UTSG 50 sees return of last year's winner and reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell

Sunday’s UTSG 50 race is the annual celebration of SIngapore’s very active trail running communities. It’s not easy to organise trail events in the city state, nor are there a lot of real trails to choose from. Nevertheless, UTSG is managing to put together a great vibe every year and attract many runners from outside SIngapore as well. Remember a year ago, with Jeff Campbell edging out John Ray Onifa, and Hau Ha having the better of Vanja Cnops. Most trail organisers in the region would pay for these top stars to run in their event and in the same race. This Sunday, now reigning ATM Champion Jeff Campbell is even running it again, spearheading the field.

It will already be the fourth race of the ATM season for Campbell, for whom the runable nature of UTSG is of course perfect. He won Prenn Trail Summit 50 and V Trail 55 in Vietnam and Laos, but had to be content with third place in Lantau 70 in his own Hong Kong. Without Onifa in the race tomorrow, contrary to last year, he is the top favourite tomorrow. Chris Timms, the overall points leader in this season’s ATM ranking, will be one of his logical challengers, alongside Humberto Baeza - who ran Gombak last week, however.

In the women’s 50k race, we look forward to the participation of Japan’s Chisato Kario, the surprising winner of the Mount Ugo Marathon 50k in Baguio early May, ahead of Angelie Cabalo and Hee Joo Jang. With a second result of that kind, Kario would qualify for Team Japan in the ATM Championship Final in October, and given her result in the Philippines, become even a title pretendent. Singapore-based star Vanja Cnops will not be competing tomorrow, as she is still not 100% fit from her wrist fracture, sustained in the Bali BTR race a good month ago. Thailand’s Phitchanan Mahachot could a contender, but she is also taking part in Saturday’s shorter distance race of the same event. Being in SIngapore, we are also likely to discover a few new names.

ATM will be reporting live from the UTSG 50 event, starting at 6:45 am on Sunday morning local time.

Jeff Campbell tanked confidence last year, beating John Ray Onifa

Last year: the reigning ATM Champion John Ray Onifa against his eventual successor: Jeff Campbell