The Karate Kit is totally back !! Hisashi Kitamura brilliantly won the 100 km points race at Shiga Kogen in Nagano, just a week after nearly winning Deep Japan Ultra 80 as well. In Niigata he had to settle for third place after a marshall error, but last weekend everything went according to plan. Kitamura took a humble start and at some point was even reported to be running only in seventh place. Up front it was Shoma Maruyama, one of the protagonists in The 9 Dragons earlier this season, who was setting the pace together with Jun Takeuchi and Takumi Sawayamagi. The weather was cool and runners also had to negiotiate a few rain drops, but all in all conditions were great. As the beautiful day time race continued, Kitamura began to move up the leaderboard as Shoma Maruyama began to slow down. At km 80, Kitamura was in the lead. Who says you cannot perform at a high level two weeks in a row? It’s the 10th career win in Asia Trail Master for last year’s and the 2019 vice-champion. He will be again among the top favourites to finally clinch the title. Kitamura actually needed a good result to be certain of qualfiication. Since he moved back to Japan, he is compelled to be choosing his races more carefully and is no longer travelling as much.

In second place in the finish was Takumi Sawayamagi and in third Jun Takeuchi. Shoma Maruyama took fourth, just like in the 9 Dragons in February, which means he now has 800 ATM points in the bag. That might be sufficient for qualification into Team Japan for the ATM Final. Yoshiki Toda nearly caught him, but finished fifth.

The women's 100k race was won by Sachi Nakano, ahead of Shiori Uehara and Ayaka Oono.

The second of our Japanese back-to-back points race weekends features Shiga Kogen 100 in Nagano, a great new entry on our Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. A very scenic 100km race with 5100 hm elevation gain awaits the runners, as they cross one of the country’s main national parks, which is also labelled a UNESCO Eco-Park. Despite the considerable elevation gain, the trail course is more runable and less technical than last week’s Deep Japan Ultra in Niigata. A few people are doing the double, the most prominent of those being Hisashi Kitamura.

The vice-ATM Champion 2024 and 2019 had a stroke of bad luck last week at DJU. Comfortably leading the 80km race at the 50k aid station point, Kitamura was then sent onto the short distance course by a confused marshal. By the time he noticed something was wrong, it was already several kilometres further and two other runners had moved ahead of him. Kitamura took third place on the podium as a result, which still had significance as it boosted his Season 10 ATM points totally to 715 and third place in Japan’s ATM ranking. The Top 5 gets automatically qualfied for this year’s Championship Final in Vietnam on 4 October. Since he moved back to Tokyo, Hisashi Kitamura is primarily focusing on the ATM races in Japan to score points, so Shiga Kogen 100 remains important in that context. With more and more Japanese runners entering ATM points races, 715 points is probably not yet completely safe. On Saturday, he will be up against some other known Japanese elite runners, such as Takumi Sawayanagi and Shoma Maruyama. The latter was fourth in the 9 Dragons earlier this year and could get himself in a strong position to be qualified for Team Japan as well.

Shiga Kogen 100 is organised by the Shiga Kogen 100 Race Committee and Mr Koji Otsuka, one of the country’s most experienced trail running event organisers. As the official website reads, Shiga Kogen occupies the center of Joshinetsu Kogen National Park. It is a famous ski resort that hosted the Nagano Olympics (1998) in the winter. During the green season, Shiga Kogen is a treasure trove of nature, with beautiful alpine plants and beautiful lakes and wetlands that can be enjoyed in the vast plateau area. The Shiga Kogen, which has been certified as a UNESCO Eco Park, is an attractive area where nature and human society coexist.

This is a mountainous area so. even in summer temperatures remain cool and are ideal for endurance sports. The start and finish venue lies at about 1600m above sea level, and the highest point of the course is at 2200m. The organisers are confident that that despite the elevation gain, the 100km is a great introduction to the classic ultra distance for those who have never done it before. On the start list we also see several runners from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Philippines to name a few. Two Filipino women are to watch out for: Avegail Depanay and Metzi Joy Alson. Both are having a great competitive ATM season and are currently ranked fifth and sixth in the Filipino points ranking. Also Malaysia’s Ng Kwan Hooi has been going well and could propel herself into her country’s Top 5 with a good result at Shiga Kogen this weekend.

The race flag-off is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. on Saturday early morning. The cut-off time is 26 hours, meaning Sunday morning 6:30 am.

Hisashi Kitamura: can he score the victory at Shiga Kogen 100 ?

Shoma Maruyama was 4th in the 9 Dragons in Hong Kong earlier this year

We are delighted to announce that Island Trail Awaji has joined the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar with its popular event on Sunday, 23 November. Awaji is an island in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, in the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea between the islands of Honshū and Shikoku. The nearest best-known city is Kobe and international travelers best fly into Osaka. On the programme for ATM points is the 43km race from A to B, from Ama Coast Beach to Omaha Beach Park, across the Yuzuruha Mountain Range. In total there is 2200 hm of elevation gain to be conquered, which is not nothing for a relatively short race.

Race day is Sunday, but runners better come to the island already on Saturday to collect their race packs at the finish venue, i.e. Omaha Beach Park. It’s also the location of the famous Sumoto Castle. It is probably good to find accommodation in this area as well, and make use of the shuttle bus to the start area on Sunday morning. The start of the race is scheduled for 8 am.

Island Trail Awaji is open for 700 runners. Registration is open and all details are available in English via the standard Sports Entry platform, which is also linked below. Also check the mandatory gear list and transportation options to reach Awaji island.

On the beautiful event website we can also find out about many tourist and sightseeing spots and read about Awaji as the Island of Creation.

Accoding to the "Kuni-umi" (Birth of the Land) myth in the Kojiki, Japan's okdest chronicle, Awaji Island was the very first island born in Japan, created by the deities Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto. The two deities stirred the chaotic, newly-formed earth with the heavenly spear, Amenonuboko. Drops of salt water fell from the tip of the spear and solidified, forming Onokoro Island, followed by the birth of Japan.

Awaji, the "Miketsukuni" that Provided Food for the Imperial Court

Surrounded on all sides by the sea, Awaji Island has long been known for its abundance of marine products such as salt, fish, and seaweed. Its reputation for these blessings of the sea reached all the way to the ancient capital, and many anthologies and historical texts, including the Manyoshu, mention "Awaji salt" and refer to Awaji as a "Miketsukuni"-a land that supplied food to the imperial court. Even today, Awaji Island is proud of its rich food resources.

https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/stories/story030/

For the third year in succession Deep Japan Ultra is one of the Japanese events on our ATM Championship calendar, featuring reputed 100 Miles and 80km race categories for points, including for runners on the Grandmaster Quest. From an ATM perspective, the 80km looks like the most interesting this year with Hisashi Kitamura among the favourites, and also fresh 4-star Grandmaster Tomohiro Mizukoshi in it. Taking place in beautiful Niigata, home region of event director Hiroaki Matsunaga, Deep Japan remains a considerable and underestimated challenge by many, especially with regard to the 100 Miles race.

It has become more quiet around Hisashi KItamura since he moved from Kuala Lumpur back to Tokyo after 8 years, but that does not mean the ‘Karate Kit’ is no longer racing. As we saw last year in the ATM Championship Final, we may actually still get to see the best Kitamura ever. He was a little disappointed with his Izu Trail performance last December - his only ATM race in Season 10 so far - , but he feels strong for Deep Japan. As always in Japan, we will get to discover new names of runners this weekend, too, making a race prediction not too easy. Hong Kong’s Vincent Chan and Thailand’s Jaruratchakul Naruchit may also say a few words on the 80k.

On the 100 Miles, apart from the domestic stars, we also see the names of Bali’s Nizar Surydratama on the start list, ATM Finalist last year and already solid again in V Trail in Laos earlier this season. The women’s 100 MIles start list sees Risa Kamiya, winner of Prenn Trail Summit 180 in Dalat last December, and other ATM regular names Ashwini Bhat from India and Rija Gubes from Malaysia.

Deep Japan Ultra is the first of two ATM points races in Japan scheduled on back-to-back weekends. Next week we also have Shiga Kogen 100 in the Japan Alps, nearby Nagano.

Omnipresent in our Asia Trail Master Championship series for many years, Tomohiro Mizukoshi has completed level 4 of the Grandmaster Quest at Lantau 70 in Hong Kong last Saturday. The 50-year-old runner from Tokyo finished his 20th ATM Ultra and is now a 4-Star ‘Golden’ Grandmaster!

Tomohiro Mizukoshi has been one of the most popular and recognisable trail runners in ATM since he first appeared in 2017. Traditionally wearing a pretty wide headband, he has also been one of the most successful competitive athletes in our series. In 2018 he finished third in our Championship, behind Alessandro Sherpa and Salva Rambla. He scored one race victory, an impressive one, in Plataran X Trail Bali in the same year. In total, Tomohiro scored nine Top 3 podiums during his ATM journey, the latest one just a year ago at Cuc Phuong in Vietnam. He has been part of Team Japan in the ATM Championship Final every season and things are also looking good for him in 2025. Having reached age 50, Tomohiro arguably needs to find the perfect trail course and form-of-the-day to eye a podium result, but when he does he still uses the opportunity. Last December he came 4th in Prenn Trail Summit in Dalat, for example.

While originally focused on medium distance trail races, Tomohiro Mizukoshi gradually began to challenge himself on longer ultras, too. Even in hot and humid climates such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Always flying in from Tokyo, mind you. A true ambassador for the sport and for adventurous spirit, unafraid to leave his comfort zone, Tomohiro is a great new Golden Grandmaster. For the record, he collected his last five GM points to reach gold status at Lantau 70 (Hong Kong), Borneo TMBT Ultra (Malaysia), Vietnam Trail Marathon, Siksorogo Lawu Ultra (Indonesia) and Deep Japan Ultra.

Tomohiro Mizukoshi is only the fourth trail runner to complete the four levels of the Grandmaster Quest, after his compatriots Hisashi Kitamura and Masafumi Yamamoto and Filipino Rhea Batac, the only woman to accomplish this feat.

Tomohiro has also been an ATM Championship Finalist for Team Japan in the past three years

We are delighted to announce that Shiga Kogen 100 in Yamanouchi Town, Nagano, is entering the Asia Trail Master calendar on 5-7 July! The Japanese trail event features a very scenic 100km race with 5100 hm elevation gain that will provide points for the ATM Championship ranking and for the Grandmaster Quest. The event is organised by the Shiga Kogen 100 Race Committee and Mr Koji Otsuka, one of the country’s most experienced trail running event organisers. Shiga Kogen is one of Japan’s main national parks and also a UNESCO Eco-Park. Despite the considerable amount of elevation gain, the 100km is considered runable.

As the official website reads, Shiga Kogen occupies the center of Joshinetsu Kogen National Park. It is a famous ski resort that hosted the Nagano Olympics (1998) in the winter. During the green season, Shiga Kogen is a treasure trove of nature, with beautiful alpine plants and beautiful lakes and wetlands that can be enjoyed in the vast plateau area. The Shiga Kogen, which has been certified as a UNESCO Eco Park, is an attractive area where nature and human society coexist.

This is a mountainous area so. even in summer temperatures remain cool and are ideal for endurance sports. The start and finish venue lies at about 1600m above sea level, and the highest point of the course is at 2200m. Less ambitious runners can also opt for a 55km category or a 21k category, but these offer no points for ATM. In any case, the organisers are confident that that despite the elevation gain, the 100km is a great introduction to the classic ultra distance for those who have never done it before.

100km participants are expected to collect their race pack on Friday afternoon, 5 July. The race flag-off is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. on Saturday early morning. The cut-off time is 26 hours, meaning Sunday morning 6:30 am. The podium ceremony will take place after that.

Registration is open via the official website, where you can also find details on accommodation. International runners are most likely best of flying to Tokyo and take a train or bus to Nagano from there first. Information can be obtained via shiga100@ktf.or.jp .

Koken Ogasawara and Xiang Fuzhao won another spectacular edition of Izu Trail Journey in Japan on Sunday, a classic points race of 70km in our Asia Trail Master Championship series. For both global elites it was their first win in an ATM-promoted race, but obviously not their first overall. Both runners did have to work for their victories. Izu Trail always brings together many competitive athletes, and not being 100% fit means you drop a few places in the race result. Hisashi Kitamura, not yet fully recovered from his 2:29 road marathon PB two weeks ago, this year was only able to finish 12th - in itself still a very decent result in Izu, though.

Hokkaido’s Koken Ogasawara was on call from the beginning of the race, which as usual started by the sea in Matsuzaki just before sunrise. The temperature was not that cold as such this time, but the strong gale wind had a serious chill factor, which visibly bothered several competitors already before the start - such as Kitamura. Already second in Izu in 2022 and keen to win, Ogasawara. joined three other quick starters Hiroki Kai, Tatsuya Itagaki and Kento Tamura. This quartet arrived at the first checkpoint with a small advantage over the other two dozen (!) victory contenders. While Itagaki stumbled and hit his head, Hiroki Kai and Koken Ogasawara pressed ahead and opened up a gap running towards the famous Nishina Pass, arguably the scenic highlight of the race at km 40, with astonishing views of the bay and Mount Fuji. Kai was first on top, but Ogasawara was close and actually left the aid station at km 42 in first place. Two-time Izu race winner Hirokazu Nishimura was third four minutes behind. The route goes up and down the hills along the bay with the wind blowing strongly. At CP3, km 52, Ogasawara only had a good 30 seconds advantage left over the chasing Nishimura. The young and popular Hiroki Kai had lost contact and was breathing heavily, yet remained vigilant in third place. It looked like Nishimura was going to take his record-breaking third victory in Izu, and Ogasawara would have to settle again for second. However, the young runner who burst onto the trail scene after covid , proved his resilience while under pressure and held off Nishimura! Almost sprinting into the finish at Shunzeji Spa Town, he won with a good minute bonus on Nishimura in 6h00’56”. It was a fantastic dual and both gave each other a lot of respect after the finish. They both were over fifteen minutes faster than Nishimura’s winning time last year. Hiroki Kai was equally impressive in holding onto third place, just six minutes begind Ogasawara. Hajime Kasagi and Yuya Kawasaki - winner in 2020 and running with a rib injury - rounded up the top five. First non-Japanese finisher was Australia’s Billy Curtis. The young and rising talent from Queensland made a successful debut on the ultra distance. Previously he had been focusing exclusively on 50k and shorter distances. Curtis scored tenth - ahead of Kitamura. Yuta Matsuyama, recent winner of Luang Prabang Trail in Laos, finished just outside the top 20, which was according to previous results in Izu. His best was 13th a few years ago.

For a long time in the women’s race, 2022 winner Honoka Akayima looked like she was going to pull off an upset victory against China’s Xiang Fuzhao - one of the best performing female athletes in the world this year, even beating Hau Ha in a race in Korea six weeks ago. Xiang Fuzhao only passed the first checkpoints in fourth place and was 12 minutes behind Akayima after the Nishina Pass. Local event staff indicated that she was a very late addition to the start list, upon her own wish to still come and run while accompanying her friends who had already signed up for the race. In the end, a competitor will always remain a competitor and when she closed the gap to just four minutes by checkpoint 3 at km 52, everyone knew she was trying to catch Akayima. And she did. Xiang Fuzhao won in 7h25 and still looked comfortable. Akayima concluded in second, and a delighted Natsuki Tomii ran to third place.

The end of the year in the Asia Trail Master series means it’s time for Izu Trail Journey, one of the most prestigious trail racing competitions in Japan and also one of the most beautiful. This Sunday, 1800 people will take the start in the seaside town of Matsuzaki and run 70km across the Izu peninsula towards spa town Shuzenji, in the vicinity of bigger city Mishima - the gateway to Yokohama and Tokyo. This year’s edition is again a special one for Japanese ‘elite runners’ as Izu is marked as a qualifier for the national team that will be sent to the world championships of trail running in Spain next year. It is of course also one of currently three points races in Japan for the annual Asia Trail Master Championship ranking as well, which is our qualifying tool for the ATM Championship Final in 2025. Brief, the trails will be on fire this Sunday as there is a lot of great competitive talent again , led by last year’s winner Hirokazu Nishimura and China’s top talent and ‘guest star’ Xiang Fuzhao.

With such a densely competitive scene in Japan, it is never easy to win or even podium in Izu. Nishimura may have won the race already twice before, but if he is just a few percentages off pace compared to last year he may struggle to even make top five. Saturo Geya, Yuya Kawasaki, Koken Ogasawara, Onitisuka Tomonori, Hiroki Takashima, Katsuya Ishii are just another handful of runners who may just as well win this weekend. And what about our vice-ATM Champion Hisashi KItamura, who had a career best sixth place in Izu last year and seems to be running faster and smarter than ever before. After his great come back at the end of Borneo TMBT, finishing just a couple of minutes behind winner Jeff Campbell, Kitamura stayed in Japan and managed to improve his PB on the road marathon to 2:29. By being back in Tokyo, it has perhaps become a little more quiet about the Karate Kit on these ATM pages, but we will not be surprised if on Sunday he scores a top five, or even higher. Yuta Matsuyama, recently winner of Luang Prabang Trail in Laos, and an ATM Finalist the past two seasons is also on the start list. He has been in the top 20 already here at Izu. Let’s also keep an eye on Australia’s Billy Curtis, Hong Kong runners such as Yu Hin Cho and Yeung Ka Lun, and SIngaporean Chester Cheong.

In the women’s race, Xiang Fuzhao is the logical top favourite. The Chinese runner can rightfully claim to be among the world’s best trail runners. It will be interesting to see how fast she runs Izu in comparison with last year’s winner Eszter Csillag and 2019 winner Veronika Vadovicova. Of course, no year is exactly the same and apart from the weather things would also be very different if everyone was competing in the same race. Besides, there is another strong Chinese runner on the start list, too: Wen Fangyuan. Let’s see if any of the local women can make a fist against these two.

ATM will be broadcasting live from Izu Trail Journey from the start, with regular livestreams and video updates throughout the day on our facebook and youtube channels first and foremost. Remember Japan is at least one hour ahead of most other Asian countries, the race starts at 6 am local Japanese time.

All podium placers last year, including Eszster Csillag and Hirokazu Nishimura

We are happy to announce that this year’s 11th edition of Izu Trail Journey in Japan is scheduled for Sunday, 8 December and is now open for registration. One of the country’s most iconic and most competitive trail races has been a member of our Asia Trail Master calendar since 2017 and always ranks among the very best events of the season. The Izu Peninsula is not far south from Tokyo , and race pack collection site Mishima is connected to the capital via shinkansen bullet train.

The stunning course of the Izu Trail Journey, often referred to as "ITJ", takes runners from the edge of the ocean up and across the mountains of the peninsula. It’s an A to B course mainly following an old pilgrimage trail. The expansive vistas of the Pacific Ocean below and the HUGE views of the majestic snow-topped Mt. Fuji you'll encounter while running along the Nishina Pass are awesome and will absolutely blow you away!

Last year, Hong Kong based Esztser Csillag became the second non-Japanese to win Izu Trail, four years after Veronika Vadovicova. Hisashi Kitamura finished in the top ten twice, sixth last year even, in what often is like a national Japanese championship race. While the competition is tough, the cut-off time of 14 hours for the 70km is doable provided you keep moving and can also handle cold weather, which often characterises Izu. Snow is not excluded. The second part of the course is more technical and has more elevation difficulties than the initial 30km.

Registration goes via the official website linked below. Sign up soon, as this one fills up.

The Mount Daisetsu Trail on Japan’s northern Hokkaido island witness a great dual between long-time ATM Championship protagonists Jeff Campbell and Hisashi Kitamura. Campbell had just looked amazing in beating John Ray Onifa at UTSG 50 two weeks ago, but the ever battle-ready Kitamura was not intimidated and took his second consecutive victory at Daisetsu ahead of the Hong Kong Canadian by a considerable margin of 15 minutes in 6h40!

Now based in Tokyo, the UGLOW Asia athlete had said before the weekend he felt in great shape and has been doing well on the Japanese domestic trail circuit over the past couple of months. The big goal is to finally get the ATM Championship title, and at the same time that win at Borneo TMBT Ultra that has eluded him so far despite several attempts. Daisetsu was also his 9th career victory already in ATM. Jeff Campbell himself has collected no fewer than 8 ATM points race wins over the years, but has never managed to get into the championship Top 3 podium. Also for him, it is a serious objective - the varied TMBT course should suit him better than high, long mountains Mt Apo or Mt Lawu of previous years. It was therefore fantastic that these two stars of the regional scene squared off in Hokkaido.

For Kitamura, winning the race by a margin over Campbell proved to be a confirmation of his own feelings of having returned to peak form this year. He is scheduled to race once more on the ATM circuit at The Punisher in Philippines in August, before the Championship title race in Sabah. For Campbell, who returned from injury to beat reigning ATM Champion John Ray Onifa in Singapore - inflicting the Filipino’s first defeat on our circuit in over six years - , it was perhaps a reminder there may nevertheless still be some work to do before September. As he himself stated after the race: “He crushed me today”.

Third place on the podium, but amazingly very much in a by-role, was Suguru Seo, 47 minutes behind Kitamura. The women’s race was dominated by Naho Kotani in 9h01. She finished a full hour ahead of Shibuya Chie. Third on the podium was Nagisa Yamaji .

The next Japanese points race will be next season, the famous Izu Trail Journey on the second Sunday of December. Registration opens next week!

Jeff Campbell and Hisashi Kitamura enjoyed themselves in Hokkaido

The men’s top five at Mt Daisetsu Trail Journey with Hisashi Kitamura once again in the middle

Tomohiro Mizukoshi made sure of his third ATM Final qualification with another fine 6th place

Deep Japan Ultra in Japan’s Niigata region, roughly 2-3 hours northwest of Tokyo, is rapidly gaining prestige as one of the great challenging events in our series. Managed and directed by experienced Japanese trail runner Hiroaki Matsunaga, DJU again provided a very satisfactory experience for participants, despite the high degree of ‘toughness’ . There’s two long ultras on the programme with the 100 Miles and the 80km, and in particular the ‘Miler’ is a serious test for everyone. Total elevation gain is only just short of 10.000 hm. It caught 4-star Grandmaster Masafumi Yamamoto by surprise once again, and also Hong Kong’s Rachel Chan even had to throw in the towel at km 120.

It’s an event where the locals perhaps have a clearer advantage, just because they know what is coming. Ryota Nakatani won the men’s race in 27h02’. He was followed on the podium by Tatsuya Saguchi and Tomo Ihara. In the women’s race, Yukiko Sawada won comfortably ahead of Ayako Murai and Kiyoko Nakata.

Gediminias Grinius from Lithuania returned to DJU and Niigata after an injury-induced DNF last year, and this time managed to secure race victory in 8h55. The female winner was the same as last year: Miki Saito in 12h14. Honourable mention goes to young Filipino Poy Brillantes who scored a fantastic 3rd place!

On the 100 miles distance, Yuta Matsuyama took a great fourth place. The same for Vietnam's Julia Nguyen Thi Duong in the women's race. Both collect 425 points at DJU, which will help them get qualified for this season's ATM Final at Borneo TMBT on 14 September.

Images courtesy of Dogsorcaravan

Winner on the 100 miles: Ryota Nakatani

Female winner on the 100 miles: Yukiko Sawada

Lithuanian Gediminias Grinius had unfinished business at DJU and took victory on the 80km

Poy Brillantes ran a magnificent race to finish 3rd on the podium in the 80km

Miki Saito won the 80km for the second consecutive year

ATM 2023 Finalist Yuta Matsuyama scored 4th place on the 100 miles

Last season’s exciting Japanese newcomer in the Asia Trail Master Championship is back on Sunday, 14 July: Mount Daisetsu Trail Journey near Asahikawa in Hokkaido. The 60km main race takes runners to a remote mountain landscape and long ridgeline with astonishing views across the whole area. Even seasoned trail runners like Hisashi Kitamura, who won the 2023 edition, and Singapore’s Trung Nguyen spoke only in superlatives about their running experience.

Mt Daisetsu Trail takes place on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, easily reachable via Tokyo. You can find flights to Sapporo or - closer - Asahikawa. Runners are also advised to consider hotel accommodation in Asahikawa, as options near the race venue are extremely limited. International participants are also encouraged to contact either the event directly via the form online (http://daisetsu-tj.com/country/pg5271098.html) , or via email hiro@katoru.net , cc info@asiatrailmaster.com for assistance on ‘how to get to the race venue’. Registration for the event is open via http://daisetsu-tj.com/pg5266569.html . Note that there are aslo 40km and 15km options for less ambitious runners.

The 60km ATM points race will start just before dawn after a gentle warm-up running in the plains, you will hit the mountain trail. As you can see on the elevation profile below, there are three distinct summit peaks in the race. Note that on the Hiroyama ridge trail, there is a approx 4km section where it is mandatory to walk - not run - by regulation to protect the flora along the ridge line. This is a conservation area managed by the Environment Ministry. Time of entry into this section will be recorded. Participants will be given a set time (last year 30 minutes) to walk through it. At the finish arena there are welcome refreshments in a pleasant setting.

If you like to take part in a Japanese trail ‘off-the-beaten-path’, this event is for you.