australian Andrew Farmers is on the start list - and he might certainly fancy another podium in Sabah, where he has been living for a while. From Sarawak, there’s Irishman Mark Steacy who can challenge for a top position, from the Philippines we have the young John Ivan Zonio - excellent second place in Sierra Madre 75 behind Jeff Campbell ! - and from Malaysia we have several big-hitters such as Daved SImpat, former double winner of TMBT 100, Gustin Tiam, in-form but very busy Amierul Amin and Dzul Izwan Siri Ee - another newcomer on the ATM scene who has put in some great competitive results over the past months.

The women’s 100km is going to be exciting as well, featuring new local star Rejlen James. Winner of the Borneo Miler in June, and of BUTM 100 in March, James has her eyes very much set on winning TMBT this weekend. That would be a fantastic triple with TMBT of course the jewel in the crown as the most renowned event. In order to win, James will again need to finish ahead of Sarawak’s Sally Yap, which she did at BUTM early in the year. Both competed at Penang Eco just two weeks ago, with James winning the 50k non-ATM race, and Yap winning her debut 100 miler. It can be argued that Yap did not have to push herself to the limit in those 100 miles - still, from a competitive point of view it certainly was a risk if the ambition were to win TMBT against James, and some other strong runners in the field. We know also, however, that Sally Yap can suddenly be ‘switched on’ and extraordinarily focused to produce a sterling result like her second place in the ATM Championship Final last year on Mount Apo. In any case, both Rejlen James and Sally Yap will need to be awake on Saturday, because there is a serious contender from Indonesia on the start list, too. A very experienced ultra runner who has proven to be in the best shape of her life this season: Shindy Patricia. Just like her two Malaysian competitors, Shindy ran and won Bali Ultra 100 two weeks ago, so what counts for Sally, certainly also counts for Shindy. Will James benefit in the final 10km of TMBT from the potential fatigue of her two main rivals?

Other podium contenders on paper are Roan Biguasen, Celeste Teo, Aurora Santiago and Lynda Marylyn.

The 50km race also promises to be great with John Ray Onifa scheduled to face Brunei’s Sefli Ahar - he’s back! - and normally speaking Wilsen Singgin, who after winning the 100 miles of Penang Eco prefers the 50k over the 100k this weekend. Onifa requires no introduction, he’s been the star of the past two months winning both MUSPO 100 in Philippines and Akha Trail 80 in Thailand with remarkable ease and skill. Certainly, he is the hot favourite to add TMBT 50 to his victory trophy collection , but Sefli Ahar is not nobody and determined to have a good showing after years away from the ATM scene. Those who do not remember Sefli: the most awarded Bruneian runner grabbed six ATM race victories in the 2016-2018 seasons. His professional duties as a policeman prevented him from competing more and time doesn’t stand still, but just like a Daved Simpat and Gustin Tiam, Sefli Ahar can still be surprisingly quick when focused. There’s a number of Nepali runners on the start list, too, who could cause an upset. Other podium contenders are likely to be Amirul Tuah - also from Brunei and a Grandmaster, Yasbie Ismail and -who knows- our Filipino ATM contributor Richard Akol.

The women’s 50km has Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops as the most likely winner, she also won the race last year. And yet, there’s a lot of other talent on the start list with Philippines’ Angelie Cabalo - winner of MMTF 100 last year - and Siet Fah Lim, winner of Penang Eco 100 two weeks ago. In addition, there’s Malaysia’s youngest developing talent Shamiera Auther - winner of BUTM 50 in March - , Nur Amaani and the 3 Lintanga sisters: Jess, Adelinah and Lolita. A race within the race: which of the three sisters is fatest in their biggest home race event?

As usual, ATM will be reporting live from Sabah on our usual channels with livestreams and multimedia updates throughout the weekend.

Hisashi Kitamura returns to TMBT. Without Milton Amat, who can stop him from winning?

John Ray Onifa: unbeatable in ATM so far this season. He is on the 50k this weekend

Indonesia’s Shindy Patricia: in the best shape of her life this year

Vanja Cnops: last year’s 50k winner wants to do it over

John Ivan Zonio was a great 2nd behind Jeff Campbell at Sierra Madre Trail 75 in May

Amir Zaki and Andrew Farmers: the 2 protagonists of Borneo Miler. Can they challenge Kitamura?

Lynda Marylyn, one of the local Sabahan newcomers this season

Angelie Caballo , winner of MMTF 100 last season

Every year one of the most anticipated events on the ATM Championship calendar is Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia. The 11th edition of the Southeast Asia classic mountain jungle trail is scheduled for 2/3 September, and as usual both the 100km and the 50km are points races for the Championship rankings. Registrations are closing end of this month.

Milton Amat has been the local hero over the past years following two famous victories against Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura. The latter has indicated he will be back again this season for a ‘third time lucky’ attempt. In the women’s 100k, the local home crowd now also has a major contender for the prestigious race win: Rejlen James. Having returned this season after a few years off and pregnancy, James won BUTM 100 and the Borneo Miler in impressive fashion. Sabah of course has an incredible trail running community, and the vibe and support is what makes TMBT even more special.

Technically it is not the toughest 100km on the calendar, but many argue it is therefore the most-balanced century run. There’s longish runable sections alternating with steep muddy single trails, with Mount Kinabalu almost always within sight. The 50k does have a very tough uphill finish - rather unique in ATM, and has seen some incredible scenes over the years. TMBT is not only one of the most exotic events, but also ranks consistently amongst the best organised, despite the absence of big or loud thrills (considered another big plus for the event according to many, in fact!) . TMBT is trail running in its purest form.

There’s several shorter race categories and a nighttime race on offer, if you’re not looking for ATM points.

Come prepared in any case, as the heat and humidity of Borneo always plays its role in the races. Registration goes via the website, where you can also read the conditions of entry the competition regulations. Access by clicking the button below.

A race summary of last year’s event is also re-posted for your viewing.

Mt Kinabalu is always around during TMBT

You can now watch our race recap of last weekend’s 10th anniversary of Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, on our ATM YouTube channel or just here below on ATM Web. It will also be uploaded to our Facebook Page. Local hero Milton Amat won the flagship 109km race for the third time after 2017 and 2019. Just like before covid, Amat had to deal with the challenge of Japanese star Hisashi Kitamura, but the latter did not manage to reach his full potential this time around. Yakov Kozlov was a great third on the podium. The women’s 109km was dominated by Sieh Fat Lim, ahead of Sally Yap and Izzah Hazirah for a Malaysia clean-sweep on the podium. Not so on the 50k race category, where Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops dominated proceedings ahead of Law Guan Shin and Megan Davies. The men’s 50k saw France’s Pierre-Victor Morales take the victory in a superb battle with Yasbie Ismail. The latter, unfortunately, got penalised for a mandatory gear infringement after the finish line. This moved Muhamad Affindi up to 2nd place and Jude Maikol to third.

The next Malaysian points race in ATM is the 100km of Ultimate Trails of Penang on 8/9 October.

After two covid-related cancellations, Borneo Ultra Trails could finally celebrate its 10th anniversary of TMBT - its flagship trail running event and a Southeast Asian classic taking place around Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, East Malaysia. For months, competitive trail running enthusiasts were looking forward to the 109km race, which promised to be a second big battle between local hero Milton Amat and the colourful Japanese challenger Hisashi Kitamura. In 2019 they created a thriller at the end, ultimately won by Amat. Kitamura wanted revenge this season. Both ATM protagonists had been performing exceptionally well in the course of 2022, but Kitamura showed signs of fatigue in his previous two races. It was a foreboding, and indeed, Kitamura did not have the pace last Saturday to even follow Milton Amat, who already went solo on the way to CP 2. Milton’s early move resulted in his third win at TMBT after 2017 and 2019. A very dominant run and a finish time of 15h15 approx for the 109k course this year. Despite now being 40 years of age, the forever modest Milton seems to be in the best shape of his life. On current form, he will certainly be one of the men to beat in the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship Final on Mt Apo in Philippines on 17 December! Not only does the Sabahan hero have the technical mountain skills, he has added extra running pace and an incredible dose of self-confidence. Last Saturday morning, he started totally at ease somewhere halfway the field of approx 1000 runners on the 100k and 50k race categories, while Hisashi KItamura and the other pre-race favourites immediately set the pace from the gun. The Sabahan then quietly ran his way to the front and took the lead in one go. He quickly built a gap towards his main competitors for the race victory, and when they suddenly came very close again at CP 8 (km 75) - he said because it was very hot in the afternoon, but also because he had received no pressure from the others - he just shifted to a higher gear again. Incredible stuff.

Hisashi Kitamura was happy to finish second on a day with 'bad legs'. He nevertheless fought bravely for another ATM podium. Kuala Lumpur-based Yakov Kozlov was a great third place on the podium, matching the pace of Kitamura and the others from the beginning. Kozlov is a former race winner in ATM, fastest in Tengri Ultra Trail in Kazakhstan in 2018, a race sadly no longer part of our series. Another Sabah star, Wilsen Singgin scored his third fourth place of the ATM season. He was followed by Ireland's Mark Steacy, who did well and proved that his 3rd place in the Jagoi Heritage race three weeks ago was no coincidence.

Below and on our ATM facebook page, you can find lots of videos, interviews and photos taken during the race. A few are pasted here below.

The women’s 109k race was won by ‘roadie’ Siet Fah Lim from Sarawak in 22h13. She was in front basically all day, as much as BUTM race winner Sally Yap, also from Sarawak, tried to catch her later on. The 53-minute gap at the finish made it clear that Siet Fah Lim was the strongest. Her first ATM race victory. In third place, only 14 minutes behind Sally Yap was 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Champion Izzah Hazirah, who is clearly getting back in top shape now. Norlela Ismail came fourth.

For the first time, also the 50km race on the TMBT programme provided points for our Championship ranking. The men’s race developed into a great competition between Pierre-Victor Morales, the surprising Yasbie Ismail, Muhamad Affindi and Sapirin Sumping. When the newbie Yasbie Ismail pushed hard halfway through the race, the group - also containing women’s star Vanja Cnops - splintered up. At the last checkpoint, however, Yasbie Ismail looked to be tiring and KL-based Frenchman Pierre Victor Morales caught him. Affindi and Sumping would be contesting third place. Morales and Ismail went head-to-head in the final very tough 10km, and it was the expat who reached the uphill finish line first. His first ATM race victory after some great showings in our virtual events at the beginning of this decade. Ismail held onto second and Affindi came in third, another podium for him and a now almost guaranteed entry into Team Malaysia for our ATM Final in December. Jude Maikol still managed to get ahead of Sumping to take fourth. That became third, however, as Yasbie Ismail received a time penalty at the renowned harsh post-finish mandatory gear check at TMBT. His hard-fought second place went up in smoke and he got relegated to sixth. Nobody contests the necessity of mandatory gear checks, but should it really be done after the finish line?

Vanja Cnops was in a league of her own in the women’s 50km. She finished 5th overall in a classy field.Law Guan Shin and Megan Davies were second and third on the podium , each with very nice runs of their own.

At last, we have the 10-year-anniversary of Borneo TMBT (‘The Most Beautiful Thing’) around Mt Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia this weekend. Cancelled twice due to covid, it’s been a rough two years for the event organisers of this Southeast Asian trail classic, and we are all delighted it’s back on, and with a large and attractive start list as well. The main event is of course the 109 km race, but for the first time runners will also score ATM Championship points on the equally competitive 50k race distance this year. Still, the eyes of most people will be on the meanwhile popular dual between local hero Milton Amat, winner in 2019 and 2017, and Hisashi Kitamura, second three years ago after a fantastic fight. The Japanese Karate Kit was in the lead at the last checkpoint, but had no answer when Milton Amat found an extra gear on the long moderate uphill climb to the finish line. Beforehand, Kitamura had announced he “would beat Milton in his home race”, which of course enhanced the spectacle for the Sabahan running communities and all the fans. This year, Kitamura has proven to be even better as a trail runner and has naturally again stated that TMBT is marked red hot in his race agenda of 2022. During the course of the season, Kitamura has proven to be more confident on technical trail courses, and running smarter and more tactical when the situation permits. But. There is a ‘but’. In August, Kitamura showed signs of fatigue, both physically and mentally, at the Punisher in Philippines and at the Jagoi Heritage Run in Sarawak, an ATM candidate race. In fact, the Jagoi 50k race course suited him perfectly, and yet it was … Milton Amat who won the race! Milton has been running exceptionally well this year, too, and clearly has increased his general running pace on flatter trails. The two went head-to-head until the finish at BUTM 100 in March half a year ago (Milton won after Kitamura got penalised for mandatory gear infringements), but since then it would appear that Milton has kept his top form and Kitamura’s has been slightly going backwards since winning Cameron Ultra 100 in mid-July. Was that planned and deliberate to take the edge off for several weeks? Kitamura is being coached, so it is certainly possible that we may see the very best Kitamura again this Saturday. And that would make for a superbly exciting race, which everyone can follow via our GPS live tracking platform (link https://live.asiatrailmaster.com/tmbt2022/).

There are of course other top Asian runners on the 109 km start list. To begin with the other Sabahan aces, Daved Simpat and Wilsen Singgin. Simpat has been running much better and consistent than before the covid crisis and has remained injury-free. A former winner of TMBT, can he score an upset tomorrow using all his experience and, who knows, his friendship with Amat should the latter have an off-day? The youngest of the Sabahan trail stars, Wilsen Singgin, has not yet shown the level of speed that is probably necessary to win a race like TMBT. But who knows? Singgin was an impressive winner of MMTF mid-December last year, and if the trails are indeed more wet, muddy and technical than usual following extensive rainfall of late- according to the race director- , Singgin might be in his element here.

From peninsular Malaysia, Akmal Adzmi is a podium contender, and so is Singapore’s Deric Lau, who was second in UT Chiang Mai just three weeks ago. Two other expats should be considered: Mark Steacy from Ireland living in Kuching, and Yakov Kozlov, Russian living in Kuala Lumpur. Steacy ran great behind Amat and Kitamura to third place in the previously mentioned Jagoi 50k race, and Kozlov is a known fast guy from the MKRC team.

In the women’s 109km, we can expect a battle for the victory between Sally Yap, this year’s new name in Malaysia, and Izzah Hazirah. Other podium contenders are on paper Isabelle Bedard, local hero Adelinah Lintanga, Laslin Sarawi and Siti Hajar Razali.

On the 50k start list, we find some big names of runners who have already scored wins in ATM races this season. Mohammad Affindi even already has two victories on his record. He will be up against Sapirin Suming, Malachy Kirwan and Moo Sat, but also Pierre Victor Morales, French but based in KL from the aforementioned MKRC Team. And in the women’s 50k, Singapore-based Belgian Vanja Cnops will aim to get another ATM points race victory after BTR in Bali in May. Cameron Ultra 100 race winner Vincere Zeng is also on the start list, and so is TMBT’s arguably best-known ambassador: Jassica, aka Jess, Lintanga.

Running back in time… 2019 - Race Finish of Milton Amat

Muhamad Affindi has already won 2 ATM 50k races this season. Hattrick this Saturday?

Last week Ha Hau beat all the men during VMM 100, can Vanja achieve the same on TMBT 50?

Jess Lintanga has been one of the ‘faces’ of Borneo TMBT Ultra since many years. She has podiumed a number of times, this year she will try again on her favourite distance, the 50 km

The 2020 edition of Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, has been cancelled after all. This year was supposed to be the 10th anniversary of the classic event. Originally planned for end of August, the event already got rescheduled to 19 December last May, which would have made it the 2020 ATM Final. But the current covid 19 resurgence in Sabah makes it impossible to conduct the event in a responsible way. The organising team Borneo Ultra Trails announced the cancellation yesterday evening via their facebook page.

People who registered for the event can check the facebook page for refund or deferment details.

Next year’s 10th edition of Borneo TMBT Ultra has now been scheduled for the weekend of 11/12 September 2021. It will be the Malaysia SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship series, offering 50 bonus points to finishers on the 100km and 50km.

In the context of the Asia Trail Master season, the last active ‘real’ points race has therefore become Japan’s Izu Trail Journey on 13 December. The 2020 season has already been merged with 2021 so no new champions will be crowned, but runners can score points in the few remaining races on the calendar and carry them over into next year.

Sometimes bad news also comes with a silver lining. The organisation of the classic Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, is compelled to postpone its event from end-August to mid-December as a result of the ongoing corona pandemic. However, as such it suddenly became possible to turn the ‘Malaysia SuperTrail’ label into the ‘2020 ATM Final label’ and it did not take long before both parties agreed. Borneo TMBT Ultra will close the curtain on this difficult Asia Trail Master Championship season on 19/20 December.

The ATM Final has become a significantly mediatised attraction in recent years and got scaled up another notch last December with the impressively executed Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping. It has developed in a real social sports festivity after a full year of battles between the elites, and the many individual achievements on the Grandmaster Quest. Prior to this week, our core team had been planning and discussing for months to get the 19/20 December calendar slot filled. The original plan fell apart in March as a direct consequence of the corona crisis, and two alternatives were also unable to provide guarantees - that is guarantees for having the necessary time to prepare and build up the event. In contrast, Borneo TMBT Ultra offers few surprises on that front. The event will celebrate its tenth anniversary already and is generally acknowledged as a true classic of Asian trail running. We are confident that TMBT is the right choice for this year’s ATM Final and we are highly appreciative of the enthusiasm the TMBT team showed to assume this title. More specific details on what this implies for the runners will be communicated in due course. What is for sure is that only the 100K race will be relevant for those elites fighting for the Championship title.

Given the now several race cancellations on our calendar, we are also looking into the best manner to proceed with the ATM Championship and the Grandmaster Quest in the latter part of the season. We will communicate on this before the end of May.

In conclusion, please read the official statement from the event management of Borneo TMBT Ultra on the postponement of the event to December and the implications for those who have registered already.

POSTPONEMENT OF TMBT 2020

It is with great regret that Borneo Ultra Trails has to announce the postponement of the TMBT Ultra-Trail Marathon which was scheduled for 29th and 30th August, 2020.

There are some positive signs of the COVID-19 pandemic being contained and restrictions are gradually being eased in many countries, but whilst we would like to be optimistic, we consider it unlikely that the TMBT can be organised and run in a format that pays tribute to the 10th anniversary of the event, by end of August without undue risks. The primary concern of Borneo Ultra Trails as the organisers, is for the safety of the participants, staff and volunteers as well as the communities we pass through. Running an event with a large international contingent, under the current circumstances, is not in line with this. Rather than cancelling the TMBT 2020, it has been decided to tentatively postpone it till 19th and 20th December 2020.

In addition to the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the event, we are pleased to announce collaboration with Asia Trail Master (ATM) with the intention to have the TMBT as the ATM Championship Final for 2020.

The world is only just starting to define “life after lockdown”, and we cannot predict how this will develop over the next few months and whether it will be even feasible to organise and run the TMBT safely at year end. We can work on ways to reduce risks, which may affect the race format, but ultimately the race can only be organised and run as planned in December if it is deemed safe. If the race can be carried out within the regulatory framework at that time, it will be run if it has the support of the local communities and it can be organised and run in a format suitable for the event.

For those who have already signed up for the event, we apologize for any disappointment of not being able to go ahead with the race in August, but hope you will understand and join us in hoping the race can be organised successfully in December. Runners who have already signed up/registered for the TMBT in August 2020 will have their entries and registrations automatically transferred to the TMBT scheduled for 19th and 20th December 2020. Should runners who have already registered prefer a refund instead at this stage, please email info@borneoultra.com with all details.

If the eventuality should arise that it becomes necessary to cancel the event in December 2020, those who preferred to maintain their current registration for the new dates for TMBT in December 2020 and those who register henceforth for the event, will be offered the following choices:

• 1. A full refund of the registration fee or

• 2. A transfer of the registration to the Borneo Ultra-Trail Marathon (BUTM) or the TMBT in 2021.

With the best wishes for happy trail running and please do stay safe.

Borneo Ultra Trails

Last year local hero Milton Amat won an incredible race against the inevitable Hisashi Kitamura

We had a surprising Chinese winner on the women’s 100K last year, as Wen Danju from Guangzhou overtook race favourite Asuka Nakajima in the final kilometres

Watch the entire Episode 2 of the Tale of the Trail including the TMBT announcement

The 9th edition of Borneo TMBT 100 goes into the history books as one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting! In both the men’s and women’s main race the decision fell in the final 10 km of the classic race in Sabah, East Malaysia. The local crowd had a lot to cheer about, as home favourite Milton Amat delivered his best racing performance ever in outbluffing the once again amazing Hisashi Kitamura for a superb victory. The Uglow Malaysia duo fought an amazing battle at the end of the race, after Alessandro Sherpa settled for third place.

Milton Amat was in great shape and he could not hide it for long. He dropped his fellow Sabahan Daved Simpat, who won TMBT a year ago, and the other main contenders already going into WS 4 at km 36. Amat would stay solo in the lead for the rest of the race until the meanwhile inevitable Hisashi KItamura began the chase in earnest. Alessandro Sherpa, adopting a more conservative race strategy this time around, kept himself in the mix as well. Daved Simpat, however, decided to DNF after 60km. His sore ankle began to hurt too much once again.

 Kitamura perfomed his famous ‘Karate Kit’ jump to indicate his intention to attack, but his first attack proved fruitless. Even Sherpa came back to him eventually, and Amat remained out of reach. In fact, at WS 9 the gap had increased again to 20 minutes - the biggest it had ever been!

Not for the first time this year, Hisashi Kitamura showed incredible grit and gave it his all. The next two sections to WS 11 were mainly downhill and the Japanese used his natural running advantage. It was here that Sherpa had to let go once and for all. Kitamura was flying and minute by minute he edged closer to Milton Amat - as could be seen on the fantastic Dot Track Asia map, showing each runner’s GPS locations. In the approach to the final aid station WS 11, Kitamura caught Amat and passed him straightaway! The stunned Sabahan had no immediate response. But… and this is the great bit: Milton Amat kept his head cool and did not give up! The last 10km to the finish of TMBT are all gradually uphill and mostly on road. Amat has the advantage over Kitamura on that type of terrain…. and indeed: he crept closer and closer to the struggling leader and caught him again with 8k to go! Now it was the local hero’s turn, catch and pass. Kitamura was dead in the water. Milton Amat stormed to the finish and showed a great deal of emotion , which does not happen often, as he crossed the finish line. A superb performance! Kitamura came in second, exhausted. Sherpa cruised home in third, and Canada’s Jeremy Ritcey came in fourth not too far behind. Ritcey ran a very consistent pace all the way, despite arriving in Kota KInabalu just before the start after a delayed flight. Brunei-based South African Christo Swart made it up to fifth in the race and finished, ahead of Brunei’s Alexander Chung. 

Milton's winning time for the 109 km was 14:22. Kitamura 14:39 and Sherpa 15:24. Milton Amat won his home race for the second time after 2017. Visibly delighted with his second ATM race victory of the season after Mantra Summits Challenge, Amat moves up to third in the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking and remains very much in contention for the title. Kitamura, though, remains the leader.

In the women’s, Japan’s Asuka Nakajima led from the start, but a painful knee slowed her down towards the end. In a situation similar to the men’s race, Guangzhou’s Wen Danyu had never been far away and caught Nakajima on the way to Cp11. Danyu pressed on uphill and took a great first victory in an ATM points race. Despite missing out on her fourth race victory of the season, Nakajima regains the points lead in the Asia Trail Master Championship at the expense of Fredelyn Alberto. It is now obvious that any woman who wants to become ATM Champion this year will need to pass Asuka ‘Bazooka’. Jcy Ho from Hong Kong ran a very consistent race and was third. A result that will push the Oxsitis runner into the top 10 of the ranking, with more to come for sure. Malaysia's Ng Song Hiang was a strong fourth place and first of the home runners.

Wen Danyu's winning time was 17:50. Nakajima came in in 18:04 and Jcy Ho in 18:36. 

Both the men’s and women’s 100k races were pure promotion for the sport of trail running. A trio of runners giving it their best the whole day and creating the kind of excitement that even non-runners can enjoy. TMBT of course has a well-varied course that lends itself to this, with an ideal mixture of runable and technical sections. The races took place in cool, hazy conditions but were dry. Contrary to the days before, when heavy rainshowers put the organisation under a lot of pressure. A re-route due to a swollen river was implemented right after the start. It meant, a.o. things that the total race distance was increased to 109 km.

The 50k race - always well-stocked in talent but not a points race for the ATM Championship - was won by Kim Jisob from South Korea and Lauren Woodhouse from Great Britain.