A Hong Kong trail superstar came to Indonesia and conquered the Tahura Trail Marathon in Bandung, the opening race of the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series. Jeff Campbell was the hot favourite before the start, and he delivered on his credentials in exquisite style, completing the muddy course in 4 hours and 5 minutes ahead of the strongest field ever in this great race. In the women’s race, 2017 Asia Trail Master champion Kim Matthews started her season’s campaign with a comfortable victory as well. Although the event weekend was significantly drier than last year, many parts of the course proved too be extremely treacherous and slippery for the over 420 runners on the longest 42k marathon distance of the event. 

The 35-year-old Campbell is a specialist of the medium distance trail and renowned for his velocity. While he admitted that Tahura Trail was muddier and therefore tricky and technical more than he has been used to in Hong Kong, Campbell felt in command of the race. It wasn’t a start-to-finish solo run, though. Until past the halfway mark, he was still accompanied by Italy’s Alessandro Sherpa and the surprisingly strong Margono Ono, a local speed walker who finished fifth in this race last year. In fact, Margono received praise from both westerners for his sheer speed in the first half of the marathon. While he had no response to the acceleration of Campbell and Sherpa after 20 km, the Indonesian did maintain a high pace and caught Sherpa still at the end to snatch second place away from him. A bit further back was local Bandung hero Arief Wismoyono, who equaled his fourth place from last year. Perhaps more at ease on the ultra distances, Wismoyono nevertheless looked good in this short and rather fast race and stayed ahead of Ari Masrudi, who still beat him at Tahura last season. The 2017 runner-up in the championship will be a top favourite for UTKC in Thailand next month, along with Sherpa - who will also be competing in the first SuperTrail of the year. The solid performances of Margono and Wismoyono were further accentuated by the fact that Gaspard Dessy - third in 2017 - “only” came in ninth yesterday, and the Tahura king of 2016 and 2017 - Abdoullah Mitiche - barely made the top 15 this time around! Triathlete Mitiche was in shape and focused to go for the hattrick, but a direction error early on put him in a chasing group where he never really got out of. Also Fandhi Achmad - winner of Bandung Ultra 100 last September - and Asia Trail Master champion Steven Ong were the whole day condemned to the chase. In the case of Ong that was not entirely unexpected, as the 41-year-old Malaysian is at his best on the ultra distances. The champion started his 2018 ATM season with a 12th place. 

Jeff Campbell is supported by a.o. Gone Running - also a sponsor of the 2018 ATM Championship - and will likely be seen more often on the tour this year. Born in Canada, he only discovered his running talent about four years ago and since then he has made a remarkable rise to the very top of the Hong Kong trail community. While 50K is his standard race distance, Campbell pointed out after the race that eventually he will try and move up to longer distances as well. 

Margono Ono: a speed walker about to turn trail runner

The men's top 3 captured 1 km before the finish line: Campbell, Margono and Sherpa (P: Adventure III)

Kim Matthews took a relatively easy start before overtaking Ninie Hausschildt and then pulling away from the Indonesian, who has a subscription on second place at Tahura. Ninie Hausschildt, also more a triathlete than a trail runner, finished runner-up for the third consecutive year! In third place was Sri Wahyuni, who has become a regular podium visitor in Indonesian trail races lately. 

Matthews looks increasingly confident and strong in Asian trail races, which is bad news for her challengers to the throne. Last season, the Australian speech therapist suffered more than once from heat exhaustion, but seems to have overcome this problem since moving to Ho Chi Minh City. 

Bandung’s own Ruth Theresia opted to run the 21K half marathon at Tahura Trail. Theresia is in full training programme for the SuperTrails in Thailand and Philippines in February and March with the 2018 ATM championship title as top goal. It was nice to see that Matthews and Theresia ran side by side during the 10K race at Tahura the day after as well. There is competition, but trail running is mostly about fun and friendship!

Steven Ong and Kim Matthews were celebrated as the 2017 ATM Champions

Tahura Trail offers great scenery (P: AIII)

Everybody excited for the new season!

The 4th Asia Trail Master Championship begins at 6:45 am on Saturday with the 42k long Tahura Trail in Bandung, main city of West Java in Indonesia. It’s the 6th edition of the most popular race in the country based on participan numbers, and as last season, the two defending Asia Trail Master champions Steven Ong and Kim Matthews will be joining a very strong line-up of local and regional runners. In fact, the entire top 4 of the male 2017 Tahura race is back, including winner Abdoullah Mitiche and 2017 championship runner-up Arief Wismoyono. 

For Abdoullah Mitiche, Tahura Trail is his annual rendez-vous with the trail world before he focuses on what he loves even more: triathlon. Last year he was outstanding in overcoming a stern challenge from Ari Masrudi, Arief Wismoyono, Gaspard Dessy and Manolito Divina to take his second consecutive victory in the final kilometres. Can Mitiche do a hattrick at Tahura? It for sure won’t be handed to him on a silver plate. Other than the already mentioned runners, Steven Ong is keen to do well in his first ATM race as champion, even though being an ultra specialist he might find 42k on the short side. However, if the weather plays in his favour - when it’s wet - the course may just be technical enough for him to aim for the race win. A lot will also depend on the pace set by two western runners based in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively: Jeff Campbell and Alessandro Sherpa. Canada's Jeff Campbell has raised many eyebrows in recent months as he ran from victory to victory in Hong Kong. Sponsored by Gone Running, Campbell this year wants to see more of Asia and see where it gets him in the Asia Trail Master Championship. Hong Kong with all its concrete steps is rather unique, and on Saturday we will find out how Campbell fares on more natural and potentially muddy trails with a higher risk of missing markers along the route. Italian Alessandro Sherpa already knows what trail running is like in Indonesia. He was leading BTS Ultra last November until he failed to obtain his drop bag and saw no other choice but to end his race. Sherpa bounced back in UT Panoramic in Thailand  last month, finishing fourth in the 100 miles won by Steven Ong. While he prefers running ultra, Sherpa is sharp as a knife on    shorter distances and will regard Campbell as a challenge-in-the-race to boot. The men’s 42k Tahura Trail is going to be a blast with many potential winners who could just as well fail to even reach the podium! It’s the thrill of the shorter trail races that makes Tahura Trail the ideal season opener for the ATM championship. 

The men's podium last year: they are all back! 

ATM Champion Steven Ong 

Alessandro Sherpa: ready to make an impression!

Two months after their first and tight clash at Clark-Miyamit Falls Ultra in Philippines, Kim Matthews and Ruth Theresia will already be facing each other again. It could be a tough task for the Vietnam-based Australian, as Ruth Theresia is of course competing on home soil in Bandung and knows the course well. The form of the day will decide! Last year’s second place Ninie Hauschildt is also on the start list and definitely in for another shot at the podium on Saturday. Other women who could make it to the podium are Sri Wahyuni, Ina Budiyarni, Mila Marlina and Malaysian Puteri Norsharina, just to name some of the better known runners on the ATM tour. 

As usual, we will be reporting live from the field at Tahura Trail on Saturday via facebook, instagram and twitter. 

Kim Matthews is up against local hero Ruth Theresia for the second time after CM 50 Ultra. 

The 4th edition of the Asia Trail Master Championship series commences in Bandung, Indonesia, this Saturday with the 42k long Tahura Trail. A classic race, not too short yet with enough spice to test the legs in the early part of the new season following the new year's festivities. Before we focus on what is to come, let's take a quick look back - out of respect - to the podia of the previous three editions of the Asia Trail Master Championship series. 

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

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

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

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

Mantra 116

We are happy to confirm that UTN 100, aka Ultra-Trail Nan, in northeastern Thailand will again be a points race in the Asia Trail Master Championship on 20 and 21 October this year. The scenic event offers a 100K and 50K option, whereby the 100K counts for the championship. 

The 100K race goes in and around the Doi Phu Kha Park and is quite tough with approx. 5700 metres of elevation gain. More precise details for 2018 will become available in due course. Last season, local heroes Sanya Khancai and Phichanan Mahachot took the victory. 

You can find out more details on the race on our event cover page. 

COMPRESSPORT UTN 100

It remains one of the gems on the Asian and Asia Trail Master race calendar: Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2018, an accomplishment that few - if any - trail running organisations can claim! The classic 100k and 42k races are held in a very remote area that requires some travel time, but all participants over the years argue it is well worth the effort and time. Once more, MS2S is a points race in the Asia Trail Master Championship series as well. Race Day is 1 August 2018, and subject to the overall number of starting runners being above or below 100, the male and female winners of the 100k race will score 500 (400 performance points +100 finisher points) or 400 (300+100) points for the ATM championship. The elevation gain for the 100k is 3360 hm and you have 18 hours to complete the distance. In other words, it is really from sunrise to sunset and you do need to keep moving during the race. 

Mongolia Sunrise 2 Sunset is also non-profit as it helps the local Mongolian communities in the Hovsgol National Park preserve their environment and livelihood. 

As the event philosophy explains: the park has two small Mongolian towns as well as scores of local nomadic groups and families, and therefore any conservation efforts must go hand in hand with these local users of the park. The event therefore aims to contribute as much as possible to the local economy and to raise awareness among locals that standards of living can best be raised by preserving the park and the local culture. We have tried to achieve this by engaging the local community in the event. This ranges from hiring help to setting the course to hiring local doctors supervise aid stations. We are also actively encouraging locals to participate in the race. In setting the course, we have sought to minimize the impact on the natural environment and we use bio-degradable green paint to mark the course.

Registration is open and travel packages from Ulanbaatar are available via the official website. For the key details you can also take a look at our event cover page and the video trailer below. 

More details: 

Mongolia Sunrise 2 Sunset

Pencil in now: V-TRAIL in LAOS! We are happy to announce a brand new entry in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship, as well as a new destination: V-Trail will be taking place in Vang Vien, north of Vientiane, in Laos on the weekend of 3/4 November 2018! 

On the programme will be a 100K and a 60K with 4500 hm and 2400 Hm respectively. V-Trail will be run almost entirely on natural trails and will be a true adventure for all participants. Effectively, this will be the first high-profile trail race in Laos. The technical organisation is in the hands of Thai company Teelakow, known for several other ATM points races such as UTKC in February. 

Registration for the V-Trail will open soon.

With special thanks to Race Timing Solutions, leading registration and time-keeping company in Hong Kong, we are now ready to officially roll out our race and runner database to the ATM community. Most of you have already noticed that a lot of things are 'clickable' in the Asia Trail Master Championship ranking interface, and we invite you all to try and click on your name. What you will find is your running profile and history of ATM race performances. As of now, you can edit your profile, and add as much content and information as you like. To do so, you need to follow a few steps first. Essentially, you need a personal password to enter. 

Sign-up and log-in webpage

For runners to access their ATM profiles, you just need to e-mail RTS at info@racetimingsolutions.com and their staff will issue you with a password. Your e-mail address will serve as your log-in ID.

Once you are into your own page, you can add content as much as you like. It is YOUR page. 

Please note that the results database goes back to 2016, when we launched the system together with RTS. The race results of the first ATM season in 2015 are therefore not (yet) integrated into the database. 

One important element we would like to highlight: the famous ATM ID. As you can see below, each runner has an ID number in ATM, which is very important as it allows us to add your race results to your profile automatically. 

Race registration providers such as Raceyaya (Rizal Mountain Run, Akyathlon, CMU, Sungai Menyala etc) now have a special line in their race form asking for your ATM ID when you sign up. Although not mandatory, we kindly request that you always enter your ID number into this field when requested by a race organiser. This does help us a lot to save time, and will also allow us to update the ATM ranking even faster after every points race. We thank all of you in advance for your assistance. Besides, isn't it great to have a track record of all your ATM races in one place? 

In Asia Trail Master there is the championship, and then there is the Grandmaster Quest. For newbies to our website and social media channels, the Grandmaster Quest is an individual challenge open for all trail runners to accomplish. What do you need to do to become an Asia Trail Grandmaster? Finish six ATM races of 70 km or longer (or shorter but with 4500 hm) within two years. That is level 1 for which you earn 1 star and entry into our Hall of Fame. Continue running to 10 race finishes, without further time pressure, and you earn yourself a second Grandmaster star! At the end of 2017, 15 runners have now achieved Grandmaster status. Interestingly, the gender balance tills in favour of the female sex: we have 8 women for 7 men! Can women suffer discomfort more, longer and more frequently than men? It would appear trail running can now have its own chapter in the eternal discussion about the stronger and weaker human gender... We will explore this interesting conclusion of the 2017 ATM season more in depth soon! 

Of the 15 Grandmasters, three of them reached the second level in 2017. Aleksis Capili was again first, followed by Isaac Yuen Wan Ho and also Bali's Lily Suryani earned her second star as first female with an incredible string of ultra trail finishes between May and November. Lily's Hall of Fame profile shows that no fewer than 9 of her 10 eligible Grandmaster race finishes since 2015 were 100 km or longer. This includes 6 ultra race finishes in the last six months, and actually even 7, as Lily also completed BTS Ultra 100 again. However, as it was the third time she finished that same race it no longer provided any extra Grandmaster point. Earlier this month, Lily Suryani still started in HK 168, but arguable it was the one race too many for this year. Not being the youngest runner on the ATM tour, Lily Suryani proved that determination and focus get you a very long way in trail running, and a genuine congratulations are in order! 

Isaac showed his stamina as well in the second half of the year with six ultra race finishes since Penang Eco 100 miles in May. The Hong Kong star now totals 11 Grandmaster points, and in combination with his 6th place in the 2017 ATM Championship he certainly is one of the year's top performers! 

Aleksis Capili was the first Grandmaster ever, and he obtained 2 stars also as first ever at the Mount Apo Sky Race in Davao, Philippines, last April. Since then, Aleksis has added one more race to his record, which brings his Grandmaster record to 11 race finishes as well! As Lily in BTS Ultra, Aleksis did CM50 Ultra for a third time, but a third-time finish of the same race does not increase the Grandmaster total. 

While some ATM Championship contenders have naturally also reached Grandmaster status, others who are not so often in the spotlights deserve a mentioning for reaching their big objective: Joseph Sibal, Cheryl Bihag from Philippines, and Ali Ajis Rasil from Brunei have all had ups and downs during their Grandmaster Quest, but they have succeeded in securing their 1 star at Ultra-Trail Panoramic in Thailand earlier this month. Well done! 

Below is the overview of the current 15 Asia Trail Grandmasters. Who will join them in 2018? 

2 stars

10 or more races of 70+ km 

Grandmaster Quest

Aleksis Capili 

Philippines / Thailand

1st Male ** Grandmaster

1st Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Isaac Yuen Wan Ho 

Hong Kong

2nd Male ** Grandmaster

4th Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Lily Suryani

Indonesia

1st Female ** Grandmaster

3rd Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

1 star

6 ATM races of 70+ km in 2 years

Grandmaster Quest

Arief Wismoyono

Indonesia

3rd Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Ina Budiyarni

Indonesia

1st Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Shindy Patricia

Indonesia

6th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Jan Nilsen

Norway / Thailand

2nd Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Ruth Theresia

Indonesia

2nd Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Tahira Najmunisaa

Malaysia

4th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Yim Heng Fatt

Malaysia

5th Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Adelinah Lintanga

Malaysia

5th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Kim Matthews

Australia / Vietnam

7th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Joseph Sibal

Philippines

6th Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Ali Ajis Rasil

Brunei Darussalam

7th Male * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

Cheryl Bihag

Philippines

8th Female * Grandmaster

Go to Hall of Fame

As previously announced, the points regulations for the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series do not differ a lot from 2017. Perhaps the most prominent innovation is that runners who do five (or more) races are expected to have done 1 SuperTrail as well by the end of 2018 or suffer a points penalty of 250 points. This measure is of course to avoid that a strong runner collects race wins - and thus 500 points - in slightly smaller races on the ATM calendar and in so doing potentially become champion without ever facing the other protagonists in the championship. 

A second interesting novelty is that 100 miles finishers will now get 50 bonus points instead of 25. 

Finally, an important remark that was already there in 2017 but we wish to emphasize it for 2018: joint finishes are only accepted in the first quarter. That means, as of Sungai Menyala Forest Trail on 1 April, if runners come together hand-in-hand into the finish we will make a distinction between them by looking at their ranking at the last - or an earlier - checkpoint during the race. 

Please take a look at the image slide below for the key points: 

As in the past two years, maximum six races will be credited as SuperTrail in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship series. Each SuperTrail offers 50 bonus points for finishers of the race and this can be important for those runners chasing a high ranking in the championship. Following popular demand by 'protagonists' in our series, we are now introducing a few changes to the SuperTrail selection in two countries: Philippines and Indonesia. The main argument being that also top runners sometimes like to see something new and breathe some fresh air during their trail campaign. As such, the Philippines SuperTrail in 2018 will be the Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Dalupirip, organised by the Cordillera Conservation Trust on the weekend of 3/4 March. It is also the shortest SuperTrail on our calendar, as CMU measures "just" 50k but does feature considerable elevation gain (2640 hm) with the ascent of Mount Ugo. Most importantly, for two years in succession, runners and spectators are raving about the event! 

In the past two years, the races were hotly contested with Marcelino Sano-Oy winning in 2016 and Arnold Lozano this year. Will Manolito Divina add his name to the record books in 2018? The women's race was won by Gretchen Felipe in 2016, while Sandi Menchi took one of her three 2017 ATM wins in Dalupirip. 

19/11 - Cordillera Mountain Ultra (PHI) - CANCELLED

The Japan SuperTrail on the Izu Peninsula proved to be a genuine SuperTrail. Not only because of the fantastic course, but also because of the harsh temperatures and the incredible average speed of the Japanese trail runners. It has to be admitted: the South-East Asians who came to Japan had a hard time competing with the elite of the country for the top positions. Japan is of course the distance running country par excellence, but it turned out that many of its top runners were also waiting for a race like Izu Trail Journey to motivate themselves to stay in shape during the cold winter. As such, Izu Trail Journey was an eye-opening experience for many participants. The race was controlled by four runners up front: last year's winner Tomohiro Tsuji, Kota Araki, Yuya Kawasaki and Yoshihito Kondo. These four took off after the first climb of the 72 km race roughly 9 km into the race. At that point, Brunei's Sefli Ahar, who was challenging for the Asia Trail Master Championship as the last man to still overtake Steven Ong on points, was running in 9th place and just 3 minutes behind the front quartet. Sadly, Ahar did start to suffer from the cold. Temperatures were only marginally above zero and the gale winds in the mountain zone made it feel a lot colder still. Winner of CM50 and BTS Ultra in the last six weeks, Sefli Ahar could not close the gap with the Japanese top runners and lost terrain as the race progressed. Suffering from frozen eyes and breathing problems, the 43-year-old Bruneian nevertheless finished the race - 61st - and with his chin up. Sefli Ahar certainly made the ATM Championship exciting until the last moment and we are looking forward to seeing him back in 2018. 

Meanwhile, Kota Araki turned out to be the strongest of the leaders and pulled away. Only Yuya Kawasaki was able to stay close and kept the pressure on. Kawasaki almost paid a price for that, though, as he faded towards the end and saw Yoshihito Kondo finish less than a minute behind him in third place. First non-Japanese was New Zealand's Richard Coughlan. Time of the winner, Kato Araki, was 6:43:48. Izu Trail Journey is 72 km with 4300 Hm and run in a deepfreezer. Araki and Kawasaki will allegedly now represent Japan in the Trail World Championships in Spain next year. Spain's Pablo Diago Gonzales was just outside the top 100 and Hong Kong's Isaac Yuen Wan Ho, who became a two-star Grandmaster,  just outside the top 300, which proves the very high level of Japanese trail running. 

The women's race was a tight battle between Ayano Saito and Kaori Asahari. Both runners were never far apart from each other, and finished also just three minutes separate. Okinawa-based Corinne Williams was an excellent third place. Philippines' Patricia Ann Morota and Indonesia's Shindy Patricia are two ATM protagonists who also finished the race. 

Jun Kaise being greeted by pandas at the km 42 mark

Kota Araki was the strongest runner and won the Japan SuperTrail 

Yuya Kawasaki was a great second with a lot of fighting spirit 

The top 3 of the Izu Trail Journey

The two top women at Izu: what a battle decided in favour of Ayano Saito