It has been a while since the last one in Malaysia, but this weekend is SuperTrail weekend in the Asia Trail Master Championship. Bandung Ultra 100 is the Indonesia SuperTrail, which means all finishers on the 100k distance score 50 bonus points for the points championship. Important also for home runners Arief Wismoyono and Ruth Theresia, who will be giving it their all on familiar terrain.

Bandung Ultra 100 entered the scene with a bang last year. Along with Mantra Summits Challenge in East Java, the event captured the imagination of hardcore technical trail runners especially. The 100k has well over 6500 metres of elevation gain and a tight cut-off time of 32 hours. Twelve months ago, Fandhi Ahmad won both new races. He is back at the starting line tomorrow and will certainly act. as the benchmark for Arief Wismoyono and others with victory ambitions. One of those is Spaniard Salva Rambla. Having arrived in Asia just a week ago, Salva Rambla will be competing in at least six ATM races in the second part of this season with a mission to increase understanding and spread awareness of our events in his home country Spain, which is of course one of the top nations in global trail running. Salva and his partner will also be working on a TV documentary, and he will of course also run the races for what he is worth. Spain is not Asia, and Bandung Ultra 100 is definitely not the easiest race to start an Asian campaign, but he is no rookie neither.

It will be interesting to see where Abdul Aziz Dermawan ends up this weekend. A talented young runner who scored great results even on the steps of Hong Kong a few years ago, but it has been a while he has competed at top level in Indonesia. Aris Sopiandi Muklis is a podium candidate, having done well in this race last season as well.

There’s a few Japanese runners who could cause an upset, and there’s also Rexell Aguirre from Davao in Philippines who always does well on technical terrain, having placed second on Mt Apo last year as an example. Brunei-based Canadian Michael McLean was a very impressive finisher at Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 only two weeks ago. McLean passed six runners in the final 10 km to end up 6th in the race result. In Sabah, McLean looked surprisingly fresh at the finish compared to all others and can certainly be regarded as the dark horse for this weekend’s race in Bandung. Amazingly, there’s another top performer of Borneo TMBT Ultra on the start list: Malaysia’s Milton Amat! The sympathetic Sabahan was running in front together with Daved Simpat for most of the race, until he got. a knock of the hammer and slided down the order to arrive in fourth place at the finish. Earlier this season, Amat scored 4th in the 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong and 4th in Penang Eco 100 miles. He is indeed the highest-ranked Malaysian in the current Asia Trail Master points standings in 8th place with 1400 points. Let’s hope for him he can do one rank better in BDG 100 and finally get a podium. He would be knocking on the door of the ATM Fab Five as well then.

In the women’s race, championship leader Ruth Theresia is the clear favourite on paper. Competiting smart and much less than in 2017, Ruth is eyeing a championship win, indeed. Surabaya’s Sri Wahyuni has come closest to pushing Ruth in ultra races this season, yet overtaking her has not been on the cards so far. Wahyuni is on the start list again for Bandung, however reports indicate she is injured and won’t be competing for a few weeks - denting her chances in the championship. Ruth may therefore receive most pressure from another East Javan, Shindy Patricia. Riding the wave of her success in Chamonix, Shindy is a highly skilled technical runner who will find herself at ease on the trails in Bandung. If Ruth doesn’t find her fastest legs, Shindy won’t be far away. And neither will Eni Rosita be. Rosita might not have the sheer trail speed as the likes of Ruth and Shindy, but her stamina counts for two. When the going gets tough, Rosita could be competing for more than just the podium. Hong Kong’s Jocelyn Cheung will be another podium candidate, as she showed again last month with a third place in the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia.

Arief Wismoyono is currently in 6th place in the ATM Championship

Ruth Theresia: on the way to her first ATM Championship title?

An incredible finish at Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 2 weeks ago: Michael McLean

3 times 4th: can Milton Amat score an ATM podium this weekend?

Impressive winner last year: Fandhi Achmad

As announced some time ago, the second Mindanao points race in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series has decided to upgrade its flagship race to a 50 miles distance. Trail Fifty Mapawa thus not only gets a new name (the event used to be called Ultra Trail Mapawa) but also a new face.

Trail Fifty Mapawa will now criss cross the entire Mapawa Nature Reserve, as you can see on the map below. The new 50 miles race is arguably also the biggest roller coaster you can find, as the trails go up and down continuously to reach an elevation gain of over 4500 hm. Asia Trail Master Championship and points chasers should be aware that the “old” 50 km race remains on the event programme as well. Moreover, it has been decided that - this year - the ATM points allocation will be the same for both 50 miles and 50 km distances. Winners on both distances will thus score 500 points.

Last year at Mapawa we witnessed the emergence of John Ray Onifa, who took the measure of 2016 ATM Champion Manolito Divina. It was also the race where current young female protagonist Aggy Sabanal appeared on the ATM scene for the first time. Aggy finished third and this season has built on that performance to become a race winner at Rizal and Mt Apo. One of the most popular running events on Mindanao Island, Trail Fifty Mapawa in Cagayan de Oro not only has an extraordinary profile, it also every year gives us a glimpse of new trail talents.

Registration remains open and is convenient via raceyaya.

Trail Fifty Mapawa

This Sunday the Asia Trail Master Championship series touch base in Japan again for the Hakuba International Trails, a new entry in our series after being a successful Candidate Race last season. Hakuba is close to former Olympic Winter Games host Nagano and takes place in and around a famous ski resort. It is a very popular race of 53 km with a good mix of runable and technical terrain - almost typical Japanese - and in the trend of Echigo in June, it is an event that is about more than just running. 

The 53 km race is the main event and has attracted nearly 900 runners of the 2000 event participants in total. There's also a medium and short distance race on the programme catering for beginning trail runners or athletes from other sports disciplines. Among the latter are even some olympians! Daichi Suzuki was a gold medalist swimmer at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. He is now the Director General of Ministry of Sport in Japan, and he will be having his first trail experience ever! In addition, nordic skier Akito Watabe, who scored silver in this year's Olympic Winter Games in Pyeungchang. And also Aiko Uemera, a four-time olympian in mogul skiing. 

This being the first time in the area, we will get to know a lot of new names this weekend. Tokyo's Tomohiro Mizukoshi and Niigata's Jun Kaise on the other hand are already established runners in our series. Jun Kaise is the double winner of Kushigata Wind Trail (2017 and 2018) and also a third-place finisher in Echigo Country Trail last season. Tomohiro Mizukoshi, of course, is the current number three in the Asia Trail Master Championship, having led the standings for a short while a few months ago. He has been running mainly in South East Asia and was second in Magnificent Merapoh Trail 100 only a month ago. 

In the women's we will be paying attention to the performance of France's Carole Fuchs, winner of Cordillera. Mountain Ultra in March, and 2nd in Echigo three months ago after climbing Mount Everest. Can Fuchs - back in training since weeks - take a win in Japan? If she does, she also becomes a serious contender for the Championship later in the year. 

We will be reporting live from the action at Hakuba Trails via our usual social media channels. 

Currently 3rd in the ATM Championship, Tomohiro Mizukoshi is at it again this Sunday

Niigata ace Jun Kaise is always a podium candidate in 50 km races

Local running hero Daved Simpat has scored a new victory in his home race Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 after 2015. In fact, it was a very successful weekend for the Sabahans with more wins and podium places in the other categories as well. There was a major upset at km 29 as well, when ATM Championship leader and last year's TMBT winner Alessandro Sherpa pulled out of the race with knee pain - after leading the proceedings in the first 25 kilometres. 

Simpat ran most of the race together with his fellow Sabah runner Milton Amat, until the latter began to fade on the way to CP 7. Philippines-based Dane Kristian Joergensen caught up and passed a fading Amat in the final 20 km to take a strong second place. Joergensen had been running more or less at the same pace as the leaders all day, yet could not seem to bridge the gap to Simpat. Another local Malaysian runner from Sabah, Wilsen Singgin, was third in the finish and thus took away the final podium step from Milton Amat. Singgin was running a very consistent pace all day and passed Amat at the end. Milton Amat himself was still happy to come home fourth and become the best-ranked Malaysian runner in the ATM Championship.  Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura, recently 3rd in TMMT 100 and 7th in the ATM Championship, was proving his ultra credentials again and moved up to 5th place in the second half of last weekend's race. Kitamura also leaps into the top five of the ATM ranking. Canada’s Michael Mclean overtook 5 people in the last 10k and finished in sixth! Koh Kian Ti from Malaysia was 7th. Sam McGrath was 8th. 

In the women’s race, Corinne Williams overtook Britain’s Lucy Scott after about a third of the race. The Okinawa-based American won her second ATM race of the season after 9 Dragons, although a dog bite still threatened to spoil her party at the end. Malaysa’s Malin Salungin is third. Kuala Lumpur-based Filippino Jefferlyn Castellano scored another good result with 4th. Hong Kong's Jocelyn Cheung decided to stop halfway, while home favourite Adelinah Lintanga did not have the legs to compete with the frontrunners and finished as 19th woman.

On the 50 km, which was not a points race but had a lot of quality runners in it, home-favoruite and Grandmaster Jassica Lintanga took a good race win ahead of Brunei's Erin Liam. In the men's race Julian Baker crossed the line first ahead of Daniel Fernandez and Sahaban Safrey Sumping. However, later Baker would receive a 1-hour time penalty as a mandatory gear check revealed he only carried one lamp instead of the required two. 

After 2015, local hero Daved Simpat wins Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 again in a commanding way

Corinne Williams takes her 2nd ATM points race victory at TMBT 100

Milton Amat is now best-ranked Malaysian in the ATM Championship

Wilsen Singgen is another Sabahan on the podium of the 100k, passing Milton Amat in the final kilometres

Also for Daniel Fernandez it was a tough day: 2nd on the 50 km behind Julian Baker

Home-favourite Jassica Lintanga won the 50 km race

After his great and relatively easy victory in the Magnificent Merapoh Trail three weeks ago, Alessandro Sherpa returns to the scene where it all began for him 12 months ago. Borneo TMBT Ultra was his maiden trail run, having come to Malaysia with a solid background in mountainbike racing. Sherpa not only took part, he even won the 100k together with local star Milton Amat. Tomorrow he enters the race in Sabah again as points leader in the Asia Trail Master Championship - and Amat, who is doing well by himself in ATM this season - will again be one his rivals for the win. 

Borneo TMBT Ultra is now back in Asia Trail Master after a three year hiatus. Back in 2015, David Simpat and Joanna Kruk took the 100k race wins. Interestingly, both feature on tomorrow's start list as well. Simpat for sure will be one of the main competitors for Sherpa. Kruk, however, has had to withdraw from the event. The police woman in Adelaide did not manage to get leave from her professional duties this weekend. 

This is one of Southeast Asia's oldest events and attracts runners whom you do not often find back in other races during the year. Surprises can therefore always occur, although Manila-based Dane Kristian Joergensen won't finish far from the podium tomorrow. Japan's Hisashi Kitamura could get close as well, three weeks after a very strong run and third place in Merapoh. Kitamura is seventh in the current points standings, and another strong result could propel him up to as high as fourth. Brunei's Alexander Chung has always been good in his country's Beach Bunch Trail Challenge. How will he fare in Sabah? 

In the women's we have of course the Lintanga sisters on home soil. Adelinah will be the only one on the 100k, though, as Jassica opts for the 50k this weekend. Adelinah got second in Merapoh three weekends ago, proving her good form, but most likely the Okinawa-based American Corinne Williams will the one to beat in the absence of Kruk. Williams won the 50/50 9 Dragons Ultra earlier this year and also got third place in the Izu Trail Journey last December. Victory in TMBT would push her inside the women's championship top ten. 

Kristian Joergensen returns to the ATM tour

Grandmaster Adelinah Lintanga ready for another tough 100k 

The Asia Trail Master series venture beyond the politically established boundaries of the continent for the first time for the Nerang 200 in Queensland, Australia, scheduled for 27-30 September. A very special type of trail event for ATM, also because it will be run on 25k loops and has 200 miles as the longest race distance! The popular Nerang 200 is credited as a 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race.

Ian Cornelius, CEO of Gold Coast Ultras, is a big fan of our Asia Trail Master Championship series and is himself based most of the time in Philippines. After a long period of reflection and open discussion, we have accepted the application of Nerang 200 and have provided it with Candidate Race status this year. This means the event is set to appear on our official championship calendar in 2019, pending a positive evaluation of the upcoming edition. The official press release of Nerang 200 features a paragraph that sums it up nicely:

"Although not strictly part of the Asian continent, Australia is in much the same time zone as Asia and, of course forms part of Asia for the world cup (soccer) and various other sports. Both Asia and Australia are integral parts of the Asia Pacific region and the term Asia Pacific or Apac has been used for the past three decades when discussing trade, finance, politics and sport. Although Australia traditionally has a strong bond with Europe, the migrant intake from Asia for the past decade now exceeds that from Europe." 

Australian trail runners have been quite successful since the beginning of Asia Trail Master in 2015. Just two examples, Joanna Kruk from Adelaide has scored four race victories throughout the years in Thailand and Malaysia, and Melbourne-born Kim Matthews is our current Asia Trail Master women's champion - unfortunately out of action for the rest of this season with a complicated hip injury. By having Nerang 200 inside the ATM framework, we are excited and looking forward to seeing even more interaction between Australian and Asian running communities.

While the 200 miles race attracts attention due to its massive length, several shorter distances are of course also on the programme. Runners can choose to do 100 miles, 100k, 50 miles, 50k and 25k as well.  There's even a 4x25k relay for teams. The 25k basic loop has 885m of elevation gain in it, so this is by no means a walk in the park. By going round in loops, race logistics are of course easy and participants can carefully plan their nutrition and race strategy while spectators cheer them on all day and night. Indeed, Nerang 200 is known also as a great party event with camping options, bbq and music. 

International access is quite straightforward with Brisbane and Gold Coast airports just an hour's drive away. Airfares have recently been cheap compared to what they used to be. 

More details available on the event website and facebook page:

https://www.nerang200miler.com and https://www.facebook.com/Nerang200miler/

The official singlet for this year's Nerang 200 event 

Japan's Kohta Araki will likely steal the show at the inaugural edition of the Mongolian International Steppe Marathon this weekend in the hilly outskirts of capital city Ulanbaataar. The winner of Echigo Country Trail last June won himself a free entry for the new race set up by a Japanese company in this for many people still vast and mysterious country. When thinking of trail running and Mongolia, only the long-time classic Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset in the very remote Northwestern Hovsgol National Park comes to mind. But that is about to change with this new event of 50 km that is meant to launch a new tradition. The naming in English may be a bit confusing still - is it Mongolia International Steppe Marathon or Bogd Khan Ultra Trail, and how does that rhyme with the applied abbreviation MSUT - but the 50k race course is crystal clear and in the hands of none other than Carole Fuchs, the French winner of Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Philippines and recent conquerer of Mount Everest. It is a hilly course run at quite high altitude between 1350m and 2200m above sea level. 

A bit of background. Bogd Khan was born in Tibet and was the third most important man in the hierarchy of Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. Nevertheless, he moved and lived most of his life in Mongolia. In 1911 he was enthroned as the Khagan - Head of State - of Outer Mongolia after it declared its independence following the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in what is now known as China. The Bogd Khaganate - the reign - was short-lived as in 1919 Chinese troops returned to Urga, as the capital city was then called. In the political turmoil that ensued, Bogd Khan was again reinstated to the throne for three more years till his death in 1924. Then, the People's Republic of Mongolia was officially announced, backed by Soviet Communists. The winter palace of Bogd Khan has been well-preserved an is now tourist attraction in Ulanbaataar. 

Fascinating stories and cultural relics are omnipresent in this region of the world, and for sure adds meaning to the new trail event in August. 

While Araki starts the new race as a clear favourite, everybody is hoping to see some Mongolian talents emerge this weekend. Mongolia has a strong tradition in other endurance sports such as cycling, but also its ultra road runners have been doing quite well in international competitions. Trail, however, is largely new to them. 

This is a 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race, and news will become available this weekend via the facebook page of the event. 

https://www.facebook.com/MSUT.Official/

A rather unfortunate service message: this year's ULTRON Ultra Trail Panoramic in Thailand cannot take place on the envisaged date of 7-9 December. The event, which was also being entirely redesigned and centred around Pai only, will return in 2019 on the same second weekend of December. Recent elections in the area have reportedly caused a change in governance and in this context it has proven to be too difficult to guarantee a quality event for the many runners who come to this one. 

Organiser Teelakow apologises for any inconvenience this cancellation may cause, and emphasizes Ultra Trail Panoramic is not dead and will return next year. 

In the context of Asia Trail Master, it means the final race weekend is now entirely focused on Izu Trail Journey in Japan, where the new champions will be crowned. For the lovers of 100 miles races, it means that HK 168 in Hong Kong on 1/2 December is now the final ultra trail on our calendar this season. Registrations for that event are open.

100 miles finishers score 50 bonus points for the championship, which puts winning HK 168 on the same level as winning the Japanese SuperTrail, Izu Trail Journey, on 9 December. 

Alessandro Sherpa won the Magnificent Merapoh Trail 100 in commanding style last weekend. The Italian ran off by himself already in the first kilometres of the 100k race, which this year featured 800 hm more elevation gain and is - at least for the fast guys - ran almost entirely at night with start at 9 pm. Sherpa won in 11:26:46 -spectacular as only marginally slower than last season's winner Sefli Ahar from Brunei - and was never really threatened. Especially as 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong retired after 25 km with his ankle injury bothering him too much. There's still many races left on the calendar, but it does look that Ong will not feature at the very top of this year's championship after setting up his outdoor retail shop in Kuala Lumpur. Japanese runner Tomohiro Mizukoshi was trying but could not bridge the gap to Sherpa, and finished second in 12:15. One could wonder how come Mizukoshi let the Italian get away so early, as for a long time afterwards they were running at an equal pace. 

It is the second victory of the season for Alessandro Sherpa after Penang Eco 100k,  and his fifth ATM points race of the season. He dedicates the victory to the victims of the massive earthquake in Lombok. With 2200 total points, he also took over the lead in the ATM Championship at the expense of Pablo Diago Gonzales (2100 points). Japan's Mizukoshi improved his total points tally also and is now third in the ranking. One of the revelations of the season - even though he was 17th in last year's Izu Trail Journey - and that race doesn't lie. 

The Merapoh podium was completed by Mizukoshi's compatriot Hisashi Kitamura, his first podium success in an Asia Trail Master points race. Kitamura ran with a great pace and seems to have growth potential. Based in KL, Kitamura is now 7th in the ATM Championship. And also Gakubo Chiba arrived in Merapoh in 4th place, making it 2-3-4 for Japan in this race! Next was Yeo Kim Hong from Singapore, who came in a superb fifth, followed by another interesting new face, Mohamad Raydi Koto Cham from Indonesia in sixth. And in 7th we find even a runner from Nepal in the race result: Kajiman Rai. Were any local Malaysians running TMMT 100 apart from Steven Ong? Muhammad Shahrin Faiz Bin Roslan is first Malaysian in the race result in 8th place, underlining his own personals strong 2018 season. Roslan has climbed up to 8th place as well in the ATM Championship with four strong results in the bag. In the championship, he is first Malaysian, too. Highly profiled Mohamed Affindi was a DNS due to fever, while Sabah runner Milton Amat is reportedly aiming to win Borneo TMBT Ultra 100 in 3 weeks. 

Singapore’s Evelyn Lek won the women's race in convincing style in a time of approx 14:27, which is fast. Lek is a road runner who has only recently been getting a taste of trail and TMMT was her first ever 100k trail! She appeared at the top of the leaderboard at CP3, when she caught up with Adelinah Lintanga, Hiang Song Ng and Philippines' Ann Jilian Pulanco. Lek didn't look back from then on. Has Singapore found itself a new trail star? 

Adelinah, the youngest of the Lintanga sisters, had to be satisfied with second place again. Twelve months ago she had to tolerate Tahira Najmunisaa ahead of her. Still, she does a good job for her ATM championship. In fact, now she is tied with Jassica Lintanga in tenth place. Tough cookie Adelinah was fourth at the end of 2017, and given that this year's women's championship seems to be more open she could become a contender down the road - or should we say down the trail. 

Ann Jilian Pulanco, a good runner and 3rd in Dalat Ultra Trail this year, asked for ice to treat her hip at CP3, and dropped to 7th after leading the race in the early parts. Also Ng Song Hiang fell back to sixth after a fast start. More experienced ultra trail runners Jefferlyn Castellano  and Jocelyn Cheung on the other hand kept moving up the leaderboard as the race went into injury time. Cheung proved that her podium finish at Mesastila last year was no fluke by grabbing third. Castellano settled for fourth. 

Canada's Julian Baker raised some eyebrows by completing the 70km race in 6:57. That's his second ATM race victory after UT Koh Chang 70 last year. Baker is based in South Korea and - so he says - is prepping himself to feature on the 100k circuit soon. We can't wait! The women's 70km was also won by a woman from western origin, namely Pauline Svoboda from the Czech Republic - in her debut on the long distance! What's more, Svoboda is based in Singapore just like Evelyn Lek. Singapore hardly has trails, let alone mountainous technical trails, but they seem to produce some excellent trail runners of late! 

The 2018 female podium of the 100km race with Evelyn Lek in the middle

Alessandro Sherpa was outstanding and he's now the man-to-beat in the ATM Championship

Julian Baker collected his 2nd career ATM race win over 70km 

Kajiman Rai from Nepal was an excellent 7th in the 100km race

The top five of the men's 100km at the award ceremony at night

Malaysia-based Italian Alessandro Sherpa has a shot at the Asia Trail Master championship lead this weekend as he lines up for the 100km at the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in his residential country. Sherpa needs 400 points (=minimum 4th place) to overtake Pablo Diago Gonzales, but may be keen to make a mark by winning the race ahead of 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong, who will reportedly be making his first appearance of the season in an ATM ultra race. 

Organised by Ten Senses, mainly known for its road running events in the country, the Magnificent Merapoh Trail - aka TMMT - has quickly developed into one of Malaysia's most popular trail events that attracts a wide international audience as well. The passage through four dark and natural caves is a highlight, as well as the renowned 3km long river crossing. The race courses for all distances (100km, 70km, 35km) have been redesigned for this year. While overall still runable, the 100km now has 2300m of elevation gain as well, or an increase of approx 800hm compared to previous years. Most of this vertical gain will be conquered by the 100k runners just before or around dawn after roughly 50km. The river crossing is now back towards the end of the course, between km 70 and 80, which means nearly everyone will cross at daylight contrary to last year. It has been relatively dry over the past days in Merapoh, so the water level in the river is normal and participants won't have to swim :-). 

Close to 1000 runners will take part, which is the maximum quota for the event given the very remote location on the border between Pahang and Kelantan states, as well as the Taman Negara National Park. 

Among the race favourites we have Alessandro Sherpa, who based on his big victory in Penang Eco 100k last May will find another course very suitable to his characteristics as a trail runner. Japan's Tomohiro MIzukoshi is another excellent runner who could set the pace like he did in Penang 100 miles. Mizukoshi is number 2 in the ATM Championship at the moment, having already completed five ATM races this season. The Tokyo runner will be trying to erase his 8th place (330 points) in Korea 50k in April, his 'worst' result of the season, to boost his ATM championship total a bit higher. He cannot threaten the position of leader Pablo Diago Gonzales, however, as the Spaniard is 240 points ahead and Mizukoshi can maximally gain 170 points if he wins TMMT 100. 

Announced is the return of Steven Soonseng Ong, last year's Asia Trail Master champion, in what would be his first ultra race of the current championship. If he starts, he is always a victory candidate. Sherpa and Ong squared off once before under ATM, which happened in the 100 miles race of Ultra Trail Panoramic in Thailand last December. Ong won. Eight months later, Sherpa has proven to be in great shape while Ong has been very busy setting up his new outdoor and running retail shop in Kuala Lumpur.

There has been speculation that Mohamad Affindi, second in TMMT 100 last year, will also be a late addition to the start list. Affindi has was dealing with the after-effects of the flu earlier this week, though. One dangerous dark horse is Canadian Julian Baker. Based in South Korea, Baker is last year's winner of Ultra Trail Koh Chang 70. This season his ATM record is still blank. 

The women's race was dominated by Tahira Najmunisaa in 2016 and 2017, but now being 7 months pregnant, the female star of Malaysian trail running will be cheering for the others. In fact, remarkably, Tahira will take part alongside her husband Abdul Rahman in the 35km race on Saturday. Malaysia still has a strong runner at the start who could grab the win: Adelinah Lintanga from Sabah. The Grandmaster was 2nd behind Tahira last season. Her main competitors for the podium will be Erin Aziz from Kuala Lumpur and Philippines' Ann Jilian Pulanco - who was 3rd at Dalat Ultra Trail in Vietnam last March. Erin Aziz could be the first woman to reach the plateau of five races this season. After her great 3rd place in Mantra Summits Challenge 75 last month, the ULTRON runner has Indonesia's championship leader Ruth Theresia within sight. Aziz requires 373 points this weekend to claim the points lead, which corresponds to a top five race result in TMMT 100! 

Subject to connectivity, we will be broadcasting and reporting live from Merapoh from start to finish. The 100k flag-off is scheduled for Friday at 9 pm. 

The Merapoh caves are iconic for this event. This year a new technical cave section is added

We are happy to announce another 2019 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race that will increase the diversity even more in our series, and particularly in the Philippines. The Mount Talinis Mountain Marathon is organised by an experienced team of runners and event managers in the Negros Oriental region of the southern Philippines. Effectively, this will be the first time ATM ventures outside of Luzon and Mindanao and giving local runners in the Visayas an opportunity to shine on the international stage. Host town is Valencia Public Plaza on Negros Oriental. Mt Talinis Mountain Marathon of course features the ascent of the volcano Talinis as highlight of the 50km race this year on 6/7 October. Talinis, also known as Cuernos de Negros (Horns of Negros) is 1903m high and is located roughly 20km from regional capital Dumaguete City. The climb is quite foresty, often foggy and has several mountain and crater lakes. The region has a very rich biodiversity but unfortunately also suffers from illegal logging. Another good reason to mark this event in your calendar and show the local communities that the national parks are a major asset long-term. 

This year it's a 50 km race (CUT 18 hours) that starts at 11 pm. For 2019, a Grandmaster Quest distance is envisaged of 70 km. 

There's two airports nearby: previously mentioned Dumaguete and also Mactan, which even hs international flights. 

More details via the facebook page of the event:

https://www.facebook.com/UTMTNEGROSORIENTAL/ 

The organisers of the iconic and important Magnificent Merapoh Trail (TMMT) in Malaysia have released the final version of the course maps and profiles for next week's 4th edition. The race distances have remained at 100km, 70km and 35km - of which the two longest are valid for ATM Championship points - but the elevation gain has increased to over 2000 hm for both 100k and 70k. As a result, the cut-off times may also be increased pending further discussion with the course directors. The late arrival of the new routes is due to significant and also mandatory changes for this year. Cave lovers will be happy to learn there's additional caves in this year's route! The renowned 3km long river crossing is also still in the course. 

For all details, registered participants can download the PDF Guidebook now.