Why Asia Trail Master Is One of the Most Exciting Trail Circuits in the World – An Interview with Founder and General Manager Kris Van de Velde
The Asia Trail Master Championship Series (ATM) has become one of the most exciting independent trail running circuits in the world, bringing together some of the best trail races across Asia — from jungle trails to high mountain terrain. Designed to connect passionate runners, elite athletes, and high-quality race organizers, ATM offers a unique alternative to the major global circuits, while showcasing the incredible diversity of Asian trail running destinations.
We sat down with Kris Van de Velde, Founder and General Manager of Asia Trail Master, to talk about the vision behind the series, what makes it special, and why more European and international runners should consider adding ATM races to their trail running calendar.
Q1. Can you tell our international audience what the Asia Trail Master (ATM) Championship Series is, how it works, and what inspired you to start this series?
I started working on the design and scheduling back in 2014 for the first Championship season to launch in January 2015. ATM was therefore the first Asia-wide trail championship, but the sport at that time was not yet as spread out as it is today. In Hong Kong and Philippines, Japan of course, trail running had already kind of established itself, but even in mainland China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia it was still really the beginning. In Vietnam there was 1 event at the time (VMM).
Most of these early events were only known inside their own countries and by creating ATM I created a platform to bring them in a more international framework, and people across Asia began to know about events outside their own backyard.
It also fostered more competitiveness for the so-called elite runners, but also for event organizers to upgrade their standards. I guess one could say that ATM helped to grow the cake, so that more people could benefit from trail running. That was also what inspired me to start with it. Bring people from different ethnic regions, cultures, religions together on the trails of Asia, and at the same time create a platform where elites can gain racing experience in order to try and make it happen on the global stage of UTMB or, later, Golden Trail.
The ATM Championship is not easy. It requires athletes to perform several times a year and score points in order to qualify for the one-day Final race, where the new champions are crowned. Similar to GTWS as of 2018. I have a competitive sports background myself, first as a track & field athlete, later as a cyclist and duathlete.
I love competition, because I believe in the benefits of it in terms of personal character development, bringing out the best of oneself and – very important – having respect for others and learning to accept defeat.
In life, there are more losers than winners, and competition sports helps to remind us of that and live with that in peace. That is why still today, in Season 11 of ATM, I place a lot of emphasis on the ATM Championship compared to the non-competitive ATM Grandmaster Quest, which is an individual challenge in four levels for the every-day runner to finish a number of long ultra races.
Some people have said to me that the Grandmaster Quest is made for the social media generation, because everyone can become a star in his community while doing it. Capitalising on social media addiction was not the idea behind the Grandmaster Quest, however. I just wanted to motivate everyone, not just the elite runners, to get up from the sofa and move, and preferably outdoors under the open sky and on the trails, whether it’s mountain, forest or desert.
Q2. The ATM series brings together events in many different countries with diverse terrains and cultures. How do you choose which races become part of the circuit, and what makes a race a good fit for ATM?
When I launched the series over a decade ago, I of course had to sell the idea to event organizers. With hindsight I think I can say that worked out pretty well, and for many years now I actually feel there are too many events in ATM. Event organizers need to apply in writing when they wish to join our series, following which we talk and discuss the options and possibilities.
For the Championship calendar, I avoid having more than four-five races in one country during a season. New events or organizers first get the Candidate Race label, essentially a test case to see how they perform. Runners should also be able to rely on ATM after all those years.
Unfortunately, it still happens that organizers do not provide what they promised, for all kinds of reasons, and the Candidate Race label is a hurdle we put in place to avoid controversies at a Championship qualifier or Grandmaster Quest event. Still, there are no absolute guarantees for quality of organization in trail running. One year can be great, the next year can be a disaster. Even the by UTMB series event are not immune to that.
Q3. Many trail runners around the world know circuits like UTMB, World Trail Majors or Golden Trail Series - how would you describe the identity and role of Asia Trail Master compared to those global circuits? What unique opportunities does ATM offer runners?
First of all, the series you mention play on the global stage and have much bigger budgets. Asia Trail Master is just a modest, continental – in this case Asian – series with an emphasis on ‘development’. Call it a feeder series, perhaps. Young, aspiring trail runners -whether competitive or non-competitive – can learn the ropes first in ATM and when successful they will be better equipped when they move up to global level. Vietnam’s Hau Ha (ATM Champion 2022) and Hong Kong’s Veronika Leng (ATM 2019 Champion) are perfect examples of that. I am sure our current female champion Priya Rai from Nepal also is ready now to raise eyebrows in the world’s biggest races.
As I mentioned earlier, I come from a traditional sports background and I firmly believe that you do not skip steps on the ladder if you want to become a successful professional sports star, particularly in a sport like running or cycling. We are not all born Tadej Pogacar, Cristiano Ronaldo or Obelix. We did not all fall into a tank of magic soup when we were a kid. The big majority of sporting talents require nurturing, gradual development, learning how to read races, measuring your opponents, deal with difficult conditions and unexpected set-backs.
In Asia, I have seen several very talented young trail runners being thrown to the lions much too soon, resulting in bitter disillusionment as they were mentally unprepared for the sudden leap in competitive level. Like “oh my god, everyone is faster than me!”. So, not only did they quit the race, but also the sport.
Q4. For European or international runners who haven’t yet tried an ATM race, what would you say are the biggest attractions of the ATM calendar - from both a competitive and cultural/tourism perspective?
Everybody knows Asia is an incredibly beautiful continent, very diverse and accessible in most parts, too. There are so many events in Asia that a westerner can choose from. There’s something for everyone: high altitude mountains, volcanoes, grasslands, deep jungle trails, extremely technical terrain and also very runable paths. Combine it with the rich culinary flavours and cultural traditions of Asian countries and nobody regrets making the trip over. As I mentioned, events in ATM have all been vetted before they take a spot on the calendar. Take your pick!
Q5. Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, what are the next steps or ambitions for the Asia Trail Master series? Are there plans to grow the calendar, attract more international participants, or introduce new formats or countries?
Season 11 of the ATM Championship is scheduled to end in Vietnam on 3 October (Mu Cang Chai Ultra Trail) and the next season will start soon after. I am currently on the lookout for additional sponsors in the market so we can further upgrade our services in several ways. Take things up a notch, one could say. I previously mentioned ‘feeder series’ already.
I always hope to see even more raw talents trying to qualify for the ATM Championship Final, do well in it and then embark on a global career as a professional runner. Yet, I also understand it is demanding and not suitable for some people, bound by sponsorship contracts to take part in different races. Sponsors in trail have a big say in what elite runners can and cannot do, which I find is not exactly healthy for the sport in general. This of course also stems from the absence of real institutional authority in trail.
For the Grandmaster runners, we have just announced a new extension called the Trail to Immortality. Two new levels for those who have reached the ‘Gold” level of 20 ultra race finishes.
The ATM event calendar, especially the Championship calendar, does not need to grow, but it would be nice if organizers and runners from countries like Cambodia, Mongolia and eastern Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan were to become interested in ATM. I also feel a lot more is possible in China and Korea, two countries where we used to have several events per season in the pre-covid era (e.g. Tsaigu) , but not so often since. We will see. After 11 years of ATM, I do not worry too much.