UTMB – Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, to be more specific – is widely regarded as the most important trail running event in the world. Probably one of the most important running events altogether, but since trail hits different than asphalt plain marathons, such as Abbott big seven now, we will stick to its unicity, at niche level. I’ve wrote some technical details in 2023, but two years later, I can write much more and much accurate, because I really felt it. Not by running, because I was not successful in securing a spot at OCC, the 57 kilometer race, between Orsieres and Chamonix. It is hard to obtain one, and I knew, from the beginning, my chances are slim for 2025. But decided to go anyway, so the experience was more one of a reporter. Which was kind of good, in the end, because being at such a major event, and not having the adrenaline pumping for the race to come, it cleared my mind and relaxed my senses to observe deeply the emotions around.
Mădălina Florea dominated the 15 kilometers ETC race from Courmayeur
It was amusing to spot the favorite from the 15 km race, held in Courmayeur, on the other side of the mighty Mont Blanc Tunnel, Mădălina Florea – probably the best female for short trail running distances, who took advantage of the 10 minutes start delay, and “pulling” someone out of the toilet, so she made sure everything was in place for her eventually crushing 1 hours and 30 minutes clear win, a 2+ minutes course record. But the most interesting witnessing was Jim Walmsley’s fabulous win in the race I just wanted to attend, I just couldn’t. When you hear about his name, many trail running fans, know he is the first and only male American winner of UTMB, in 2023, with a course record of 19 hours and 37 minutes. For 170+ kilometers and 10.000 meters ascent, you bet that is a huge thing. Back then, Jim conquered a long lasting dream, while on the course he ranked once 5th, and once 4th.
Jim Walmsley, in trouble at OCC by UTMB
Going back in 2025, he decided not to take the long race, because of other projects, which couldn’t cope with a energy drainage at the magnitude UTMB claims, so he switched to the shortest UTMB World Series Finals race: OCC. Naturally, the 35 years old was the clear favorite, and so he led most of the race. But at some point, not long before finish, he was surpassed by the 41 year old, Christian Minoggio, of Italy. This wouldn’t be a surprise alone, but the Italian increased the gap to almost three minutes, as things passed by. Then, as Walmsley would say after the race, “we are having too much fun”, and picked up the pace. Honestly, I couldn’t anticipate the outcome, but Jim did pick up the three minutes gap, and surpassed easily the opponent, with a final lead of 20 seconds. Not too much, but given the position he was in maybe 10 kilometers before finish, the recovery was world class.
What does running scared mean?
“I was running scared for the last part”, was also a clear statement, immediately after his pulse was taken after the race. Oh, man, I can’t relate more to this approach. Because I have a half-amusing expression myself, which basically signifies the same thing: “running with fear”. It applies for the last kilometer/s, depending on the race, but because of different reasons: not to be surpassed, or to finish in a certain time. Of course, Walmsley’s concerns were far different, and they can be only perceived by people who actually run for wins, but, in the end, the message is the same, and the sensation, most likely, very similar. When you run scared, you just push the pedal over the limit, to be sure you’re achieving your objective. Sometimes, you can’t. Maybe in many cases you fail, even. But for Walmsley it worked. What happened, then? Why did he lost the lead.
How can there be no water at UTMB?
The reason behind the final struggle looks simple, but actually quite ridiculous for UTMB itself: “There was no still water, and I was surprised, and bothered”, said Jim, straight, without coverage, at the final interview. There were other cold drinks, such as Cola, Iso, sparkling water etc., but the basic was not there. Such a basic need, for the most popular trail runner of the moment, but a huge game changer could have been. For the spectators, the incident brought a delicious finish, hardly being able to be captured live, but at least in the main square there was a huge screen, where you had a second chance to see him passing the finish line. Walmsley does it again, two years apart, after the 2024 abandon from UTMB, but now he wins the little sibling.
29th of August, the big day
I am dedicating so much time writing about this, because it was the main finish I have witnessed and tasted live. But things got picked up more and more, as Friday, 29th of August was approaching. Being in the town from 25th of August, we could see the tension increasing. A quiet Monday, then a lazy Tuesday, started to switch to nervousness. Most people are coming for the UTMB, many come also for CCC – a 100 kilometer race, from Courmayeur to Chamonix; virtually bit more than half of the main event. Both of them are scheduled for 29th of August. One in the morning, at 9:00 AM, the big one at 17:45 PM. The town is getting more crowded, but the nights are heavy, even the air very alive – to quote the famous song – because regardless of who you are, running 100 kilometers or 100 miles is not an easy task. Not in any way.
People have mixed feelings
Weather forecast are not very encouraging, but in the mountains, especially here, in the Alps, they can switch from one hour to another. Even people who accompany runners feel the stress, the anxiety. The atmosphere it is not bad, put it transpires a kind of fear, of unknown, of a challenge. “My partner has some stomach problems, he is nervous”, a Spanish lady who shares the hotel with us, tells me. Alex, a Romanian guy who spots my t-shirt with 2X2Race, tells me: “I foresee I finish between 29 and 32 hours, depending on several factors”. I like people who put their confidence in numbers, that shows accountability, and self awareness. He is relaxed. Or he seems so. The big day is coming for most of them. Who will win? To me, this is simple: the guy & girl who spent the most time training for the event, at spot. There are runners who stayed months or years in France to get accustomed with UTMB, Jim Walmsley included.
Francesco Puppi claims the 100K CCC first place
Before continuing to pulse out the UTMB atmosphere, I’ll comment the other race, CCC. The favorite, Francesco Puppi, an Italian guy more accustomed with shorter races OCC-style, but he means business. I follow him on Strava, and know he was committed to win. In the end, he does it, in slight more than 10 hours. Jim Walmsley did it in 5 hours and 35 seconds. An average pace of 5 minutes / kilometer. Puppi clocked an average slight more than 6:00 / km, but with almost 40 kilometers more. I am not talking about GAP (Gradient Adjusted Pace), but about the rough pace. Both are Hoka sponsored runners, so the main sponsor of the event itself, UTMB, should be really happy to share with them a significant portion of the 200K EUR prize money they allegedly provide for all races. I followed Puppi’s achievement, straight from the Munich airport, as we were about to depart back home. It is incredible what kind of media coverage this event has.
Chamonix, a really special place
Now, being in such a place, with all the trail running legends, is indeed special. It is a feeling very similar to the one lived in the Paris 2024 summer Olympics. Sure, it is at a smaller scale, but also a more personal sentiment, as trail running is something I am generally more passionate about in recent years. And Chamonix is totally opposite comparing to might Paris. At least for its size. But, hey, Paris doesn’t have Mont Blanc, and that evens the gap! Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, to use the “bragging” full name is indeed a place to feel like home, especially in the period of UTMB, I guess. End of August is the perfect time of the year, or it should. Otherwise, I am sure UTMB would have happened at another stage. But no, this is it. You see fit people, no loud voices, no exaggerating in drinking or smoking, no bragging with expensive stuff, even though, participating in UTMB you can be many things, but not poor. It is mostly an adventure, not a sport, as a friend would say. And apart from a few who get sponsorships, for different reasons, most people are participating on their full expense.
Josephine Restaurant, the best!
People behave humble, but you can see them having a lot of good taste as a life approach. It fits Chamonix perfectly. Even if it is not a cheap place, everything matches what it offers. For example, Josephine Restaurant from the town center. We ate there three times, because we liked it soooo much! The veal liver medium-rare was not only great tasting, but so nutritious, that I didn’t need food the next morning, 12 hours apart. Neither could I had a second portion, the second night. But I did got some vegetables, and fries. Great portions, both in size and taste. The serving, instant, because a lot of staff involved. And take into account that in the last week of August, minding the UTMB event, in the center of Chamonix, most likely, more than 20.000 people come at least once. This means more than double the size of the local population! Nothing to complain about.
Lykke hotel, a wonderful place to stay in Chamonix
Apart from this one we tried only the restaurant of our hotel, Lykke. It was decent, but not as good. Instead, the hotel, a perfect experience for Chamonix. Next to the train station, and at the entrance to the town center, not only it has a great breakfast, and you can book a great balcony view to Mont Blanc, which we actually did and enjoyed, but they have also a generous SPA region with swimming pool, jacuzzi outdoor and indoor, and two saunas. For recovery and relaxing, these are true gems. We stayed only four nights, but for sure we’ll take it in consideration for a longer stay in the future. What about other things to do in Chamonix? Well, not a touristic recommendation writing, so not a lot of details, but for sure you should consider climbing by cable car to Aiguille du Midi (it really has a story and it takes you to 3.800 meters), also the Montenvers train and cable car to the glacier cave.
Clock ticking for UTMB
Getting back to the core subject, UTMB, I’ve have only another recommendation to make, and that is it: Chamon’Ice. You can’t argue that a good ice cream works magic after effort, but not only. Saw a lot of runners enjoying ice cream, many sitting where huge queues were. Not to blame, this is how things work usually. The more, the tastier. We try different approaches often, because we don’t like any kind of queue. And this is how we found this “deserted” place. But with a great ice cream. Then, should consider it, 100%. This time back to running, or more specific, to the atmosphere. On 29th of August, in the morning, the weather cleared, so we enjoyed some more hours enjoying Mont Blanc. We knew the core action will catch us in mid air. The anthem, the start, everything. At 17:45 local time, the queen race commenced. UTMB, an event for which many people live for an entire year. And, exactly like for a marathon, everything can be shattered in a blink of an eye.
Fine people at the start for UTMB
Without the likes of Kilian Jornet or Jim Walmsley at the start, also without the surprisingly winner from last year, Vincent Bouillard, the event still aligned a lot of might runners: Courtney Dauwalter, three time winner; Francois d’Haene, four time winner; Ludovic Pommeret, 2016 winner, and still going strong at 50 years (he will eventually finish the 2025 UTMB race in 6th place!!!); Tom Evans & Ben Dhiman, in my view the favorites. For Ben, I am a but subjective, because I’ve witnessed his win in 2024, at MIUT (Madeira Island Ultra Trail); Ruth Croft and so on. The first and only start from Chamonix happens exactly after our departure. But the tension peak was already longed consumed. A kind of mild fear can be sensed in the air from the breakfast. At the end, everything would be a great story to tell, regardless the experience. But at the beginning, we all know how hard things look like.
A bit of track training, to feel the air from Chamonix
My last two cents for testing the hardness of the event is to do some track training on the Chamonix stadium. In the end, I can express better on flat surfaces. It was not chosen, it just happened. I am enjoying the presence of my wife, Anca, who’s recovering her muscles, after the though ETC race. The air is perfect, but you feel the 1035 meters altitude in the lungs. At least I do. So I can’t help myself imagining how beautiful should be to go at 2500 meters above, where the race takes you. It is a thought, I am carrying for my future. Now, I know the departure awaits, and the race result will be announced long after I will wake up after the sleep. Fast forward, the output seems obvious: Tom Evans break the rhythm and headed as winner, Ben Dhiman looked to secure second place, but Josh Wade was pushing. In the end, the classification stayed as described, and the first two made it, finally, after two years in a row abandoning the race. Everything is worth it now.
Courtney Dauwalter, a real fighter
The image of Evans drinking some champaign from his Hoka shoe becomes iconic. He finally makes it. In fact, last year, the ranking looked similar, at a point. But Jim Walmsley lead the two. Unfortunately, all three called the race of. This year all are winners. Including Ben. Because, regardless how much you want to win UTMB, it is pretty complicated for everybody to do it, given the huge volume of high valued trail runners. A top 10 is decent, let alone a top 5. The event continues, but the winners are know. The three-time women hero winner, Courtney Dauwalter, offers a proof of resilience, by finishing the race in 10th place women, even suffering a lot – take into account she led a big part of the race! Ruth Croft from New Zeeland made it, and won. The podium is completed by Camille Bruyas from France and Katharina Hartmuth from Germany. The winners are known, top 10 from both men and women are long arrived, but for many hundreds of competitors, a whole night awaits. In 2024, more than 1000 abandoned.
Final thoughts and… hopes
I don’t like this. My guess is that many push to the limit the 100K race allowing them to qualify, so a 100K race can be labelled one of… 69! Let’s take, for example, Restonica, the exact case presented here. Indeed, in 2025 that changed to 50K, because the race shortened because of weather, but even so. In theory, you can run 60 something kilometers, and qualify for a 170 km race. I am not saying all do these, but 1000 DNF is a huge number, regardless of how we put it. In the end, that is just a personal opinion, bred by running experience. Maybe I am a bit jealous, who knows? It is always easy to talk from the side, especially when you didn’t participate (yet) in the event as a runner, but some hunches don’t lie. Maybe I’ll update this story in the future, with a personal deep experience. Until then, for sure I’ll follow the event until its end. And remember all the atmosphere from Chamonix, a true pole of sports not only for Europe, but for the whole world! At a point, I am sure I’ll be running scared at UTMB. I just need to pick the reason for that.
