Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc
The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is a single-stage mountain ultramarathon, first held in 2003, that follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc.
Description
It takes place once a year on either the last weekend in August or the first weekend of September in the Alps. It follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc through France, Italy and Switzerland. It has a distance of approximately 171 kilometres (106 mi), and a total elevation gain of around 10,040 metres (32,940 ft). It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in the world, and one of the largest with more than 2,500 starters.[citation needed] It is one race during a week-long festival based around Chamonix in France, and is a race of the Ultra-Trail World Tour. The races have strict entry and qualification requirements attained by accumulating enough race points through qualifying trail races over the previous two-year period. In 2016 and 2017, 42% and 34% of runners did not finish the UTMB race.[citation needed]
While the best runners complete the loop in slightly more than 20 hours, most runners take 32 to 46 hours to reach the finish line. Most runners will have to run through two nights in order to complete the race.
Since 2006, a second race Courmayeur - Champex - Chamonix (half-loop) has also been organised, and a third race was added in 2009: "Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie". A fourth shorter "running" event - Orsières - Champex - Chamonix - was added in 2014.
La Petite Trotte à Léon is a non-competitive team event started in 2011. Each team is made of two or three members for safety. The route and direction of the course change every year. In 2015, it was run counterclockwise.
Today, the races consist of the following;
- UTMB: Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (171 km +10,040 m)
- CCC: Courmayeur - Champex - Chamonix (101 km +6,100 m)
- TDS: Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie (121 km +7,300 m)
- OCC: Orsières - Champex - Chamonix (56 km +3,460 m)
- PTL: La Petite Trotte à Léon (approx. 300 km +30,000 m)
- MCC: De Martigny-Combe à Chamonix (40 km +2,300 m)
- YCC: Youth Chamonix Courmayeur (15 km +1,100 m)
Route
The route follows the Tour du Mont Blanc hiking path that is usually completed in 7 to 9 days by hikers. This is a loop around Mont Blanc.
It starts from Chamonix (1,035 m) and goes up to the Col de Voza (1,653 m) to reach Les Contamines (1,150 m), which is the first life base. It then climbs to the Croix du Bonhomme (2,479 m) before going back down to Les Chapieux (1,549 m). The path then runs up to the Col de la Seigne (2,516 m) to enter Italy, and follows the ridge of the Mont-Favre (2,435 m) before going down to Courmayeur (1,190 m), the second life base. It climbs again to the Refuge Bertone (1,989 m) and Arnuva (1,769 m) before reaching its highest point, the Grand Col Ferret (2,537 m), which also marks the border with Switzerland. The path goes down again to Praz de Fort (1,151 m) via La Fouly (1,593 m) before reaching the third life base, Champex d'en Bas (1,391 m). The last part includes two rather low cols: Bovine (1,987 m) and Les Tseppes (1,932 m), separated by Trient (1,300 m). On the descent to Vallorcine (1,260 m), the path re-enters France and crosses Argentière (1,260 m) before finishing at Chamonix, its starting point.
The route varies slightly every year, sometimes for safety reasons. In 2010, the route was 166 km long with a total elevation gain of 9500m.
A more detailed profile can be found on the official web site: UTMB profile.
Participation and results
The race's popularity and its entry rate grew significantly since it was first held. The number of entrants doubled from 700 in 2003 to 1,400 in 2004. In 2005, the limit of 5,000 runners was reached 7 months after registration opened. In 2006, the organisers decided to create the CCC in order to allow more runners to take part. The registrations were sold out in only 2 weeks. In 2007, it was decided that runners must qualify, by running qualifying races beforehand gaining points. That year the limit of 5,000 runners was reached less than 24 hours after registration opened. For the 2008 event, 6,000 runners registered in only 8 minutes, 5 months before the race. For the 2009 event, the qualifying criteria were tightened to limit the number of qualifying runners, and a draw was introduced to make entry fairer, giving an equal chance to all qualifiers, and making registration more orderly. Despite the stricter criteria, 10% of qualifying entrants were still denied a place, so the organisers raised entry standards still further for the 2010 event so that selection would be based more on capability and experience than luck of the draw.
The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants automatically receiving a 55% refund and given the option of reserving a spot for 2021, 2022, or 2023.[1]
Ultra-Trail du Tour du Mont-Blanc
| Year | Distance | Runners | Finishers | Winner Male | Time | Winner Female | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 153 km | 722 | 67 | Dachhiri Dawa Sherpa  |
20:05:59 | Kristin Moehl  |
29:38:24 | 2003 full results |
| 2004 | 155 km | 1383 | 420 | Vincent Delebarre  |
21:06:18 | Colette Borcard  |
26:08:54 | 2004 full results |
| 2005 | 155 km | 2000 | 773 | Christophe Jaquerod |
21:11:07 | Elizabeth Hawker  |
26:53:51 | 2005 full results |
| 2006 | 158 km | 2535 | 1152 | Marco Olmo  |
21:06:06 | Karine Herry |
25:22:20 | 2006 full results |
| 2007 | 163 km | 2319 | 1437 | Marco Olmo |
21:31:58 | Nikki Kimball |
25:23:45 | 2007 full results |
| 2008 | 166 km | 2500 | 1268 | Kilian Jornet  |
20:56:59 | Elizabeth Hawker |
25:19:41 | 2008 full results |
| 2009 | 166 km | 2500 | 1383 | Kilian Jornet |
21:33:18 | Kristin Moehl |
24:56:01 | 2009 full results |
| 2010[a] | 88 km | 2400 | 1127 | Jez Bragg |
10:30:37[a] | Elizabeth Hawker |
11:47:30[a] | 2010 full results |
| 2011 | 170 km | 2361 | 1133 | Kilian Jornet |
20:36:43 | Elizabeth Hawker |
25:02:00 | 2011 full results |
| 2012[a] | 103 km | 2483 | 2122 | François D'Haene |
10:32:36[a] | Elizabeth Hawker |
12:32:13[a] | 2012 full results |
| 2013 | 168 km | 2469 | 1686 | Xavier Thevenard |
20:34:57 | Rory Bosio |
22:37:26 | 2013 full results |
| 2014 | 167 km | 2434 | 1582 | François D'Haene |
20:11:44 | Rory Bosio |
23:23:20 | 2014 full results |
| 2015 | 170 km | 2561 | 1631 | Xavier Thevenard |
21:09:15 | Nathalie Mauclair |
25:15:33 | 2015 full results |
| 2016 | 170 km | 2555 | 1468 | Ludovic Pommeret |
22:00:02 | Caroline Chaverot |
25:15:40 | 2016 full results |
| 2017[a] | 167 km | 2537 | 1687 | François D'Haene |
19:01:54[a] | Núria Picas |
25:46:43[a] | 2017 full results |
| 2018 | 170 km | 2561 | 1778 | Xavier Thevenard |
20:44:16 | Francesca Canepa |
26:03:48 | 2018 full results |
| 2019 | 170 km | 2543 | 1556 | Pau Capell |
20:19:07 | Courtney Dauwalter |
24:34:26 | 2019 full results |
| 2020 | cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[1] | |||||||
Ultra-Trail Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix
| Year | Distance | Runners | Finishers | Winner Male | Time | Winner Female | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 86 km | 1054 | 854 | Alun Powell |
10:53:17 | Corinne Favre |
10:35:55 | 2006 full results |
| 2007 | 86 km | 1609 | 1332 | Julien Chorier |
10:19:46 | Andréa Zimmermann |
12:28:05 | 2007 full results |
| 2008 | 98 km | 2032 | 1318 | Guillaume Le Normand |
12:26:04 | Lucy Colquhoun |
14:33:37 | 2008 full results |
| 2009 | 98 km | 1865 | 1266 | Jean-Yves Rey |
11:40:47 | Chantal Begue |
16:51:00 | 2009 full results |
| 2010 | 98 km | 2004 | 1677 | Xavier Thevenard |
11:57:13 | Maud Giraud |
14:07:38 | 2010 full results |
| 2011 | 98 km | 1907 | 1591 | Emmanuel Gault |
10:10:25 | Virginie Govignon |
12:47:11 | 2011 full results |
| 2012[a] | 86 km | 1913 | 1585 | Tofol Castañer Bernat |
08:57:04[a] | Ellie Greenwood |
11:17:24[a] | 2012 full results |
| 2013 | 101 km | 1910 | 1320 | Jordi Bes |
11:23:01 | Caroline Chaverot |
14:12:00 | 2013 full results |
| 2014 | 101 km | 1945 | 1423 | Pau Bartolo |
11:21:16 | Anne Lise Rousett |
14:28:48 | 2014 full results |
| 2015 | 101 km | 2127 | 1470 | Zach Miller |
11:53:32 | Ruth Croft  |
12:54:53 | 2015 full results |
| 2016 | 101 km | 2123 | 1386 | Michel Lanne |
12:10:04 | Mimmi Kotka  |
13:42:46 | 2016 full results |
| 2017 | 99 km | 2155 | 1742 | Hayden Hawks
|
10:24:30 | Clare Gallagher
|
12:13:57 | 2017 full results |
| 2018 | 101 km | 2147 | 1622 | Thomas Evans
|
10:44:32 | Miao Yao 
|
11:57:46 | 2018 full results |
| 2019 | 101 km | 2132 | 1578 | Luis Alberto Hernando
|
10:28:49 | Ragna Debats 
|
12:10:33 | |
| 2020 | cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[1] | |||||||
Ultra-Trail Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie
| Year | Distance | Runners | Finishers | Winner Male | Time | Winner Female | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 105 km | 632 | 480 | Patrick Bohard |
14:01:48 | Fernanda Maciel  |
17:17:43 | 2009 full results |
| 2010 | 105 km | cancelled | ||||||
| 2011 | 110 km | 1180 | 781 | Franck Bussiere |
15:51:37 | Jolanda Linschooten |
20:57:32 | 2011 full results |
| 2012 | 114 km | 1464 | 633 | Dachhiri Dawa Sherpa |
14:37:07 | Agnès Herve |
19:07:00 | 2012 full results |
| 2013 | 119 km | 1528 | 1022 | Arnaud Julia Bonatti |
15:09:59 | Nathalie Mauclair |
17:36:41 | 2013 full results |
| 2014 | 119 km | 1588 | 1076 | Xavier Thevenard |
14:10:37 | Teresa Nimes Perez |
18:41:12 | 2014 full results |
| 2015 | 119 km | 1807 | 1214 | Pau Bartolo |
14:26:40 | Andrea Huser |
16:35:29 | 2015 full results |
| 2016 | 119 km | 1794 | 1060 | Pau Capell |
14:45:44 | Delphine Avenier |
18:46:24 | 2016 full results |
| 2017 | 119 km | 1818 | 1251 | Michel Lanne |
14:33:09 | Mimmi Kotka |
15:47:07 | 2017 full results |
| 2018 | 121 km | 1799 | 1329 | Marcin Świerc  |
13:24:00 | Audrey Tanguy |
16:05:22 | 2018 full results |
| 2019 | 145 km | 1785 | 1091 | Pablo Villa Gonzalez |
18:03:06 | Audrey Tanguy |
21:36:15 | |
| 2020 | cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[1] | |||||||
Orsières-Champex-Chamonix
| Year | Distance | Runners | Finishers | Winner Male | Time | Winner Female | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 53 km | 1200 | 1109 | Nicolas Martin
|
5:07:45 | Sonia Glarey
|
6:37:40 | 2014 full results |
| 2015 | 53 km | 1442 | 1317 | Marc Pinsach Rubirola
|
5:21:38 | Celia Chiron
|
6:41:53 | 2015 full results |
| 2016 | 55 km | 1413 | 1232 | Xavier Thevenard
|
5:28:37 | Mercedes Arcos Zafras
|
6:54:13 | 2016 full results |
| 2017 | 55 km | 1565 | 1468 | Marc Lauenstein
|
5:19:34 | Eli Gordon Rodriguez
|
6:12:16 | 2017 full results |
| 2018 | 55 km | 1572 | 1478 | Erenjia Jia
|
5:28:44 | Ruth Croft
|
5:53:09 | 2018 full results |
| 2019 | 55 km | 1605 | 1474 | Stian Angermund-Vik 
|
5:19:24 | Ruth Croft
|
5:50:14 | |
| 2020 | cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[1] | |||||||
Results by nation
UTMB
| # | Nation | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Podium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France
|
8 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| 2 | Spain
|
4 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| 3 | Italy
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Nepal
|
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Switzerland
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | United Kingdom
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | USA
|
0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 |  Hungary
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  Germany
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Sweden
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  Lithuania
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  Romania
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 |  Japan
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| # | Nation | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Podium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom
|
5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | USA
|
5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | France
|
3 | 2 | 9 | 14 |
| 4 | Spain
|
1 | 7 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | Switzerland
|
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Italy
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 |  Luxembourg
|
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 |  Czech
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
CCC
| # | Nation | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Podium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France
|
5 | 7 | 6 | 18 |
| 2 | Spain
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | USA
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | United Kingdom
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Switzerland
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 |  Greece
|
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Poland
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 |  Canada
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Japan
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | China
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Italy
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| # | Nation | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Podiums |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France
|
6 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
| 2 | United Kingdom
|
2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | USA
|
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Sweden
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | New Zealand
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Switzerland
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | China
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Spain
|
0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 7 | Italy
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Logistics
- 15000 volunteers were involved in 2015.
- Northface Ltd was the main sponsor from 2006 to 2014. Columbia has been the main sponsor since 2015.
- Kuala4k is the secondary environmental sponsor since 2014
- Runners must carry a minimum of equipment for safety reasons. This includes a waterproof jacket, warm clothing, food and water, whistle, mobile telephone, survival blanket and two head lamps.[citation needed]
- There are food and drink points along the route, every 10 to 15 km. In addition, four big "life bases" provide hot meals, beds and massages: Chamonix (France), Les Chapieux (France), Courmayeur (Italy) and Champex (Switzerland).
- At Courmayeur for UTMB and at Cormet de Roselend for TDS, runners can collect a drop bag they previously left at Chamonix or at Courmayeur.
- Runners' race numbers contain a magnetic badge that is read at approximately 50 check points. Timings and rankings are available online and by text message in real-time.
- It is conducted under the regulations of the International Trail Running Association (ITRA), the governing body for trail races in the Mont Blanc and Alpine region.
- PTL is a mostly self-supported run without course markings or aid stations. Runners rely on a limited number of support points, mountain huts, local stores and restaurants for food and sleep. The course should be followed by GPS, maps, and the road book. It goes as high as 3300 meters (11,000 feet) and must be completed in about 6 days. Each team of two or three people carries a satellite beacon for safety. The course is modified every year and there are no official winners.
See also
Notes
References
External links
- Official web site - (main language: French, but also English, Spanish, Italian and German)
- Press kit on the official web site[permanent dead link] (PDF)
- UFO Les fous de l'UltraFOnd - (French ultra runner web site)