Sportlicious Malaysia is today launching its new project “ATM 500 - Run Asia, Run Virtual” in cooperation with Asia Trail Master. A ‘virtual’ running competition in team format that will last two weeks from 8 to 21 June 2020 with the goal of reaching the 500 km milestone as quickly as possible. Registration opens immediately and is easy via a Google Form and a small nominal fee.

Teams consist of maximum four people of which minimum one has to be female. Each runner is required to run at least 75 km as part of the team. Participants can choose between running on a treadmill, outdoors or indoors, road or trail. Daily results will be submitted by each team’s captain and verified via Strava and the Sportlicious Malaysia Club. The first three teams that complete 500 km will be awarded.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the whole world. Even when in most countries’ lockdowns are gradually being lifted, it is likely to still take several months before everything will return to some kind of normalcy and we can all take part in outdoor sports events like we used to. In the absence of actual outdoor races, Sportlicious Malaysia has developed ATM 500 – “RUN ASIA, RUN VIRTUAL”. A “virtual” team race of 500 km in distance over a duration of two weeks for all participants in across Asia.

The core objective of ATM 500 – “RUN ASIA, RUN VIRTUAL” is to keep everyone in a good physical and mental shape, and adds an element of competition into the mix. It is a team format on purpose, because in times of social distancing it is important to keep fostering team spirit and interpersonal connections. The team that has reached the 500km milestone first will be declared as winner of the first ATM 500 – “RUN ASIA, RUN VIRTUAL” series.

The virtual run is open to all. Create your own cool team name and motivate each other to reach 500! Regular reports on the competition's progress will be posted on our facebook page and covered during the Tale of the Trail video show.

Rules & Regulations of the ATM 500 - Run Asia, Run Virtual

• Maximum of 4 members in a team, with a minimum of (1) Female member.

• Team members will have 14 days to complete 500 KM.

• Each member is required to clock a minimum mileage of 75 km.

• Team captains will be responsible to input all members data into an online spreadsheet.

• Daily result will be required to be submitted by 10PM Malaysia Time by the Team Captain.

• Run activity after 10 pm can be submitted on the next day.

• Each run must show the following information:

  • Date

  • Time

  • Distance

  • Duration

  • Average Pace

  • Running Mode: Road, Trail, Treadmill

• No submission of a run is necessary if zero (0) mileage for that day.

• No minimum mileage needs to be done every day.

• Team members can help each other to cover mileage to achieve the target 500 KM in 14 days or less, however each member MUST clock a minimum mileage of 75 KM per person.

• Team members are required to ensure their running activity is reflected under STRAVA.

• Team members are required to FOLLOW “SPORTLICIOUS MALAYSIA” Club on STRAVA under http://strava.com/clubs.sportliciousmalaysia

• Total result of each team will be updated daily and will be reflected after 3 PM on Asia Trail Master and Sportlicious Malaysia Facebook page.

• Top 3 Teams to complete 500 KM in the shortest time/days will be awarded accordingly.

It has been quiet on the event front for a couple of months now for obvious reasons, but today we are happy to announce a new forthcoming Candidate Race in India. Malnad Ultra has earned itself a reputation since 2016 as one of the large country’s most popular trail running events, and is now keen to join the Asia Trail Master community. The 2020 event is on the schedule for 7/8 November, but currently ‘on hold’ given the pandemic.

The origin of the name Malnad is attributed to Male meaning Hill and Nadu meaning Land. So, Malnad is the land of the hill. All the race categories are beyond 42 kms on hilly terrain and the longest distance last year was 110km. The event organisation is exploring the the possibility of adding a 100 miles category to the programme in the near future. The race course takes runners through coffee estates and provides magnificent views of the Bhadra Reservoir and Bhadra Wildlife Reserve in the Western Ghats of South India. These estates have a history of over 150 years and are home to over 100 plant species and 50 animal species. .

Stay tuned for more updates on Malnad Ultra to come out soon, and in the mean time watch the YouTube video clip below for your background info.

The Tale of the Trail, Episode 3 is scheduled for Friday, 29 May and has been titled “Ending the Waiting Game”.

With only two-three points races still scheduled to take place before September, the Asia Trail Master Championship regulations and those of the Grandmaster Quest now require logical amendments as the corona pandemic keeps the world on edge. The updated requirements will be revealed on the show next Friday, and we will let the reigning champions John Ellis and Veronika Vadovicova share their views on them and on their 2020 season in general. Jey Jang will return with the ultimate update on Korea 50K, after some doubt was cast yet again two weeks ago given following a new increase in Covid 19 infections in capital city Seoul. Nop, business development director at Teelakow will join us from Bangkok to talk about Ultra Trail Chiang Rai in October, and Amy Khor will be talking to fellow-SIngaporean Alex Ang. We will have a special feature on Jassica Lintanga, aka Jess Boubie, who is a cultural ambassador of Sabah, as well as of Borneo TMBT Ultra. Last-but-not-least, we will of course have our Mystery Guest!

The Tale of the Trail will air on Friday evening, 29 May 2020.

Dalat Ultra Trail is a symbol of hope for the Asian trail running community as the event is scheduled to be the first post-corona event on 20 and 21 June. However, it will still be an event without international participation.

Event Director Samie Vu has announced the news this morning following a meeting with local Dalat government officials. The Vietnamese country border is set to remain closed for the time being in the aftermath of covid-19. International passport holders currently residing in Vietnam can of course take part in the races of Dalat Ultra Trail as any other Vietnamese runner provided they sign a health declaration form. The event management of DLUT apologises to the many international runners who had planned to travel to Dalat this year, and will contact each registrant in the coming week regarding the options moving forward.

Because the event will take place - touch wood - Asia Trail Master points will still be earned by the 100K (A race) and 70K (B race) runners for the Championship and the Grandmaster Quest. Regarding the latter, this will not affect the current freeze on the two-year time requirement to achieve GM status. More details on the relaunch of the 2020 ATM Championship and Grandmaster Quest will be revealed in next week’s Tale of the Trail show.

Last year’s men’s podium: John Ellis, Hisashi Kitamura and Mohamed Affindi

Last year’s women’s podium: Kim Matthews, Tahira Najmunisaa and Christine Loh

You can now rewatch the edited version of Episode 2 of the Tale of the Trail, broadcast live on our Facebook page on Friday, 15 May. 'A Glimmer of Hope’ focused of course on Dalat Ultra Trail and Korea 50K - the first two events on the current ATM race calendar - with Samie Vu and Julie Vo on the show. Then, we looked ahead to August already together with Amy Khor and the event directors of Borneo TMBT Ultra in Malaysia and Ijen Trail in Indonesia. To top it off, there is a chat with last year’s MMTF victor Kristian Joergensen and with Isaac Yuen Wan Ho, a protagonist in the 2016-2017 seasons and the ‘Mystery Guest’ of this episode.

Main takeaways:

• Dalat Ultra Trail preparation continues, but no concrete news yet on the opening of Vietnam’s country border yet. Limited last-minute registrations will be possible.

• Julie Vo recommends a number of delicacies for first-timers to Dalat, such as the Dalat Hot Pot and the Vietnamese Pizza. A condensed milk coffee should be the start of your day.

• Claus Pedersen, event director of Borneo TMBT Ultra, announces the postponement of the event to 19/20 December 2020 to become the season’s Asia Trail Master Final

• Alfan Impriadi says that the decision on Ijen Trail, scheduled for 15/16 August, will be made mid-June

• Kristian Joergensen is doing hill repeats in flat Copenhagen to keep in shape for a potential late-season attack on the ATM Championship title

• Isaac Yuen Wan Ho has reverted to open water swimming in these corona times, but eyes a return to trail running in the latter part of the year

• Amended regulations for the 2020 ATM Championship and the Grandmaster Quest will be announced before the end of May

Sometimes bad news also comes with a silver lining. The organisation of the classic Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia, is compelled to postpone its event from end-August to mid-December as a result of the ongoing corona pandemic. However, as such it suddenly became possible to turn the ‘Malaysia SuperTrail’ label into the ‘2020 ATM Final label’ and it did not take long before both parties agreed. Borneo TMBT Ultra will close the curtain on this difficult Asia Trail Master Championship season on 19/20 December.

The ATM Final has become a significantly mediatised attraction in recent years and got scaled up another notch last December with the impressively executed Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival in Taiping. It has developed in a real social sports festivity after a full year of battles between the elites, and the many individual achievements on the Grandmaster Quest. Prior to this week, our core team had been planning and discussing for months to get the 19/20 December calendar slot filled. The original plan fell apart in March as a direct consequence of the corona crisis, and two alternatives were also unable to provide guarantees - that is guarantees for having the necessary time to prepare and build up the event. In contrast, Borneo TMBT Ultra offers few surprises on that front. The event will celebrate its tenth anniversary already and is generally acknowledged as a true classic of Asian trail running. We are confident that TMBT is the right choice for this year’s ATM Final and we are highly appreciative of the enthusiasm the TMBT team showed to assume this title. More specific details on what this implies for the runners will be communicated in due course. What is for sure is that only the 100K race will be relevant for those elites fighting for the Championship title.

Given the now several race cancellations on our calendar, we are also looking into the best manner to proceed with the ATM Championship and the Grandmaster Quest in the latter part of the season. We will communicate on this before the end of May.

In conclusion, please read the official statement from the event management of Borneo TMBT Ultra on the postponement of the event to December and the implications for those who have registered already.

POSTPONEMENT OF TMBT 2020

It is with great regret that Borneo Ultra Trails has to announce the postponement of the TMBT Ultra-Trail Marathon which was scheduled for 29th and 30th August, 2020.

There are some positive signs of the COVID-19 pandemic being contained and restrictions are gradually being eased in many countries, but whilst we would like to be optimistic, we consider it unlikely that the TMBT can be organised and run in a format that pays tribute to the 10th anniversary of the event, by end of August without undue risks. The primary concern of Borneo Ultra Trails as the organisers, is for the safety of the participants, staff and volunteers as well as the communities we pass through. Running an event with a large international contingent, under the current circumstances, is not in line with this. Rather than cancelling the TMBT 2020, it has been decided to tentatively postpone it till 19th and 20th December 2020.

In addition to the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the event, we are pleased to announce collaboration with Asia Trail Master (ATM) with the intention to have the TMBT as the ATM Championship Final for 2020.

The world is only just starting to define “life after lockdown”, and we cannot predict how this will develop over the next few months and whether it will be even feasible to organise and run the TMBT safely at year end. We can work on ways to reduce risks, which may affect the race format, but ultimately the race can only be organised and run as planned in December if it is deemed safe. If the race can be carried out within the regulatory framework at that time, it will be run if it has the support of the local communities and it can be organised and run in a format suitable for the event.

For those who have already signed up for the event, we apologize for any disappointment of not being able to go ahead with the race in August, but hope you will understand and join us in hoping the race can be organised successfully in December. Runners who have already signed up/registered for the TMBT in August 2020 will have their entries and registrations automatically transferred to the TMBT scheduled for 19th and 20th December 2020. Should runners who have already registered prefer a refund instead at this stage, please email info@borneoultra.com with all details.

If the eventuality should arise that it becomes necessary to cancel the event in December 2020, those who preferred to maintain their current registration for the new dates for TMBT in December 2020 and those who register henceforth for the event, will be offered the following choices:

• 1. A full refund of the registration fee or

• 2. A transfer of the registration to the Borneo Ultra-Trail Marathon (BUTM) or the TMBT in 2021.

With the best wishes for happy trail running and please do stay safe.

Borneo Ultra Trails

Last year local hero Milton Amat won an incredible race against the inevitable Hisashi Kitamura

We had a surprising Chinese winner on the women’s 100K last year, as Wen Danju from Guangzhou overtook race favourite Asuka Nakajima in the final kilometres

Watch the entire Episode 2 of the Tale of the Trail including the TMBT announcement

Episode 2 of our new bi-monthly video talk show ‘The Tale of the Trail’ has been scheduled for Friday, 15 May at 18:00 Hong Kong time. Labeled “A Glimmer of Hope”, the show will continue on the good vibes from Vietnam and South Korea two weeks ago and hope to get more updates on, especially, the logistical front of both scheduled ATM Championship events Dalat Ultra Trail and Korea 50K. All events in July have already been cancelled, so we will toe the water with the event management of Ijen Trail in East Java, Indonesia, and the big Borneo TMBT Ultra in Sabah, Malaysia. Both are on the programme for the second half of August. Furthermore, we will have a chat with Kristian Joergensen, who only very recently managed to get out of his resident city of Manila in the Philippines and flew back to his native Denmark. And last but not least, we have our mystery guest.

Episode 2 of The Tale of the Trail will be live on our Facebook page on Friday at 18:00 Hong Kong time. The edited recording can also be watched later on YouTube and our website.

Lantau 70 is open for registration. After the Hong Kong government started easing restrictions on society that were imposed as a result of the corona pandemic, the organisational team at The Trail Hub feels confident the time is right to look forward to the event scheduled for 31 October, which is in the end still nearly six months away from now. Lantau 70 is a classic daytime race on the "airport island" and is usually sold out. This year it has also been granted the SuperTrail label in the Asia Trail Master Championship after the cancellation of the 9 Dragons Ultra back in February.

70 km means the race is also valid for the Grandmaster Quest. Event Centre is Mui Wo.

Registration and all details can be checked via the website:

https://www.thetrailhub.com/lantau-70

Now you can rewatch episode 1 of our facebook live show ‘Tale of the Trail’ here on the website. This episode was dubbed “The State of Play” , featuring the event management of the next five events on the amended 2020 Asia Trail Master calendar.

Or on our YouTube page:

The 2020 season continues to be seriously affected by the corona crisis. In the last two weeks, three more ATM Championship events have followed the 9 Dragons Ultra into announcing the outright cancellation of this year’s edition: Puncak Tanawan Mountain Ultra in Philippines, Echigo Country Trail in Japan and last Sunday even Mantra Summits Challenge in Indonesia. At present, the re-launch of the season has moved back to late June and Dalat Ultra Trail in Vietnam. Now here’s some good news: both the event management in Dalat and the following week’s Korea 50K remain upbeat about the chances of their events going ahead as scheduled. The covid 19 cases have been dropping or the situation is so far under control in these two countries that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

However, even if they can go ahead as scheduled, under which conditions?

Plenty of questions and on 1 May we will aim to get a few answers from the event teams themselves. Tune in to our ATM facebook page at 18:00 Hong Kong time (check your corresponding time in your personal country of residence). Kris will be talking to the people behind Dalat Ultra Trail, Korea 50K, Cordillera Mountain Ultra, MUSPO 50 and last but not least Cameron Ultra.

In addition, we will also be briefly putting the spotlight on a mystery guest, a person with pedigree in the Asia Trail Master history to find out how he or she is doing. Before the show, social media followers will have the opportunity to guess the identity of the mystery guest. More on this by the end of this work week.

It is still three months till the scheduled date, but unfortunately the event organisers of Mantra Summits Challenge in Malang, East Java, have already thrown in the towel for this year. The Indonesia SuperTrail in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series has been cancelled.

The official communique reads as follows: "Considering the current situation and conditions related to the COVID19 pandemic, MSC 116-2020 which was originally to be carried out 11-12 July 2020, withheavy hearted we will postpone to 2021. This delay takes into account of health and safety factors of participants in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic which is still ongoing to today.

All participants who have registered with MSC 116-2020 will automatically be transferred their participation to the MSC 116-2021.

Any of you for some reason cannot join MSC 116-2021, your registration slot can be transferred to other runner at no charge. This transfer period will be notified later.

We know that you have prepared for this MSC 116, as well as we as the organizer. However, for the sake of greater interest - our safety and health – we expect your understanding for this decision."

Mantra Summits Challenge ranks amidst the toughest races on the Asia Trail Master calendar with its high elevation gain and peaks above 3000m altitude. Last year the event was dominated by Milton Amat in the men’s and Asuka Nakajima in the women’s.

HONG KONG, April 17, 2020 – HOKA ONE ONE®, a division of Deckers Brands (NYSE: DECK), has today announced the signing of a one-year deal to become the official shoe of the 2020 Asia Trail Master Series.  

Asia Trail Master is an internationally acknowledged series of trail running races featuring 32 races across 12 Asian countries. It features an annual championship based on a points system of runners results across the series. 

As the Official Trail Running Shoe of Asia Trail Master the presence of HOKA on the Asian trail scene has rocketed in recent years, claiming the No.1 spot for shoe counts at several races across Asia, the latest sponsorship will help to boost its pedigree within the sport. 

“We are thrilled to sponsor the 2020 Asia Trail Master Series,” said Mike McManus, Director of Global Sports Marketing at HOKA ONE ONE. “With this, HOKA is able to extend its support of the development of trail running in Asia at the grassroots level, as well as its support of athletes across the globe.”

For more on HOKA, visit www.hokaoneone.com/ or follow @hokaoneone on Facebook and Instagram. 

About HOKA ONE ONE® - HOKA ONE ONE® produces premium performance footwear for athletes of all types. HOKA ONE ONE shoes were initially distinguished by their oversized midsoles; today they are designed with the same enhanced cushioning, inherent stability and problem-solving inspiration to meet the running, walking, fitness and outdoor needs of a wide variety of users. With a bold and often unexpected approach, HOKA ONE ONE empowers athletes of all levels to feel like they can fly. For more information, visit hokaoneone.eu or follow @hokaoneone_eu #timetofly. 

About Deckers Brands - Deckers Brands is a global leader in designing, marketing and distributing innovative footwear, apparel and accessories developed for both everyday casual lifestyle use and high performance activities. The Company's portfolio of brands includes UGG®, KOOLABURRA®, HOKA ONE ONE®, Teva®, and Sanuk®. Deckers Brands products are sold in more than 50 countries and territories through select department and specialty stores, Company-owned and operated retail stores, and select online stores, including Company-owned websites. Deckers Brands has a 40-year history of building niche footwear brands into lifestyle market leaders attracting millions of loyal consumers globally. For more information, please visit www.deckers.com.