It was the year of Asia Trail Master. Most of the races I reported on in 2019 belong to this series, and these races were the fuel for both our training and our travels. It was a big year, but now my Asia Trail Master adventure has reached it’s conclusion.
My feelings about Asia Trail Master are complicated. I’m glad I did it: the series introduced me to a ton of wonderful events across a vast continent. But I won’t be returning.
A short history
The Discovery
My Asia Trail Master journey began nearly two years ago. A friend invited us to join a race in the Philippines. Eager for new adventures, we jumped at the opportunity and found ourselves at our first race outside Korea: the Cordillera Mountain Ultra.
When I learned that CMU was part of an international series of races, I was ecstatic! This could be the start of a great new adventure! By chance, we were already registered for a second race in the series. To us, Korea 50k is a classic on the Korean race calendar – but in 2018, it was also on the ATM circuit!
From there, our involvement in the series accelerated. I won a free race entry to Tengri Ultra in the spring. Then we set our sights on Ijen Trail Running in Indonesia for the fall. Our lifestyle came to revolve around running to travel and traveling to run. By the end of 2018, I ranked 11th in the women’s championship.
The Quest
Having discovered this checklist of races in fun places, Kent and I wondered what we could do with it. Where could Asia Trail Master take us in 2019? What kind of challenges could we try?
The grandmaster quest suited us well. To become a grandmaster, runners must complete six races from the Asia Trail Master circuit within two years. Each race must be over 70 kilometers long, or have over 4500 meters of elevation gain.
We liked the idea of this quest because it basically entails amassing a collection of unique long runs. We could bolster our running resumes while traveling around Asia. Plus, we love a good quest!
After completing two 70k races in 2018, we were well on our way already. In 2019, we just needed to add four long races to become Asia Trail Master grandmasters.
We completed this quest in August of 2019. The 9 Dragons 50 miler, Dalat Ultra Trail 70k, Mt. Apo Skyrunning 100k and TMMT 100k were the race choices that fulfilled our requirements.
The Competition
But the grandmaster quest was not the only reason we returned to Asia Trail Master in 2019. After finishing just outside the top ten in 2018, I wanted to see if I could improve my ranking.
Runners get points for competing in each race on the circuit. Extra points are allocated to Longer, tougher races. There are also points for achievement, with race winners getting the highest number of points. An individual’s five best races count towards his or her total at the end of the year.
Deciding to compete was an interesting decision for me. I’m not particularly fast. More likely to encourage a fellow racer than try to outpace her, I’m not really in the right mold for competition.
It was not only kind of an unusual choice for me, it was also embarking on a kind of quest where I wouldn’t have control of the outcome. To become grandmasters, we simply needed to complete races. But to compete in a series was to engage in a brand new game. I would not only have to improve my own skills, but measure them against others. While I could control myself, to some extent, I had no idea what kind of competition I’d have.
So Kent and I continued picking races based on places we wanted to visit or events that intrigued us, just like in 2018. There was no overarching strategy, no grand plan. We just wanted to have fun, and along the way, collect some competition points.
To do so, we used the Asia Trail Master calendar like a road map for our 2019 running season. We ran nine Asia Trail Master races that year, and the 2019 championship wrapped up with Kent in 16th place in the men’s, and me 9th among the women.
Perspective on the series
Asia Trail Master – The good
Race Inspiration. My first impression of Asia Trail Master remains my favorite aspect of the series. It’s like a scavenger hunt of interesting races in fun places: a bucket list of adventures!
Fast friends. In addition to being a network of races, it’s also a network of potential friends. We met so many interesting and inspiring people this year, many of whom can now be counted as true friends.
Eco-tourism. Some of the races in the series promote sustainability and development, giving runners a chance to help preserve to the nature we all love to run in. CMU stands out for this, and 5 years of races enabled TMMT to save a precious ecosystem from a construction project. Although not attributable to ATM directly, these individual events are great examples of how your active holiday can contribute to a cause.
Growth. Kent and I achieved many of our best performances in Asia Trail Master races. Our PBs include our fastest times at the 70 and 100 kilometer distances, along with our only 60 and 90k races. Three of my top five race performances, as ranked by the International Trail Running Association, are ATM races.
Winning. I got to experience what victory feels like on the series. I won two races, twice achieved second place, came in fourth once and scored two fifth place finishes. It was also fun to lead the ladies rankings early in the 2019 season.
Asia Trail Master – The bad
Privilege. Let’s start with the obvious and most general: not everyone can travel so much. We live abroad and prioritize running, but even for us, 2019 was an exceptional year. Vacations lined up, we stretched our finances to the limit and made certain sacrifices to make our dreams come true. Still, I recognize that’s not possible for everyone.
The reality is that for non-elite runners, running five or more international races in one year for the competition (or even six in two years on the grandmaster quest), adds up. Race entry might not break the bank, but flights, hotels and time off work might.
Some countries have more races than others, so it would be advantageous to live somewhere like the Philippines, Thailand or Malaysia. It also helps hugely to have flexible work hours and a supportive family.
Exclusivity. This series is not for everyone. While finding community not be a concern for every runner, I struggled with this from beginning to end of my ATM experience.
The Asia Trail Master organization is small. If you’re in the club, you can expect to reap the rewards. But if you find yourself on the outside, you’ll know it.
I was initially so stoked to find this community. But then I woke up to the reality: just because we all love running doesn’t mean we’re meant to be friends.
But how could I not feel hurt when other runners with similar results got free race entries? Or when my fellow competitors were hooked up with sponsors? How could I not be upset when Asia Trail Master chose someone else to interview – overlooking me again and again?
Management. I had to constantly advocate for myself in Asia Trail Master. My points total rarely reflected reality, and it would take weeks and multiple emails to multiple persons to get an update. If there was some kind of a problem with a race’s timing or reporting, it was completely up to me to solve it – and to take the blame for it.
As a result of issues with my points, I was often excluded from competition press. But not just due to error: several times I was left out even when I was leading the ladies rankings. Whether this was willful, because I was not well-liked by the organizer, or simply mismanagement, I’ll never know for sure.
When I asked questions (which I did – a lot) about any issues, Asia Trail Master’s organizer quickly shunted responsibility onto individual races: results were late, irregularities had occurred in the time-keeping, the race directors were incompetent. Or, more often than not, the responsibility fell on me. My concerns were ignored, sidelined or met with outright hostility by the management.
Communication. I spent a lot of my time reaching out to the organizer of Asia Trail Master. Almost every time I received a reply, it was with an excuse. The organizer was abroad, so my concerns would have to wait. Or, the organizer was hosting guests or was ill or extremely busy. At best, Asia Trail Master lacks professional communication. At worst, it’s dismissive, accusatory, and downright rude.
Other communications errors were more personal. Despite many in-person meetings, multiple race registrations and so on, the organizer just couldn’t get my name right. On the rare occassion that I found my way into the ATM press, I was misquoted or the information was false. I wish I had a counter-example. But there were no success stories.
Awards and rewards. Kent was never awarded his Asia Trail Master grandmaster status, despite the fact that we completed the quest together – back in August 2019. We weren’t doing the quest for the rewards, but we were, once again, excluded. Neither do we appear in the grandmaster hall of fame.
Asia Trail Master – The verdict
It’s important to point out – first and foremost – that I had nothing but great experiences at every single individual race. I would return in a heartbeat to any of the races I did. The problems described above are issues belonging to the Asia Trail Master organization.
Second, the problems described above represent my own experience. Likewise for the positives. This is the story of my unique Asia Trail Master journey. Your experience won’t necessarily resemble mine.
But for me, participating in the series was ongoing source of stress and conflict. And that’s why I won’t be going back. Running is fun. It’s not right to have great racing experiences colored by organizational failure or communication breakdown.
I planned a year of our lives around this series. 2019 began with dreams of a top 10 finish. But although I achieved my goal, I ended the year feeling hollow and hurt. It took me a while to come to grips with my experience, to disentangle the amazing from the ugly.
It’s a shame, really. In the beginning, I wanted to get involved with Asia Trail Master. I thought I could write articles or help with promotions. Instead, I can’t even wholeheartedly recommend participation in the series.
But there were so many moments of joy, of inspiration and of love. Last year, I laughed more than I cried. There’s a striking contrast between my individual experiences and my perception of the series.
So where do all those good memories belong? They don’t belong to ATM. They belong to me, and to each race experience. Turns out, last year was NOT the year of Asia Trail Master. It was a year of many unique races and adventurous travels. Kent and I achieved, we overcame, and we discovered. It was a wild and wonderful ride.
Here’s what I think (about Asia Trail Master – and about life too): it’s important to remember what’s important and let that guide you. It’s easy to to get hurt, to become bitter, to get stuck in fight mode. When lost, let your values lead you home.
What I wanted from Asia Trail Master was a new adventure that I could share with my love. That was the point, for me. There are very real issues with Asia Trail Master. But I went astray when I invested too much in this series. I felt like I had to fight for my points, for myself. At the end of the day, though, it doesn’t matter if we have special titles or if I hold a certain ranking.
What matters is just what matters to me: love, growth and adventure. The races we did in 2018 and 2019 made the past two years magical. I wouldn’t trade a single moment, joyful or otherwise, from either year. But in 2020, I’m moving on to new adventures. Adventures I can embrace wholeheartedly and adventures that will lead to more growth and happiness.