Among the endless flurries of official announcements from the UTMB press office this week is this announcement:

Building on the solid sustainability foundations and actions put in place on the Dacia UTMB® Mont-Blanc since 2003, UTMB Group has today launched a new regeneration initiative which sets out a roadmap to have a positive impact on the communities it serves, the people it touches and our planet.  

This press release is accompanied by a new webpage, (linked here) which highlights ‘three pillars’ or areas of focus for the group.

Environment:

Our environment is our playground, and we are committed to its protection and regeneration. We aim to minimize our impact on the environment and support the regeneration of our mountain ecosystems. We believe that by taking decisive action today, we can ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy the beauty and challenge of trail running.

Territory:

We aim to leave a positive legacy at every UTMB World Series destination. We believe in supporting our host communities and promoting sustainable tourism. By engaging the UTMB family in local communities, we can create a lasting impact that goes beyond the race itself.

People:

At UTMB, we believe in the power of inclusivity. We are committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our runners. We aim to increase and support female participation in the UTMB World Series and redefine trail running as a sport for all.

Here’s what these efforts come down to: UTMB knows it needs these three key ingredients to be successful today and tomorrow.

• If they trash the environment in which they operate they might not get permits from the land owners/agencies (which could be catastrophic). The full UTMB loop takes runners through three different protected natural areas, for example. And if the perception grows within our trail running community that UTMB aren’t good stewards and ignore the realities of climate change to make ‘a quick buck’ then it would ruin their reputation in the longterm and lead to a slow death.
• If they fuck over the locals and come across as corporate bullies it could also lead to permitting issues but equally devastating for them would be to not be able to find volunteers to help staff their events.
• Lastly, runners who pay for race entries is their lifeblood and currently their largest income stream. Politics and worldviews are shifting fast and the French-centric organization is growing into a global player requiring an adjustment to its perspective on many issues to match that of the global running community. As the group is expanding into more regional territories this could create an interesting tension between traditional locations and modern values.

An organization of this size has lots of work to do but also has the ability to mask shortcomings in certain areas by highlighting ‘initiatives and success stories’ in the media and press. The timeline they put out with a vision for 2035 “to transform the UTMB World Series into a beacon of sustainable excellence in trail running” feels too vague and weak to me. That many years into the future I see no. reason that the UTMB group couldn’t operate as a climate neutral corporation. And yes, some of it is greenwashing and just buying carbon offsets isn’t the end-all goal either, but why not be a bit more ambitious in this area, given their current growth projections?

Here are the winners of this year’s OCC 50K race from Orsières to Chamonix which saw 1643 finishers and 86 DNFs.

Women:

1. Toni MCCANN – South Africa (Adidas TERREX) 05:18:212
2. Katie SCHIDE – United States (The North Face) 05:26:25
3. Miao YAO – China (Salomon) 05:27:07

Red Lantern: Valerie BERTHELOT – France 14:45:25

Men:

1. Stian ANGERMUND – Norway (Asics) 04:42:40
2. Francesco PUPPI – Italy (Nike) 04:44:58
3. Antonio MARTÍNEZ PÉREZ – Spain (SCARPA) 04:45:19

Red Lantern: Ron LEARY – Great Britain 14:44:30

First off: Incredible results, congrats all around.

These results show the increasingly international field, which is super fun to see and something that will only expand in the coming years.

For full results visit the official UTMB website.

Earlier today UTMB announced the addition of two new races to their World Series Calendar.

• Mauritius is their second race in Africa on the beautiful island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and will be held June 22-24.
• Mount Yun is UTMB’s second event in mainland China (a third is TransLantau, which is officially billed to be in Hong Kong). Dates and distances have not been announced for this event.

Mauritius being in late June will make for a very busy for the UTMB team. There are now ten events around the world between mid-June through mid-July.

The Electric Cable Car UTMB Events Calendar is updated to reflect these new additions!

Final time: 46 days 12 hours 50 minutes. (Pending official verification!)

Over five days faster than Timothy Olson’s time from 2021.

Mind, blown.

From the crowdfunding page:

A breathtaking photographic journey of the places and people who make the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) the world’s most prestigious trail-running race.

New photo book by Alexis Berg and Aurélien Delfosse just in time for UTMB week. Or rather a bit late as it’s just pre-announced and won’t ship for a few weeks. Alexis Berg is behind the amazing projects ‘Grand Trail: A Magnificent Journey to the Heart of Ultrarunning and Racing‘ and ‘The Finishers The Barkley Marathons‘ so you know it’ll be good.

The full title of the book rubs me a bit wrong: ‘UTMB The Race that Transformed a Sport’. Why? Well, remember Doug Meyer’s book? ‘The Race that Changed Running‘. So clearly we’re not very creative over there in the book naming departments. Good thing I titled my podcast episode with Doug ‘UTMB Changed Everything‘. I covered all the bases.

Singletrack – Episode 283:

The female self-supported Mount Rainier Infinity Loop FKT has just been reset and my mind is blown. I had to sit down with Abby and Kiira who completed this route and learn about their incredible adventure and about the motivation behind it all.

Abby and Kiira didn’t just run this for themselves. In honor of their friend Luke who passed away in a climbing accident last year they wanted to use this effort to raise awareness (and funds through a GoFundMe campaign) for the important work the American Alpine Club does with their Climbing Grief Fund.

LINKS

• Mt. Rainier Infinity Loop FKT
• Abigail Westling on Instagram
• Kiira Antenucci on Instagram
• GoFundMe for the Climbing Grief Fund
• American Alpine Club: The Climbing Grief Fund

The aid stations at UTMB are of a different dimensions compared to your average trail race in the US and require more planning and foresight for you to be successful and not loose too much time navigating these vasts gym halls. Kaz Williams writing for the Mettle Blog has a good breakdown on how to prepare for success for when you’re ready for your the big dance around Mont Blanc:

Having a clear and simple aid station strategy is essential in terms of your overall performance, particularly later in the race when you’re tired.

Speaking of bacteria in the water:

A boil water advisory has been issued after E. coli bacteria were found in the water supply near Phantom Ranch at Grand Canyon National Park, officials warned Friday. 

I don’t have the fondest memories of Phantom Ranch but this is not an ideal situation for this remote place deep in the Grand Canyons. Currently it’s too hot for full R2R2R crossings, but hopefully by the time the cooler temps come around and runners are heading back down into the canyon relying on these water sources, this problem will be fixed by the National Park Services.

Maia Pandey for NBC News:

More than 100 people said they contracted bacterial infections after competing in a Tough Mudder challenge on Saturday and Sunday in Sonoma, California.

You dig gross mud pools, let them sit for a few days, and then let hundreds of runners crawl through them. Seems like an obvious recipe for exactly this.

Dylan Bowman will be hosting his Freetrail show for the big upcoming UTMB week in an interesting new format:

Announcing our daily audio/video show from Chamonix throughout race week! Starting next Monday, Freetrail will be hosting a daily morning show, setting the context for race week, previewing the storylines from each event, and debriefing the results as they come in. It’ll be like Breakfast at Wimbledon for trail running’s biggest event. We have a star studded cast of rotating co-hosts who will join us every morning, each with a unique perspective and personal experience with the race. It’s going to be amazing.

Kind of a fascinating concept in many ways:

• It’s sponsored by two official UTMB sponsors: CamelBack and Hoka.
• It’ll be pre-recorded to not clash with the official UTMB live coverage.
• The giveaways from the sponsors are for “Freetrail Fantasy” players, which is a great way for Freetrail to get more people signed up.

What’s weird is that there’s no mention of ‘Freetrail Fantasy’ or this morning show on the official Freetrail website.

Matt Walsh over on his Substack is suggesting that “we don’t need more shoe reviews”.

This week we’re back discussing why endless shoe reviews are bad for our sport and why we need more trail running media outlets to make a leap away from the safety of the spreadsheet.

I suppose he’s referring to the recent shift in iRunFar’s focus from race reports and race coverage to reviewing and promotion A LOT of shoe releases. Although it’s of course a bit unfair to just single them out here, since most trail media outlets are getting sucked into the vortex of chasing the SEO game and hoping for the big ad spenders to consider their platform for a an ad buy.

Matt ends with the simple plea:

The future of trail running media needn’t be more shoe reviews. We have enough of them thank you. We need stories built on the sport and it’s community.

His comment got me thinking and I wanted take this thoughts a bit further.

A couple realities:

1# Shoe/Gear brands are the only businesses in our market that are currently making real money.

Athletes certainly aren’t buying themselves third vacation homes.
Media outlets are either start ups, or are suffering from the general decimation all media outlets are challenged by. (Or invested their cash in NFTs and are trying to dig themselves out of that hole.)
Events managers (race directors) don’t seem to have a business model that allows them to scale to riches.
Land owners are mostly public entities.

So, gear companies control the narrative via their cash.

But there’s another angle to this:

2# Trail running is and hopefully will always be a participatory sport.
When Dylan Bowman exclaims boldly that ‘trail running will save the world’ I hope what he means by that is not just a desperate call for him to find a business model for his post pro athlete career but that he sees the power of trail running being an accessible invitation for everyone to go out and experience adventure. Our sport is relatively cheap (makers of carbon-plated shoes are desperately trying to change that.) and is challenging to follow along from the couch.

So, we have a participatory sport (woohoo!) and gear companies with outsized influence (big pockets full of cash).

So the folks with money get to dictated how the media writes about the sport. And while we might say that we don’t need any more shoe reviews, the average runner needs several pairs a year, because they don’t just sit on the couch, but actually participate in the sport they are reading media articles about. So, the advertisers reach their audience through the media desperate trying to get their hands on some of the cash the gear companies make from the growing interest in our sport.

Should the media be more discerning and critical in their reporting? Yes. And one would think the readers would appreciate discerning and quality reporting… but then again, TikTok videos seem to move the needle more for brands these days than quality conversation about the advantages of $300 running shoes. So what Matt seems to be lamenting is a general “social media-ification” of the general media landscape rather than a unique problem in our trail running sport.

But, one thing I do agree with is that if trail running is supposed to save the world then I hope it ends up doing more than just making lots of money for gear companies.

What sounds a bit like a evil villain corp. out of a James Bond film is actually a new-ish series of multi-stage ultra marathon events around to world:

Ultra X aims to be the first multi-stage ultramarathon series of its kind.

With the very humble tagline:

“The World’s Greatest Ultramarathon Series”

Fantastic.

Singletrack – Episode 282:

Brittany has had a busy year and it’s not over yet. So many races, so many great results and an incredible finish at Beast of Big Creek is setting her up for her first 100 miler, the Oregon Cascades 100 later this month. We talk about all this, and why you should tell your kids to run cross country in high school.

LINKS

• Brittany Kealy on Instagram
• Beast of Big Creek

Patrick Ryan writing an article for Run247 titled:

Western States Endurance Run by UTMB: Route, live tracking & how to enter

Do we see the issue here? Western States is not a “by UTMB” race and will never be (I would assume). This mistake maybe be forgiven considering that ‘RUN247’ seems to be a foreign (UK) publication, but it’s such an glaring mistake and ‘RUN247’ seems to clearly have ambitions to be a serious publication for the ‘trail running world’.

Welcome to RUN247, your ultimate destination for all things trail, sky, mountain, and ultra running! We are your go-to source for the latest news, expert advice, and invaluable insights in this exhilarating world.

At RUN247, we live and breathe trail running and ultramarathons.

Operated by SBR^X ‘RUN247’ is a sibling website to ‘TRI247‘ which focuses on triathlon news, seems to have just in recent years pivoted to the trail world.

SBR^X is a leading digital publishing business specialising in the endurance sports sector, mainly triathlon and trail running. 

And if you’re wondering when the recent pivot happened (they posted about marathon content and road running before) the connection to the triathlon world is your indicator that ‘Run247’ seems to have “discovered” trail running around the same time the Ironman/UTMB partnership was announced.

One funny sidenote: the logo for ‘TRI247’ looks like a more complicated version of the Freetrail logo.

Good times.

Singletrack – Episode 281:

The Beast of Big Creek races just happened this past weekend and I am still sitting on boxes on top of boxes in my office. But! I had to take the chance and chat with Eddy Allen from Lacey WA who crushed the Skyrace course in 3hrs 14min. 

Thank you to everyone who came out and raced with us this past weekend. We had an incredible weekend. Busy, but so so wonderful. You all did so great out there.

LINKS

• Eddy Allen on Instagram
• Beast of Big Creek
• Cushman Six

A Change.org Petition, endorsed by Damian Hall and others:

We, The Green Runners, call on the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) to ditch their high-carbon sponsor from their flagship event, the Dacia UTMB Mont-Blanc.

Yes, pulling in Dacia, a European carmaker is not the greatest look for UTMB, although somewhat unsurprising. And yes, I think it’s good that we have folks continue to ‘speak truth to power’ and aim to hold UTMB accountable.

But, it’s also like clockwork that within 2-3 weeks before the big dance around Mont-Blanc some folks speak up and find something to poke UTMB at, leveraging the media attention to criticize the event that has grown to a size and influence that’s entirely in its own universe.

One of the greatest resources to find awesome trail races in your area just got a huge face lift. In fact the entire website was updated and with it a new standard for races to be a ‘Trail Sisters Approved’ event:

• Announcing the NEW TS Race Calendar and a 2024 NEW TS Approved Standard!
• Starting in 2024, races who are TS Approved must include a Pregnancy & Postpartum Policy. 
• Whether planned or unplanned, an expected or unexpected start or end to a pregnancy, healing and recovery time are required for a women’s overall health. Policy details are decided by the race director, but we recommend at least one to two years deferral depending on the race distance, and/or a refund option.
• The TS Calendar now includes upgraded search functionality, advanced filters (premier events w/ qualifiers), viewing options, and a user friendly backend for RDs!

Exactly a year ago, in the lead up to a historic 2022 edition of UTMB in Chamonix Zoë Rom asked the question in Trailrunner:

“Will 2022 Be The Last Big UTMB?”

Now, looking at this year’s lineup I think we can easily answer Zoë’s question with ‘NO’. The lineup for both the men’s and the women’s races looks absolutely stacked. And UTMB has found a way to create a system that ‘ostensibly’ let’s the every day runner accumulate their stones and get through the lottery to fulfill their dream to run around Mont-Blanc while at the same time keeping the attractiveness high for pros that they are willing to do what it takes to get to toe the line in Chamonix. In turn UTMB is doing everything in their power to find ways to tweak their rules to enable pros to obtain a bib with Courtney Dauwalter and Mathieu Blanchard being the latest pro runners confirming their attendance for 2023.

Given, it is pretty easy for UTMB right now, with absolutely no other races in the world even remotely in the same echelon when it comes to attractiveness for runners, pros, sponsors, brands and the media. The spectacle that is UTMB in Chamonix each August is unmatched.

Speaking of early season races, the Big Alta is a new Daybreak/Freetrail race, and the first foray into California for Oregon-based Daybreak Racing. Offering a 50K and 28K race on the famous Marin Headlands trails this events seems to a perfect addition for the Daybreak/Freetrail partnership.

A feast for the eyes, these courses will treat runners to seemingly endless vistas that stretch across the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Both the 50K and 28K routes pay homage to course landmarks Loma Alta and Big Rock Ridge, two of the highest points in Marin County. The Big Alta will not only challenge its participants physically, but also reward their efforts with awe-inspiring views, heaps of trail community love and of course, all the electric race weekend vibes and hype!

This gives Daybreak nine races in three different States along the West Coast. UTMB/Ironman has five across the entire United States.

Another early season race, this one in Tuscany, Italy: Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB.

In 2024 we will take runners on a journey through time in the heart of Italy. Set on a hilltop amongst a sea of vines and famed for its vineyards and castles, the medieval village of Radda in Tuscany will be the start for all distances.

For the everyday runner (me!) more races means more opportunities to see awesome places and get running stones in the process, but Hannes mentioned on Singletrack an interesting point: If top runners have tons of races to choose from to get their qualification for Mont-Blanc it could lead to less competition and ‘more boring races’. Hannes won Eiger easily this last month and lead the race from start to finish. Not sure how to square this as I, obviously, want more races to choose from, so more runners can get to experience these events. Maybe pros need to find ‘their races’ which really matter to them and run those and ignore the others?

Side note: I updated my UTMB events calendar with the latest information.

Singletrack – Episode 280:

UTMB is the growing, omnipresent entity in our sport of trail and ultra running, and naturally I have questions. So, I went to the source, and got answers. In this week’s episode of Singletrack I have the incredible honor to chat with Frédéric Lénart, CEO of the UTMB Group to discuss their partnership with Ironman, the expansion in the US, it’s relationship with the race directors on the ground, and ultimately, UTMB’s motivation behind it all.
I published an article, not a transcript, with some of the highlights we discussed on this episode; answers to questions that I hadn’t seen written down anywhere else.

LINKS

• UTMB World Series
• The Race that Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB
• Addendum to my Conversation with Frédéric Lénart on Singletrack

Eric Schranz, host and manager at ultrarunnerpodcast.com:

What was once a daily routine for me–URP Daily News 5x/week and at least one episode each week for ten years–has changed since the Covid response and it’s time to close the doors.

13 years is a long time and the world has changed and moved on.

From the Western States news page:

Here are the results of the independent Western States Endurance Run (WSER) Runner Survey from the June 24-25, 2023 race, conducted by ultralive.net.

Some highlights:

• Topo Athletics accounts for 4.6% of the shoes runners wear. Mind blown.
• Hoka has 38%, which is also crazy, but many of the “other big brands” aren’t making a dent at all, which continues to puzzle me.
• Salomon for example only accounts for 10% of the shoes worn, but 50% of the running vests. No wonder every brand is releasing their own vest these days.
• COROS accounts for almost 30% of the watches folks wear, Garmin taking 60%. Combined that doesn’t leave a lot of room for other brands.
• Close to 90% of runners to a crew and pacers. Fascinating to think that this is such a norm in this very important race while it’s not allowed at all at European races.

Peruse the survey results for yourself, lots of good stuff in there.

I haven’t done one of those in awhile.

Here’s the gender split for this weekend’s skyrace in Hoodsport, WA above Lake Cushman in the Olympic Mountains:

For the two events combined 126 racers signed up, 51 are women or 40% of the overall runners.

• Summit Race (Skyrace): 81 total runners, 23 female (28%)
• Forest Loop: 45 total runners, 28 female (62%)

The race is seeing an overall increase in signups of 23% compared to 2022. A 4% increase in women racers with the majority coming from the shorter distance. The Summit Race had an overall increase of 8%, but a drop of women runners by 4% points. The Forest Loop saw an overall increase of 56% and a women runner increase of 15% points.