What was supposed to be a great trail running festival turned into a bitter last-minute cancellation. The 7th edition of UTKC cannot take place this weekend as a result of a dispute between event organiser teelakow and the management of the national park that is part of the race course. An official announcement explaining the precise reasoning of the decision to cancel the event is still pending, but teelakow has invited runners already to apply for refunds.

We will publish more information as soon as we receive them from relevant official sources.

UTKC was meant to be the opening race of the 2023 ATM season. That honour now goes to V Trail in Laos on 4 February.

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Season VIII of the Asia Trail Master Championship series begins in Thailand, just like last year with Ultra Trail Koh Chang, one of the classic events in the southern part of the country. A colourful event offering a 100k and a 70k option for both ATM Championship points and a Grandmaster Quest point. UTKC is the first of three early season events that will all require a basic level of fitness and endurance. Our popular and traditional season opener before the covid-19 crisis in Indonesia, Bandung’s 42k Tahura Trail, has been postponed to 11 March in 2023. While Tahura was a rather fast and easy-going race going into the new season, UTKC can be a hot struggle for many participants. The great atmosphere around the event makes up for that, however. Two weeks later, the ATM circuit moves to Laos for the V Trail in Vang Vieng. What used to be a late-season event is now one of the first on 4/5 February. It’s still the premier trail running event in the country, and we are happy the event is back on the calendar. V Trail will offer two points race categories: the 85km and the 55km.

One week later we are back in the Philippines, albeit the northern island of Luzon. The Santa Ines Mountain Adventure was a successful Candidate Race last year and the 80km race will now be a Championship points race on 11 February. Organised by The Pace Republic including 2-star Grandmaster Rhea Batac, the event is held to the east of capital city Manila in the Rizal mountains.

After this trio, there will be a two-week gap to the new Candidate Race in Brunei, Simpur Ultra. Another week later, we move to Vietnam for the first time in 2023. The Dalat Ultra Trail will be held on 4 March and it’s a 85km race that matters there. A week later should be the aforementioned Tahura Trail in Bandung, Indonesia. On 25 March we have another event that used to be later in the season. Hong Kong’s classic Lantau 70 will be a points race for the Asia Trail Master Championship for the first time. One week later we return to another part of Vietnam, Ninh Binh, for the Cuc Phuong Jungle Paths 100k race - organised by the team of Cau Dat Farm Ultra in 2020 - a very strong Candidate Race at the time, which unfortunately cannot be held at the moment due to change in land ownership.

As you can read, the first quarter of 2023 will be filled with exciting trail action straightaway!

As previously announced, UTKC will open the 2023 Season VIII of the Asia Trail Master Championship series on the 21/22 January weekend, just as it did this year. Ultra-Trail Koh Chang is a classic on Thailand’s trail calendar and it certainly is a great event to begin a new story, a new year of exciting racing for ATM Championship and Grandmaster points across the continent.

Koh Chang is one of the southern islands of Thailand, reachable by ferry from Trat, which in turn is connected to Bangkok by highway or a short domestic flight. The island is in fact the home base of teelakow CEO Peeradon Suksawat, and he of course spares no effort to ensure ‘his’ event will leave nothing but great memories to the 2000 or more runners that every year take part in the event. ATM-wise, the focus has always been on the two Grandmaster distances of 100km and 70km and 2023 is no different. Ultra and medium distance specialists both can start their ATM season with a bang.

Registration has been going very well, as expected, and anyone keen on joining UTKC on 21 January should book very soon.

This year in March, the races were won by Britain’s George Burkin and Chonlada Kappiyanond in the 100km, and Danon Rattanatumrong and Areerat Kareeklin in the 70km.

This is what the 100km course looks like on Koh Chang island

Running back in time

Thailand-based Briton George Burkin is a strong new winner of UTKC 100 in a time of 13:13:15. Narin Kongsiri finished in second place 43 minutes later and Arnon Srimat was in third, one hour and twenty minutes back. UTKC 100 was the opener of the new ATM Championship season. The event on Koh Chang island in the south of Thailand saw an incredible number of 3500 registrants. Due to ongoing covid mitigation efforts, certainly not everyone turned up at the starting line but it was a great feast nonetheless! In the absence of Jay Jantaraboon and Sanya Khancai, both on the start list provided by the event organiser but not in the race, the trio of runners that scored the podium was actually in the leading positions all night and day. For George Burkin it’s his first ATM podium and victory.

Chonlada Kappiyanond was another newcomer on the ATM scene and a great winner of the women’s race. She managed her race beautifully as a few others faded in the second half. At the finish, Chonlada Kappiyanond turned up fifth overall and one hour and 28 minutes (!!!) ahead of experienced Grandmaster Montha Suntornwit of The T8 Team! Here I am! Montha Suntornwit ran a smart race herself and moved up the leaderboard as the race went on, as is often the case with the established ultra runner. She came into the finish together wth Sawangjit Saengow of Thailand’s Team Instinct. . Chanchaya naphawanroed scored 4th and UTCR 230 winner Kanlaya Thongfachailai of Team La Sportiva Thailand was in 5th place.

On the 70km there’s a Thai race winner with Danon Rattanatumrong. He was 27 minutes faster than Norwegian Eirik Knudsen and Somjai Pesri of Thailand. As the 100k and 70k were evenly rated in terms of ATM Championship points, that implies Danon Rattanatumrong tops the Thai national ranking with 500 points ahead of Narin Kongsiri with 450.

In the women’s race victory went to Areerat Kareeklin ahead of Suphalak Kotapae and Payungjit Kosopa, all three from the home country.

The next ATM points race in Thailand is scheduled to be Ultra Trail Chiang Mai at the end of August.

photo credit: UTKC official

George Burkin wins the men’s 100 km

An impressive introduction to Chonlada Kappiyanond, winner of the women’s 100 km

At last, we have arrived. The first trail race weekend of what currently promises to be an exciting new season of the Asia Trail Master Championship series - the first after 2019. UTKC, Ultra Trail Koh Chang, is the event and venue for the opener in Thailand tomorrow. An event with 100k and 70k race categories relevant for points, and one that brought us several fantastic runs in the past. While the big majority of participants will still be residents of Thailand, there are international athletes who have taken the step to travel and face the remaining covid-19 mitigation measures. It’s the start of a new season and one is quick - perhaps despite knowing better - to call it ‘post-pandemic’ , but unfortunately many people are still in no position to cross country borders or even take part in running events at all. Consider, for instance, Hong Kong, home city of our last two and actually still reigning ATM Champions John Ellis and Veronika Vadovicova. Nevertheless, UTKC inspires growing confidence that ‘real’ trail running events are on the return in Asia. In fact, there’s three more events on the calendar for the next two weekends, too. Borneo Ultra Trail Marathon in Malaysia, EcoTrail AlUla in Saudi Arabia and last but not least Dalat Ultra Trail in Vietnam. It may be later than usual, but safe to say that the 2022 ATM Championship is flagging off with a bang!

The road to the ATM Championship conclusion will see over 25 points races throughout the continent between now and 17 December, date of the final event at a location soon to be officially announced. In between, we will have several Candidate Races as well. New events that have applied for a spot on our championship calendar next year or after. It will certainly be busy and we are looking forward to loads of exciting stories, stellar achievements and the Big Reconnection!

This weekend’s men’s 100k at UTKC could see the second installment of a battle that took place in 2018. Local trail heroes Jay Jantaraboon and Sanya Khancai are both featuring as favourites on the start list. Four years ago, the slightly older Sanya pushed Jay forward nearly all the way without ever really relenting. Let’s see if the Thai veteran can repeat that level of performance again on a course that is less technical as back then. We know Jay has not spent his time lying on the sofa during the covid-19 crisis and by all means he is the man to beat. Outsiders and podium candidates could be Nikom Tongjai, Narin Kongsiri and probably several others. After over two years it would be logical to see the appearance of many new faces at the forefront of the competitions.

In the women’s 100km we will follow Kanlaya Thongfachailai carefully. She won the Ultimate 130 at UT Chiang Rai in 2020. And in the 70km race category, we will have Canadian Carrie Jane Stander, 9th in the 2019 ATM Championship series.

As a clear sign that things are also not yet so straightforward in Thailand, event organiser Nop Suksawat and his team have had to make amendments to the race courses up to the last couple of days. Koh Chang is a relatively small island with a small community and not everyone is already keen to see runners returning en masse for the event. A couple of reroutes is likely to reduce the total distance to some 95 km and bring the elevation gain closer to 3000 hm instead of the advertised 4300+ hm. These changes could affect the outcome of the races, as fast-paced runners will have the best chance ever for a great result at this event. The strongmen and strongwomen who prefer the more technical, dense and steeper hilly jungle trails , something UTKC is renowned for, will have fewer opportunities this year to leave a mark.

Ryan Whelan of the Gone Running team in Hong Kong won the 70k race two years ago

UTKC in Thailand is back on the programme and participants have felt it: this is one very technical jungle race! It is one of those that is never over until it is over, and last weekend drama struck for Arnie Macaneras. After taken an amazingly big lead over the likes of Paul Dunn and Hisashi Kitamura, blisters forced the Filipino to hike most of the last 35 km. Paul Dunn - second on the 70km of UTKC two years ago - smelled blood and caught Macaneras in the final 10 km of the race and took away the victory. Dunn’s finishing time was 18:21:07. Macaneras, who is only 28 and running trail abroad for the first time, still had to conceded 40 minutes in those final kilometres and fend off a late-attack by Kitamura but managed second by nine minutes over the Japanese Uglow ace. Kitamura was the birthday boy last Saturday, but the greatest gift was never really within reach. Belly flu had seriously affected his preparation for UTKC and also on race day he had to make several unforeseen pit stops. Nevertheless, Karate Kit is the first of the big names who has done his second ATM points race of the 2020 season already and two third places are enough to put him in the lead of the ATM Championship after three races.

Sanya Khancai was on the start list, but the Thai favourite did not start. The first Thai male runner was Narongwit Piroonpaisarn in fourth place. Another contender from Japan, Tomohiro Mizukoshi, was totally uncomfortable on the jungle trails of Koh Chang island and finished well down in 34th place after he had decided it was not going to be his day. Also Nikom Tongjai was not in his element and arrived just before Tomohiro in 29th place.

A runner who was certainly very much in her element on the raw trails of UTKC was Fredelyn Alberto. The Hong Kong-based Filipino runner of Team T8 led the women’s race from almost start to finish and was even unthreatened all day. Alberto finished fourth overall (!) in a time of 20:03:01 - that’s 55 minutes behind one Hisashi KItamura. She certainly has not missed the start of her 2020 ATM campaign! It was to be expected that Fredelyn Alberto would do well in Koh Chang, as last year she also conquered Moon 100 on Koh Phangan island - another brutal hilly jungle race in Thailand taking place in June. Still, prior to the start she was not the top favourite. Australia’s Joanna Kruk was there, the second-placed woman of UTKC in 2017 and unbeaten on the ATM tour after that. But it had been a year-and-a-half since we last saw Kruk, and it turned out she has been suffering from tendinitis. When she arrived at CP1 after around 10 km, Kruk had too much pain and - wisely - decided to pull out not to wreck her knee entirely.

Montha Suntornwit had a good run to come in as second woman behind Alberto, as she managed to stay ahead of Loretta Henderson. Montha is very skilled on technical ultra trails as well and not for nothing 6th in last year’s ATM Championship. But last weekend, the gap with Fredelyn Alberto was huge: more than three hours. It illustrates just how strong the Filipino was, and yet she explained in the post-race interview (on our facebook page) that she sprained her ankle very early in the race and felt it all day..

UTKC traditionally also has a 70K race category, which also offered ATM Championship points as well as the Grandmaster point. In the men’s we had a surprisingly exciting race between Hong Kong’s Ryan Whelan and Thailand’s trail star Pharait Varesin. The top duo was a league on their own and they really set those trails on fire. Whelan had come to Thailand following the cancellation of most races in Hong Kong in recent weeks, and because the runner from Team Gone Running-Joint Dynamics has the ATM Championship on his mind. Whelan will certainly have gotten a confidence boost when he managed to drop Varesin just before halfway the race and managed to retain a gap of five-six minutes all the way to the line. A great cat-and-mouse race that resulted in a finish time of 9:23 against 9:29. No need to say more. Ryan Bonfield completed the podium but found himself over three hours behind.

In the women’s 70km, it was Philippines again to celebrate victory. Elviemma Catabay scored her first ATM race victory in a tight competition against Thailand’s Laksamee Duangjai. Supaporn Nakkawat was third.

A fantastic performance by Fredelyn Alberto on the technical trails of Koh Chang island

The two big winners: Paul Dunn and Fredelyn Alberto

The podium in the men’s: Paul Dunn, Arnie Macaneras and Hisashi Kitamura

Ryan Whelan took a fantastic victory over Pharait Varesin on the 70km race.

Elviemma Catabay made the Filipino success even bigger by winning the women’s 70km.

Ultra Trail Unseen Koh Chang was the first big Thai hit in the Asia Trail Master series and we are certainly happed that after a one-year-hiatus the event in the south of Thailand is back on the agenda - and on the Asia Trail Master Championship calendar. UTKC was sold out very quickly and already several months ago proving that runners, too, were hot hot hot to return to this technically challenging but great island race. The event still features the traditional 100km and 70km as points races, and also offers shorter categories for the less ambitious. In a period where many races in Asia are getting cancelled due to the corona virus epidemic, we can warm ourselves up for a hot battle between Sanya Khancai, Hisashi Kitamura, Arnie Macaneras and between Joanna Kruk, Fredelyn Alberto and Montha Suntornwit.

The 100km is the classic distance and is known to be very technical in parts, as well as very hot in daytime. Sanya Khancai knows very well as he chased Jay Jantaraboon all the way to the finish two years ago. Khancai, now age 45, is one of those very talented trail runners in Thailand who is hardly known outside his home country. Hisashi Kitamura and Arnie Macaneras will certainly learn quickly this Saturday. The Japanese Uglow ace is still seeking his best shape after a stomach bug prevented him from training properly since Tahura Trail a month ago. Macaneras is entering uncharted territory: UTKC will be his maiden race outside the Philippines. For those wondering: Macaneras is the guy who put himself between Kitamura and John Ellis at The Punisher race at the end of last season.

Tomohiro Mizukoshi is opening his ATM season this weekend as well, and this is a race that - for once - he has been preparing exclusively for for quite some time. When fully fit, Tomohiro can cause the upset at UTKC - especially if he gets away well in the first kilometres.

Nikom Tongjai was a top 10 finisher in the ATM Championship last season and you do not achieve that without reason. A solid trail runner throughout, Nikom is one to pick up the spoils when the others drop out.

In the women’s we are happy to see the return to the ATM Tour of Joanna Kruk after more than a year. The police officer from Adelaide won this race back in 2017 and in fact has gone undefeated in our circuit with race victories in UT Chiang Rai, UT Panoramic and Borneo TMBT as well. Who can stop Kruk? If she is still as fast as in 2018, it might be an uphill task for the likes of Fredelyn Alberto, Ann Jilian Pulanco, Montha Suntornwit and the other women. Fredelyn Alberto is very keen to get her ATM campaign going and word is she has been working on her pure running speed in the off-season. A 100K race always needs to be run first, so who knows Alberto gets it together against Kruk just like she did in Moon 100 against Cartoon Wipawee on Koh Phangan last year.

The 70km on the programme of UTKC is also offering ATM Championship points as well as a Grandmaster point for all finishers. The winner scores 370 points for the Championship, and the hot favourite in the men’s is Hong Kong-based Britain Ryan Whelan.

We will be covering the UTKC races live via our social media channels, in particular facebook, as usual.

Three years after winning a first time, Joanna Kruk is once again a hot favourite to win the women’s 100k

Arnie Macaneras launches his 2020 ATM campaign with UTKC

Will Sanya Khancai be able to do another salto like he did when winning UTCR 2018?

One of the big returnees in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series is Ultra Trail Koh Chang, perhaps best known abbreviated as UTKC. The 5th edition of the popular southern Thailand event is set for 15/16 February 2020 and is back on the calendar after a one year break. In fact, the event did not take place at all in 2019 and it is therefore no surprise that most places are already sold out. UTKC is renowned for having some very technical hilly jungle sections and for the heat, yet it easily draws up to 2000 runners spread out over several race distance categories of which the 100km (A race) and 70km (B race) matter for the ATM Championship points and the Grandmaster Quest.

To get to Koh Chang, you need to make your way to Trat. You can do that via highway bus from Bangkok or via a short domestic flight. From Trat you take a ferry for roughly 45 minutes to reach Koh Chang island. There’s plenty of guesthouses and hotels in the area. For details on logistics, please contact teelakow and check the event website.

Thailand’s Jay Jantaraboon and Sanya Khancia were the big winners of the 2018 100km race, with an Indonesian top 3 in the women’s: Ruth Theresia, Shindy Patricia and Lily Suryani. A year earlier, it was Malaysia on top with Steven Ong who carried Wataru Iino the finish in the men’s, and Tahira Najmunisaa who was at the peak of her running form to claim the women’s race. That year Kim Matthews came to the foregound as well and won the 70km race. It does look like winning UTKC is a good omen for the rest of the women’s ATM championship.

Thailand's best two trail runners delivered a high-paced and fascinating dual on Koh Chang last weekend during UTKC, the first SuperTrail race of the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship. Jay Jantaraboon and Sanya Khancia both beat the course record set by Steven Ong and Wataru Iino last season, despite the extra hill that was added to the course for this year. Finishing barely 17 minutes apart, Jantaraboon and Khancai sent also a strong warning to all other potential contenders for this year's ATM Championship. In the women's Ruth Theresia led a very strong Indonesian group performance. 

UTKC had the reputation already of being one of the toughest races on the ATM calendar, and last weekend confirmed that status even more. Whereas the approx 4400 metres of elevation gain on the 100 course is not necessarily earth-shattering, the steepness of the hills, the density of the rainforest and the long road section halfway in scorching hot temperatures force all runners to dig deep into their reserves. Organiser Teelakow is well-aware UTKC is very challenging and spares no expense to stock all aid stations abundantly, and set a CUT that is manageable for all participants as long as they keep moving. As such, 67 runners succeeded in finishing the 100K distance and they were all delighted, indeed. 

The main race was set alight quickly after the 4 am start when Jay Jantaraboon and Sanya Khancai opened the gas. Italy's Alessandro Sherpa was alert and followed, but after twisting his ankle badly he faded and was eventually forced to stop. Sherpa was in a position to grab the points lead in the ATM Championship in this race, but given his injury he will also need to sit out the 9 Dragons Ultra next weekend. Not following the Thai duo was Indonesia's Arief Wismoyono. Perhaps untypical, Wismoyono opted for a quiet start of his 100k. The first runner-up of the 2017 ATM championship would never play a role for the victory, and instead was battling with France's Clement Dumont for the third spot. At km 64, it looked like Arief had the potential to catch up with Dumont, but the latter kept a solid pace himself and was able to extend the gap substantially come finish. His second fourth place of the 2018 ATM season does put Arief Wismoyono in the lead of the championship ranking with 850 points, though. Dean Perez was not running in Thailand, and will be back on the your in two weeks for Cordillera Mountain Ultra. 

Jay and Sanya ran together for half of the race, until the Champion System runner accelerated and was able to put some distance between them on the way to CP 5 at km 64. The gap there was 12 minutes. It is quite impressive therefore that the gap at the finish was just 5 minutes more. It proves the resilience and fantastic form of 46-year-old Sanya Khancai, who also explained afterwards to be disappointed with his result. Certainly it is no shame to lose to Jay Jantaraboon, who scored his second ATM race victory after dominating Ultra-Trail Chiang Rai last October. The winner's time was 14:27, compared to 15:06 last season by Ong and Iino. It is still early season, but if Jantaraboon and Khancai manage to get five ATM race results they will both be hot contenders for the 2018 ATM title! 

Jay and Sanya: both Thailanders were outstanding

Jay Jantaraboon still looked cool and fresh at CP5

Arief Wismoyono: not the easiest race for him, but 4 th place was enough to claim points lead

Legros pulls out, Theresia wins and takes ATM points lead

The women's 100K enjoyed the presence of an international elite runner from France, Elisabeth Legros, who is spending holiday time in Thailand this month. Pre-race favourite Ruth Theresia had a great start of her race as she was able to keep the gap between her and Legros to around 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the Bandung runner then chose a wrong trail that sent her up another hill. When back on the right trail, Theresia of course had lost contact with Legros entirely and instead had to watch out for her compatriot Shindy Patricia, Philippines' Ann Jilian Pulanco and Thailand's Kanlaya Srinantawong. Montha Suntornwit was a DNS, unfortunately. Theresia was clearly in great form and also had luck on her side later on the day. Shindy Patricia missed a marker and got lost for a long time herself, and Pulanco had to stop the race being unable to still take in any water or food. Then, Elisabeth Legros began to suffer from serious foot blisters, too. And that was not her only problem: an insect flew deep into the French runner's ear and was stuck inside. Legros pulled out of the race at around km 75 and had to be taken to hospital to have the bug removed from her ear. As such, Ruth Theresia claimed the race lead and would hang onto it without rushing at nighttime to finish in 23:23. Shindy Patricia arrived two hours later to grab second. Thailand's Kanlaya Srinantawong was a further three hours back in third place. Srinantawong was engaged in a dual with another Indonesian Grandmaster runner, Lily Suryani, who reached the finish seven minutes later. Suryani is of course the only female two-star Grandmaster so far. Back from a hamstring injury that still bothers her, the runner from Bali remains an incredibly consistent finisher of ultra races! 

The 70K race of UTKC saw a tight battle between Fabien Bencler from New Caledonia and Britain's Paul Dunn, decided in favour of the former. The gap at the finish was just four minutes. In third place fourteen minutes down was Filippino Joeffery Camara. The women's 70K saw a Thai winner and podium: Patcharee Chuaythaisong, was faster than Parinda Sothonboon and Anisa Suebwongsan. 

France's Elisabeth Legros led the women's race until km 75 when blisters and an insect forced her to DNF

Indonesian women dominated the podium with Ruth Theresia as winner

Fabien Bencler from New Caledonia won the 70K race

Ultra-Trail Koh Chang, aka UTKC, is again the first SuperTrail of the Asia Trail Master Championship this year, and despite Chinese New Year sees a remarkable line-up of international and domestic trail runners. Contrary to last year, it also looks very likely that the host country will have one or more athetes on the podium of the main event, the 100K race.  Two of the country’s best trail runners, if not the best, will be at the start: freshly married Jay Jantaraboon - the dominator at Ultra-Trail Chiang Rai last October - and Sanya Khancai, the most successful Thai runner in ATM so far with race victories in Ultra Trail Nan 100 and Vietnam Mountain Marathon on his record already. 

The men’s 100K, which starts in the early hours of Friday, is a meanwhile renowned tough and technical race with over 5000m of elevation gain. Taking place mostly during the day, the heat can be scorching in certain areas of the course. On the positive side, runners can enjoy the fantastic scenery of Koh Chang island to the maximum, and the fastest runners are expected to be back at the finish in the late afternoon and evening, in prime time in other words. 

Astonishing views during UTKC (P; Adventure III)

While many athletes can legitimately dream of a podium finish tomorrow, if Jay Jantaraboon showed the same kind of form as in Chiang Rai a few months ago it would be hard to bet against him. Having said that, UTCR and UTKC may be organised by the same company Teelakow but they are two very different animals. This one is a lot more technical and tactical. Last season, Japan’s star runner Wataru Iino looked set for a grand victory in UTKC, yet completely disintegrated in the final 20 km and got caught by Soonseng Ong. The Malaysian was kind enough to stay with the dehydrated Iino until the finish, but the Japanese ace made it clear to everyone Ong had been the stronger man. A scenario like this can repeat itself always in ultra running and especially in a tropical climate. Yet Jay Jantaraboon is no rookie. How close can Sanya Khancai stay with Jantaraboon? Will Khancai and Italy’s Alessandro Sherpa take off like bullets again, as they did in Ultra Trail Panoramic 100 miles last December? Another traditionally quick starter could join them in an early attack: Arief Wismoyono from Indonesia. The runner-up in the 2017 ATM Championship can definitely not be underestimated and has been showing excellent form in the past six months in both ultra and medium distance races. This trio could take the fight to Jantaraboon, of course with the risk of running against a massive counter punch. Wismoyono and Sherpa will have a battle between themselves as well this weekend, namely for the points lead in the ATM Championship. Sherpa was third in Tahura Trail, Wismoyono fourth. That’s a difference of just 25 points. 

Other podium candidates on a good day are Frenchman Clement Dumont, third in Korea 50K in 2016, Britain’s Robert Butcher and Filippino Jared Teves. 

In the women’s 100k start list we see perhaps fewer known and big names, but one stands out: Ruth Theresia. The always smiling second runner-up in the 2017 ATM Championship launches her 2018 campaign in Thailand this weekend. Ruth Theresia has the experience to bring this to a good end as well. The Indonesian will be competing against a whole field of Thai runners, of whom Montha Suntornwit is likely the biggest podium candidate, and against her own compatriots and fellow Grandmasters Shindy Patricia and Lily Suryani, fifth and sixth respectively in the 2017 ATM Championship. Filippino Ann Julian Pulanco could also be a podium contender on a good day. As this is ultra, there can of course always be a new name popping up from nowhere. 

Apart from Wismoyono, Theresia, Suryani and Patricia, there’s two more ATM Grandmasters at the start of the 100K tomorrow. Brunei’s Ali Ajis Rasil and Filippino Cheryl Bihag. Both accustomed to the ultra distance, they will be adding another point on their march towards a second Grandmaster star. 

UTKC, aka Ultra Trail Unseen Koh Chang, made quite an impression on runners last February as the Thailand SuperTrail in the Asia Trail Master Championship series. The organising team Teelakow of course has quickly gathered a reputation for delivering well-organised and designed events like also the Ultra Trail Panoramic and Ultra Trail Chiang Rai. We are happy to announce that also in 2018 these three great races will be part of the Asia Trail Master Championship, and UTKC will again be the first SuperTrail race of the season on 16/17 February 2018. 

The event again features tough 100k and 70k Grandmaster distance races, along with two shorter races for beginning runners. For the championship, the two long distances count for points. 

The registration has just opened today for UTKC 2018. While the organisers accept high numbers of runners, better do sign up relatively quickly as the events do sell out beforehand in Thailand. 

Go to the new website www.utkcthailand.com for info on 2018 and the online reg form. 

Nikom was the first male Thai 100k finisher in 4th place

The first SuperTrail race of the 2017 Asia Trail Master championship series took place on Koh Chang Island in Thailand and was by all accounts a great event to remember and look forward to already for next year. Yes, the jungle sections in UTKC are very technical and hard, but the course - modified and more varied than last year - proved appealing for basically all runners at the finish. Every finisher realised he or she had recorded a remarkable achievement, not in the least as temperatures rose to extreme heights of 44 degrees centigrade at noon on Saturday! In addition, the Teelakow organising crew made everyone feel highly welcome and offered outstanding refreshment stations throughout the race topped-off by pre- and post race meals at the event arena. UTKC was publicity for the sport, and even the 100k race proved to be exciting to follow!

In a nice gesture of sportsmanship, Steven Oong and Wataru Iino crossed the finish line hand in hand just before midnight after 15 hours 8 minutes. Iino from Japan, top favourite before the start, had gone off on his own relatively early in the race, but began to suffer from dehydration symptoms as darkness fell and saw the experienced Malaysian Oong return with just over 15 km to go. Keeping safety in mind, Oong decided to stick with Iino, even when he might have had the upper hand. Both were officially hailed as winners of the 100k race. Behind them in third place was Vietnam's Cao Ngoc Ha, who made a name for himself outside his own country. Cao Ngoc Ha was running together with Oong for most of the first 40 km, and never really dropped far back afterwards. He was even fastest in the final sector of 15 km, cementing his third place in the race. Very popular in Vietnam, where a new trail running community is gradually coming of age, Cao Ngoc Ha will return to the Asia Trail Master circuit soon, and could become one to watch this year as his experience grows. 

Steven Oong catches a dehydrated Wataru Iino just before the final checkpoint

Tahira wins again and is undefeated in 7 ATM races

Amazingly, the first woman came home fourth overall! Perhaps it has become less surprising when one knows that woman is defending Asia Trail Master champion Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid, who already at Tahura Trail in Indonesia last month proved to be back at her best level. The Malatra ace from Malaysia won her seventh ATM race in a row and regained the lead in the 2017 championship ranking after Lily Suryani briefly surpassed her at Coast To Coast last week. While she admitted to be struggling with the technical jungle trails as well, it seems others had more issues with those than her. Tahira finished the 100km in 16:10, just over an hour down on Oong and Iino. In second place was Australia's Joanna Kruk in 19:57, a fine effort by all means as well. Completing the women's podium was another Malaysian, Siawhua Lim, who had lost time in the early parts of the race after missing a marker. 

The two winners of UTKC 100! 

31 nationalities were present at UTKC and this was illustrated by the top 10 of the 100k, with only 1 local runner from Thailand in fourth place. Nikom Tongjai actually battled hard for his final result, as he was shown down in tenth place halfway through the race. Grandmaster Aleksis Capili is another ultrarunner who never slows down and moves up the leaderboard the longer a race goes. Capili scored yet another fine sixth place, just behind a remarkable runner from the Czech Republic, Jan Suchomel, who completed his 99th (!!!) 100k or more race in six years. On the question which race will have the pleasure of celebrating his 100th, Suchomel did not yet have an answer. Peter Vangeit, a Belgian living in India, was next coming into the finish, followed by the second Pinoy runner Jared Teves, France's Emanuel Abadie - winner of the Merapoh Trail in 2015 - and Philipp Yeo Kian Jong, also Malaysia. 

Top 3 of the 100k , minus female winner Tahira Najmunisaa (she had to catch a flight) 

The 70 km race was of course also a Grandmaster distance, and following the new ATM championship regulations, offered 400 performance points to the winners as well. Again, two runners jointly came in: America's Zack Reimer and Canada's Julian Baker in a splendid time of 9:38:20. They were almost a full hour ahead of number three, Great Britain's Martyn Driscoll. Also on this distance, one woman stood out with a fifth place overall: Kim Matthews from Australia, though living in Thailand nowadays. Matthews finished in 11:02 and has ambition for the Asia Trail Master championship. We look forward already! The women's podium was completed by Thai runner Montha Sontornwit and Japan's Terada Kazue. 

On Facebook later this week we will publish a fine photo album of UTKC, courtesy of Adventure III, and on the same social media page you can find interviews with race winners Wataru and Steven, along with plenty of other video and photo work. 

The first SuperTrail of 2017 is a wrap, and what an event it was! 

The last official finisher of the 100k also had his moment of glory