This weekend's Vietnam Mountain Marathon in Sapa finally launches the second part of the Asia Trail Master championship season. The  4th edition sees a record number of 1600 registered runners spread out over five distances, of which three are valid for ATM points. New this year is the 100km race distance, and it has attracted not a bad number of athletes, including number 18 in our current Asia Trail Master championship, Ali Ajis Rasil from Brunei. The 100k is the hardest single day footrace in Vietnam and climbs up to an altitude of 1779m above sea level. After the start at the Topas Ecolodge, 100k participants will go on a new loop of 30k, before joining the traditional 70km loop. Along the route will be plenty of ricefields, plantations and villages of ethnic minority peoples. On the horizon looms Mount Fansipan, the highest mountain in Vietnam. The weather is always a factor in this race as well. 

A tough but very rewarding event that has put Vietnam firmly on the trail running map. It is fantastic to see how many local and Vietnamese people in general have decided to take part in VMM this year and spend a glorious weekend in the Sapa mountain region. Very much an event for everyone, all finishers on the 100 and 70k races will also score 1 point for their individual Grandmaster Quest.

Ali Ajis Rasil has a great opportunity to propel himself back in the top 10 of the ATM championship ranking for the second time this season. Coming from another country that only very recently has embraced the sport of trail running, the Bruneian has had solid finishes at Ijen Trailrunning in Indonesia and the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge in his home country so far this season. Hong Kong's Jocelyn Cheung (27th, 425 ATM points) and Vietnam's own Thanh Vu (37th, 400 ATM points) are two women who could jump forward in the female championship ranking this weekend as both are registered for the 70km race. 

Stay tuned for updates on the races in Sapa via our social media channels on the weekend. 

CURRENT ASIA TRAIL MASTER POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING

1. Isaac Yuen Wan Ho (HKG) 1400 points (incl. Abroad Bonus)
2. Manolito Divina (PHI) 1050 points
3. Jan Nilsen (NOR) 1000 points
4. Xu Xiutao (CHN) 800 points
5. Abdul Rahman (MAS) 775 points
6. Aleksis Capili (PHI) 737 points
7. Marcelino Sano Oy (PHI) 710 points
8. Alan Toh (MAS) 690 points
9. Philip Kian Yong Yeo (MAS) 680 points
10. Matthew Kennedy (GBR) 641 points
11. Zhong Guan (CHN) 640 points
12. Vincent Chalias (FRA) 635 points
13. Yong Yunseok (KOR) 600 points
14. Carlos Paz (ESP) 561 points
15. Raymond Cheung (HKG) 550 points
15. Zhaohong Hua (CHN) 550 points

TOP 15 WOMEN

1. Tahira Najmunisaa (MAS) 1600 points (incl. Abroad Bonus)
2. Gretchen Felipe (PHI) 760 points
3. Adelinah Lintanga (MAS) 690 points
4. Patricia Shindy (INA) 660 points
5. Jassica Lintanga (MAS) 650 points
6. Ma Yanxing (CHN) 550 points
6. Yuen Kit Shan (HKG) 550 points
8. Akmaral Meirman (KAZ) 500 points
8. Ann Mari Lillejord (NOR) 500 points
8. Zhou Dongmei (CHN) 500 points
8. Qu Lijie (CHN) 500 points
8. Yukako Takashima (JPN) 500 points
8. Yukari Fukuda (JPN) 500 points
8. Tseng Wei Lin (TPE) 500 points
8. Xiao Jing (CHN) 500 points

Photo: David W Loyd Photography

At 4 a.m., sunrise in northwestern Mongolia, the 18th edition of Sunrise to Sunset has started in the Hovsgol National Park. This is one of the pioneering 100km trail races in Asia, which is even more remarkable when considering the very remote location. Runners who take part in the event require a mini holiday as getting there and away takes time. That is also why the race can be held on a Wednesday instead of on a weekend day. The participants are as always a very international mix combined with some of Mongolia's own top endurance athletes. The entire event goes to the benefit of the Hovsgol National Park, and the local communities in the vast area. We will update on the race proceedings as soon as we get news. 

The 2nd Magnificent Merapoh Trail on the outskirts of the famous Taman Negara National Park in Malaysia starts on Friday night. The sold-out event, organised by the people of Running Project and to the benefit of the preservation of the Merapoh Cave complex, has a mouth-watering course for the speedies among the trail runners. An elevation gain of 1200 metres over 100 km is the lowest in the entire 2016 Asia Trail Master series and contrasts heavily with the 9100 altitude metres that participants will have to conquer on the Rinjani volcano in Indonesia also this weekend. Primarily, fast runners will be in action in Malaysia and mountain goats in Indonesia, but both are as pure a trail running event can be!

The Magnificent Merapoh Trail offers three race distances of 100km, 60km and 30km, and can be proud of its list of participants. Home favourite and current leader in the female Asia Trail Master championship ranking Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid returns to action this weekend on, of course, the 100 km race distance. Tahira has already collected race wins in the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge in Brunei and Malaysia Eco 100 miles this season, and a new victory would make her very hard to beat in this year's championship, indeed. She will face some stern competition in Merapoh, though. Her compatriot and winner of the 100km race in Eco 100, Adelinah Lintanga, cannot be underestimated. Tan Seow Ping will be there as well, the number three of last year's Asia Trail Master championship. Furthermore, Indonesia's Ina Budiyarni decided that Merapoh Trail suits her characteristics and ambitions better than Rinjani 100 and will toe the starting line. Budiyarni, fourth in the 2015 championship and a multiple race winner in her own country. There are also a few runners with loads of international trail running experience: Teresa Aranalde (Mexico) and Cheryl j. Bihag (Philippines), for example. And in the context of the 2016 ATM series' championship, we should also keep an eye out for Gretchen Felipe, the young woman from the Philippines who won the Cordillera Mountain Ultra last June and who is competing on the 60km race distance this weekend. 

It will not all be about the women. The men's race will be just as exciting and will see Hong Kong's Isaac Yuen Wan Ho trying to regain the lead in the 2016 Asia Trail Master championship ranking! Yuen Wan Ho, fourth in UTHK and second in Brunei earlier this year, can overtake Manolito Divina if he finishes inside the top 70 on Saturday, as he just needs 150 points (100 finisher points, 51 performance points for rank 70). As he showed in Brunei, Yuen Wan Ho is actually a very fast runner, so he may as well go for the race win or at least the podium. However, also for him, there are other strong contenders. Henry Yang from Singapore, or Allan Toh from Malaysia for sure will give him a run for his money. There's a solid team of Japanese athletes as well, and let's not forget Abdul Rahman, who was third in Malaysia Eco 100 miles, after all. 

As in the female 60km race, the recently crowned winner of the men's Cordillera Mountain Ultra, Marcelino Sano-Oy, will be the one to watch. Sano-Oy is actually making his first ever trip abroad, and is gradually building up trail running experience. 

While the elevation gain is limited, the Magnificent Merapoh Trail does have technical sections, and combined with the traditional heat and humidity should not be considered an easy trail run. Let's not forget that the DNF rate of Malaysia Eco 100 in Penang was much higher than anybody expected, and so it was in the much shorter Brunei race last February. During Merapoh, runners will need to cross a few water streams, but also run through some caves, obviously a very special item of this event. 

We will be reporting live from the event on our social media channels, and this starting at 21:30 on Friday night. 

Protagonists guaranteed this weekend: Tahira Najmunisaa and her husband Abdul Rahman 

Marcelino Sano-Oy: winner of the Cordillera Mountain Ultra 50 last month: hot favourite for the 60km race in Malaysia this weekend as he begins his international running career

This weekend marks the beginning of the Asia Trail Master series in Japan, the country that has embraced the sport of distance running perhaps more than any other Asian country since decades. The Echigo Country Trail in the Oguni and Ojiya Nature areas close to Nagaoka in Niigata promises a great weekend out and a race that fits the time of year just before the real heat of summer kicks in. The event is very welcoming to international runners, which due to language barriers is unfortunately not always the case in Japan. As such, the Echigo Country Trail will provide runners from all over Asia a great opportunity to get a first hand experience of trail running in Japan.  

The 52k race course will lead participants through Echigo, Oguni and Ojiya counties on authentic local mountain trails.  Total elevation gain is respectable, yet not excessive with 2000 hm. The race is set to commence at 6 a.m. and the cut off time is 10 hours later. 

The event is organised by Hiroaki Matsunage, who has been a very familiar face on the Japanese trail running circuit for years. Exploiting his own extensive international running experience, Matsunage established the Echigo Country Trail last year in a shorter version, and has now beefed it up to a genuine long distance trail course with the support of the local authorities in Niigata. 

One of the race favourites for sure is Shunsuke Okunomiya. Winner of the Hasetsune Cup, a popular race with tradition in Japan, the 37-year-old has made it in the top 15 of UTWT races amongst the very elite. 

Shunsuke Okunomiya

"At Echigo there will be many famous and strong runners at the start line. So I have been quite excited for this race for some time already," says Okunomiya. "It will actually also be my first time running in this specific area, so I will be using all my five senses and have fun for sure. This race is also my first race in which I can score points for the Asia Trail Master championship. To be honest I had not yet heard about it, as this will be the first time points can be scored in Japan. Let's see if I could in the future target more races and aim for a high ranking at the end of the year. For sure I hope that Echigo will be joined by other Japanese events in the Asia Trail Master series. I want more international runners to come to Japan and enjoy our great trails and natural scenery." 

The Echigo Country Trail will be run on Sunday morning, but the event already begins a day earlier in the afternoon with a local fair and opening ceremony with dinner. As such, the event is about much more than just running, and is set up as a genuine cultural community event. 

As usual, we will be reporting live from the event on Saturday afternoon and Sunday throughout the race, subject to mobile connectivity, via our standard social media channels. 

A very authentic course map for the 52k race

This Sunday's Cordillera Mountain Ultra is the first race for Asia Trail Master championship points in the Philippines this year. The 50km main event takes place on and around Mount Ugo in the vicinity of regional centre Baguio, and is organised to the benefit of environmental NGO Cordillera Conservation Trust. While current points leader Manolito Divina is still allowing his body to recover from the Malaysia Eco 100, several other strong Filipino runners will be starting this weekend. Among those is Majo Liao in the women's, who is the double winner of CM 50 Ultra, the Philippines' SuperTrail race at the end of November. Liao is expected to be one of the protagonists for the women's championship as the season develops. Quite a few women in the start list for CMU, though, so one never knows if someone causes an upset on race day. 

In the men's we have an open race on paper. Local area experience may boost chances of Thumbie Remigio, who earlier this week spoke of the challenge of climbing Mt Ugo the way they do in CMU, and Alison Telias. Jonel Mendoza and MTB champion Arnold Lozano are others to watch out for, along with a contingent of foreign runners. 

CMU follows the Cordillera Mountain Marathon that was organised last year. While Mount Ugo dominates the race profile, fast climbers will need to ensure to keep something in reserve for the final 8 km to the finish in Dalupirit. The start of the race is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. and as usual we will be reporting live on social media, subject to available connectivity. 

All runners are also encouraged to support the work of the Cordillera Conservation Trust. Every small donation counts, and, in any case, the local coffee is excellent!

Mount Ugo in CMU this Sunday

Runners will need to cross a few bridges this weekend

Majo Liao is a big race favourite in the women's 50k. 

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This weekend marks the start of the 2nd GlobalLimits stage race of the season that qualifies for Asia Trail Master ranking points. The Last Secret in Bhutan, in its 4th edition, remains a special event on our calendar given its mystical location and the continuous high altitude. In total, participants will cover 200 km in 6 stages. It starts in Thimphu and ends at the world famous monastery Taktshang Goemba, also known as the Tiger's Nest. 

Competitors come from all over the world for this week long event in the Himalayan country. One familiar name in the Asia Trail Master series catches the eye on the list of participants, namely Veronique Messina. The Cambodia-based French runner ended sixth in last year's female championship and won the Wild Elephant Trail stage race. 

Stay tuned via our social media channels for updates on the race during the week. 

After the superb racing in Malaysia and Southwest China last weekend, the Asia Trail Master series moves to Indonesia for the first points scoring race in the country this year. The 2nd edition of the Ijen Trailrunning in Bondowoso, East Java, will see the first appearance of 2015 Asia Trail Master champion Arief  Wismoyono, who has been quietly preparing in recent weeks to be in top shape as he begins the defence of his title. The event, organised by Egon Trail, is completely centered around the beautiful Ijen volcano. The climb to the crater rim, where runners can witness the so-called blue fire, is the highlight of the trail, and also the only serious difficulty. The main race is 70km long - just enough for finishers to score a point in the Grandmaster Quest - and has a total elevation gain of approx 2500 hm, which is relatively moderate in comparison to the other Indonesian races on our calendar. Fast runners therefore have a chance to do well on Sunday. 

Wismoyono of course starts as the favourite to win the 70k Ijen Trailrunning. He also won this race last year together with Alan Maulana, the latter not featuring on the start list this season. The star from the Bandung Explorers team had a difficult winter as both his Hong Kong adventures, HK 100 and Lantau 100, suffered from extremely cold weather spells, which literally froze his chances for a good result. Let's see how Wismoyono fares back at home on  familiar soil. 

In the women's race, also Ina Budiyarni, fourth in last year's Asia Trail Master championship, will make her 2016 debut at Ijen. Budiyarni has been going well in other trail and road races in Indonesia  all year - find a race where she is not taking part in and win a fruit basket - , but on the start list are several women who could surprise her this Sunday.

Ijen Trail running's start has a lot of  international names this year, and for sure we will discover some new interesting athletes. As always, you can follow the action live via our social media channels this weekend. 

Already the third SuperTrail race of the season is on the Asia Trail Master menu this weekend, as runners from all over the continent gather in Penang for the Eranzi Malaysia Eco 100. It will be an important event for the 2016 points ranking, but also for Aleksis Capili. The Thailand-based Pinoy runner is set to complete his Grandmaster Quest of six races of over 70k in two calendar years!

While Penang is the gateway to the event, organised by Endurance Nature, the start and finish of the three race distances is in Bukit Mertajam opposite Penang Island. The 100 miles and 100k races will soak up most attention, but the 50k is definitely not without merit neither in the hot and humid climate of Malaysia. Challenging conditions for many runners, who are perhaps fortunate that the elevation gain is considerable yet not excessive. Race Director Seow Kong Ng, an icon in Malaysia's endurance runnjng scene, of course knows where the acceptable limits are.

The rankings will look very different after this race. Both Jan Nilsen and Manolito Divina are going for the win, and for the lead in the men's Asia Trail Master championship ranking at the expense of current leader Isaac Yuen Wan Ho. Nilsen is in top shape, having just beaten Divina in a big race in the Philippines a fortnight ago. The 100 miles in Malaysia are more runnable, though, and more humid. They will be challenged by several other top runners from Malaysia itself.

Also in the women's we are bound to see a change of leadership in the points standings.Upcoming local hero Tahira Najmunisaa is doing the long distance race this weekend, and if she finishes will move ahead of Ma Yanxing and Yuen Kit Shan. The impressive winner of the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge in Brunei is only 50 points behind and will be the first of the top runners to compete in two races this year. However, also on the start list is the number 2 of last year's Asia Trail Master series: Mila Marlina from Indonesia. Marlina had a tough run at UTHK earlier this year, but if she is back to her best level - which brought her wins at e.g. MesaStila Peaks Challenge last year - she will certainly give Tahira a run for her money. At the end of December, the best three race results per runner count.

Aleksis Capili is the real ultrarunner: perhaps not the fastest of all, but he just keeps on going weekend after weekend... Malaysia Eco 100 miles will be his sixth Asia Trail Master race of more than 70km in less than a year! Capili has not left at that, as he also regularly runs other races outside our calendar as well. Capili is orginally from the Philippines, but based for work in Thailand. If he successfully completes this weekend's 100 miles, Capili will enter the inaugural Hall of Fame as an Asia Trail Grandmaster. 

Watch our social media pages for news and updates of the Malaysia Eco 100 this weekend!

One of the most exotic races in the Asia Trail Master series is the Tengri Ultra Trail in Kazakhstan, which will have its second edition this Sunday. It is a unique outdoor experience, as participants are expected to camp the night before at the race venue - the UNESCO World Heritage Site called Tamgaly Tas. The site has ancient rock paintings in some of the caves. After a successful debut last year, the event has entered the consciousness of citizens in the city of Almaty and around, proven by this week's interviews and feature on city television (see below). No doubt, the Tengri Ultra Trail has introduced trail running to Kazakhstan.  

The Tengri Ultra Trail runs through grasslands and canyons with snowcapped mountains from the Tian Shan range on the horizon. After the success of the inaugural race last year, the organisers have beefed up the longest course from 55k to 70k, which means that runners can also score one point for their individual Grandmaster Quest. There is also a 35k and a 10k for less ambitious runners. Elevation gain is rather limited, 1070 Hm, making this race a perfect opportunity for road runners to get a first taste of trail running. There are some technical sections, however, that should not be taken lightly. In particular, some of the trails through the canyons can be very rocky and narrow and if there was rain in the days before the race you will likely get your feet wet. 

Timur Arthyukin, organiser and race director of TUT explains: " We will show a new canyon to the runners this year, which means, there are 2 canyons on the 70k course. The last 15k will be along the Ili River to the finish at the camp site. " The long distance race will start at 6 a.m. and the cut off time is 12 hours. "Runners need to be prepared for hot conditions with lots of sunshine. All runners should equip themselves with a Camelback or at least 1,5 litres of water. There are several drinking stations along the course, but runners on the 70k and 35k  must take their own refreshments with them also." 

Given the last section will indeed be in wide open space, it is essential for runners to hydrate themselves well enough, and protect themselves from abundant sunshine via a cap or bandana. Something like the RaidLight desert and grassland cap, for instance. 

Almaty TV interview with Vadim Vinokourov, co-organiser of TUT (in Russian). 

Last year the race was won by local runners Georgiy Shejko and Akmaral Meirman. "This year we also have some strong runners from Czech Republic, USA, Russia and other Asian countries," says race director Timur. In any case, female champion Meirman has already confirmed her return and is in top shape, having just finished the Vienna Marathon in 3:07. Meirman was featured on our Talking Trail Running series a fortnight ago. 

The Kazakh running community is growing fast. "In Almaty our group is at least twice as big as last year, and I am sure several Kazakh runnes will also travel to take part in other Asia Trail Master races this year," according to the organiser. In fact, the winners of Sunday's race will be rewarded with a free race entry for the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia this summer, and vice versa. 

The organisation team of Tengri Ultra Trail is ready for the second edition!

Akmaral Meirman returns to Tamgaly Tas on Sunday in defence of last year's title 

The next points-scoring race in the 2016 Asia Trail Master series takes place in a new destination, namely South Korea. Not far from capital city, Seoul, Sunday's Korea 50k event in Dongducheon (DDC) proves the growth of trail running in yet another country with hundreds of runners registered for the race. The event will be a significant spectacle with plenty of media and international charity partner Operation Smile present as well. There is a high number of international runners, so it will certainly be an interesting race. 

Race organiser Jesse Yoo has been in trail running before most people even knew it existed. The first edition of Korea 50k last year was a success, and it encouraged him and his team to take things to the next level and increase international engagement. Other than a race for the national championship, Korea 50k is also the first ever Korean race in the Asia Trail Master series. It won't be the only one, with UT Mount Jiri and a third race in the pipeline for later in autumn this year.

The event is easily accessible from Seoul by subway, and there's plenty of hotel choices available in DDC as well. The race course is tough with 3100m of elevation gain to be conquered, but the length is reasonable with 59 km in total. A compact challenge in other words. 

All finishers on the 59km race will score 100 finisher points for the Asia Trail Master championship, and added to that are of course each runner's performance points on the basis of his ranking in the result list. 

Important in this event is the support any runner can  give to the cause of charity partner Operation Smile. The US-headquartered cause is omnipresent in Asia as well, and treats less privileged children to life-changing surgeries for cleft lip and palate conditions. Each participant in Korea 50k can help to make a big difference in life quality for these young children, and we as promoters of the event and managers of the Asia Trail Master series encourage everyone to take this into consideration when collecting your race number bib on Saturday.  Please see more information about how you can assist below and by going to the OS Korean website. 

 This weekend we will be reporting live from the scene, starting on Saturday afternoon with the press conference, and then of course before, during and after the race via our social media channels. 

Xu Xiatou starts as one the race favourites in Korea after his strong showing in UTHK 100. 

The first of many races this spring in the Asia Trail Master series is China's SuperTrail: Tsaigu Tangsi Plus in and around the mountains of Linhai in East China's Zhejiang Province was a runner's favourite last year, and all signs indicate this weekend will be no different. On the start list we find not only several hundreds of runners, but also the women's 2015 Asia Trail Master champion Ma Yanxing, and China's trail running super star of the moment, Yan Longfei. The main event is the 50 miles (82km) race, which is 25 km longer than last year. This new distance implies that all finishers also score 1 point for their Grandmaster Quest. With approx 5300 metres of elevation gain to be conquered, this race is definitely not a walk in the park and the cut off time of 24 hours could be challenging for several runners. 

Yan Longfei was unbeatable last year. Who can keep up with him on Saturday?

Among significant competition of other trail races within their own region in China, the event organisers have long term plans for Tsaigu Tangsi Plus, which is commonly called TT Plus as well. To stand out as a benchmark event in China is the objective, and last year's inaugural edition certainly backed up this ambition. TT Plus is part of the Asia Trail Master series for the second year, and it says something when Yan Longfei, who won the race last year, chooses to return to Linhai instead of doing another one elsewhere. Undoubtedly, the friendly champion, whose main focus of the year of course goes beyond Asia, starts as top favourite on Saturday to win and collect 550 points for the Asia Trail Master championship, led by Isaac Yuen Wan Ho with 900 points following his two top results in Hong Kong and Brunei earlier this season.

Interestingly, on the start list this Saturday is Matthew Kennedy, the number eight in the men's ranking at the moment with 400 points.  The British ultra runner  finished sixth in UTHK 156 last February and has a theoretical chance of overtaking Yuen Wan Ho .... if he beats Yan Longfei and wins the race on Saturday. 

Ma Yanxing opens her Asia Trail Master campaign at TT Plus this Saturday

The women's longest race will see the first appearance of the 2015 Asia Trail Master champion this year. Ma Yanxing, from Shanghai, is a pure ultra runner who seems to gain the edge over the opposition the longer a race lasts. Ma Yanxing may need to keep an eye out on another Chinese trail running star, Qu Lijie, whom we featured in our Talking Trail Running section earlier this week. Another very strong runner from Sweden, Lynn Nyman, is also taking part this weekend, but she chose for the 62km distance race and starts as a favourite in that one. 

As Tsaigu Tangsi Plus has been selected as China's SuperTrail this year, all finishers on the 50 miles and 62km races will earn 50 bonus points for the 2016 championship ranking. To find out more details about the race, please check our event cover page. 

On Saturday we will be reporting live from Linhai via our social media channel on facebook, instagram, twitter and weixin, as always subject to appropriate connectivity at the event venue.  The 50 miles race begins at 6 a.m. local Beijing time. 

The mountains around Linhai in Zhejiang Province, close to Ningbo

Last year event participants all gave thumbs up for TT Plus

The third race weekend in a row in the 2016 Asia Trail Master series brings us to Sri Lanka, the most western event, in terms of location, on our calendar. It's the second edition of the GlobalLimits Wild Elephant Trail boutique event, a stage race over 6 days and 210 km in total. In the course of next week, we will find out who succeeds Stephan Venray and Veronique Messina as champions. 

The WIld Elephant Trail is one of the smaller races in the Asia Trail Master series in terms of participation numbers, as runners sign up for a week-long package. However, that doesn't mean it is a small race in terms of organisation or difficulty level! German organiser Stefan Betzelt has built a reputation for delivering quality experiences in all of his three races in Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Cambodia. The stage race starting tomorrow is the youngest in his portfolio, and according to many also his most adventurous. The adjective "wild" in the event name is no coincidence. 

The race will start 100km northwest of Colombo on Sunday, and end at the top of the world heritage site, Sigiriya Rock next week on Saturday. In parts, the course will be technical and demanding. The longest stage is on Wednesday when 57km are on the agenda. 

You can follow the action and results via our social media pages throughout the week, as well as via the event organiser's pages as well.