All you need to know about the UTMB, the ultimate ultra-trail race

All you need to know about the UTMB, the ultimate ultra-trail race

Vincent

What is the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc?

The Mont-Blanc ultra-trail or more commonly known as the UTMB is a 7-race event held every year in the last week of August. Most of the races have a course of over 100 km and positive elevation changes that can give you a headache 🤯

It's a demanding race, because to take part you need a CV as long as your arm 😅

It is necessary to have participated in other trail races that qualify for the UTMB, and depending on the number of points, you can take part in the event subject to the draw. The organization wanted to tighten up the conditions for participation, but realized that this could lead to overtraining of some runners who were taking part in an increasing number of races. It is now possible to take part in two races that accumulate the right number of points to hope to take part in the UTMB event. 

There are also time limits to be respected if you want to finish the race and get your medal.

Every year, the number of registrations is always greater than the number of authorized runners, so there's a system of drawing lots that makes the race even more exceptional. For the UTMB event in January 2022, there were almost 4,500 registrations for just 2,300 places. In 2020, the number of registrations rose to 32,000 for just 10,000 places, all competitions combined.

One event, 7 trials :

  1. PTL, or Petite Trotte à Léon , is an ultra-endurance pedestrian event that allows participants to complete the grand tour of Mont-Blanc. With 300 km and 25,000 m of D+, it is both physically and mentally demanding. You need a good sense of direction, as there are no markers on the ground. The number of participants is limited to 300. 

  2. CCC or Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix has long been considered the UTMB's little sister, following the international long-distance route of the Tour du Mont-Blanc. Equally demanding, with 100 km and 6,100 m D+, and numerous high altitude passages at over 2,500 m and difficult weather conditions such as snow, rain, wind and cold. The number of participants is limited to 1,900. 

  3. The UTMB is the famous Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc race, a 170 km trail discipline with over 10,000 m D+ with a limited number of participants of 2,300. It's a demanding race that takes place in very difficult climatic conditions. A few years ago, the race had to be stopped in Saint Gervais after just a few hours, because there was too much snow. It's a demanding race, with the aim of finishing the 170 km in less than 48 hours. 

  4. TDS or Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie links Val d'Aoste to Savoie, offering magnificent scenery. Its 145 km route and 9,100 m D+ make the TDS a demanding race not to be missed. The number of participants is limited to 1,600. 

  5. OCC or Orsières-Champex-Chamonix is a race with a shorter course of 55 km and 3,500 m D+. It's an opportunity to try out a less difficult route linking France, Italy and Switzerland. The number of participants is limited to 1,200. 

  6. MCC or Martigny-Combe-Chamonix is a 40 km, 2300 m D+ route from Switzerland to Chamonix. This route is also accessible to a larger number of people. The number of participants is limited to 1,000. 

  7. YCC or Youth Chamonix Courmayeur is the race for the very young, with a course of up to 15 km and 1000 m D+ depending on age. The number of participants is limited to 300 on the YCC The Revenge format.

UTMB's most successful athletes: 

For men:

Kilian Jornet (ES): 4 wins. Also the youngest participant to win the event at the age of 20. 

François D'Haene (FR): 4 wins 

For women

Lizzy Hawker (GB): 5 wins

 

A shower of records for the 2022 edition:

Audience record

  • 10,000 runners

  • 104 nationalities

  • 2,000 volunteers and organization members

  • 100,000 spectators over the week

  • 18,832,266 views on social networks, 460 accredited media from 34 countries and 964 publications

  • 650,000 fans on official UTMB Mont-Blanc social networks 

  • Official content generated 2.4M fan interactions on event platforms.

Sports record:

Kilian Jornet and Mathieu Blanchard both managed to break the 20-hour barrier, in 19:49 and 19:54 respectively.

 

To find out which race to do in order to qualify for one of the UTMB events, visit the UTMB website: https://utmbmontblanc.com/fr/

So are you ready to attempt the UTMB in 2023? 🏃

 

Sources: UTMB

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