The goal: to finish first on a course covering more than 168 kilometers and 10,000 meters of ascent and descent in less than 46 hours and 30 minutes! From August 22 to 28, 2022, this race starts at 6pm in the town of Chamonix, requiring participants to spend two nights along the trekking trail.
UTMB® Chamonix: a race for the best long-distance runners
TheUTMB® Chamonix is a tough 171 km race that brings together the great champions of long-distance running. Extremely demanding, it requires each runner to spend almost two full days on a trail with a vertical drop of over 10 kilometers. As a result, it's one of the trekking races that attracts the most attention.
With almost 10,000 participants and more than 2,000 volunteers, the UTMB® welcomes many spectators. Events are organized in the villages, and a trade fair dedicated to the discipline is set up. The French-Swiss-Italian border vibrates to the rhythm of the races. Enthusiastic participants unite around their passion for trail running. Visit the official UTMB® website to register.
7 races during the event
Around the Chamonix valley and Mont-Blanc massif ultra-trail, other races have developed in parallel. These races serve as a stepping stone until the real competition begins. They are much more accessible to the general public, although some are still very demanding! Such is the case of the TDS, "sur les Traces du Duc de la Savoie", a 145-kilometer Mont-Blanc trail with 7,300 meters of ascent.
Other trails organized as part of theUTMB® Chamonix include :
- Chamonix-Courmayeur-Champex (CCC): a 101-kilometre race with 6,100 metres of ascent.
- Orsières-Champex-Chamonix (OCC ): a similar Mont Blanc trail, between 40 and 70 km with 3,500 metres of ascent.
- La Petite Trotte à Léon (PTL ): a pedestrian endurance event covering more than 300 kilometers and 25,000 meters of ascent in over 150 hours (all in complete autonomy).
- La Martigny-Combe à Chamonix (MCC): a race open to volunteers and local residents over a 40 km course.
- The Youth Chamonix Courmayeur (YCC ): a 5-15km race for youngsters (born between 1997 and 2005) who want to get to grips with trail running.
Entry requirements for the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ultra-trail
TheUTMB® Chamonix organizers have set a number of conditions for entry, including the "ITRA Points". ITRA, the International Trail Running Association, awards points to participants in other trails around the world. Depending on the length and difficulty of these courses, the top finishers will be awarded a certain number of these points, which they can then use towards the race in Mont Blanc country.
To have a chance of taking part in theUTMB® World, you need to collect the 15 points required to take part in the UTMB, which means taking part in an average of two long trails and one medium trail. However, the number of trails to be completed may vary according to successes and failures. As this is a very demanding race, in the event of withdrawal, a runner can go to the nearest checkpoint.
With the number of applications to take part rising year on year, the jury has had to tighten up the conditions of admission: with 6,400 participants for just 2,300 race numbers, a draw has now been introduced. While it can take between one and two years for a runner to obtain points, this draw means that runners generally have to wait 3 to 4 years to take part in theUTMB® Chamonix: it's the event of a lifetime, since it's not possible to take part every year.
