Veronika Vadovicova wins Asia Trail Master, surprised she could compete given she entered just to travel
- The Slovakian runner switches from triathlons to trail running when she realises she is a natural, and goes on to win the Asia Trail Master
Even as Veronika Vadovicova was winning trail races she did not put much stock in her ability. The Slovakian was a triathlete and as her strongest discipline was running, she took on some trail events two years ago. She dismissed her high finishes because the trail scene is small in Shanghai, where she lived at the time.
That all changed when she met Kris Van De Velve, founder of the Asia Trail Master (ATM), who encouraged her to take part in his series.
“I had never done anything like ATM before,” Vadovicova, 29, said. “So, I just wanted to go to different destinations and run. It was fun. But then I won the first two races.
“It changed. It went from seeing how well I could do, to saying ‘OK, I can do well’. By the end, I wanted to win,” she said.
The ATM takes place over the year, with races across Asia each assigned points. Only a runner’s five best results count towards their total, and coming into the final weekend three women – Asuka Nakajima (Japan), Christine Loh (Malaysia) and Vadovicova – were still in contention to take the title.