General

TMBT 2025 set tor 30th and 31st August 2025.

The subsequent information is based on the 2024 event. Some updates may be introduced prior to the 2025 event.

The Race

The TMBT is Malaysia's oldest Ultra-Trail® Marathon with the inaugural race held in 2011. The acronym stands for "The Most Beautiful Thing", and makes reference to the iconic Mount Kinabalu, which at 4,100 m is one of Southeast Asia's highest peaks and a world heritage site. The TMBT course is set over the ridges and in the river valleys around the base of Mt. Kinabalu, with the highest elevation on the race course just under 2000m.

The event takes runners from the quaint native villages at the foothills on the western side of Mount Kinabalu towards the southern side of the mountain with the 30k and 50k categories finishing at the viewpoint to Mt. Kinabalu at the township of Pekan Nabalu. The 109k category continues around the base of Mount Kinabalu and to the South-Eastern ridges of the mountain to finish in the village of Kundasang.

The routes are challenging but beautiful and give runners an opportunity to experience remote villages and follow village trails through a varied landscape of forest and cultivated areas. Trails pass paddy fields and climb steep ridges clad in pineapples with amazing views to Mt. Kinabalu and over the surrounding ridges and valleys which are often shrouded in clouds. The routes cross numerous streams with refreshing water on a hot day, while most larger rivers are crossed via hanging, bamboo or log bridges. Part of the trails follow the old heritage trails that used to be a part of the old buffalo trading routes linking villagers from Kota Belud to Bundu Tuhan.

The race has a reputation for being challenging to complete with a combination of steep terrain and technical trail sections, and the weather, usually hot in the first part of the day and with a good chance of tropical showers in the afternoon, often add to the challenge.

Race Categories

DISTANCE CATEGORIES

The 13^th version of the TMBT Ultra-Trail® Marathon will tentatively have the following distance categories:

109 km
50 km
30 km
37 km night challenge
12 km
7.5 km fun/family run

The 109, 50, 30 and 12 km categories start on Saturday morning at Kg. Lingkubang, Kota Belud. The 37 km night challenge starts Saturday night at midnight at "Perkasa" hotel at Kundasang (the halfway and finish station for the 109 km). The 7.5 km loop starts Sunday morning from the finish area for the 109 km at "Perkasa". The 7.5 and 12 km categories are designed to allow newcomers to experience the thrills of trail running with the 7.5 km category characterized as a "fun" or "family" run which is not meant to be competitive. All finishers of the 7.5 km run will receive a finisher medal, but there will not be trophies or podium recognition for the individual categories except for the youth category. The 30 km, 37 km night challenge and 50 km categories are designed for intermediate trail runners while the full 109 km category is catering for experienced trail runners.

The 7.5 km course may be entered as a stand-alone race or as an "add-on" race to one of the other race categories at a discounted rate (please refer to registrations). The 7.5 km race is intended to give people a chance to experience a small section of the second half of the 100 km course. Although short, it has significant elevation loss and gain, and should not be underestimated. There are no age restrictions for children accompanied by a parent or guardian, and we will have a special category for accompanied youth (12 years or younger) for this distance category. Maps and race course stats are shown under "Route Profile".

The 12 km, 30 km, 50 km and 109 km race courses start at the same location, Kg. Lingkubang in Kota Belud District along the Kadamaian river. The different categories will be staggered in time to reduce congestion - please refer to Itinerary.

The 2025 routes are tentatively very similar to the 2023 routes. We are working on providing a better alternative to the 3 km road section between W4 and W5 of the "100 km" route to avoid the 3km highway section, but this is challenging due to steep terrain and land issues. Amendments to the 12, 30, 50 and 100k routes to avoid congestion at hanging bridges between W1 and W2 introduced in 2023 worked well and will be repeated. Amendment to the 37k night challenge and 100 km routes before W10 to avoid a slippery forest section will likely also be maintained depending on the trail conditions closer to the race. Any last-minute course amendments for safety reasons will be conveyed before the start of the race.

AGE CATEGORIES

For each of the Male and Female genders, there will be 2 age categories in the 12, 30, 37, 50 and 109 km with an additional youth category in the 7.5 km category:

The "OVERALL" category includes all runners of the gender taking part in the race. Podium finishers will be awarded trophies and prizes.
The "VETERAN" category is for participants 45 years and above on race date. Podium finishers will be given special recognition
The "YOUTH" category in the 7.5 km race for participants 12 years or younger on race day. Podium finishers will be given special recognition.

To avoid confusion, we would like to emphasize that the category is automatically assigned at registration based on age - please make sure that your date of birth is properly registered in your Racematix profile. For Veteran and Youth Categories - you take part in BOTH your specific category (Veteran or Youth) AND the Overall Category. So if for instance the winner of the Women Veteran category came in second overall, she will be a double podium finisher as the Women Veteran Champion and Women Overall 2nd place.

Qualifiers and Championship Points

The TMBT is a qualifying and point earning event to several races and championships.

Borneo ULtra Trails is a member of the International Trail Running Association (ITRA), and the TMBT courses of 30km and longer are rated under ITRA. This makes the TMBT a qualifying race for all races referring to the ITRA points for qualification such as for instance Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji. In addition to this, the TMBT is a qualifying event to take part in large international races and also a point earning race in international and national championships as outlined below.

ITRA Course Ratings

As an ITRA rated course, the TMBT takes part in the ITRA National League and is a qualifying event to races that require ITRA points for entry. The 2023 ITRA ratings for the 109k, 50k, 37k Night Challenge & 30k categories are outlined in table below. Final rating of courses may change the details slightly but will maintain the points ranking.

Qualifying Races & Championships

	Asia Trail Master Championship The TMBT 2025 is part of the Asia Trail Master Championship Circuit to qualify for the Championship Race. see http://www.asiatrailmaster.com/ for further information
	ITRA National League Championship The TMBT is part of the ITRA National League Championship for all the ITRA rated categories.
	Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB) The TMBT is a UTMB World Series Qualifier. The 109 km event is part of the 100 km series, while the 50 km, 30 km and 37 km night challenge are part of the 50 km qualifier series.
	Western States 100-mile Endurance Run The TMBT is a qualifying event for the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run, considered to be the world's first 100-mile trail run. Starting in Squaw Valley, California and ending 100.2 miles later in Auburn, California, Western States, in the decades since its inception in 1974, has come to represent one of the ultimate endurance tests in the world.

Entry Fees & Entitlements

For entry fees and entitlements, please refer to the Registration page.

Transport, Parking & Accommodation

Please refer to separate sub-menu for transport options.

There is no accommodation provided at the finish line, and for competitors who expect to finish during the night we recommend to book accommodation in advance. There is a range of accommodation options available both at and within a 5 km distance from the finish line.

A shuttle bus service will be available for those who have booked accommodation within a 5 km distance from the finish line. The most convenient accommodation is the Kinabalu Heritage Resort and Spa (formerly Perkasa Hotel) located at the finish line.

There is no parking available at the Perkasa Hotel. For participants and supporters who drive to the venue, there is parking at the large parking area in Kundasang below, and a free shuttle bus will be provided between the public parking at the race start/finish venue at Perkasa. Please allow sufficient time for the shuttle service as no parking at the hotel will be possible.