Three weeks after MUSPO Ultra, we are back in the Philippines, and even back in Mindanao, for the next ATM Championship points race of Season VII. The Punisher on Babak Samal Island, just off the coast from Davao City, has become a bit of a classic entry on our calendar, and one which especially attracts people with a good running pace in their legs. Despite what the event name might suggest, The Punisher is arguably not the toughest race, especially when it’s dry weather. This makes it appealing for some to give an ultra distance of 50 miles or 80km a go for the first time. Also, The Punisher is incredibly varied in terms of running terrain, between sandy beaches, grassy fields, hills with superb vistas and some tough single jungle trails to spice things up a notch. Back in 2019, the last time the event was held before the covid crisis, it turned out to be the perfect race course for Hisashi Kitamura, who kept his ATM Championship bid alive by beating John Ellis and the surprising local newcomer Arnie Macaneras in very convincing style. No wonder Kitamura returns this year to The Punisher, and this time to basically secure his spot on Team Japan for the ATM Championship on 17 December - the Mount Apo Sky Race. For the Karate Kit, this weekend will already be his fourth ATM race of the season (2 wins, 1x 3rd place) so on this year’s ‘best-four-count’ system it’s unlikely any other Japanese runner will bump him off the team.

Can Kitamura win The Punisher for the second time, too? It is certainly possible, and his main rival is likely again to be Arnie Macaneras. The Davao running star had an unfortunate DNF at MUSPO after co-leading the race for a long time. Macaneras ATM counter therefore still reads 0 points, and with many Filipinos eager to get qualified for their national team in December, he needs to collect big this weekend to avoid unnecessary stress in the coming months. Another top runner from the Mindanao area, Godwin Mirar, also needs to open his 2022 account still. Mirar was a shocking 4th in this race in 2019 - aged only 19. Now he has more racing experience and maturity, could he be capable of an upset on Saturday?

More podium candidates on paper are Sean Aying, lest we forget 2nd at MUSPO 100, Ronie Torlao and former winner Rexell Aguirre. And why not our LBRY Sports & ATM reporter Richard Akol? Always fast on runable terrain.

On the women’s side, eyes will again be fixated on Cecile Wael as the woman-to-beat for the race victory. Aggy Sabanal had the better of her three weeks ago, but at present she does not feature on the start list. Julie Ann Morales, however, does. She was 3rd in her first 100k at MUSPO, and only a few minutes behind Wael. Another victory candidate is Emily Raga, Filipino but based in Singapore. Raga scored 8th at Cameron Ultra but did a very long road ultra afterwards, too. Has she recovered enough to compete with Wael and Morales?

Stay tuned for updates from Babak Samal Island starting on Friday. The race flag off is at midnight.

The race winners in 2019: Jcy Ho (Hong Kong) and Hisashi Kitamura (Japan)

The event is not always as ‘punishing’ as its name might suggest

As previously announced, the V Trail in Laos is returning to the ATM Championship event calendar on 12/13 November. Registration for the event in Vang Vieng is now open as well. On the programme are the traditional race categories, of which the 85k is the targeted event for the points seekers.

This was the inaugural event in the country back in 2018 and quickly established itself as one of the more adventurous and technical races on the ATM circuit. While the 30K and shorter distance categories offer a great introduction to Southeast Asian trail running, the 85K main race is one to prepare yourself for - physically and mentally. You get to the event in Vang Vieng, a tourism hotspot, via the national capital Vientiane.

Organised by Green Step, a company with a lot of ambition in Laos, the V Trail relaunch post-pandemic is wonderful news for the Lao trail running community, which practically had just been building itself up when covid hit.

We are happy to announce Kokol Ultra as the next ATM Candidate Race in Sabah, Malaysia, on 15 October 2022. Kokol Ultra is an inaugural event starting from Kokol Haven and featuring a delightful course to run, with several stunning viewpoints including Kampung Lawa Mandau, Kampung Kebayau, Kampung Natai , Kampung Poring Poring & Kampung Kokol. The longest race category is 50km, making this event a great opportunity for faster legs to showcase themselves, while ultra specialists can run it as warm-up for their next ultra long race. There’s also 30K and 10K options for the less ambitious. Kokol Ultra 50k will be flagged off at 6 am.

Elevation gain is over 2200hm, which is not extreme but the toughest part of the race is the second half, so it will be crucial to manage your efforts well in the beginning. The course map and elevation profile is below.

The Ibis Styles Hotel in Kota Kinabalu serves as an event hotel, from where shuttle busses will take runners to Kokol Haven. It is also possible to stay overnight in Kokol Haven.

The event is organised by Expertise Event Management.

Last weekend two ATM Candidate Races took place in Indonesia and Malaysia. The Malaysian Transnaning Ultra Challenge, directed by 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong, turned out to be an extremely tough effort for even the most experienced and toughened ultra trail runners. That was expected, too, of course, and it was no real surprise that the two winners of the “Legend” five-loop race - 100 miles+ with almost 12000 hm - were Wilsen Singgin and Siokhar Lim. Singgin already had credentials for this type of challenge, having won the Ultimate 230 of Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in 2019. Siokhar Lim was 5th in the ATM Championship and is a Grandmaster who showed numerous times already that she will be there up front when things get really tough. The cut-off time of the Legend Race was 60 hours. Wilsen needed just under 50, and was over four hours ahead of Chin Han Keong and six-and-a-half ahead of Oh Jin Heng. Siokhar Lim timed her effort so as to finish within the cut off in 59 hours and 37 minutes. The other two finishers were Maihazan Nurafendy and Yuen Loong Ho. Milton Amat won the 4-loop race, Ahmad Tanjong the 3-loops, Mohammad Syahmim Nazmy the 2-loops together with Seiji Morofuji and Wai Kit Wong was quickest on the single loop. Sanisah Bujang was fastest female over 34km, Ellie Pang Hui Yi over 2 loops, Leumathong Siriporn over 3.

Over in Bali, many of the top runners were present around Mt Batur in Kintamani for the Candidate Race Bali Ultra Trail, which had been planned since 2019 but never happened until last weekend due to the corona crisis. On the programme 80k and 50k as the main race categories, with also a surprisingly competitive 25k and 10k. Overall, BUT also proved to be tougher than expected, with more technicality than the BTR Challenge last May.

The 80K race was won by “good old” 2015 ATM Champion Arief Wismoyono, who once again proved to be back at his best level. Initially, he was dropped by Lombok’s Abdul Salem and Sulawesi’s Rachmat. Two very fast runners who have made name for themselves on the domestic Indonesian scene. Wismoyono knew, however, that his favourite terrain - Mt Batur - would come at the end and he was able to stay within ten minutes of the lead duo. Rachmat Septiyanto once again had to settle for a fourth place just off the podium, as he was ‘best of the rest’. Wismoyono actually still made it look easy in the last part of the race and finished with an ample bonus of 45 minutes over Salem and 1h15’ over Rachmat. With this kind of form, Wismoyono will be top contender to regain the Asia Trail Master Champion’s title on Mount Apo in Philippines on 17 December.

On the 50k we also had a very strong quartet competing for the podium. Initially they were even five, but Alan Maulana oncemore suffered from stomach cramps and pulled out over halfway distance. Up front, the twin brothers Sobari and Sobiri battled with their fellow-Bandung runner Taofik Hidayat and Riyadi Slamet. The latter was quickest before the first climb, Mt Abang. Later, Sobari looked like the strongest of them all, having opened up a gap of over 15 minutes to Hidayat with just 5k to go. But Sobari suffered from a heatstroke and dehydration on a sunny hot day in Kintamani and struggled his way to Resto Apung and the finish. He made it by only two minutes. Hidayat second, Sobiri third and Riyadi fourth.

Shindy Patricia added another victory to her ever-growing collection in the women’s 50k race. At the first aid station it looked like she could get some serious competition from Singapore’s Hu Xiaoqin, but this year Shindy has been performing really well in the mountains and in the end she was able to cruise home. Hu Xiaoqin took second. Thimo Kilberth took a nice and sold win on the 25K, which also included a double ascent of Batur. Kilberth chose to run the shorter 25k in preparation for Jember Hills Classic in a fortnight, a race where he could already secure himself a place in Team Indonesia for the ATM Championship Final in December.

Sabah’s Wilsen Singgin showed his remarkable endurance talent again at Transnaning Ultra Challenge

Shindy Patricia runs a lot, but also keeps on winning on the domestic Indonesian scene

Sobari Herdiana won the 50k race in Bali

Arief Wismoyono was again unstoppable and won the 80k very convincingly

Taofik Hidayat came close to Sobari Herdiana, but settled for 2nd place

Hu Xiaoqin, yet another Chinese SIngaporean coming to the fore in the women’s races recently

We are happy to announce Perak Ultra in the famous Lenggong Valley as the next official ATM Candidate Race in Malaysia on the weekend of 3/4 September. This will be the first ever Ultra event in Lenggong Valley, known as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for past 10 years, and also as National Geo Park Site. The trail routes will go through magnificient places such as caves, durian orchards, deer farm, the Raban Lake and many more. Organised by the Comrades, who also bring you a.o. The Great Malaya Trail, Perak Ultra will offer several race categories. Flagship category is the 100K, which will have minimum 70% of offroad - the requirement to join ATM. There’s also 50k, 30k and 20k races but note these have at least 50% of road in them.

Registrations as usual go via Checkpoint Spot: https://checkpointspot.asia/event/perak-ultra . The race pack collection will be here: Dewan Tasik Raban Resort, Lenggong, Perak

 

The Longgeng Valley (photo from Perak Ultra facebook)

A special webpage has been set up for the Mount Apo Sky Race in Philippines as the 2022 Asia Trail Master Championship Final. All news, race details and other information on the Championship race, the national teams and their runners will be made available there. Just click on the poster logo below to access and bookmark it for quick access in the coming months.

Vertical 2 Sky, event organiser in Davao, has also updated its own website including all details of the open public races of 100km and 50km, which will open for registration on 1 September.

The Mt Apo Sky Race will take place on 16-18 December with the ATM Championship races for men and women starting separately as of 4 am on Saturday.

The second ATM Candidate Race of the weekend takes place in Bali, Indonesia. It’s the Bali Ultra Trail, an inaugural event originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but then postponed until now due to covid. The event mimicks somewhat the BTR Challenge from earlier in the year with a loop on and around the popular volcano Gunung Batur, but extends it with an out-and-back to the beach in North Bali to produce an ultra distance of 80km. The event, directed by ATM Grandmaster Dendi Dwitiandi, has been able to attract several of Indonesia’s star trail runners, such as Arief Wismoyono, Taofik Hidayat, Thimo Kilberth and Shindy Patricia. These are all spread out over 3 categories, however, with Thimo and Pablo Diago Gonzales, for example, opting for the 25K race on Sunday morning. On the longest 80k, Wismoyono is the top favourite, but there’s also Fandhi Achmad, Dzaki Wardana and Rachmat Septiyanto. On the 50K, all eyes will be on Hidayat, but there’s also Alan Maulana and a lot of unknown runners who could cause a surprise. Shindy will be the woman-to-beat, but there’s also Sianti Candra on the start list. Ruth Theresia features on it as well, but has reportedly decided to save her energy for the ATM Championship points race Jember Hills Classic in two weeks from now.

One month after winning Mantra Summits, Arief Wismoyono is again the top favourite in Bali Ultra Trail

There’s many ATM Candidate Races in Malaysia this year and the next one in line is Transnaning Ultra Challenge in Tampin. This is quite a famous hiking and trekking route, renowned for its considerable degree of technicality. 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong is the race director and designed a true challenge for ultra runners. The Transnaning loop is 33 km long and participants can choose to run one to five loops, the five loops measuring therefore approx 100 miles with an elevation gain of nearly 12000 hm. On paper, the toughest endurance trail challenge in the country therefore. It’s the kind of challenge for the selected few, of course, and most participants in the event content themselves with one or two loops. Amongst those who will attempt the five loops are last week’s winners of the Kadamaian Adventure Ultra 70, Milton Amat and Wilsen Singgin. Both have ample experience over the 100 miles distance, and let’s not forget that Wilsen Singgin won the Ultimate 230 of Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in 2019.

The Transnaning loop is renowned to be highly technical

Milton Amat and Wilsen Singgin came out on top of a challenging ATM Candidate Race in Kota Belud last weekend. The two runners were clearly at ease at Kadamaian Ultra 70k on their home soil in Sabah and put considerable distance between themselves and the others, such as Daved SImpat, a surprisingly strong Gustin Tiam, the Sumping brothers, Marius Mousin and Guianus Salagan. The breadth of trail talent in Sabah seems to be still growing, but Milton Amat - along with Simpat among the elders there - shows no signs of having slowed down since the covid crisis. In fact, Amat was on the backfoot and considerably behind Singgin and Simpat in the early stages of the race, which also involved a number of river crossings. But when the number 3 in the 2019 ATM Championship and winner of BUTM 100 last March turned on his engine after checkpoint 3 it did not take very long before he was right at the front with Wilsen Singgin. Simpat had to let both runners go and had a battle with Gustin Tiam for the last step on the podium. The lead duo stuck together and Milton did not contest the official race victory for Wilsen. The pair concluded the course in 10h53. In any case, their performances bode well for the big race in six weeks: Borneo TMBT Ultra, when Milton Amat will need to deal with a highly motivated Hisashi Kitamura again.

In the women’s race, we saw a convincing performance by Mailin Salungin and Kona Liau. Salungin was leading nearly the whole race, but Liau kept the pressure on and finished just ten minutes behind. The two of them were in a league of their own, with Adelinah and Jassica Lintanga ending their race together in third and fourth, but two hours back.

Mailin Salungin : great win and performance!

If you thought that trail running in Sabah is only TMBT and BUTM, think again. This weekend the next ATM Candidate Race will take place in Kota Belud, approx one hour north of Kota Kinabalu: the Kadamaian Ultra, also known as KAR Ultra 70. This race developed under the wings of the Kadamaian Adventure Race that has been organised already for a number of years. KAR Ultra 70 will see nearly all the top runners from Sabah on the start list. It’s almost a Sabahan Championship race!

The main race of 70km has 3250 hm of elevation gain and has a course that goes up and down with one significant peak in the middle. It’s hard to tell if everyone will go flat out this weekend, but it will be very interesting to follow Milton Amat’s performance. Amat was one of the big ATM Championship challengers in 2019 and became the benchmark in Sabah that year. After the covid break, Amat showed at BUTM last March that he has lost none of his ability despite now also being 40 years old. It has again been quiet around him since, however, which is perhaps not unusual, but it does make trail observers wonder how well he will perform this weekend. Daved Simpat, who scored 2nd in Cameron Ultra just a fortnight ago and Wilsen Singgin, the 2021 Malaysia Trail Master Champion, are always strong competitors, and at KAR Ultra we are delighted to see also the two Sumping brothers on the same start list: Saffrey and Sampirin! This really does not happen a lot to get all the top dogs in the same race, and it is what gives Saturday’s KAR Ultra a lot of spice!

In the women’s 70k race, the Lintanga sisters naturally assume a lot of attention. Adelinah, winner of Penang Eco 100 miles in 2019 and 2nd at MMTF last December, will be making her first major appearance of the season after the postponement of her Everest climbing plans. Jassica Lintanga - Jess - is hoping to return to her podium-scoring form of before the covid crisis.

Milton Amat was in superb form at BUTM last March.

Adelinah Lintanga saw her Everest plans evaporate earlier this year and returns to her home trails tomorrow

You can now watch the latest Tale of the Trail race recap video on last weekend’s MUSPO Ultra 100, the first points race of the 2022 Asia Trail Master season. The event had a lot of drama. Two hours into the 100k race, the skies opened and rain was pouring down on the runners for over four hours straight. The usually very runable trails turned into a mudpool, and the whole race suddenly became a lot more technical than anybody had thought. Early race leaders Larry Apolinario and Arnie Macaneras missed a marker at a critical junction and went off course on two separate occasions for a very long time. For Macaneras it was a reason to throw in the towel, for Apolinario, apparently, a motivation to get back to the race lead as soon as possible and win the thing. His first ATM points race victory after a second place in Akyathlon 2019 behind Elmer Retolado, the man he beat last May in the ATM Candidate Race in Sierra Madre… Apolinario could become a dangerman for this year’s ATM Championship battle that will unfold in his home country the Philippines on 17 December and the Mount Apo Sky Race.

Aggy Sabanal returned to the ATM Championship series after maternity leave and won the women’s race convincingly ahead of Ces Wael. The women’s race -and the event in general- was overshadowed by a nasty fall suffered by co-race favourite Sherlyn Fugaban - this year winner of the two ATM Candidate Races Santa Ines and Sierra Madre. Fugaban had to be evacuated and hospitalised with a right thigh fracture that will take many months to heal.

Pahang Eco in Kuantan on Malaysia’ east coast proved once more that trail races do not need to be 100k to be extremely tough. The 50k race challenged even the most experienced of participants due to the technicality of the trails and the suffocating heat of the day. Sua Yih Huan was a convincing race winner in the men’s, and in the women’s it was Singapore-based Chinese Wei Xinshuang who took top honours. The winners’ finishing times says it all: 9h23 for Sua Yih Huan, 11h30 for Wei Xinshuang. This was just a 50k race…

The race venue was near the beach of Teluk Cempedak in Kuantan. Runners had to cross a few bukits such as Bukit Tokki and Bukit Pelindung, whereby the Tokki Hills turned out to be incredibly raw and tough. Another more relaxing feature is the section along the shoreline beach.

Achmad Aqwa Othman was an early leader in the race, which was interesting given that a week ago he still ran Cameron Ultra. Sua Yih Huan, however, would catch up with him and take command of the race to finish 30 minutes ahead of Aqwa Othman. Another half hour back was Syahmim Bin Nazmy in third place.

Chong Mei Tze was going well in the women’s race, but the high technical level of the trails was probably not in her favour. Grandmaster Siokhar Lim, on the other hand, is always very high up the leaderboard when things get really tough and rough. No surprise she came in ahead of Chong Mei Tze in second place. But the winner came from Singapore: Wei Xinshuang managed to put 19 minutes between herself and Siokhar Lim, and scored a great victory in the same way as her friend Vincere Zeng a week ago at Cultra.

The top 3 men & women of 2022 Pahang Eco