The organisers of the iconic and important Magnificent Merapoh Trail (TMMT) in Malaysia have released the final version of the course maps and profiles for next week's 4th edition. The race distances have remained at 100km, 70km and 35km - of which the two longest are valid for ATM Championship points - but the elevation gain has increased to over 2000 hm for both 100k and 70k. As a result, the cut-off times may also be increased pending further discussion with the course directors. The late arrival of the new routes is due to significant and also mandatory changes for this year. Cave lovers will be happy to learn there's additional caves in this year's route! The renowned 3km long river crossing is also still in the course. 

For all details, registered participants can download the PDF Guidebook now. 

It was a thrilling moment last Sunday when Philippines' Elias Tabac rushed into the finish at the Kaliandra Eco Resort in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. The super tough Mantra Summits Challenge is run on remote high mountain trails with little to no mobile connectivity, and the scarse announcements that came through to the event arena were indicating Pablo Diago Gonzales was about to grab his fifth career ATM race victory. 

But as it turned out, Davao’s Elias Tabac passed Pablo Diago Gonzales in the last kilometre of the 75k and 5500 hm race! He won in 14:36, his second ATM race victory of the season after Pilipinas Akyathlon. Tabac now has 1000 championship points and is 11th in the championship ranking, alongside his compatriot John Ray Onifa. With many more points races yet to come this season, can Elias Tabac be a contender for the ATM championship title? 

In the Mantra race, ran mainly at nighttime by the faster guys, Tabac struggled without headlight in the second half of the night. Ukraine's Mikhailo Pavliuk, Alessandro Sherpa, Arief Wismoyono had all climbed up Arjuno Welirang close to each other. A very trim-looking Pablo Diago Gonzales - third in this race last year and keen to win it this time around - then made an attack,and ran together an advantage of half an hour by km 42. Tabac was in second place at that point but started chasing the Spaniard down as it got dawn. That took a lot of effort, especially as his running shoes completely disintegrated on the very rough and technical trails. His heels became entirely exposed as the shoe soles broke off. Pablo Diago Gonzales was already in cruising mode approaching the Kaliandra resort, and couldn't believe it when Tabac rushed passed him with just over 1 km to go! The Filipino pace was too high to even try to fight back. Tabac ran his heart out and grabbed the victory. 

Pablo Diago Gonzales has one consolation: he regains the points lead from Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi in the ATM Championship with his fifth result of the season. He now totals 2100 points in five races, of which four were podiums but as of yet no wins this season. In any case, his tally, which will be boosted by another 50 for the abroad bonus, is the first real benchmark for anyone who wants to become ATM champion this year. It was a very strong and aggressive run by the Singapore-based Spaniard, who prepared well for Mantra and even lost approx 4 kg to be able to climb faster. 

Alessandro Sherpa, winner of Penang Eco 100k last May, came into the finish at the Kaliandra Eco Resort as third, but one hour behind the front runners. Sherpa had an eventful night and also had to cope with belly cramps. Ukraine's Mykhailo Pavliuk was a - relative - new face in fourth place. Pavliuk is known for his fast climbing speed and had prepared himself in Malang for a week to do well in this race, his first ever race beyond 50 km. Pavliuk was right up there with Sherpa and Wismoyono, but lost terrain towards the end as he also got lost late in the night. Bandung’s Arief Wismoyono arrived in fifth place in just over 17 hours. He will strengthen his top 5 rank in the ATM Championship with this fourth result of the season, but probably had hoped for more. Australia's Andy Bourke took 7th, ahead of India's Shashwat Rao and the 2 Malaysians Shahrin and Grandmaster Yim Heng Fatt, who completed his first ATM race of the season after a longish competitive break. Shashwat Rao has made it into the top 10 of the ATM Championship with his fine effort. He is in 8th place with 1080 points from three races. 

Ruth Theresia has given the Indonesian home crowd something to celebrate also, as she won the women's 75k race, coming in as 10th overall. The hard-fought victory puts her back on top of the ATM Championship standings as well, at the expense of Philippines' Aggy Sabanal, who reportedly returns to ATM action in September. Ruth Theresia 's compatriot Sri Wahyuni from Surabaya took another podium place in an ATM points race: second. Kuala Lumpur’s Erin Puteri Aziz from team ULTRON was a great third. All three women feature at the top of the ATM championship thanks to today’s performances. Ruth Theresia leads of course, today was her third victory of the season already! 

Interestingly, and perhaps something to think about, only 2 Indonesian runners (1 man, 1 woman and both Team Bandung Explorer ) made it into the top 10 of this Indonesian race...

The next points races are the Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset and the Magnificent Merapoh Trail in Malaysia.

Amazing: look at his shoes!

Pablo Diago Gonzales could not quite believe it at first

What a podium!

Shashwat Rao from India finished again in the top 10 and is now 8th in the ATM Championship

Mikhailo Pavliuk from Ukraine finished his first race of over 50 km in 4th place

There was also a 50km race at Mantra, won by Bandung's Yusoff Aprian

After a four-week break the 2018 Asia Trail Master championship series continues this weekend in Indonesia and the feared Mantra Summits Challenge. The very technical mountain race in Malang, East Java, was much talked-about in the trail scene following the inaugural event that saw the race winner come into the finish after 10 hours and 43 minutes. And it was not a snail, but Fandhi Achmad, who had taken the measure of even more established mountain runners as Jan Nilsen and Pablo Diago Gonzales! 

Organised by the Malang Trail Runners, the team of female Indonesian star Shindy Patricia, Mantra Summits Challenge has even been beefed up more this year with a 73 km distance and 5500 metres of elevation gain. That's also the distance that matters for the ATM Championship. The great Kaliandra Eco Resort again plays host for the event, which also offers last year's courses of 50km, 30km and 15km.

The A-race has attracted some very strong mountain runners from across the Asian region, including some serious contenders for the ATM championship. West Java's Fandi Achmad will certainly not get a repeat victory on a silver platter on Sunday. Staying on home soil, Arief Wismoyono is scheduled to take part. The Bandung Explorer ace is always at his best in the mountains of his home country. Having started his 2018 ATM campaign relatively modestly with two fourth places in UTKC and Tahura Trail and a fifth in Sungai Menyala Forest Trail, Wismoyono ranks 6th in the ATM championship so far. The 2015 champion can jump into the top three this weekend. One runner on the start list, however, can regain the points lead: Pablo Diago Gonzales will be starting his 6th race of the season, and needs just 210 points to overtake Japan's Tomohiro Mizukoshi. That means a top 10 result at Mantra. Pablo loved this race last year and was indeed close to both Achmad and Nilsen, and actually had been.ahead early on until he missed a marker... and therefore lost time. Can he take revenge and put a fifth ATM mountain race on his record of wins? 

Alessandro Sherpa may prevent that from happening. After some strong podium places, the Malaysia-based Italian finally scored his big premier ATM race victory at Penang Eco 100k last May, beating Hong Kong superstar John Ellis in truly impressive fashion. Mantra Summits is a different animal than Penang Eco, but Sherpa is no stranger to the Indonesian high mountains neither. 

And yet, who will be able to follow Elias Tabac? Elias who? Many people probably still don't know the Mindanao mountain goat, but the Filipino was the fantastic race winner of the Pilipinas Akyathlon last February. Tabac earned a sponsored weekend by Singapore's Rolling Hills Project with that victory, and here he is at Mantra Summits for his second ATM race of the season. Being in a foreign country for the first time might be a bit intimidating for the young runner, but once on the trails we can expect him to be right at the front. 

Six women will undertake the Mantra Summits Challenge 75k, which means that a mere finish - within the CUT of 24 hours - will result in.a large points haul. Ruth Theresia starts as the obvious race favourite. She won the 50k here last year, and after a short break recently should be fresh and strong to take the 75k on Sunday... and regain the points lead in the ATM Championship! Still, she won't have a walk in the mountain park as Surabaya's Sri Wahyuni is also on the start list and keen to take her first victory after a number of podium places in ATM races. Wahyuni was pushing Theresia in Brunei this season, and this type of gruelling mountaint terrain does not scare her. Other female podium candidates are Lily Suryani, Erin Puteri Aziz, Lye Chui Peng and Fadila Yusoff. 

We will be reporting live from the event at the Kaliandra Eco Resort starting tomorrow - subject to connectivity. 

Arief Wismoyono: always strong in Indonesia

Alessandro Sherpa: a second ATM win?

Fandi Ahmad: can he repeat last year's great victory? 

Sri Wahyuni gave race favourite Ruth Theresia a tough challenge in Brunei. Can she do the same on. the much more technical Mantra trail?

Elias Tabac:the rising star from Davao could score his second ATM win of the year

China's Liang Jing, who in April also won the points race Ultimate Tsaigu in Linhai, Zhejiang, proved to be also the fastest trail runner in the Long Ji Terraces Ultra Trail in Guangxi in the Southwest of China. A race that requested and received the label of 2019 ATM Candidate Race. Liang Jing was 40 minutes ahead of Li Quang in the tough 100k race to finish in a time of 11:45:38. 

Similarly, Xie Wenfei is beginning to make a name for herself in the trail scene as she captured the women's victory in 15:45:50. Xie Wenfei was second in the Ultimate Tsaigu race earlier this year, after overtaking Philippines' Majo Liao just before halfway. In second place behind her was Wei Yanping, who outsprinted Li Na coming into the finish. 

The Long Ji Terraces Ultra Trail is taking place in one of the province's most significant tourism hotspots. The rice terraces and fields are famous throughout China and are a chapter in every backpacker guidebook for Guangxi. The event was well-appreciated by the participants and we are looking forward to formally entering the 100k race to our 2019 Asia Trail Master Championship calendar! 

Fantastic viewpoints along the course of the Long Ji Terrace Ultra Trail

Xie Wenfei wins the women's 100k

Liang Jing also number 1 in Guangxi

Runners get unexpected extra support during the race

We are happy to welcome the 1st edition of Bogd Khan Ultra Trail aka Mongolian International Steppe Marathon on 19 August as a 2019 ATM Candidate Race.  A 50k hilly grassland trail in the mountainous outskirts of capital city Ulanbaataar. With outdoor and endurance sport expert Carole Fuchs as race director and a Japanese production, the event has high ambitions to become a summer classic on the Asia trail scene. The longest distance this year is 50 km. 

A bit of background. Bogd Khan was born in Tibet and was the third most important man in the hierarchy of Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. Nevertheless, he moved and lived most of his life in Mongolia. In 1911 he was enthroned as the Khagan - Head of State - of Outer Mongolia after it declared its independence following the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in what is now known as China. The Bogd Khaganate - the reign - was short-lived as in 1919 Chinese troops returned to Urga, as the capital city was then called. In the political turmoil that ensued, Bogd Khan was again reinstated to the throne for three more years till his death in 1924. Then, the People's Republic of Mongolia was officially announced, backed by Soviet Communists. The winter palace of Bogd Khan has been well-preserved an is now tourist attraction in Ulanbaataar. 

Fascinating stories and cultural relics are omnipresent in this region of the world, and for sure adds meaning to the new trail event in August. 

More details via the facebook page of the event. 

https://www.facebook.com/MSUT.Official/

Egon Trails, organiser of Ijen Trailrunning, is happy to announce a special tour package in East Java for trail runners, in conjunction with Asia Trail Master. After the Ijen race on 29/30 September, runners can bridge the gap to the following week's Plataran X Trail Bali race (6 October) by climbing Gunung Raung and do four days of exquisite sightseeing and trail training! 

Gunung Raung is the famous highest peak (3334m above sea level) of the Ijen mountains cluster and one of the most active volcanoes on Java.  The scenery is phenomenal. Beginning on Monday after the Ijen race, the guided tour package consists of 4 days and 3 nights, of which 1 on the mountain itself. The climb of Raung is a genuine training session, but other than the physical exercise there will also be plenty of cultural and more easy-going activities before taking the bus and ferry to West Bali and the Plataran resort for the X Trail event. 

The price for the package is very democratic and depends on the number of runners or people taking part. Please note that these are also special prices for participants in the Asia Trail Master points races Ijen Trailrunning and Plataran X Trail Bali Menjangan only. 

Spending a week in the breathtaking volcanic mountains of East Java and ending with beach and pure relaxation in Bali! 

More details can be obtained via info@egon.co.id and info@asiatrailmaster.com . 

The 3rd edition of the Echigo Country Trail in Nagaoka, Niigata, was the most successful to date with around 1000 runners who traveled to the traditional countryside of Japan, roughly 2,5 hours northwest of Tokyo by shinkansen bullet train. In beautiful weather, Kota Araki once again proved to be one of his country's best trail runners with an outstanding race victory in the men's 53 km. Half a year ago, Araki also won the Izu Trail Journey. He finished in 4:46 - a new course record - and over fifteen minutes ahead of Sota Ogawa, who in so doing collected his first ATM championship points after the DNF at Penang Eco 100. Ogawa ran a strong race on the generally runable course, although he prefers it rough and tough. He concluded in 5h02, and was able to hold off Kenichi Kawano and Tsutomu Nagata. Seven minutes later, Kazufumi Ose arrived in fifth place. Earlier this season, Ose was second in the 9 Dragons 50/50 in Hong Kong. 

Another sixteen minutes later, in 6th, came Tomohiro Mizukoshi. His assignment was clear at the start: finish in the top 14 to claim the points lead in the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship. He did it in style and therefore is the first ever Japanese runner to be on number 1 on our championship ranking. Mizukoshi wouldn't be Mizukoshi if he hadn't grabbed the bull by the horns in the race, of course. Just like in Penang Eco, he started fast and mixed with the naturally faster-paced runners ahead of him. A courageous strategy, but he pulled it off. There's a gap of four weeks till the next points race in the ATM Championship - Mantra Summits Challenge in Indonesia on 14/15 July - so at least until then Tomohiro Mizukoshi can call himself the ATM Championship leader! 

The women's race also produced an amazing result as 47-year-old Yukako Takashima took the victory in 6:16. An impressive feat as in second place was nobody else than France's Carole Fuchs in 6:52, winner of the Cordillera Mountain Ultra and several other races outside the ATM circuit. Fuchs, of course, had just returned from a mountaineering expedition and a successful ascent of Mount Everest. It is normal she is not at her best level right now, yet let's not take anything away from Takashima's win neither. The podium was completed by Mayumi Kobayashi.

Kirk Kenny's highly-anticipated photo album of the Echigo event weekend will be made available on our facebook page later this week.  

With Ultra Trail Mount Damavand (postponed to August 2019) and Tam Dao Mountain Trail (postponed to later date) not taking place this month, the ATM Championship is taking a one-month-break now until the Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang, East Java, Indonesia on 14/15 July. That one promises to be another cracker with a very technical mountain course of 75 km and 5500 hm. 

The women's podium this year

The 3rd edition of Echigo Country Trail will see close to a thousand runners strike down in the Oguni Forest Reserve of Nagaoka in Japan’s countryside. This is one of the most colourful events in our series, thanks to the overwhelming hospitality of the local people, and the expert organisation and direction by local professional runner Hiroaki Matsunaga. On Sunday, there’s again a 52 km race on the menu: runable for the most part, but with some very technical hills nonetheless to break the rhythm and test runners’ resilience. 

As this is a race in Japan, obviously Japanese runners are top favourite to score the podium spots. But one woman could actually upset the natural order of things. Thailand-based Carole Fuchs from France will be doing her second ATM points race of the season, and after her demonstration during the Cordillera Mountain Ultra in Philippines last March it is hard not to see her at least on the podium on Sunday. One thing that could of course hamper Fuchs this weekend is that she hasn’t done much specific running training since CMU. Instead, she - successfully - climbed Mount Everest! Japan’s Tomoko Ueno was 4th last year in this race, can she improve this season to grab a top three? 

Back from Mount Everest: Carole Fuchs

In the men’s, we can expect anything to happen. Jun Kaise is always a favourite on home soil in this part of Japan, Niigata. A few weeks ago, the sympathetic firefighter again won the short an crispy Kushigata Wind Trail. Clearly in shape, can he do better than his third place in Echigo from last year. Jun Kaise was also the best ranked Japanese runner in the 2017 Asia Trail Master Championship. 

Speaking of which, another Japanese runner can propel himself into the top spot of this year’s ATM championship! Tomohiro Mizukoshi from Tokyo has been a very busy bee traveling and racing in Malaysia and South Korea as well as Kushigata. Mizukoshi is third in the standings with 1510 points now with four race results in bag already. Echigo will be his fifth race and he will be the first of the top male runners to reach the fifth level. He needs 265 points to overtake points leader Pablo Diago Gonzales, which corresponds to a place in the top 14 on Sunday. If Mizukoshi succeeds, it would be the first time a Japanese runner is on top of the ATM championship ranking. 

For the race win, Mizukoshi - a good road runner as he showed during Penang Eco 100 - will be up against other big names in Japan such as Sota Ogawa and Kazufumi Ose. Ogawa had a DNF in Penang due to heat and stomach issues, and will be keen to set something straight this weekend. Ogawa has also planned Mantra Summits Challenge next month and wants to compete for the championship. Kazufumi Ose already has 500 championship points in the bag this season: he was second in the 50/50 of The 9 Dragons in Hong Kong last February. 

As usual, we will be reporting live on our social media channels from Nagaoka and the Echigo Country Trail. 

You can also follow action here with a webcam:

https://oguni.love/events/echigo-country-trail

Sota Ogawa and Tomohiro Mizukoshi finds themselves together again this weekend

One of the most anticipated new events at the end of this year is the Malaysia Ultra Trail Festival. A rather bombastic title for a new event and the slogan "lose your mind, discover your soul" adds even more flavour and - especially - intrigue. However, organiser Ewegene Tan and his experienced crew know very well what they are putting up in the city of Taiping in Perak, north of Kuala Lumpur. From 30 November to 2 December, trail runners can truly expect a trail feast. What's more, the event has been granted the 2019 ATM Candidate Race label. 

Malaysia Ultra Trail festival will be held in Taiping Town which sits on a coastal plain at the foothills of the Bintang Range. Taiping is located about 48km northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak. It is connected with Kuala Lumpur and Putrayaja by highway, and if you are driving, you could even consider getting there quicker starting from Penang. 

The 1st edition of this highly anticipated new event take runners through 15 / 30 / 70KM of pristine trails around Taiping with elevation gain of approx 1000m, 2000m and 4000m  respectively. The 70 km long distance race is obviously the one that will receive most attention from our Asia Trail Master point of view. Looking at the figures, 4000hm for 70k, that's a tough one, so you need to have some reserves in the tank after a long year of running. The race will give each and every runner a chance of a lifetime to experience up to 6 different trails going up and down the iconic Maxwell Hill (5 of which are not normally open to the public on any given day). 

Centre point of the long distance race is indeed Maxwell Hill, named after William George Maxwell, who was the British Assistant Resident in Perak. Also known locally as Bukit Larut, it is a hill resort founded in 1884. As such, it is the oldest hill resort in Malaysia. It is approximately 1440m above sea level. Bukit Larut and Taiping also receive some limelight for being the wettest places in Peninsular Malaysia. The high amount of rainfall has led to a fertile collection of flora and century-old rain trees in the Taiping Lake Garden.

The name of the event indicates it, and yes, MUTF will be more than just a trail race. It will be a trail party! After the event, runners and their companions can get together to discuss their experiences over some delicious food and drinks at the after party. 

The official website for registration and information is: http://mutf.my

The final weekend of the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship will again consist of two events where the final points for this season can be gathered: Ultra Trail Panoramic in Pai, Thailand on 7/8 December, followed by Izu Trail Journey on the Izu Peninsula in Japan on Sunday, 9 December. Upon conclusion of these two events, we know who succeed Steven Ong and Kim Matthews as the male and female champion in the Asia Trail Master Championship. 

Different from last year, we are introducing an added rule to the points distribution at these two events to allow for a fair conclusion to the championship and to offer runners a fair choice between the two events. The new rule is:

“Only runners who have scored points in minimum two ATM races during the 2018 season will receive ATM Championship points for their respective result in UT Panoramic 100 miles or 100k,  or Izu Trail Journey 72k.” 

In other words, the total race results of both Thai and Japanese events will be filtered, and only runners for whom UT Panoramic or Izu Trail Journey is the third ATM points race of the season will be retained and given championship points. 

Practical example: runner A finishes 9th in Izu Trail Journey. However, the runners in 2nd and 4th place have not done any other race in ATM this year, and the runner in 5th place has only done one before Izu Trail Journey. They are taken out of the list, and runner A gets points equivalent to 5th place. 

By introducing this added rule, runners in contention for the  ATM championship title can freely choose their final race without worrying about the competitive level of the potential local participants. 

Please note that Izu Trail Journey is of course the Japan SuperTrail, meaning 50 bonus points for the relevant finishers. Relevant finishers on the 100 miles of UT Panoramic likewise score the 100-miles bonus, i.e. also 50 points. 

To be clear, this concerns the ATM Championship only and not the Grandmaster Quest. All finishers of the UT Panoramic 100 miles and 100k races, as well as Izu Trail Journey 72k will score a point for their individual Grandmaster challenge. 

With Kushigata Wind Trail in Tainai City wrapped up - the 28km race won by Jun Kaise and Kazumi Matsuo - the Japanese chapter of this year's Asia Trail Master Championship has been opened. The next points race is Echigo Country Trail - a classic meanwhile - and on 9 September we have a new gem in our series: Hakuba Trails. Another solid 52 km race in the outskirts of the Japan Alps near Nagano, former host city of the Olympic Winter Games. Hakuba itself is a famous international ski resort in Japan, and in summer what can be better than using the available facilities to put up a serious trail running event. Hakuba Trails happens to be one of Japan's most popular races these days, and as of 2018 international runners have a great opportunity to join the event and score points for the Asia Trail Master Championship series. The official registration has now just been opened. There is an English form to do so, and below you can also find a contact person at Hakuba for your immediate queries in English. 

A short itinerary will also be provided in due course for runners who like to stay a few more days in Japan after the race. The itinerary will include 20 to 30 km runs/hikes in the Japan Alps area before heading to Tokyo. Please stay tuned for more on this optional trip, which is separate from the race. 

Link to Hakuba Trails English registration form: [LINK}

Email contact in English for quesions: Kento Maruyama (k.maruyama.shinya@gmail.com) 

Hakuba Trails

Joanna Kruk: 4th career ATM race win

Penang Eco 100 again delivered on its reputation as being probably the most underestimated event in Asia Trail Master. As last year, both the 100 miles and 100k SuperTrail A-races were filled with drama and unexpected twists. And even though, he did not follow into the footsteps of his compatriot Manolito Divina by winning the 100 miles, Philippines’ Wilnar Iglesia scored a great 3rd place that puts him on top of the 2018 Asia Trail Master Championship. 

Normally there is always a solid rainshower at some point during Penang Eco, but this year it was just hot and humid all the way. It made everything just a bit more runable, but clearly some of the race favourites got too excited. A quartet of four runners took off on the 100 miles with a blistering pace. Japan’s Tomohiro Mizukoshi, who is becoming a regular contender on the ATM tour, actually felt so good he went out in front by himself. Behind him were top favourites Steven Ong, the ATM champion and winner of Penang Eco 100K last year, Wilnar Iglesia and another Japanese ace, Sota Ogawa. Malaysia’s other iron in the fire, Sabah’s Milton Bin Amat, took a more conservative approach knowing his technical skills would be best applied 100% during the very technical final 60 km of the race. Australia’s Joanna Kruk made another trip to ATM from Adelaide, Australia, and was following the leading quartet as first woman. America’s Susan Swier was giving her a run of her money, though. Swier is known as a fast ultra road runner and found those initial flat runable sections very much to her liking. She won Merapoh Trail 70k last year, but otherwise she has had little credentials on the trail circuit. As it happened, after being passed by Kruk after approx 40k, she kept the pressure and was only losing minute-by-minute for most of the saturday. Swier would pay the price for that eventually, as she faded away in the final technical sections and ultimately finished third behind Law Lay Eng, from Malaysia also. Kruk was looking superb herself, as usual, and at some point the question was if she would manage to compete with the male leaders for the overall win. 

Sota Ogawa and Tomohiro Mizukoshi from Japan coloured the first 100k of the 100 miles race

The men’s 100 milers were blowing each other up. Steven Ong, not yet fully recovered from a flu attack a few days before the race, even decided he had enough after approx 65k. Being busy setting up his own running shop in Kuala Lumpur, Ong's ATM campaign will require a strong surge in the second half of the season if he is to retain his title this year. Next was Sota Ogawa. Not used to the heat and humidity of Malaysia, Ogawa suffered from major stomach issues that prevented him from absorbing anything just before sunset. The Japanese top trail runner was a DNF. Meanwhile, a runner from Hong Kong was slowly making up ground on the leaders… and at km 112 we had the unusual situation of having three 100 milers sitting at the checkpoint together: Wilnar Iglesia, Tomohiro Mizukoshi and Law Chor Kin! Indeed, it was the Hong Kong runner Law Chor Kin who appeared by far the freshest of the three. Iglesia had just lost valuable energy missing a marker and doing an extra hill, and Mizukoshi looked cooked. The scene did not lie. In the final 55km, Law Chor Kin quickly built up a solid advantage to grab a very intelligent and admirable victory in 26h15. A newcomer on the ATM tour, he scores 600 points for the championship. Behind him, Iglesia was increasingly struggling on the tough technical jungle terrain and Mizukoshi needed to catch sleep at a checkpoint in the middle of the night. Mizukoshi deserves a lot of applause for his very courageous race at the beginning, even when in the end it did not fully played out. He would cross the finish line in 7th place in 34h49. A loss of over 8h30 on 56km compared to Law Chor Kin says enough. But he made it, and he moves up to 6th place in the ATM championship! 

Law Chor Kin wins the 100 miles just before sunrise after a conservative first 100k

It was clear that a conservative start was the best strategy last weekend. Wilnar Iglesia stlll got himself overtaken towards the end of the race by local Malaysian veteran Liew Tho Fatt, who produced a fantastic and well-balanced effort. Milton Bin Amat finished in 4th place, the same result as in the 9 Dragons Ultra. He moves up to 11th place in the ATM championship and is also the first Malaysian. Experience counts big time at Penang Eco 100 miles. Lau Say Niong came home in sixth place, just ahead of Soo Kong Yong. 

Exhausted but satisfied: Wilnar Iglesia finishes 3rd and is the new ATM championship leader

The 100K race at Penang Eco is also considered an A-race for the ATM Championship and thus attracts a lot of strong runners, too. On paper, it was going to be a battle between several Asia-based expats and Mohamed Affindi from Malaysia in the men’s. In the women’s Vietnam-based Marieke Dekkers from the Netherlands was the top favourite, similar to Joanna Kruk on the 100 miles. Dekkers proved to be fastest, indeed. The training partner of ATM Champion Kim Matthews won her second ATM race of the season after Dalat Ultra Trail in 20h21. Dekkers climbs up to 4th place in the championship standings. Malaysia’s Siokhar Lim was a very happy second place last Sunday in 22h 25, as it happened to be her first ever 100k race. The podium was completed by another Malaysian, Lili Wong. 

Marieke Dekkers scored her 2nd ATM race win of the season on the 100k!

The men’s race started quite explosively, similar to the 100 miles earlier that day. Mohamed Affindi, Alessandro Sherpa and David Giannelli took off quicky. Affindi and Sherpa then went by themselves as Gianelli lost a bit of terrain. Hong Kong trail star John Ellis, meanwhile, was biding his time as he usually does. Running 10-15 minutes behind the leading duo in the early hours, it looked every bit of a standard Ellis strategy. Chin Yit Khiang, living in Hong Kong but born and raised in Penang, Britain’s Sam McGrath and Japan’s Hisashi Kitamura were keeping up also. Halfway, Ellis caught up and took the race lead. Drama unfolded shortly after for both Mohamed Affindi and David Gianelli. Affindi twisted his ankle badly in a downhill section and saw no other option but to retire from the race! Technical runner Giannelli, who had just begun to decrease the time gap to the frontrunners, missed a crucial marker and suddenly found himself two checkpoints further down the course. Demotivated, Gianneli retired from the race. All of this was happening in the middle of the night, and Ellis was steadily opening up a bit of a gap on Alessandro Sherpa, until suddenly he didn’t anymore. Sherpa clearly had not yet given up on the race win and, perhaps using his bigger experience of negotiating South East Asian trails, managed to fight his way back to a struggling Ellis in the last 15k! Something one rarely sees on an ultra trail, but it proved again what a treacherous and therefore almost unique race Penang Eco 100 is. The Singapore-based Italian dropped Ellis in the last 9k and cruised to a big victory in 14h25, three minutes ahead of John Ellis. A bit in the shadow of the leading duo, but by all means a stellar effort was third-placed Chin Yit Khiang in 15h30. Behind them it was three hours till the finish of Sam McGrath, Hisashi Kitamura and Beng Wan. 

Sherpa’s win over Ellis could prove meaningful later in the season when the ATM championship gets decided. Sherpa collects 550 to Ellis’ 500 and jumps to 4th place in the ranking with 3 results in the books, while Ellis is now 8th with 2 results. 

While all finishers of Penang Eco deserve a honourary mentioning, we would like to note that Japan’s Masafumi Yamamoto finished his 5th ATM race of the season already, of which 4 Grandmaster distances plus CMU 50, the Philippines’ SuperTrail back in March. Respect! 

The next points race in the ATM championship is the first of four races in Japan this season: Kushigata Wind Trail. It’s also one of the shortest on the circuit with 30 km , but also 2500 hm. 

Race organisers Seow Kong Ng and Allan Lee with Milton Bin Amat, 4th on the 100 miles