The UTMB—Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc—is a marathon unlike any other. Athletes must complete a 171-kilometer course with 10,000 meters of elevation gain in a maximum of 46 1/2 hours.
Every year, thousands of people from all over the world sign up for this race. This year alone, there were 4,486 applicants. The entire event, including all its subcategories, actually had 22,000 applications for just 10,000 spots.
By the way, “Ultra Trail” refers to running distances that exceed the marathon distance of 42 km.
"I'm not the strongest. I'm not the fastest. But I'm really good at suffering."
– Amelia Boone
Trail running has only been recognized as a discipline by the International Association of Athletics Federations since 2015. In this sport, athletes venture off traditional city trails and hiking paths onto terrain that is actually unsuitable for running, such as forest trails, meadows, or gravel paths.
In the case of the UTMB, the breathtaking Alpine landscape presents what is arguably one of the greatest challenges a runner can face.
Anyone who registers for the UTMB is no amateur or casual runner. You can only complete this trail with months of training and absolute passion. The UTMB is a mental and, above all, physical challenge for everyone involved.
The entire UTMB consists of seven different races, all of which aim to circumnavigate Mont Blanc: UTMB (171 km, 10,000 meters of elevation gain), CCC (101 km, 6,100 m elevation gain), TDS (145 km, 9,100 m elevation gain), OCC (56 km, 3,500 m elevation gain), PTL (300 km, 25,000 m elevation gain), MCC (40 km, 2,300 m elevation gain), and YCC (15 km, 1,200 m elevation gain).
The main stage, covering 171 kilometers, runs through Swiss, French, and Italian territory, with the start and finish in the town of Chamonix, France.
During the event, this town is in the throes of total trail running fever. Thousands of athletes and fans of all ages from around the world flood the streets.
The UTMB was first held in 2003. Since then, this extraordinary race has taken place annually during the last week of August.
As part of the UTMB, the organizers launched a second race in 2005 called the CCC (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix).
Many runners refer to the CCC as “the little UTMB,” although with its 100 kilometers and 6,150 meters of elevation gain, it, too, represents one of the toughest challenges in ultra-trail running.
Since its inception, the marathon’s organizers have been committed to environmental protection and place great emphasis on preserving and protecting nature when planning the UTMB—after all, it is precisely this beautiful mountain landscape that makes the UTMB so special.
The event, of course, has several important and well-known sponsors. One of them is the brand Hoka One One, founded in 2009. The brand produces running shoes—and especially trail running shoes—and stood out right from the start due to the oversized soles on its models.
At the time, these soles were the exact opposite of the prevailing trend, which was moving toward increasingly minimalist and lightweight running shoes. Hoka One One was founded in France by Nicolas Mermoud and Jean-Luc Diard, is headquartered in California, and is distributed worldwide.
Both founders had previously worked for the sports brand Salomon and were looking for a shoe that would allow them to run downhill faster and more safely. So they developed the aforementioned sole and created shoes that offered much better cushioning than other models at the time.
The designs were an instant hit in the trail running community and are now among the most popular shoes there.
They are particularly prized by ultra-trail runners because they are lightweight yet still offer high stability thanks to their thick sole.
The lineup has since been expanded to include many more running shoes and, in 2020, a clothing line based on the insights of trail running icons such as Jim Walmsley, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, and Ludovic Pommeret.
HOKA sponsors many well-known runners and isn’t limited to the running industry. The models from this still-young brand have long since made their way into the lifestyle sector.
With its wide, chunky soles, the brand is absolutely in line with current trends and offers consumers a high level of comfort combined with equally outstanding functionality. This has also been evident in the collaborations HOKA has entered into in recent years.
For example, in 2021, in partnership with the streetwear brand thisisneverthat, the two brands released the “Speedgoat 4” and several apparel pieces. The combination of performance and fashion companies is popular and, in this case as well, has produced a stylish sneaker that offers high comfort and good quality.
Further collaborations, such as HOKA x Engineered Garments and HOKA x Cotopaxi, followed, delighting runners with a “sense of fashion” as well as die-hard sneaker enthusiasts. Most recently, HOKA surprised fans with a collaboration in the high-fashion sector. In partnership with Moncler, the Mafate Speed 2 and the Trailgrip GTX were released.
This year, the UTMB took place again in the last week of August and exceeded all expectations.
In the women’s race this year, American Katie Schide won with a time of 23:15:12. She was closely followed by Canadian Marianne Hogan with a time of 24:31:22. The two were locked in a neck-and-neck race for a long time, repeatedly trading the lead.
Schide showed great fighting spirit and was ultimately able to enjoy the final kilometers with a 45-minute lead. Third place went to American Kaytlyn Gerbin, and fourth to French runner Jocelyne Pauly.
Kilian Jornet, a Spaniard living in Norway, made it onto the podium for the fourth time in 2022 and exceeded all expectations with an incredible time of 19:49:30.
He set a new course record, becoming the first competitor ever to complete the trail in under 20 hours. Second place in the men’s division went to his former teammate Mathieu Blanchard, who also posted an outstanding time of 19:54:50, which likewise fell below the magical 20-hour mark.
Jornet himself was probably the last person to expect his victory, as he announced before the race that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Although he had no symptoms, his participation was still in doubt. He last won the UTMB in 2011.
Kilian Jornet did not dominate the entire race, but instead engaged in thrilling neck-and-neck battles with other greats of the sport throughout. At the start, the 2019 winner, Paul Capell of Spain, took the lead.
Until that day, he had also held the current course record of 20:19:07 hours. However, Jornet quickly caught up to him, and they shared the lead.
Then the American Jim Walmsley made his move. He had been training for the UTMB for months and had even moved to the French Alps for that purpose.
In the early stages of the race, the lead doesn’t mean much, since everything is constantly up in the air among the top ten and just a few minutes can change everything.
As darkness fell, however, the race turned into a duel between Jornet and Walmsley, who had a lead of about 10 minutes over the other competitors. In the morning, Walmsley dominated the race all the way to Champex-Lac.
"I just took my second nap. They’ve both been about 10 minutes. I have a marathon left to run, and 10 hours to do it in. My feet are pretty beat up. But...the rest of me feels kind of okay, uh, so I’m just going to keep going until I don’t feel okay. And then I’m going to keep going until I’m done."
– Eugene Day
Things got really exciting again, and Britain’s Tom Evans was also right up there in the lead. At the race’s final checkpoint, Jornet’s lead was more than seven minutes.
He ultimately completed the final 6.4 km to thunderous applause. Tom Evans finished third, and Jim Walmsley came in fourth for HOKA.
It sounds a bit cliché, but anyone who participates in this race has already won. For one thing, simply signing up isn’t enough. A combination of qualification points from other races (including two over 100 km) and a lottery determines whether you can even participate.
For another, while a fast time like the top finishers’ is fantastic, all the other runners—especially those in the back of the pack—run for nearly two days (!) to make it back to Chamonix.
The 2022 UTMB was once again a spectacle full of emotion, fighting spirit, and elite athletes who have once more demonstrated what humans are capable of.
"If it’s a nod from society you’re looking for, run a marathon. But if it’s a life-changing experience of personal strength and perseverance that you want, finish an ultra."
– Vanessa Runs
Here’s an article about the latest HOKA trail running models, which were also seen on the feet of runners at this year’s UTMB.
