Brought to you by the team that has been doing Ijen Trail since 2015 is the new Jember Ultra in East Java, which is part of a grand running festival on 20/21 August. The 70 km long trail race will be a points race for the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking, the third Indonesian one this season. Jember is an important university town in East Java, and the surrounding region is characterised by a beautiful beach area and the typical hilly and volcanic scenery when you go further inland. The event, highly supported by local authorities, has big ambitions: alongside the 70km trail race there will also be a road marathon, half marathon and 10k fun run. Something for everybody in other words!

Those familiar with Ijen Trail, which is one of the most runable mountain ultras on our calendar and remains tentatively scheduled for late October, should be aware that Jember Ultra is tougher on paper, offering a great mixture of runable sections with quite seriously techical bits. Total elevation gain does not exceed 2700 hm for the 70km , but gradients are often short and steep. Do not be fooled by the numbers and prepare yourself for a challenging trail.

Details and the confirmed course map and elevation profile will be released in due course following last week’s final route inspection. The start of the race will be in the hills, at the very popular hotel retreat in Rembangan. Runners will also be able to stay there. The finish line will be at the central square in Jember City. The last 4 km of the race will therefore be on tarmac, but the good news is this stretch goes slightly downhill.

The start will be at the Hotel Rembangan in the hills, the finish smack in the city centre of Jember

Now open for registration with early bird rates until 16 February: Mantra Summits Challenge! The renowed high mountain event in East Java is having its 5th edition on 11/12 July and remains the Indonesia SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship with 50 bonus points for all finishers on the 116km and 75km - both distance categories also labeled as A-races. Mountain goats across Asia: this is your event!

Hosted by the great Malang trail running community and the authentic Kaliandra Eco Resort, Mantra Summits Challenge will test your resilience as a trail runner. For a lot of people, the 116k and 75k are the toughest race courses in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. However, they are also recognised as among the most beautiful of the whole year. You are going up to well over 3000m altitude on Mount Welirang and Mount Arjuno. With its peak at 3339m, Arjuno is the third highest peak in East Java after Semeru and Raung, and the fourth highest on the entire island of Java.

In 2019 MSC was the playground of Sabah’s Milton Amat, who won the 116k race with a gap of FOUR HOURS to second-placed Hisashi KItamura. Just to emphasize how a specific race course can have an impact on performance. Asuka Nakajima was the women’s winner last year, a feat that proved she is indeed now a serious trail runner and not only a road runner.

While the 116km and 75km are serious challenges that you should be prepared for, less ambitious runners can also aim for the shorter categories. There’s something for everyone at this event to enjoy.

Logistics: best is to fly international to Surabaya, from where it is a 90-minute drive to Malang. Shuttle busses are scheduled from the airport terminal 2. If you are based in Indonesia, there’s a few domestic flights that go to Malang itself as well. Accommodation is highly recommended at the Kaliandra Eco Resort, which prices are very reasonable. Homestays around the area are also possible.

Alessandro Sherpa suffered a DNF last year. He was not the only elite runner to DNF.

Former winner Fandhi Ahmad keeps returning to Mantra Summits Challenge

A troubled Tahira Najmunisaa made her to-date final appearance on the ATM circuit in Mantra last year and did not finish. Will she return to East Java to set the record straight?

One of the hot newcomers in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship has opened registration. Mantra Summits Challenge is accepting all experienced mountain runners for a genuine challenge over 75 km  on a technical course that reaches peaks well above 3000m altitude. Shorter distances are also available, yet the 75 km is what counts for the championship and the Grandmaster Quest. 

The event is organised by the Mantra Runners in Malang, East Java. As last year, when the race was a Candidate Race, the Kaliandra Eco Resort will host the event, providing comfortable accommodation in even quite a historic Javanese setting. 

Definitely one of the toughest races on the calendar, do not take this one lightly. For runners traveling from farther away, the Mantra Summits Challenge can be combined with the less technical Ijen Trailrunning event one week later a bit further east in Java. Doing that allows you then to hop onto a ferry to Bali to conclude your fantastic East Javanese trail running week in which you can score a load of Asia Trail Master Championship and Grandmaster points. Our Wold the Trail Indonesia package will also include a mid-week training and hiking session on either Bromo or one of the other majestic volcanoes in this area. 

Registration for Mantra Summits Challenge works via the official event website. 

Mantra 116