The Indonesia SuperTrail, Mesastila Peaks Challenge, as expected shook up the ranking for the Asia Trail Master Championship. Both male and female standings saw a new leader at the end of the tough volcano race. They are familiar faces as well: Arief Wismoyono was the 2015 Asia Trail Master Champion, and Tahira Najmunisaa is of course the defending 2016 women's champion. Both athletes are not done yet for the season, and certainly look strong contenders for this year's title. 

The full ranking can be consulted via Race Timing Solutions in Hong Kong: http://m.racetimingsolutions.com/rankings/2017

MALE ATM RANKING
As of 10 October (provisional)

1.  Arief Wismoyono (INA) 2400 (5) 
2.  Isaac Wan Ho Yuen   (HKG)  2210 (5). 
3.  Soonseng Ong (MAS)  2125(4) 
4.  Yim Heng Fatt (MAS) 2040 (5+)
5.   Pablo  Diago Gonzalez (ESP) 1935 (5)   
6    Cao Ngoc Ha (VIE)   1900    (4)
7    Hendra    Siswanto (INA)    1870    (5)
8    Manolito Lupig  Divina (INA) 1500   (3)
9    Gaspard    Dessy  (BEL)   1300    (3)
10   Aleksis    Capili  (THA)  1205  (3)
11    Yohanis    Hiariej  (INA)  1180    
12   Norman    Koh (SIN)   1090    
13  Aris Sopiandi    Muklis  (INA)  1020    
14  Sefli    Ahar (BRU)   1000    
15  Tran    Duy Quang  (VIE)  950  
16    Jun    Kaise  (JPN)  925    
17    Affindi Bin Nudin (MAS)   915    
18    Wilnar    Iglesia   (PHI) 890    
19    Arnold    Lozano  (PHI)  875    
19     Rexel    Aguirre  (PHI)  875    
21     Kris    Van De Velde (BEL)   867    
22     Ari    Masrudi (INA)   820    
22     Duc Quang    Nguyen  (VIE)  820    
24     Joseph    Sibal   (PHI) 797    
25     Jan    Nilsen (NOR)   795

ATM Women:
 
1       Tahira    Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid  (MAS)  2600    
2       Kim    Matthews   (AUS)  2585    
3       Ruth    Theresia  (INA)  2575    
4       Shindy    Patricia  (INA)  2250  
5.      Lily Suryani (INA) 2225  
6       Cheryl    Bihag  (PHI)  1820    
7       Adelinah    Lintanga (MAS)    1800    
8       Mila    Marlina   (INA) 1500    
9       Siawhua    Lim (MAS)   1325    
10       Le Phuong    Vy   (VIE) 1145    
11       Ina    Budiyarni  (INA)  1125    
12       Kwan Yee Jocelyn    Cheung  (HKG)  1030    
13       Sandi Menchi    Catlona Abahan    1000    
13       Yelena    Mitrofanova  (RUS) 50K1000    
15       Christine    Loh Woon Chze   (MAS) 995    
16       Jassica    Lintangga  (MAS)  900    
17       Thi Duong    Nguyen (PHI)   925    
18       Manilyn Napone    Mamugay   (PHI) 900  
19       Bo Young    Jan  (KOR)  100    
20       Eni    Rosita (INA)    790    
20       Patricia Ann    Morota  (PHI)     
22       Irah    Hernandez (PHI)   770    
23       Thi Tieu Phuong    Nguyen (VIE)  740    
24       Islami Fitri    Zahra (INA)   730    
25       Moana    O'Sullivan (NZL)    725

David Giannelli doing a Bolt - a fantastic winner of this year's Mesastila 5 Peaks

Italy's David Gianelli was the surprise winner of last weekend's Mesastila 5 Peaks Challenge in the beautiful Mesastila Resort & Spa in Central Java, Indonesia. Giannelli, who hails from northwestern Lombardy but recently moved to Australia, was part of a leading trio consisting also of Jason Robinson and local hero Arief Wismoyono, which decided the pace of the race from the get-go. Other favourites such as Fandhi Achmad, Wilnar Iglesia and Isaac Yuen Wan Ho missed the early breakaway and never got into contention for the victory. Achmad struggled with his poles, and Yuen Wan Ho with a knee injury sustained halfway in a fall. On th way up to Merbabu Giannelli managed to go solo with Wismoyono and Robinson still close behind him. After a short dip in pace during the Merapi descent, Gianelli steadily increased his advantage again on the second Merbabu climb and the remaining Telemoyo ascent to win in 18:12! Indonesia's own Arief Wismoyono arrived a superb second in 20:05. The 2015 ATM Champion, who won this race two years ago, managed to drop Jason Robinson in a descent. He is back at his best level and regains the top spot in the ATM Championship ranking with 2400 points in five races. Robinson struggled with stomach cramps in the final stages to complete the course in 21:33:43. In fourth was Fandhi Achmad in 22:31:49. Muhammad Fauzi had a strong second half and came home fifth (23:09:22). The same applies for Aris Sopiandi Muklis, who was number six in 23:53:34, overtaking Philippines ' Wilnar Iglesia in the last section (24: 54:09). Malaysia 's Yim Heng Fatt edged out Isaac Yuen Wan Ho for 9th place. The Hong Kong runner got an injured knee that prevented him from running in the last 30k. Isaac moves up to third place in the ATM Championship, still behind Steven Ong, but ahead of Yim Heng Fatt.  

Arief Wismoyono took the bull by the horns and with success: 2nd and new leader in the ATM Championship!

As last season, Malaysia's Tahira Najmunisaa won the women's race in 25:01:15. She dominated from start to finish, but got sick and suffered from fever in the final hours. Tahira is back on top of the ATM Championship ranking and remains undefeated in 10 ATM points races! Ruth Theresia and Shindy Patricia completed the podium, but well behind the Malaysian. Theresia deserves great credit as she actually tried to keep up with her ATM championship rival, but had to let go and as she was 'rebooting' , Shindy Patricia caught up and the Compressport duo stayed together for the rest of the race. Jocelyn Cheung from Hong Kong is a fantastic fourth place today. Lily Suryani came in fifth. One place behind Suryani, who finished her seventh race of the season! - was the astonishing Eni Rosita. One year after being victim of a crazy acid attack, Eni returned to Mesastila to finish the race she could not finish last year.  Respect. 

Tahira: still undefeated in the ATM series and again on top of the ranking!

Shindy and Ruth came home together for second, but well behind Tahira

On the 65k, Pablo Diago Gonzales eventually had the better of young Malaysia talent Mohammad Affindi in 11:16. After a tight battle between the two runners, the Spaniard went solo on the last climb of the race and still scored a gap of 31 minutes. It is Pablo's third ATM race victory of the season and he does a great job for the ATM Championship ranking! Indonesia 's Yurika Chen - also in just his third trail race ever - completes the men's podium in third place. Vincent Chalias is a great fourth place today. Dzaki Wardana did not make it to the finish, missing out in a lot of ATM Championship points. 

Kim Matthews was the fastest 65k woman in just over 14 hours. Two weeks after winning the Vietnam Mountain Marathon, Matthews is the closest competitor to new championship leader Tahira Najmunisaa! It's very close between the top 3 women now: 1. Tahira 2600 (5), 2. Kim Matthews 2585 (5), 3. Ruth 2575 (5)

Pablo Diago Gonzales watches the finish of Malaysia's Mohamad Affindi after both competed hard for the victory on the 65K 4 Peaks race. 

A new face in the Indonesian ultra trail scene: Yurika Chen

We have just received the information from the local organisers of the Vietnam Jungle Marathon that the event has been moved forward from end of May to 14/15 April 2018. Registrations have also been opened this week, so you can start planning this beautiful 70K race in northern Vietnam. The event venue remains the Po Luong Nature Reserve, roughly 140 km southwest of Hanoi. The course is expected to remain largely the same as in 2017, with 3100 hm. This year, victory went to local hero Cao Ngoc Ha, ahead of Quang Tran. 

You can find more details of the race via our cover page, from where you can also link to the official event website and sign up. 

15/10 - Vietnam Jungle Marathon (VIE)

The registration for the penultimate SuperTrail of the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship is ending soon. Everyone who wishes to do the Clark-Miyamit Falls Ultra 50 miles in Clark, Philippines, on 26 November should submit his details online by 15 October.  

The event is a classic on the Philipines' race calendar and over the years has seen only the best of winners. Last year it was the scene of a great battle between Manolito Divina and Jan Nilsen for the men's Asia Trail Master Championship. This year promises no less. 

Registration is possible via this website link. 

More info on CM 50 Ultra via:

The Indonesia SuperTrail in the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship series brings a fantastic cast to the Mesastila resort in Magelang, Central Java, this weekend. Not only the top of the Indonesian trail scene signs present, but also plenty of regional trail stars keen on battling it out for the championship, and the prestigious honour of winning or scoring a podium in this by all means very tough race. Not just the main 100K, in fact, but also the 65K B-race will be hotly contested by well-known runners. 

Let's commence, of course, with the 100K that starts in the early hours of Saturday morning. Last year's champion and King of Indonesia (for winning Rinjani 100, MesaStila 5 Peaks and BTS Ultra 100 miles) Jan Nilsen will be back to defend his title after a season plagued by injury. Nilsen looked competitive at the end of July in the Mantra Summits Challenge, wherein he was overtaken by Fandhi Achmad only in the last flat section to the finish. But just how well his foot has healed remains a question, and the same Fandhi Achmad could again be his main foe this weekend.... only over double the distance as at Mantra. The Jakartian runner is making a move now on the Asia Trail Master Championship tour after winning two Candidate Races in six weeks. Three weeks ago, Fandhi Achmad also claimed the technical Bandung Ultra 100 win and races like Mesastila and BTS Ultra are definitely his cup of tea. While he is unlikely to still feature for the overall ATM Championship title this season, Fandhi Achmand can take points away from the others, such as his compatriot Arief Wismoyono. The 2015 Asia Trail Master champion - and winner of Mesastila Peaks Challenge that year - is currently in third place in the ATM standings and will be competing with Hong Kong's Isaac Yuen Wan Ho for the points lead in the absence of Steven Soonseng Ong. The Malaysian returns to action in Thailand soon at UT Chiang Rai, and may see both Wismoyono and Yuen Wan Ho overtake him as they finish their fifth points race of the year.  It will be interesting to see how they fare this weekend. Can Wismoyono at last grab another big win against top opposition, and can Yuen Wan Ho finally get rid of his label as "the nearly man". The sympathetic Hong Konger has a subscription on podium places in the ATM tour but so far he has only scored one victory: HK 168 last season. Fr sure, Yuen Wan Ho will recognise another runner at the start line this weekend, because he finished second behind him in the Magnificent Merapoh Trail race last year. Jason Robinson is another top international runner to watch out for. While Mesastila has about six times the elevation gain of Merapoh, Robinson is no rookie in trail running and might as well benefit from the fact he is relatively unknown on the ATM circuit. The same applies for a Filipino runner, who is coming over from Manila to show something: WIlnar Iglesia. According to insiders, Iglesia is no underdog to Manolito Divina when it gets rough and tough. Moreover, at Penang Eco 100K this year, he proved he can run a fast pace, too. Iglesia finished second behind Ong last May. Iglesia and Robinson are the main dark horses for the race win this weekend. Other contenders for the podium in this kind of mountain ultra are as always Yim Heng Fatt, still second in the ATM Championship with already five race results in his pocket this season, in-form Hendra Siswanto, Muhammad Fauzi - third last year - , Pramonosidi Wijanarko, Alan Maulana, Aris Sopiando Muklis and Abdul Aziz. 

A year ago Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid crowned herself as the Asia Trail Master champion here at Mesastila with a superb win in extreme conditions. This weekend that will certainly not yet happen, although the Malaysian can haul herself back to the top spot of the ranking in her fifth points race of the season. Interestingly enough, her main rivals to date are ALL present at Mesastila as well. Championship leader Lily Suryani will take part in her seventh points race of the season and will be looking to improve on her 4th place of Tahura Trail and Merapoh Trail. Second-placed Ruth Theresia started her remarkable performance progress at this event last year, and by all means she should be able to stay closer to Tahira on this occasion. Could an upset be in the making? In an ultra everything is possible. Ruth looked tremendous in February, but in races over summer some fatigue seemed to have slipped in. The Bandung Explorer has taken it easier since last month, and she may benefit from that now. Another important female runner to watch is Australia's Kim Matthews. The winner of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon two weeks ago will be doing the 65K this weekend to preserve energy for the final big races this year. If she wins that, it could prove to be a smart move because also in the female 100K there is a 'guest runner' who in the very least can challenge for the podium. Sydney-based Indonesian Valin Helam may be a few years older than her contenders, but she has the wherewithal to deliver a lesson to the youngsters on a good day. The same applies, albeit to a slightly lesser extent perhaps, to Shindy Patricia. The Malang runner is always a podium candidate and can do a good job for her own ATM ranking this weekend. 

Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid

Ruth Theresia

The 65K for men carries a lot of weight as well. The three top favourites are all serious ATM protagonists as well: Pablo Diago Gonzales is a double 70K race winner this year, and Yogyakarta's Dzaki Wardana won the 100K Ijen Trail last May. Moreover, Wardana was second behind Jan Nilsen on the 100K at Mesastila last season. Both of them will need to watch out for up-and-comer Mohammad Affindi from Malaysia, a teammate of Tahira at Malatra. Affindi delivered quite a statement last August to compete with Sefli Ahar at the Merapoh 100 in only his first 100K trail ultra! Again, Merapoh and Mesastila are two different animals, but Affindi himself claims he is even stronger at higher elevation trails! 

As usual you can follow the action live on facebook and instagram this weekend. 

It is always exciting to announce the opening of registration for the first event of the new season. Tahura Trail will once again launch the Asia Trail Master Championship in 2018 on 20 January. Close to two thousand runnes will be expected in the Forest Park in Bandung, Indonesia, of whom the majority will engage in the 42k trail marathon - the points race for the ATM Championship. As of this week, you can commit yourself to the first challenge of 2018 since the organisers of Indonesia Biking Adventure have opened the books. 

The 42k race has a good mixture of everything trail running is about. Nevertheless participants need to take potential rain showers and muddy trails into account when they venture to West Java at that time of year. A drop of rain won't stop the party at Tahura, though, and it is one of the relatively few events that makes for a splendid weekend outing for the whole family. The outskirts of Bandung are picturesque enough and the area is full of spas and other types of comfortable accommodation facilities. 

For more details of the race, visit our cover page or go straight to the event website, where you can also register. 

Female podium of this year's 42K race with ATM Champion Tahira on the top step

After Hakuba International Trails in Nagano three weeks ago, the Shinjo-Hiruzen Super Trail in Okayama was the second 2018 Japanese Asia Trail Master Candidate Race in less than a month. A very exciting development, and we are looking forward to opening more doors to Japanese events, because after all, if there is one Asian country that can be associated with running it is the Land of the Rising Sun. 

The Shinjo-Hiruzen is essentially a 74 km race across the Shiruzen Highlands. Total elevation gain is 3200 Hm, which is not nothing yet seemingly unspectacular neither. As usual, numbers never tell the whole story, as several climbs on the course of Shinjo-Hiruzen are so steep ropes are a must, and one cannot imagine what it would be like if it were wet and muddy on race day. The 350 participants on the long course (about 300 took part in a short race as well) certainly felt their legs and feet afterwards. 

The first part of the course is arguably the most scenic, with beautiful horizon views along the hilly trail. Last Sunday, runners even discovered themselves to be above the clouds. The highest peak was 1200m+ above sea level, after all. The second part, especially beyond km 45 is pure forest trail that goes continuously up an down. 

The event was very well-organised and also benefited from the strong local community support, which was illustrated by the nice pre-race welcoming dinner party on Saturday late afternoon. The Shinjo-Hiruzen area proclaims itself to be the most beautiful village are of Japan, and in fact it is indeed a very popular tourist area, particularly in autumn when the forest turns magnificent orange and yellow. For the culinary enthusiasts among the trail runners, Okayama Prefecture is not far away from Kobe, and the beef tastes just as exquisite!  

The 2018 Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Dalupirip is scheduled for the weekend of 3/4 March. The traditional 50K course features the ascent and descent of Mt Ugo and has been described as one of the most beautiful courses on the ATM tour.  

Registration opens on 1 November 2017. 

Lily Suryani has already finished 6 ATM races this season, plus 1 Candidate Race

With the Vietnam Mountain Marathon last week the 2017 ATM Championship got back on track after the summer break and caused quite a bit of movement in the top of both male and female rankings. While Steven Ong and Lily Suryani continue to lead, they feel several others breathing down their necks now. The upcoming MesaStila Peaks Challenge could result in a new situation as others also reach the plateau of five race results - which Suryani already did a while ago. 

MEN’S TOP 25

* Abroad Bonuses included

* In brackets is number of race results in 2017

1. Steven Soonseng Ong (MAS) 2125 (4)

2. Yim Heng Fatt (MAS) 2000 (5)

3. Arief Wismoyono (INA) 1900 (4) &

    Cao Ngoc Ha (VIE) 1900 (4)

5. Isaac Yuen Wan Ho (HKG) 1850 (4)

6. Manolito Divina (PHI) 1500 (3)

7. Hendra Siswanto (INA) 1490 (4)

8. Pablo Diago Gonzales (ESP) 1420 (3)

9. Gaspard Dessy (BEL) 1300 (3)

10.Aleksis Capili (PHI) 1205 (3)

11. Yohanis Hiareij (INA) 1190 (3)

12. Norman Koh (SIN) 1090 (3)

13. Sefli Ahar (BRU) 1000 (2)

14. Quang Tran (VIE) 950 (2)

15. Jun Kaise (JPN) 925 (2)

16. Rexell Aguirre (PHI) 875 (2)

     Arnold Lozano (PHI) 875 (2)

18. Kris Van de Velde (BEL) 867 (4)

19. Ari Masrudi (INA) 820 (2)

      Quang Duc Nguyen (VIE) 820 (2)

21. Joseph Sibal (PHI) 797 (3)

22. Jan Nilsen (NOR) 795 (2)

23. Jared Teves (PHI) 775 (2)

      Liew Tho Fatt (MAS) 775 (2)

25. Rudy Irwan Shukaime (MAS) 766 (3)

WOMEN’S TOP 25

1. Lily Suryani (INA) 2200 (5+)

2. Ruth Theresia (INA) 2075 (4)

3. Kim Matthews (AUS) 2070 (4)

4. Tahira Najmunisaa(MAS) 2050 (4)

5. Cheryl Bihag (PHI) 1820 (5+)

6. Adelinah Lintanga (MAS) 1800 (4)

7. Shindy Patricia (INA) 1750 (4)

8. Siawhua Lim (MAS) 1325 (3)

9. Vy Le Phuong (VIE) 1145 (3)

10.Ina Budiyarni (INA) 1125 (3)

11. Mila Marlina (INA) 1110 (3)

12. Sandi Menchi Abahan (PHI) 1000 (2)

     Yelena Mitrofanova (RUS) 1000 (2)

14. Christine Loh Woon Chze (MAS) 995 (2)

15. Jassica Lintanga (MAS) 900 (2)

16. Thi Duong Nguyen (VIE) 875 (2)

17. Manilyn Mamugay (PHI) 850 (2)

18. Bo Young Jan (KOR) 825 (2)

19. Patricia Ann Morota (PHI) 790 (2)

20. Irah Hernandez (PHI) 770 (2)

21. Thi Tieu Phuong Nguyen (PHI) 740 (2)

22. Moana O’Sullivan (NZL) 725 (2)

      Siokhar Lim (MAS) 725 (2)

24. Wai Teng Lew (SIN) 675 (2)

25. Tan Hongping (MAS) 660 (2)

The complete ranking can be consulted via Race Timing Solutions on:

http://m.racetimingsolutions.com/rankings/2017

Any comments or missing points, please contact info@asiatrailmaster.com 

The Vietnam Mountain Marathon in Sapa saw quite an upset on the main 100K race as local runner Quang Tran had the better of current Asia Trail Master champion Manolito Divina. In the women's, Kim Matthews delivered on her role as favourite to take her third ATM race victory of the season. 

After finishing second in the Vietnam Jungle Marathon last May, Quang Tran had only one focus in the last months and that was to prepare himself for the Sapa race. While everyone was  pointing to Cao Ngoc Ha as Vietnam's best bet to compete against the pinoy tandem of Divina and Arnold Lozano, Quang Tran was at the front early on. Manolito Divina was able to resist for a long time, but eventually had to admit the Vietnamese runner was simply too fast last weekend. In the end, the gap at the finish had even built up to 1 hour and 15 minutes, which is impressive. Finish time: 13 hours and 17 minutes. Cao Ngoc Ha completed the podium in third place another full hour back. It illustrates the dominance displayed by Quang Tran. SIngapore's Chua Ying Zhi came very close to the podium in fourth place only a few minutes behind Cao Ngoc Ha. Arnold Lozano - winner of this year's Cordillera Mountain Ultra - came home in fifth place. 

While Quang Tran collects 500 ATM championship points and now totals 950 in two races, Manolito Divina moves up into the ranking's top 10 with this third points score of the season. Cao Ngoc Ha improves to 4th place, equalling the total score of Isaac Yuen Wan Ho, who will be in action next at the Mesastila Peaks Challenge. Steven Ong still heads the championship ranking.

Kim Matthews was not really under pressure last weekend and ran a solid 17 hours 52 to claim the victory. The Australian, who recently moved to Ho Chi Minh City,  is becoming a real challenger now for the Asia Trail Master women's title. Her VMM victory propels her to second place in the ranking with four races, just five points behind Ruth Theresia but also 20 ahead of Tahira Najmunisaa! Lily Suryani continues to lead the championship ranking with five results in the bank. In fact, after completing the tough Bandung Ultra 100 last week, the Indonesian finished sixth on the 100K of VMM as well! However, her points total does not increase further as VMM was her sixth race and only the best five results count. Lily needs to do better than 4th place in a regular trail race, as that was her placing in both Tahura Trail and Merapoh Trail. 

On the podium beside Matthews was Hoa Banh, running with Australian nationality as well, and Nguyen Thi Duong from Vietnam, who will move up to the top 20 of the championship ranking with her third result of the season. 

There was also a 70K in Sapa, and that race was won by Britain's Graham Knight ahead of Hanoi's Quang Nguyen after a good battle. In the women's France's Nadia Koucha took a strong victory ahead of Malaysia's Penang Eco 100 winner Christine Loh. 

Kim Matthews

The Vietnam Mountain Marathon launches the final part of the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship series this weekend. In style, because not only has VMM grown to be one of Asia’s finest trail races over the years, it also has attracted a quality field of Asian runners including our defending champion Manolito Divina. The Philippines’ running star still has some work to do in the final quarter of the year to defend his title. After an unfortunate DNF in Tahura Trail in January, Divina won the Rizal Mountain Run and the Sungai Menyala Forest Trail, but while others already have four or five results he is still down to two. Manolito has remained in good shape, though, as he proved in the Candidate Race in Bali two months ago. Manolito dominated the race and never even had to push to claim victory. This weekend in Vietnam, however, he will face some stiff competition on a hilly and often technical course that may match less with his characteristics as a trail runner. Manolito Divina, ironically enough, may have to fear another pinoy runner most in Vietnam: Arnold Lozano. The man from the Cordillera is known as a mountainbiker mainly outside Philippines, but then he won Cordillera Mountain Ultra last March, ahead of Marcelino Sano-Oy, Al Telias and Jan Nilsen! Lozano has his own ambition for the ATM Championship, so we could get a very interesting dual on the mountains around Sapa this weekend. 

The local stars of course also want a say in the battle. Cao Ngoc Ha in first place. The tall Vietnamese runner has been doing great in the ATM Championship this year and is determined to finish the year on a high note as well. Currently ranked in 6th place with three race finishes, Cao Ngoc Ha has home advantage this weekend and will be cheered on by the ever-growing Vietnamese trail community. Trail running is coming of age in Vietnam, indeed, and Cao Ngoc Ha is one of the pioneers. With also BTS Ultra on his agenda, it looks like he will definitely claim a top 10, if not top 5 or even higher position in the final championship ranking. 

In the women’s 100K, ATM Championship leader Lily Suryani will be at the start to defend her position. The Bali-based Indonesian  is unstoppable and very consistent this year. Only last weekend she finished the Bandung Ultra 100, a very technical and tough ATM Candidate Race. Lily has five results in the bag already, and her aim is of course to improve on her “fifth result”. This weekend, she will for sure leave Vietnam still as the Championship leader, but Australia’s Kim Matthews is set to move up. Matthews, in fact, is the women’s race favourite. She won UTKC 70 and Tam Dao Mountain Trail, and also scored second in the Penang Eco 100k earlier this year and is one of the top favourites for the ATM Championship at the end of the season. In Sapa, Matthews will be competing with Suryani, but also with Montha Suntornwit and local stars Tu Nguyen, Nguyen Thi Duong and Vy Le Phuong. Moana O’ Sullivan from New Zealand is the dark horse for the women’s race this weekend. 

As always in trail running, there may be guest runners claiming the spotlight as well. In Sapa we can expect some solid runners from South Korea, Thailand and France. 

We are happy to announce a second 2018 Asia Trail Master Candidate Race in Japan. The Shinjo-Hiruzen Super Trail (no link with our SuperTrails) is an exciting introduction to Okoyama Prefecture, which is situated between Hiroshima and Kyoto/Osaka. The event features a 73 km long main race on Sunday, 1 October and has an elevation gain of 3200 hm. An experienced trail running committee is behind the organisation, which expects more than 500 participants this year. The race starts in the early morning at 5 a.m. and has a cut-off at. 8 p.m. in the evening. In other words, you are required to cover the 73 km within 15 hours.

You can expect magnificent mountain vistas and you will run through cedar and cherry trees for an excellent trail experience with sufficient runable sections as well. 

Please stay tuned to our website and social media channels in the next weeks to find out a lot more about this Candidate Race.