Lam Dong Trail is the second ATM points race event in Vietnam’s Central Highlands main city Dalat this year and once again showed how great trail running can be. ‘Challenging but achievable’ is the tagline of the event that is determined to give every participant a very welcoming and enjoyable weekend. With the finish line set at the Valley of Love, just 4-5km outside the Dalat city centre, runners can bring their friends and families along. It does not even get so hot, as Dalat sits on a plateau a good 1500m above sea level.

The 75km points races for men and women saw two local race winners, interestingly both from the Mude Sports Team, the team around Hau Ha. The 2022 ATM Champion herself, who won Lam Dong Trail last year, now has other ambitions so she left the competition open for others to take the spotlights. For the first half of the race, Philippines’ Angelie Cabalo, winner of MMTF 100 in 2022, looked the strongest and on the way to collect her second ATM race victory. Julia Nguyen Thi Duong was in second and Luong Loi third. Cecille Wael (ankle pain) and Akane Nemoto were further back and never got in position to challenge the podium. Japan’s Nemoto also suffered from the mid-day sun. Upon entering the last 15 km, Luong Loi surprised most on-lookers as she overtook Nguyen Thi Duong and Cabalo to take the lead! Still young to trail, Luong Loi had already scored two 3rd place podiums this season, but this was unexpected. She crossed the finish with a big smile as winner with nearly 13 minutes advantage over Cabalo and 25 over Nguyen Thi Duong. In fourth was Le Hang, also not unknown in Vietnam’s competitive trail scene.

The men’s race was dominated by Nhon Trong, who - despite being around for several years now - also scored his first ever ATM race victory. Nhon Trong was too fast for his own protégé, Nghia Van Trang - second at 51 minutes. Nguyen Tien Vo confimed his great and consistent ATM season with a third spot on the podium. Nguyen Tuan Anh and Nguyen Dinh Minh were four and five.

Nghia Van Trang: 2nd place

Rhea Batac: now a 3-star ATM Grandmaster!

Alessandro Sherpa scored his first ATM points race victory since Penang Eco 100km in June 2019, and his 5th ever at last Saturday’s 5th edition of Dalat Ultra Trail in Vietnam. After running initially together with local talent Le Tan Hi, Sherpa went ahead by himself in the last 25 km of the race through the pine forests of the Central Highlands. The Italian T8 runner crossed the finish line in 9:06:17. Afterwards, Sherpa declared great satisfaction with the trail course design in Dalat as being ‘textbook’ trail running. A good half hour later, Le Tan Hi managed to hold onto second despite a late charge by the experienced Nguyen Si Hieu, who scored yet another podium in an ATM points race. France's Jean Haniqaut came in fourth, showing competitive improvement after his 5th place in the 100 miles of VMM last year. Especially considering he preceeded the Japanese tandem of Yuta Matsuyama and Tomohiro Mizukoshi in fitfh and sixth places. Trung Nguyen finished 7th, Nguyen Tien Vo 8th and Singapore’s Deric Lau 9th.

Hau Ha was best woman, and fifth overall in a time of 10h14. The ATM Champion did not push too hard in her first ultra of the new season, and considered it an excellent training for her personal goals later this season, in which she hopes to make a mark on the global stage after her successful regional campaign last year. Kathryn Cush and Luong Thi Loi completed the women's podium. Cush actually ran a superb race herself, coming in the finish together with Tien Vo and Deric Lau inside the overall Top 10.

The next Vietnamese points races in the 2023 Asia Trail Master Championship series are the 100km and 42 km categories of Cuc Phuong Jungle Paths near Ninh Binh on 1/2 April.

Alessandro Sherpa enjoyed the race a lot, and had its proceedings pretty much under control

Nguyen Si Hieu and Le Tan Hi completed the podium

At 3am tomorrow morning, reigning Asia Trail Master women’s champion Hau Ha will start her new trail campaign in Dalat. The 5th edition of the Dalat Ultra Trail is on the schedule, a race that she comfortably won a year ago in her first appearance on the ATM circuit. Since then, Hau Ha has only still gotten better - not in the least as she has now gained valuable competitive experiences including an overall win in Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100km last September, and a coming-back-from-behind to claim the championship title on Mount Apo in Philippines in December. Especially that last performance showed everyone that she can also grit her teeth together when the going gets tougher-than-expected. Mentally not recovered from a 50k race in Thailand a weekend before, Hau Ha was left behind and put under severe pressure by Vanja Cnops in the early parts of the Apo title race. However, when at the end of the day we look back at the race result she finished 6th overall and three hours ahead of the second-placed woman Sally Yap, and also in front of Vietnam’s male trail reference Quang Tran! If one had not followed the live race coverage, one would have thought it had just been another ‘walk in the park’ for Hau Ha.

Nevertheless, after Mt Apo she took a welcome break and she has started 2023 with a few road runs, including a road marathon in Ho Chi Minh City, where she beat an international women’s field and scored a new personal best of 2 hours 56 minutes. This Saturday’s Dalat Ultra Trail will be her first ultra distance of the new season.

The event has actually increased the race distance from 70k to 85k this year. That’s the points race for the ATM Championship ranking and the Grandmaster Quest. Combined with all the shorter distances on the event schedule, the organisers are expecting more than 7000 participants! That’s massive and yet another indication that trail running is nowhere else more popular in Southeast Asia than Vietnam.

Hau Ha will meet a number of familiar faces from last year’s ATM scene, including Alessandro Sherpa, Yuta Matsuyama, Gaetan Morizur and Deric Lau. Sherpa has been in Vietnam already for nearly two weeks and may find the pine forest trails very much to his liking. His form at the end of last season was great, with a 3rd place on the podium in the Apo title race as evidence. Yuta Matsuyama is a double winner of Ultra Trail Chiang Mai and has been a consistent top 20 finisher in Japan’s highly competitive Izu Trail Journey. Also for him, the cooler temperatures in Dalat will suit him a lot - knowing how he suffered in the heat of Al Ula in Saudi Arabia a year ago. Gaetan Morizur is the winner of last year, for sure he will give the two others a run for their money. And Singapore’s Deric Lau was one of the exciting newcomers on the ATM scene in 2022. Let’s see how he fares in Vietnam.

A precise start list was unavailable to us at the time of writing, so we apologise in advance for missing anybody important.

Deric Lau was one of the most impressive newcomers on the competitive Asian scene last year

Dalat Ultra Trail is an early season classic in our Asia Trail Master Championship series, taking place on 4 March this year. The longest distance of the Vietnamese event is the traditional points earner, and for 2023 the organising team offers a 85 km course. Dalat typically has quite runable terrain in pine forests and across a number of hilltops. What makes the event so loved is the cool temperatures of the Central Highlands and the impressive organisation.

Many of ATM’s top performers have run Dalat over the past years, such as John Ellis, Hisashi KItamura, Mohammad Affindi, Kim Matthews, Tahira Najmunisaa and last year the event gave us a first hint of the incredible trail talent that is Hau Ha, now of course also the reigning Asia Trail Master champion. The race venue is not far from the city of Dalat, a tourism hub in the south of the country as well.

Registration is open and you can find all details via the website , also in English.

The 2022 edition of Dalat Ultra Trail confirmed the emergence of two new trail stars based in Vietnam. Frenchman Gaetan Morizur was too strong for Nhon Trong and Nguyen Si Hieu in the men’s, and Ha Ti Hau dominated the women’s race in highly impressive manner, proving that all the rumours about her were true. DLUT was the first major trail running event in the country after the relaxation of anti-covid measures in Vietnam some weeks ago. Despite the short notice, more than 4000 runners took part in the event across the various race distance categories. About 280 signed up for the longest one: the 70 km, on a new course that was significantly different from 2019 and featured the technical late-race ascent and descent of Lang Biang mountain, the highest peak in the Central Highlands at over 2100 metres above sea level.

From the start at 4 am, roughly an hour-and-a-half before sunrise, three runners distinguished themselves already by the km 10 mark (CP1). Gaetan Morizur, Nguyen Si Hieu and Nhon Trong, the trio that would stay ahead and battling for the podium places for the whole day. Behind them already then was Ha Ti Hau, first woman, who put distance between her and a small group of ther women led by Vu Thi Lan Huong at this point but also including Julia Nguyen Thi Duong , the highest ranked female in the 2020/21 ATM series before it got cancelled due to the covid pandemic.

Approaching the halfway point at CP5 and following a long uphill section in a magnificent pine forest with great vistas, Morizur dropped Nhon Trong, who was fighting hard to keep the gap to a minimum. Nguyen Si Hieu lost about ten minutes. Ha Ti Hau looked strong and safe, as the gap to the next women had increased to over 40 minutes already. Julia Nguyen Thi Duong and Vu Thi Lan Huong were still together and eventually also rank in that order at the finish line in the afternoon. And so did the men in fact. Morizur did not wait for anyone after the midway climb and pressed on. Nhon Trong could not bridge the gap and on Lang Biang mountain felt Nguyen Si Hieu creeping closer to him again.

Morizur took his first ever victory in an ATM race, visibly tired from the effort but excited nonetheless. He had a 39-minute advantage over Nhon Trong, who struggled towards the end and managed to keep Nguyen Si Hieu behind by 7 minutes. Nhon Trong said he had just recovered from illness and still felt it, while Nguyen Si Hieu looked relatively fresh after scoring his fourth podium place in an ATM points race (he won once, VMM 70k in 2018).

On our ATM facebook page you can find several video clips shot during the 70km race, including the race finish of Gaetan Morizur, Nhon Trong, Nguyen Si Hieu and Ha Ti Hau.

We are happy to have received good news from Vietnam: the popular Dalat Ultra Trail is back on the schedule in 2022, and will even take place quite soon on the last weekend of March. After the tragic flash flood edition during the rainy season in 2020, the event is thus moved forward again to its usual March slot, at the end of the dry season. ATM Championship contenders and Grandmaster Quest challengers need to focus on the 70 km race.

The 2019 edition of the event was an absolute highlight of that year’s Asia Trail Master series with excellent weather and a beautiful varied course encouraging runners to give the best of themselves. After local hero Quan Tran faded dramatically in the latter part of the race, Hisashi Kitamura looked like he was going to collect what would have been his first ever ATM race victory. However, John Ellis dug as deep he could and still caught up with the Karate Kit and dropped in the final few kilometres to grab what turned out to be very relevant victory in the context of winning the ATM Championship later in the year.

The women’s race was equally interesting as two former ATM Champions went head-to-head for the first… and till today also the last time. Malaysia’s Tahira Najmunisaa, our 2016 champion and until then unbeaten in ATM races, returned to the trails after a stressful period of her life, and put the hammer down from the get-go. But Hong Kong-based Kim Matthews, who succeeded Tahira as champion in 2017 before suffering a nasty hip injury, had a bit more endurance training in the legs and took the lead just over halfway the 70k race. Time flies, it has been three years since both great and inspiring women scored headlines on the ATM scene. Let’s hope that we can welcome both of them back this coming season.

Meanwhile, several local Vietnamese runners have been gaining experience and improving their overall trail running performance. Whereas in 2019, the top 20 of the men’s race was almost entirely foreign, this year we could expect local heroes to contest the podium places even if strong runners from other nationalities make the trip to Dalat. The authorities in Vietnam have announced the country will open the borders on 15 March, and do away with quarantine mandates and nearly all covid-related restrictions. While awaiting the precise regulations to come out, it does sound like the 2022 Dalat Ultra Trail will be the first Vietnamese race in two years that is not limited to domestic runners-only.

DLUT is characterised by quite a runable but hilly course that traverses pine forests. The race takes place just outside the city of Dalat, which is one the big tourist attractions in southern Vietnam. It’s essentially sitting on a hill plateau at approx 1500m above sea level, which implies temperatures are nowhere near as hot as in the coastal cities. In fact, it can be cold in the early morning and at night. Ideal for the majority of runners. As the city itself is also the event base, accommodation is easy to find and non-running friends and family members can spend an enjoyable weekend sightseeing as you compete in the race.

Registration is open and can be done online via the link to the official website below.

Typical view of Dalat Ultra Trail: runners in pine forest

With hindsight John Ellis took an important step towards his 2019 ATM crown in Dalat by catching and passing Hisashi Kitamura a few kilometres before the finish

Fantastic women’s podium in 2019: 2017 ATM Champion Kim Matthews edges 2016 Champ Tahira Najmunisaa and 2019 vice-champion Christine Loh took third place.

Sudden flash floods following heavy rainfall in Dalat and surrounding forest areas around noon on Saturday forced an immediate stop to all races of the Dalat Ultra Trail event. Runners were evacuated by the organisers and local rescue teams. Tragically, one runner was swept away by the strong mud streams and was found later, drowned. Several other runners also got caught by surprise, but they were all safely evacuated. The experienced team of Vietnam MTB Series, organiser of DLUT, was quick to stop all races as a horrendous rainstorm battered the area. It was therefore especially sad and shocking to hear that one person did not survive the attack of nature.

The dangers of flash floods are once again made obvious. Last year, a similar situation led to the TMMT race in Malaysia being re-routed whilst underway. Although Hisashi Kitamura decided to swim across a river , nobody got hurt that day. 

It was a bad day for ultra running that will serve as a reminder of the inherent but often ignored dangers of our sport. On the same day in Ukraine in Southeastern Europe, a professional female ultra runner, age 33, died of a stroke following overheating and dehydration in a 62K local race held with temperatures of 38 degrees.

Before the race got cancelled in Dalat, a handful of long distance runners had managed to reach the finish line already. Hung Hai led nearly the whole 100K race by himself in wet conditions and won this year’s extreme edition. Another Vietnamese runner, Lanh Le scored a great second place and Frenchman Gaetan Morizur managed to just outrun Valentin Orange for the third spot on the podium. Pre-race favourite Nhon Trong decided to stop at CP 5 with fever in the early morning. First woman in the race before the stop was Julia Nguyen Thi Duong. She reached CP7 safely. 

70KM B-Race: Tan Hy crossed the finish line momentarily after Hung Hai as winner of the 70K. He preceeded Si Hieu Nguyen by half an hour and Quang Duc Nguyen by 55 minutes. Strong performance by Tan Hy. Bowdery Grant took 4th and Vu Tran fifth.

All celebrations were obviously cancelled.

Brief race summary 100K/70K before the cancellation

It has been four months exactly since the last Asia Trail Master Championship points race took place. That was Ultra Trail Koh Chang in Thailand. At long last, this weekend we can all again enjoy some real action rather than ‘virtual’, even when Dalat Ultra Trail is not immune to the corona pandemic neither. The Vietnamese country border remains closed for the time being, so that only residents inside Vietnam can participate. And afterwards, we will all be in the waiting zone again until mid-September when the Vietnam Mountain Marathon is on the agenda, which will then hopefully launch an exciting final three months of the 2020 ATM season. Brief, let’s cherish the Dalat Ultra Trail as a light at the end of the tunnel and enjoy as runners or spectators to the fullest!

Originally scheduled for its usual mid-March date, DLUT attracted close to 5000 registrations, confirming its position as one of the most popular trail running events in Asia as a whole. A new 100K category has been added on top of the classic 70K, and both races offer ATM Championship points. The 100K as the A-race with 500 points for the winner and the 70K as the B-race with 370 points for the winner. After three points races in the early months of the season, Hisashi Kitamura leads the men’s ranking with 850 points and the trio of Fredelyn Alberto, Charlotte Taquet and Amy Sproston top the women’s ranking with 500 each. Kitamura theoretically only has to fear one man, and the female trio is set to become a quartet of race winners. It could, however, become a sweet year for Vietnamese elite runners. Touch wood, they have three domestic points races still on the ATM calendar and with the new updated regulations for 2020 saying “best-three-count” instead of “best-five” , they could have an ideal starting position for the ATM Final on 19 December, Borneo TMBT Ultra 100.

All the known elites of the Vietnamese trail scene are logically in Dalat this weekend. That includes Quang Tran, who led the race last year until he ‘hit the wall’. Hisashi Kitamura and John Ellis caught him after he had also missed a marking sign, and he decided to DNF. Quang Tran is the measuring stick, the reference, for all male elites in his country, and he will be keen to show that the 2019 non-finish was just an accident. He started his 2020 with a victory in a significant domestic race in a time faster than the year before. “I was very motivated to train and do well in that race,” says Quang Tran, who had also planned to move to a town closer to Dalat. “But then the covid 19 broke out and the government ordered social distancing and other preventive measures, so I returned immediately to Ho Chi Minh City as that would be easier for self-quarantine.”

Quang Tran has one A-race in mind for this shortened 2020 season: “after three years, I will return to Sapa and the Vietnam Mountain Marathon (a race he won in 2017, kvdv). I m very excited already, I spend time thinking about it almost every day.” But first Dalat. “Last year I made a mistake, I was too greedy and when I lost the right track I continued too long, stubbornly.” It is a lesson that nearly all elites once in their careers learn the hard way. “Now I m looking forward to racing again against Nhon Trong and the others. Maybe even the regional elites in Asia later in 2020, yes. In Vietnam, Nhon Trong is the one to watch in the future.”

And finally Quang Tran has some advice for all participants this weekend: “My advice is to stay calm, pace yourself well from the start, and don’t treat the ultra-trail like a race.”

Nhon Trong has been tipped by Quang Tran as the biggest trail talent for the future, and the youngster will try to show that once more in Dalat. A very fast runner, Nhon Trong went beyond his own comfort zone at the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival by doing the 84k race (which he finished in 6th place). It was his first long ultra. At the end of January, he challenged Alessandro Sherpa for the win at the Cau Dat Farm 55K race, a Candidate Race for the ATM Championship in 2021. This weekend will be his first 100K.

The same applies for Hanoi-based Frenchman Valentin Orange, who has been tipped as a dangerman this weekend. Having made consistent progress over the past year, Orange considers himself a real mountain trail runner and this weekend’s Dalat Ultra Trail is likely to fit him much better than when it is organised in March. The wet season has already started in southern Vietnam and the usual dry, runable trails in the pine forests are much muddier and therefore slower now. This creates opportunities for elites who otherwise lack the top speed to fight for victory.

Last but not least to mention is of course Hung Hai, another great Vietnamese multisport talent. Winner of the aforementioned Vietnam Mountain Marathon in the past two years, Hung Hai represented his country in the South East Asia Games last December for the duathlon race. It will be exciting to see how he deals with Quang Tran tomorrow.

Trung Nguyen has kindly enough been assisting Asia Trail Master in Dalat the past days, and will run the 100K himself, having just fulfilled the mandatory 14-day quarantine earlier in the week. Trung lives in Singapore and has had to travel to his native country for work reasons. After his 5th place in EcoTrail Al Ula in Saudi Arabia last February, he has 375 points in the bank and a theoretical chance to overtake Kitamura as points leader in the Asia Trail Master Championship. To achieve that, he needs to win and grab the 500 points that come with it. As Quang Tran said in our interview yesterday: “motivation is key”.

Highlights of the 2019 70K race

Hung Hai has trained extensively for this Saturday’s big 100k race in Dalat

A typical view: running in the pine forest. This year it could be a lot muddier and technical than normally

Dalat Ultra Trail is a symbol of hope for the Asian trail running community as the event is scheduled to be the first post-corona event on 20 and 21 June. However, it will still be an event without international participation.

Event Director Samie Vu has announced the news this morning following a meeting with local Dalat government officials. The Vietnamese country border is set to remain closed for the time being in the aftermath of covid-19. International passport holders currently residing in Vietnam can of course take part in the races of Dalat Ultra Trail as any other Vietnamese runner provided they sign a health declaration form. The event management of DLUT apologises to the many international runners who had planned to travel to Dalat this year, and will contact each registrant in the coming week regarding the options moving forward.

Because the event will take place - touch wood - Asia Trail Master points will still be earned by the 100K (A race) and 70K (B race) runners for the Championship and the Grandmaster Quest. Regarding the latter, this will not affect the current freeze on the two-year time requirement to achieve GM status. More details on the relaunch of the 2020 ATM Championship and Grandmaster Quest will be revealed in next week’s Tale of the Trail show.

Last year’s men’s podium: John Ellis, Hisashi Kitamura and Mohamed Affindi

Last year’s women’s podium: Kim Matthews, Tahira Najmunisaa and Christine Loh

After the cancellation of 9 Dragons in Hong Kong and the postponement of Ultimate Tsaigu, now we have also received the official confirmation from the organiser of Dalat Ultra Trail that their event has been postponed from March to 19-21 June 2020. Regarding the implications about this for the Asia Trail Master Championship, we will communicate more in due course. Below is the statement from the organiser:

Dear all Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 Athlete,

The health and safety of athletes (athletes), Audience, Volunteer and Staff Ultra Trail 2020 are always placed on top priority of Dalat Ultra Trail 2020. Standing Committee. before the sudden outbreak and complex of pneumonia epidemic caused by Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), carried out by Article 102 / TCTDTT-VP dated 03 July 2020 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, General Department of Sports on prevention, prevention of respiratory infections due to the new infections caused by Corona virus in sports activities; Board (BTC) Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 is sorry to announce the Dalat Ultra Trail International Super Marathon 2020 on 13-15/3/2020 will be moved on 19-21/06/2020 with a non-change location.

The BTC will follow the stars of the situation against respiratory infections, and will update details with the Athletes in April if any next changes.

All registrations will be automatically switched to new race day, athletes do not have to make this transition by themselves. If athletes are unable to participate in the new race, please email directly to info@vietnammtbseries.com for further support.

Athletes can refer to common questions about delay the Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 at: http://bit.ly/DUT2020postpone

BTC Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 is appreciated by the support and enthusiasm of the athletes participating in the tournament. The decision to reschedule the competition is given, in order to support the prevention of translation and ensure the safety of the community through practical measures in a complex disease crisis.

Once again BTC Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 sincerely apologize to athlete for any inconvenience caused from this change and thank you for the understanding of all athletes for this decision.

Sincerely,
BTC Dalat Ultra Trail 2020

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Due to the sudden outbreak of the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), in accordance with the Vietnam Government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the upcoming Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 from 13th - 15th of March 2020 will be tentatively postponed to 19th-21st June 2020. 

We will be reviewing the situation and will provide updates when they become available, with confirmation of the new race date expected by April.

All registered runners will be automatically deferred to the new event, with no action required by runners. If you cannot make the new race date, please contact us at info@vietnammtbseries.com for assistance. 

Runners may refer frequently asked questions regarding the postpone of the Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 here: http://bit.ly/DUT2020postponeEng

Please know that the safety of our racers, spectators, volunteers and colleagues is our number one priority. 

Best regards,
Ultra Trail 2020 Organizer

For many non-Vietnamese runners, this year’s Dalat Ultra Trail was an eye-opening experience. A participant field of close to 4500 runners, a meticulously executed event, limousine service for the elite runners to the starting line and great enthusiasm of the local community. No surprise that Dalat Ultra Trail remains the Vietnam SuperTrail in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship on 13-15 March. However, there is an important novelty next season: the main race will now be 100km!

The runable yet hilly pine forest trail will therefore become a notch tougher to conquer as the elevation gain reads 4600 hm for 100km. In fact, the longest and highest climb will only occur after km 77 and goes up to 2105m above sea level (the start and finish is at 1500m). Elite runners aiming for the ATM Championship points need to focus on this 100k distance, even though the classic 70km distance will remain as the B-race. Runners on the Grandmaster Quest of course will score a point on both distances.

Dalat is a hillside resort city with cool air throughout the year. It has therefore always been an escape from the heat and humidity of nearby Ho Chi Minh City. The latter economic capital of Vietnam is also the main international gateway to the event. That is if you want to take a bus and travel overland from there to Dalat. It’s also possible to take a bus from seaside city Nha Trang. If you want to be quick and convenient, you can fly into anywhere in Vietnam and take a domestic flight to Dalat.

Dalat being a tourist city, there’s plenty of accommodation available for all budgets. Of course, with 4500 runners flocking to the city do not wait until the last week to book your room or guesthouse.

Registrations have been going very fast indeed, so do not hesitate to book your bib. Please go to the registration site for the Vietnam SuperTrail.

A nice gift for all participants on the 2 Grandmaster and Championship distances

Tahira Najmunisaa scored a second place behind Kim Matthews in her last ATM appearance to date

John Ellis overtook Hisashi Kitamura with 3K to go and grabbed his first win of the season in Dalat

Also the Standers had a great run around the sourthern Vietnamese city

A historic image? The women’s podium saw 2017 ATM champion Kim Matthews ahead of 2016 ATM champion Tahira Najmunisaa. Both have been out of action since for various reasons, and on position 3 we had Christine Loh, the current leader in the 2019 ATM Championship points ranking.

Hong Kong’s John Ellis was a sensational winner of the men’s Vietnam SuperTrail in Dalat in the Central Highlands. He ran past Hisashi Kitamura from Japan in the final uphill of the last 4 km on sheer determination! Ellis’ came in in a time of 7:03, a new course record. Early leader and last year’s winner Quang Tran lost the right trail after approx 55 km and dropped back behind his closest chasers. Shortly afterwards he decided to DNF. 

Hong Kong-based Australian Ellis had taken a typical conservative start, before turning on his engine just before halfway. As ATM Championship leader Ander Iza Rekakoetxea retired at Checkpoint 2 with an upset stomach, Ellis and Kitamura have also become 1-2 in the updated ATM Championship ranking. Kitamura can’t be far away from his first ATM race victory now! For Ellis it was his second and first of the 2019 season.

The third step on the podium was for Malaysia’s Mohamed Affindi, the winner of Tahura Trail in Bandung. Excellent for his ATM Championship ambitions. Fourth came the rejuvenated Michael McLean, the Brunei-based Canadian who has had a tough few months on the trails with DNFs in UTCR and 9 Dragons. Gone Running’s Henri Lehkonen took fifth in his ATM debut , followed by Thailand’s Sukrit and Guillaume Degoulet from France. T8’s Mark Green was 8th and Ho Chi Minh City based Britain Grant Bowdery was next in 9th place followed by Vietnam’s Ngo Quoc Duong 10th, first runner of the home country.

The women’s race (finish video scroll down or go to our video section on Facebook) developed into the big dual between Tahira Najmunisaa and Kim Matthews, after all. Both former ATM Champions came into the Dalat race with legitimate fitness concerns, but they delivered a great running pace and honest competition. Tahira was leading until just over halfway, when Kim Matthews caught her and passed her. The Australian made it a double victory for her country after John Ellis won the men’s. Tahira crossed the finish line in second place about seven minutes behind. Another Malaysian, Christine Loh, scored her second third place of the season after 9 Dragons. Both SuperTrail podiums, also. Korea-based Carrie Jane Stander was fourth, her best race result of the season and certainly good enought to regain the ATM Championship lead ahead of Christine Loh.

New Grandmaster Ekin Hoe (Singapore)

New Grandmaster Richard Akol (Phlippines)