Brunei's Beach Bunch Trail Challenge is one of those new events in 2016 that caught the eye of plenty a trail runner in Asia. Brunei as a new destination for runners, but the race itself as it had a 50% DNF quote despite "only" being of 42k marathon length. For once, the term "challenge" in the event's title was not just randomly added. The race was a test of running abiility, but arguably even more so of mental resilience and even tactical choice of running gear.  While the forest section in the first half of the course definitely was made for hardcore trail shoes, this type of footwear sank people's feet deep into the loose beach sand in the second half, draining their legs. Significantly, a pure road runner won the men's race: Sefli Ahar, a former winner of the Hong Kong Half Marathon, pushed Isaac Yuen Wan Ho into second place. 

In 2017 the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge goes ultra with the main races over 100 km and 50 km. There is also a 30 km distance for beginners. The tale of the trail reveals that elevation gain is limited to 1830 hm on the 100 km, and a mere 570 hm on the 50 km, so lovers of runnable courses should still mark this race red hot in their calendars. In terms of points for the Asia Trail Master championship, special conditions will apply to this event. On both the 100 and the 50 km races the winner will pocket 400 performance points. The difference will be, logically, in the finisher points, whereby 100k finishers score the usual 100 and the 50k finishers 50 points. As such, the winner of the 100k will have a 50-point-advantage over the winner of the 50k, but in the grand scheme of things (in 2017 each runner's best five results count for the final ranking at the end of the year) the difference might be neglible. 

Running along the beach is of course an important part of the race: mind your choice of shoe! 

Rizan Latif, organiser of the Beach Bunch Trail Challenge, is looking forward to seeing the protagonists of his 2016 race and of the Asia Trail Master championship come to Brunei on 25-26 February, for what will effectively be the first ever ultra trail distance in the country on Borneo island. 

Registration is open until 6 January 2017, but it is advised not to wait till last-minute as slots do fill up quickly. 

But it is not all beach neither: the forest section was determinant in 2016! 

Bandar Seri Begawan also catches the eye from a tourism point of view

The 3rd edition of the Tengri Ultra Trail, the premier trail running event of Kazakhstan, is confirmed for 7 May 2017 and will again be a points race in the Asia Trail Master series. The menu will not be changed: the main race will be 70 km - a Grandmaster distance - and less ambitious runners can opt for a 35 km and a 15 km through the grasslands and canyons of Tamgaly Tas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The registration has also been opened already. 

Tengri Ultra Trail starts and finishes at a campsite along the banks of the Ili River, which flows into China. Tamgaly Tas is approx 100km from former capital city Almaty, which is also the international gateway to the event. You can fly to Almaty from most capital cities in Asia. Air Astana is the national carrier that flies direct to e.g. Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul. Busses will bring registered participants from Almaty centre to the campsite on Saturday. Camping is a must, so people need to bring camping equipment, or rent it in advance. There will be a small-scale BBQ in the evening, but participants are recommended to bring some food and drinks along as well. As it suits an adventurous trip, there is no wifi and hardly any mobile signal in this remote area. In the past two editions there was abundant sunshine, so runners are advised to bring protective head gear and sunblock. 

The race takes runners through the steppe, or grassland, which makes it a very runnable trail race. However, there are a few technical and rocky sections through the canyon that can even become tricky if there were significant rainfall in the days preceeding the event. You might even get your feet wet. Most of all, the views you will enjoy are the kind you will unlikely forget soon. 

You can find all key details here on this website on the TUT cover page. 

Another highly anticipated event has opened the registration facilities for its next edition on 5 March 2017: the Cordillera Mountain Ultra! Considered by many as one of the absolute highlights of this year's Asia Trail Master series, CMU is a compact 50 km race in the Philippines featuring the ascent and descent of Mt Ugo via several alternative trails that are not often used. Importantly, the event is organised in support of local communities in the Cordillera mountain region north of regional centre Baguio. 

The event date has been moved forward from June to March, which used to be the time of the Cordillera Mountain Marathon, the predecessor of CMU. However, given the big success this year, organiser JP Alipio decided to otherwise stick with the same event formula and keep the 50 km distance as main race distance. We can again expect exciting true racing for the victory between some of the Philippines' and Asia's best runners. Local heroes Marcelino Sano Oy and Gretchen Felipe were the winners at CMU last June, and only a good month later both runners proved that that was not a coincidence as they took first (Gretchen) and second (Marcelino) in Malaysia's Magnificent Merapoh 60! 

Start and finish of the race is the small town Dalupirip in Benguet. Dominating the profile is of course Mount Ugo, which runners will climb to an altitude of 2150m above sea level. Afterwards, there is a long descent followed by a few kilometres of flat to return to Dalupirip. Total elevation gain is 2640 hm. A lot of the trails are in beautiful pine forest. The organisers like to see as many happy finishers as possible, so the 13 hour cut off time should be feasible for the big majority of participants. 

If you are a beginner or just a less ambitious runner, there is also a 21 k option available. If you wish to warm up the legs already on Saturday, you can go for the Vertical Kilometre, too.. Families are welcome: there is even a kid's race on the programme as well. 

You can now go to the Registration page of the Cordillera Conservation Trust website to sign up. While you are at it, please also take a look at the delicious local coffee for sale in the CCT online shop . For more info on the environmental tasks of the CCT, you can read more here. 

Teaser video Cordillera Mountain Ultra

The organisers of Korea 50K have opened the books for the 3rd edition of their event, scheduled for 23 April 2017. Given its host venue Dongducheon is right next to capital city Seoul, Korea 50K offers a great weekend getaway for the whole family. While the main race is a rather tough 59 kilometre rollercoaster that has a total elevation gain of 3500 hm, beginning runners can also opt for a short and quite flat 10 km run. 

Last year's female champion Fukada

The 59K race will take place throughout the Sunday and starts at 5 am with finish at 6.30 pm. The trail course has actually been made even a bit harder than this year's and now measures 3500 hm. That makes Korea 50K a relatively short race for good climbers. Last April, two international runners actually took the victory in the male and female categories. China's Xu Xiutao was a proud winner, in what for the young Beijinger was certainly a breakthrough moment. Yukari Fukuda from Japan was the fastest woman. 

As South Korean trail running has been developing quickly, we can expect the locals to be more than ready to score a win for the host country in 2017. 

You can now register for the Korea 50K via the local event website already. 

A concise overview of the key event details are available also here on our cover page. 

Altai Ultra Trail in deep Siberian Russia was one of the more remote and mysterious Asia Trail Master Candidate Races this year, and we are happy to announce that the event will be an official Asia Trail Master points race in 2017. Altai Ultra Trail is the first mountain trail ultramarathon in Siberia. Organised by the Mountain Trail Sports Club, the race takes place on the territory of the Belukha Nature Park and it is part of the World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai. The trail route does not cross any terrain touched by civilization. To get there requires a significant amount of travel time, but your efforts will be duly rewarded. The event has actually been moved forward to the first weekend of July. 

Altai Ultra Trail will consist of several different race categories and formats.  You can opt for a 160 km duo team race over 3 days or you can also run individually in races over 105 km, 55 km and 35 km.  The longer distances will lead uphill to the foot of Mt. Belukha (4509 m) - the highest point of Altai and all Siberia, the sacramental mountain for native Altai people. 

 The duo team race will be held on 29 June - 01 July:

• 1 day - 70km, 3500m elevation gain
• 2 day - 30km, 1800m elevation gain
• 3 day - 60km, 2000m elevation gain
• Total 160km, 7300m ascent

The overnight stops are obligatory and will occur in the tourist camp provided by the local organizers. Transport of equipment to this tourist camp (and backward) will be organized also.

The individual races will follow more or less the same trails as in this year's first edition.  For the Asia Trail Master championship point chasers, the 105 km individual race will be credited with maximum 400 performance points for the winner and act as the A-race, whereas the duo team race will have a maximum of 200 performance points and the 55 km 100 performance points for the fastest runners. Both the team race and the 105 k single race are also in the Grandmaster Quest. The 105 km race has a total elevation gain of 3700 hm. 

International runners should fly into Novosibirsk first. A major hub in Siberia, Novosibirsk may well be worth a day of sightseeing before embarking on a 12-hour drive to Tyungur village in the Ust-Koksinsky district in Altai. One shorter alternative is to transit to domestic airport Gorno Altaisk first, and then do a 7-8 hour drive. 

Registration for the event will open in January 2017. Stay tuned for further news, updates and prerequisites on the Altai Ultra Trail via this website cover page and our social media channels. 

Please check out the trailer below of the 2016 edition. 

The 2017 edition of the Echigo Country Trail in Oguni Forest Park, near Nagaoka in Niigata, Japan, takes place on the weekend of 17 and 18 June. This colourful race counts 53 kilometers and a substantial 2500 metres of elevation gain that are often quite steep as well. The entire event receives the kind support of the local communities in this countryside area of Japan that international runners otherwise seldom get to experience. The local online registration has already opened and there is also the possibility for international runners to register using PayPal. 

Registration via Japanese site (PayPal payment) 

You can check our Tale of the Trail on our cover page, and you can watch the below video to get an idea of what this colourful Japanese race is all about. There's a substantial part of road in the 53 km as well, but the experienced organiser Hiroaki Matsunaga has announced his intention to reduce the stretches of tarmac and use as much trail and offroad as possible to connect between villages. As such, the total race distance and course map may still be altered somewhat come next spring. 

The heavy rainfall in many parts of Asia, specifically northern Asia, over the past weeks is causing problems for plenty of trail running organisations. Unfortunately, we have been informed that UT X, short for Ultra Trail XinXian in Henan Province, China, is also affected. The event - scheduled in November - cannot take place for safety reasons. Please see below's statement from the local race director on behalf of the Organisation Committee of UT X. 

On behalf of the organizer of UTX, we are very apologetic to make today's  statement that due to severe geological developments of landslides and mud flows caused by  recent heavy rainfall in the Xinxian area, we are obliged to postpone our race, UTX,  from its originally scheduled date, 12/13 November 2016, to 4/5 April 2017. It is a very difficult decision for us to make, but we need to ensure the safety of the trail course and all the runners and working crew. We are sorry for the change of race date, and we will be responsible to take care of reimbursements of registration fees, or forward your race entry automatically to the new date 4/5 April 2017. 

We humbly apologise for the inconvenience caused by the change of date, and please note we have deepest appreciation for your support.
--- Race Director of UTX

Please note that UT X keeps its spot on the Asia Trail Master race calendar, and has thus been added on 4/5 April 2017. 

More info on the event via our cover page. 

The 2nd race on the 2017 Asia Trail Master calendar is the Rizal Mountain Run in the Philippines, and the registrations open this Monday, 17 October. RMR, as the abbreviated name goes, is a tough 50k, not too far from Manila, that moves up from Candidate Race this year to a genuine points race in the Asia Trail Master championship. 

Organised by the team of Ahon, the local brand known for its gaiters and trail socks, the race received great feedback from runners last February. The competition in itself was a thriller with Danish-born Kristian Joergensen and Koi Grey going head-to-head for victory. The women's race was won by the experienced international trail runner Cheryl Bihag. 

Rizal Mountain Run 50k will offer the standard points total of 500 for the race winners (100 finisher points, 400 performance points for the winners). Remember that in 2017, each runner's best five points results will count for the final classification at the end of the year, as opposed to the best three this year. 

Please see below more details on the Rizal Mountain Run, a video trailer as well as the link to the registration portal. 

ATM cover page on Rizal Mountain Run

http://www.asiatrailmaster.com/#/rizal/

Event website & registration

http://rizalmountainrun.com/

This year Kristian Joergensen defeated Koi Grey in a fantastic man-to-man dual

The 5th edition of the Tahura Trail in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, has opened registrations for the event on 21/22 January 2017. After the cancellation of The Dirt Track in Thailand, Tahura Trail is set to be the opening race of the 2017 Asia Trail Master series. 

The event features several race distances, but only the longest one of 42 km (marathon) counts to obtain Asia Trail Master championship points. 

This is one of the most popular events in the country, and early sign-up is recommended. In 2016 it received almost 2000 runners as an Asia Trail Master Candidate Race, and attracted strong athletes such as Abdullah Mittiche and Cassidy Jones who won the 42k race for men and women respectively.  Tahura Trail will be preceeded by a trail running expo on Saturday. For international runners, the event can easily be combined with a trip to Indonesia's capital Jakarta, as Bandung is just roughly one hour away. You can check all race and logistical details conveniently via our race cover page on this website, or go to the event website, where you can also register yourself. o

Event website with registration

While the second part of the 2016 Asia Trail Master season still has to commence next week in Vietnam, we have been looking further preparing next year's series over summer. In the past few weeks we have already been presenting a number of confirmed races on our calendar for next year, and now we would like to focus briefly on the 2017 Asia Trail Master points championship. The basic principles remain the same, but a few amendments will nevertheless be introduced as our series keeps developing.

The 2017 points system

The points allocation for the 2017 'championship' will differ slightly from the system used now in 2016. The most important change is that as of next year the best five points results of each runner will count for the final Asia Trail Master championship ranking at the end of the year, and no longer just the best three. A second significant amendment to our points regulation follows popular demand from runners: certain B and C races of a big event with a high degree of difficulty, for example a 100 km race when there is also a 100 miles race, or the Rinjani 60k with a huge elevation gain in itself, will be better rewarded with performance points. This means that the winners of the 100 miles and 100 km races of one and the same event (e.g. Malaysia Eco 100) will both score 400 performance points. However, every finisher of a 100 miles will get an additional 25 bonus points to still have a distinction between the two distances. Finally, and this also as a result of popular demand, in 2017 it will no longer be required for a race to have 42 km in length when the elevation gain exceeds 2000 metres, By opening this door, the Asia Trail Master series will become even more diverse and offer opportunities for all types of trail runners to do well. 

From the beginning, the Asia Trail Master points system has been designed to be easily understood on purpose. No algorithms or complicated mathematical formulas, runners should at all times be able to calculate what their approximate points reward will be while they are still racing. We invite you to read the nitty gritty and check the points distribution tables in the dedicated web section, but in a nutshell just remember that everybody scores two types of points:    

• Finisher points: each runner who finishes a race scores finisher points 
• Performance points: based on a runner's official result in a race 

Also next year a select number of events will receive the SuperTrail label. SuperTrails offer 50 bonus points for finishers on the two longest race distances of the event, which implies they are important for fast and ambitious runners who aim for the championship or a high final ranking in general. The first SuperTrail in 2017 will be Unseen Koh Chang in Thailand on 17/18 February. Then there is still the Abroad Bonus: runners who score points in 3 Asia Trail Master races get a 50-point bonus if 1 of the 3 races took place outside the runner’s country of residence at the time of the race. Our series is not just about competition, it is also about mixing and socialising with each other across country borders. 

A final remark on joint finishers. Sometimes you see people arriving at the finish of a race together. While we absolutely have nothing against this form of camaraderie, it could lead to confusion, and complaints, as to who deserves how many performance points. The joint finish can also be tactical gameplay, namely. In the case of a complaint, we reserve the right to consider the race positions of the concerned runners at the last checkpoint before the finish to determine the number of performance points each gets. 

The Asia Trail Master ranking will be updated immediately after each race, and published on the ATMs website via http://m.racetimingsolutions.com/rankings , followed by a press release. The points are allocated according to the official race results as provided to us by the local race organiser. 

This is not all. A number of new initiatives for 2017 are in the pipeline and will be announced in due course! 

The Asia Trail Master series will bring you to picture perfect places also in 2017!

Japan's Echigo Country Trail in Oguni Forest Park near Nagaoka last June was one of the most eye catching races of the year so far for plenty of runners. The 52km race received full support from the local community, which resulted in a pleasant festive atmosphere all weekend. Participants from outside Japan also got a close look into the local culture and lifestyle of the people...and of course of the beautiful green and hilly landscape. The Echigo Country Trail contains quite a bit of road to connect between villages, but make no mistake as the 2000 metres of elevation gain make themselves felt for every runner. The single trails in the forests and hills are often very steep and even require ropes at times. This is a tough race. And it will be back as an Asia Trail Master points race next spring on 17/18 June! 

The event takes places in the countryside of the Chubu region, but is well-connected via Shinkansen from Tokyo. However, from several places in Asia you can also fly directly to Niigata if you wish to skip Tokyo all together. It is possible to turn Echigo into a weekend trip. 

Please check the race report of the 2016 Echigo Country Trail event. 

The Echigo Country Trail will not be the only Japanese points race next spring, however. Another popular local event is joining our calendar on 28 May 2017: the Kushigata Wind Trail! Organised by the same crew as the Echigo, the Kushigata Wind Trail has Tainai City, also in Niigata, as event host and offers a relatively shot but very crispy trail race. It essentially takes runners on a mountain range and ridge with splendid views of the snowcapped Iide Mountains. More than 2000 metres of elevation gain need to be conquered on a total distance of approx 35 to 42 kilometer. Hiroaki Matsunaga, race director, is currently still exploring options and will confirm the full 2017 course in the next weeks. Also the Kushigata Wind Trail event will be much more than just the race. An opening ceremony with welcome party, as well as an onsen (hot spring) visit to a top location are all part of the experience for runners. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available, but enter the weekend in your running diaries already! 

Preliminary 2017 Asia Trail Master calendar

* more races will be added in due course

22/01/17 - Indonesia - Tahura Trail
29/01/17 - Philippines - Rizal Mountain Run
17-18/02/17 - Thailand - UT Unseen Koh Chang - SUPERTRAIL
25-26/02/17 - Brunei - Beach Bunch Trail Challenge
04-05/03/17 - Philippines - Cordillera Mountain Ultra
23/04/17 - South Korea - Korea 50k
24/04/17 - Nepal - Ultra-Trail Nepal - Run for Recovery
07/05/17 - Kazakhstan - Tengri Ultra Trail
13-14/05/17 - Malaysia - Eco 100 - SUPERTRAIL
20-21/05/17 - Indonesia - Ijen Trailrunning
28/05/17 - Japan - Kushigata Wind Trail
18/06/17 - Japan - Echigo Country Trail

Race director Hiroaki Matsunaga (in red) is the driving force of trail running in Niigata

Next in our 2017 Race Preview is Ijen Trailrunning, an event that deservedly got rave reviews for its second edition last May. The 70k race to the Blue Fire of Ijen volcano in East Java witnessed a grand sprint for victory between Arief Wismoyono and Yohanis Hiareij - almost unheard of in the trail world after a 70k race -, as well as a majestic run by Singapore-based Norwegian Ann-Mari Lillejord in the women's. But what made people like the event even more was the quality of the technical organisation and the well-balanced trail course with appropriate cut off time. The climb to the Ijen crater is the highlight, but there are plenty of runnable sections in this race. 

Egon Trails, the outdoor company based in Surabaya and main organiser of Ijen Trailrunning, has announced that in 2017 a new 100k will be introduced to the event alongside the existing races over 70km, 42km, and 21km. Other than Ijen, the new longest distance will also feature another climb. Race venue is set to remain Bondowoso, with Surabaya as main international gateway on Java, but Bali as an attractive alternative. As with many trail races in breathtaking venues, getting there and away does require some time but at least you have 9 months left to plan. 

Asia Trail Master championship points will be scored on the 100, 70 and 42k distances, and the 100 and 70 also qualify for the Grandmaster Quest. 

Stay tuned in the next weeks as more technical details of the 100k become available. 

Please check the race report of the 2016 event. 

Preliminary 2017 Asia Trail Master calendar

* more races will be added in due course

22/01/17 - Indonesia - Tahura Trail
29/01/17 - Philippines - Rizal Mountain Run
17-18/02/17 - Thailand - UT Unseen Koh Chang - SUPERTRAIL
25-26/02/17 - Brunei - Beach Bunch Trail Challenge
04-05/03/17 - Philippines - Cordillera Mountain Ultra
23/04/17 - South Korea - Korea 50k
24/04/17 - Nepal - Ultra-Trail Nepal - Run for Recovery
07/05/17 - Kazakhstan - Tengri Ultra Trail
13-14/05/17 - Malaysia - Eco 100 - SUPERTRAIL
20-21/05/17 - Indonesia - Ijen Trailrunning
 

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