There were 700 on the starting line in 2003, there are now 12,000, coming from the four corners of the globe.
In twenty years, the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc has become an institution in the world of running and ultra-endurance.
Every summer, at the end of August, for a week, Chamonix is transformed to host this international event in the heart of the Alps.
The highlight is a very grueling and challenging 170 km race.
What if this expansion reached its limits today?
In recent days, the UTMB has been experiencing a strange controversy.
The undisputed star of the discipline, Spaniard Kilian Jornet, has announced his intention to boycott the next edition (August 26-September 1).
He announced this in a letter co-written with another renowned athlete, the American Zach Miller.
Both men feel that the organizers are "not running the event in the best interests of our sport and its athletes", and that "there is a way to do it without mistreating people and crushing everyone who get in the way.
Gigantism increasingly criticized
This missive is not super surprising either.
Criticism of the gigantism of this event, and its ecological impact, has been mounting for several years as climate change accelerates and the UTMB site is a major victim with the melting of the glaciers.
The carbon footprint of participants and spectators, particularly regarding their means of transport to Chamonix (plane, car), raises eyebrows.
Also read: Kilian Jornet fights to save the mountains: “Artificial snow is not the solution”
Already last year, Jornet and other ultra-trailers protested against the control of the automobile manufacturer Dacia over the financing of the race, which now bears his name.
“We have a lot of enthusiasm and admiration for the UTMB, which is one of our three biggest weeks in terms of attendance, but we have perhaps reached a maximum in terms of attendance (
around 30,000 people in total over the week Editor's note
)", also explained in our columns the mayor of Chamonix, Éric Fournier, who himself has already run several races during the UTMB week.
He then suggested “re-reading to better manage the event in the future”.
“Hypocrisy”, according to their detractors
Clearly, Kilian Jornet and Zach Miller invite the 15 best athletes on the men's and women's circuit to withdraw from the UTMB and participate in another race on these dates.
They want to create an electric shock, an awareness, "even if we recognize that the race and the organization have done a lot of good for ultra running as a sport", they take the time to clarify.
In this process, they have joined forces with the “Pro Trail Runners” collective, for a greener and more sober trail.
Their letter was sent privately to a certain number of athletes.
But a certain Martin Cox, outraged by the “hypocrisy” of Jornet, four-time winner of the UTMB, and Miller, second in 2023, chose to make it public.
This athlete and coach considers, to summarize, that these two men are spitting in the soup.
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A post shared by Martin Cox (@vo2maxcoaching)
The UTMB “open to discussions”
The organization, for its part, responded in a press release.
Given the aura of Kilian Jornet, she preferred not to go to the clash, while regretting the form of this initiative.
“We strongly believe in the value of open and constructive discussions to find solutions that benefit the entire community.
We thank Zach and Kilian for their availability to participate in these interviews, and are committed to maintaining transparent communication for the benefit of all.
We value the opinions of the entire community and are always open to discussion and collaboration.
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