Observations from the UTMB Finals 2024 in Chamonix

I was there, finally, in Chamonix during UTMB week. To take it all in, to report on it – I had a media pass – and I was there to race: I ran OCC. It was a lot to juggle, and I probably missed many important things that happened. It’s a completely different experience to be on the ground immersed in all the activities and the bustle as supposed to just watching from afar. It can feel overwhelming at times. But it also feels wonderful to just allow yourself to get swept away by the production, the care, and the enormity of it all. Here are my big things I took away from this week.

The “Arena”

I have not been at every trail race in the world, but the way UTMB utilizes Chamonix and the surrounding trails as “their arena” to stage this production is an absolute masterclass in project management, and displays an incredible amount of care in stagecraft allowing runners – fast and slow – to be celebrated and feel included. Most American races prioritize the starting times of their events, UTMB carefully orchestrates when races start and when finishers arrive back in town to maximize fans being able to cheer their arrival. It’s an absolute stroke of genius and experiencing it in person is emotionally powerful and a huge inspiration. A couple examples of this:

• The first CCC finisher arrive just shortly after the UTMB starters have left the famous blue arch in town. Spectators can just linger around and wait for them to arrive.
• PTL runners leave first – on Monday morning – kicking off an entire week of events. And as they arrive back in town – coming in the opposite direction of how UTMB/CCC/OCC runners arrive they are being rung in by a cheering group of volunteers with bells. Folks stop what they are doing, stand up from their dinner tables and cheer on these incredible athletes. All day and all evening long. Brings tears to my eyes. It’s beautiful.
• My OCC finish (I arrived in town Thursday evening at around 9pm) was absolutely eclectic. The amount of people cheering me on on that last kilometer to the finish arch was incredible. So many people, and just for me, arriving in 1085th.
• And even beyond Chamonix. OCC kicked off in Orsières at 8:15am. Perfect timing for folks to be awake, lining the streets, cheering, cowbells everywhere – beautiful.

The Adaptive Team

UTMB made a big splash in the press about their new policies and their team. At OCC I got to experience this live: I saw a whole group of runners pushing someone in an outdoor wheelchair along the trail. The group was electrifying and incredibly energetic. Was that large group a bit distracting on the narrow trails, yes, but I also loved their cheering and excitement. Total win for everyone involved in my book.

UTMB’s Sustainability Efforts

• Mobility and transportation: I travelled to Chamonix – 90min from the nearest airport without having to rent a car. UTMB makes a big deal of this and it worked flawlessly. There’s a tram connecting the villages and buses taking runners to their starting line – my OCC bus was comfortable and timely. I know coming from a US perspective and expecting to have a large group of supporters helping you at the aid stations – this system can be a bit o a hassle, but with 10,000 runners this seems like the right concept folks will have to adapt to and then it’ll work. If you want to crew at Hardrock you need a 4×4 in certain places, we don’t ask them to clean up their backcountry roads. In Europe public transportation is the future of mobility and folks will learn to adapt and see the benefits of such a system.
• Waste programs and recycling: I saw very little single use plastic at the aid stations. My finish line beer was served in a reusable cup. UTMB had Sodastream makers at the aid stations and no cans or plastic bottles. I even observed volunteers sorting garbage and recycling. I know this might not feel convenient to the runner, but for me a race director, this is inspiring. If a race of this scale can implement these changes than we can do more as well.

The Vendor Village and Brand Action/Activations in Town

The vendor village is truly impressive. An entire plaza filled with Christmas market style booths in numbers seemingly larger than brands present at TRE. Lots of Euro brands I have never heard of. If I wouldn’t have been busy with 400 other things I would’ve definitely spent more time there getting to know the various offerings. Same goes for the activation events all over town. If you want to participate in any of them you really need to plan out your week carefully to not miss any. UTMB promotes only events by official brand sponsors and just being signed up to the brands’ newsletters or Instagram accounts isn’t working as the brands don’t use their global newsletters to share these local events. It’s a bummer as I feel like I missed a lot. But, let’s face it, I also couldn’t have crammed more into that week in Chamonix. There was some talk in the media about UTMB’s effort to suppress ‘ambush marketing’. I wrote some thoughts about it in a previous post.

The languages on the trail

UTMB is the most international event I’ve ever been a part of. Bibs display the countries runner come from and allow you to connect with folks you hope speak your language. Speaking of flags on bibs – I reside in the US but am German citizen. I had the German flag on my bib. Other events (Hardrock, TOR seem to not be able to figure out this distinction.) During the race this international crowd led to quite an intense scene. Often in the US I find myself chatting comfortable with runners around me. There, on the trails it felt like it was all business. Everyone was focused on their own race. Maybe that’s a Euro thing, maybe folks weren’t sure if their little icebreakers starting a conversation would land or be understood by other runners and thus they didn’t even try. But this felt certainly like the most race-like event I’ve ever participated in. On the other side the fans along the side of the trail were able to take advantage of the flags displayed on the bibs and they cheered you on in your own language. That, paired with them being able to see your name created an incredible personal atmosphere in certain places along the trail which made the race truly special.

The elite performances

• Katie Schide’s victory at UTMB: Katie taking down Courtney’s course record and Courtney cheering along in a chicken costume no less just shows that the women’s race is the one we should all be here for. Such class acts, such standard setters for what trail running should be all about. Fantastic. Sidenote: The Koop vs. Roche drama continues: Just a week after Roche took down the fabled Leadville record in his 100M debut no less, Koop strikes back with Schide (coached by Koop) absolutely crushing UTMB. Such drama, what’s next?
• Vincent Bouillard’s victory at UTMB: Vincent didn’t just win because everyone else DNF’ed. He won in under 20hrs – only a handful of racers have come in under that magic mark. He showed everyone that our sport is still what we all want it to be. Trail running hasn’t gone that far pro yet that only the elite, the full-time athletes can perform at the highest level of the sport and win. Vincent works full-time for Hoka. And yes, he’s an incredible athlete, of course, but he has barely any social media presence and designs shoes for a footwear company for a living – incredible. Vincent also used his finish line interview to say as much. He doesn’t want to do the full-time pro athlete dance and is quite happy with where he’s at. I mean, of course, why wouldn’t he be happy, he just crossed the finish line at UTMB in first place. But also, what a perfect finish for Hoka, which might spend $$$ on sponsoring athletes, but here’s one of THEIR employees taking the limelight. Couldn’t have gone better for them.

Of course there were plenty of other amazing performances in the various events throughout the week, but the high drop rate by many runners (mostly American men) left the media in a bit of a pickle. I think the big storylines the talking heads had prepared were left on the cutting room floor. The post race interviews didn’t include any folks who DNF’ed so at this point we’re sitting in the dark on what happened. Was it the Sodastream Cola that some were wondering about – hahahaha – what an idea. Of course every runner has their own story as to why their race derailed and didn’t go as planned. The weather was hot and humid but not over difficult to handle – especially for elites. As an pack of the pack runner I don’t understand why DNF’ing rather than drudging it to the finish line feels the better choice for elite athletes, but I do understand that their reasoning for racing, their opportunities and their overall season plan is completely different – I accept and respect it, but I don’t quite understand it.

As for me, yes I still owe you a full race report for my OCC run. I promise it will be posted before my next race… which I already signed up for.