UTMB, You Know What You Should Do?

Every year the same song: Western States happens in June, Americans (and Canadians) celebrate trail running and praise what each of the organization does in the highest tones, proclaiming that nothing ever can change, and anything and everything is beautiful. Shortly after Hardrock rolls up and the same Americans (and Canadians) continue their praise and proclamations. These organizations representing our sport can do no wrong, should not dare to change and need to be protected and persevered at all costs. Then a few weeks later into the summer and the attention of the trail running world turns their attention to the Alps and the tone changes.

Voices of our trail running community who are seen as standard bearers, role models and ‘influencers’ (in the largest sense of the world) turn from cheery warm embrace to nitpick-y needling. A sampling:

Amelia Boone on Threads:

Not gonna lie, I miss the brief second when we all hated UTMB.

Ethan Newberry is still beating his drum:

Hi, UTMB still sucks

AJW on X/Twitter:

Wait, UTMB makes bad decisions? I thought they changed that with Catherine’s and Michel’s redemption tour in February. I guess not.

And Liam aka AidstationFireball posts the leading question:

Absolutely brutal decision for UTMB to turn off the live chat for the live stream. Is the live stream audio also terrible for anyone else? Super muffled/not clear…

Remember that’s the guy who went all out defending the WS coverage this year, shutting down any questions about quality issues. And yes, WS is a nonprofit and UTMB is a business but really, Liam was on site working at WS and is therefore invested into that feed, that’s the reason for the vehemently defending whatever went down.

Liam is also the guy who has spoken out against the Youtube live chat because of too much trolling there, but now that UTMB has taken action it’s considered “brutal” and a strike against the heart of the trail running community. I can’t even.

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The online chatter continues wondering if offering Cola made with Sodastream machines to cut down on plastic waste instead of offering official Coca-Cola products had anything to do with the high number of male elite runners dropping out this year.

That last one made me howl… what a comment, what brain twist to get there. Yes, full-time athletes weren’t able to prepare for this and relied on REAL COKE MADE IN AMERICA to succeed at UTMB. That’s it.

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I totally get that it’s a complete different experience watching UTMB from afar vs. actually being on the ground in Chamonix. Online, one desperately chases stories and hangs on every word typed into Instagram or published in podcasts. I also get that the notion of UTMB being the big bad wolf is just so damn convenient of a story line that one just HAS to run with it. We love a bogeyman. But, we also are proclaiming that we as the trail running community are better and have created something special. This endless needling and fishing for dirt is lazy, lame, and really misses the forest for the trees. But most online trolls never want to see reality anyways, but stay in their basements stirring up shit that ain’t there.