Brian Metzler has been to every UTMB week since 2010, and in this piece he shares his 8 hot takes from a transformative week of trail running in Chamonix.
I’ve been to every UTMB week since 2010, and, honestly, it’s always had a big vibe—with great racing action, a showcase for most of the sports top athletes, and the singularly stunning Chamonix Mont-Blanc region and the raw connection to nature that it offers. But the last two years have grown to a scale of a different magnitude, especially this year. While the same amount of runners participated in the week’s eight races, what made this year different was more brand activations, more fun runs, more cultural moments, more events aimed at the non-racing fans in Chamonix, and honestly, just more energy. It’s just my observation, but there seemed to be a lot more runners in town than ever before to support runners, run trails on their own, immerse in outdoors under the considerable aura of Mont-Blanc, watch the races, and engage in the merriment of the festival-like atmosphere in the village and on the race courses.
Hot Take: The place was amped all week, not just for the finish of UTMB. There’s no way to quantify it, but five years from now, when we look back to where the rise of modern trail running really exploded, this year’s UTMB week will be one of the turning point moments.
Trail running had its coming out party in small doses over the past 25 years and has been growing all along, but, especially after the past week in Chamonix, it’s clear that it’s launching into a new stratosphere. What does that mean? There are more eyeballs on the sport than ever before—especially from watching livestreams of races like UTMB, Western States, Hardrock, Sierre-Zinal, and some of the Broken Arrow Skyrace events—and there are more runners converting to the trails from traditional marathon running on the roads. While mainstream media coverage was still limited outside of France, there were more social media content marketing creators/influencers in Chamonix this year, exposing the wild spectacle of UTMB week to entirely new audiences of trail-curious runners. (Believe in the Run and TommyRunz were spinning up content all over the courses, while watching French influencer Clément Deffrenne finish UTMB late Saturday night amid hundreds of his cheering fans was insane.)
And those trends are global, not just U.S.- or Euro-centric. (The trail running participation in East Asia is probably already larger than the U.S. and European markets, which is why so many runners from China, Thailand, Japan, and the Philippines were racing in Chamonix, and why Japanese and Chinese brands are rising, but also why the sport and events have gained a permanent foothold in Asia.)
Hot Take: It’s all leading to more money flowing into the sport than ever before by way of endemic and non-endemic brand involvement, specialized shoes and gear, increased athlete sponsorships, more high-level exposure, and probably entry into the Olympics by 2032 or 2036.
Modern trail running culture isn’t a new thing at all—it’s been a thing since the late 1970s and early 1980s when the sport first got going—but it has arrived in earnest. Trail running culture is hard to pinpoint, but it has been a very real aspect of every era of the sport. It’s the quirky things we do, as a trail community, the ways we connect, how we immerse in challenges, how shoes, apparel, and gear evolves based on both the need and emerging aesthetic of the trail running community. In other words, brands, products, and races, aren’t really the culture; More so, we, as trail runners, create and evolve the cultural vibes tied to some of those things, largely based on the authenticity they bring to the sport in a particular era.
And one of things that emerging lately in trail running culture is a certain sense of fashion that has veered from the more rigid silo of functionality and performance. It’s why Satisfy’s hole-infused Mothtech T-shirts and NNormal’s Power Hiker trucker hats (a product of a partnership between Norda and the YaboyScottJurek meme platform) seemed to be worn by all the cool kids maneuvering around Chamonix. But culture ebbs and flows, which is why brands pass in and out of the zeitgeist of the sport, which is why Montrail shoes, fat ass runs, Trail Runner magazine, and old-school bandanas of the past have given way to FKTs, 200-mile races, back yard ultras, and brands like Death March Running Company, NNormal, Speedland, and Like the Wind magazine, among others.
Hot Take: The bottom line is that for a new brand, race, or concept to become part of trail running culture—whether it’s Nike ACG, Broken Arrow Skyrace, Tracksmith, or All Day Running Co.—it has to be done authentically. It will be interesting to see how the authentic and cultural core evolves compared to the trends that emerge from the mainstream boom.
The future is bright for trail running shoes. Chamonix briefly turned into a remote version of The Running Event trade show, as several brands dropped new trail running shoes last week. Among the brands that launched or introduced new trail running shoes were Nike, Adidas-Terrex, Brooks, Hoka, The North Face, Norda, Rossignol, Mount to Coast, Kailas, and Ulu. While some of those brands might not be on your bingo card, the shoes that debuted were pretty impressive.
The most prominent were four cushy but agile carbon-infused racing super shoes—the Nike ACG Ultrafly, Adidas-Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra 2, Brooks Cascadia Elite, and Hoka Rocket X Trail models. (Hoka’s shoe launched this week, but the rest won’t be in stores until this fall or next spring.) The North Face also launched a version of the Summit Vectiv Pro 3 in its Flora Alpina color motif, while Norda revamped its original 001 model and re-released it as the 001A model with a infusion of its superior Arnitel TPEE midsole foam superfoam. The Mount to Coast H1 road-to-trail (gravel) shoe is a good looking, comfortable, and versatile shoe, while the Kailas Fuga EX 330 is a well-cushioned shoe with aggressive traction.
Hot Take: After some of the initial hit-or-miss crop of high-level trail running shoes, brands are refining trail shoes with the advanced super foams and smart applications of carbon-fiber technology. That second-gen specialization is going to help the athletes push the boundaries of the sport even farther, but also make a smoother transition for those entering the sport.
While Courtney Dauwalter didn’t have her best day, this year’s UTMB week included epic performances from both established and rising stars of the sport. Jim Walmsley’s exciting come-from-behind win in the OCC 50K (although not surprising that he outtran Italy’s Cristian Minoggio over the final miles) was still a performance that galvanized Walmsley’s legendary status. The 35-year-old American is still at the pinnacle of the sport and, after missing Western States because of an injury and opting not to run UTMB or CCC, he was eager to reassert himself with a great performance, and he certainly did that.
Joyline Chepngeno winning the women’s OCC was a transformative moment in this period of trail running’s globalization—not only because she beat a very talented field that included China’s Miao Yao, Spain’s Sara Alonso, and Switzerland’s Judith Wyder and Maude Mathys—but because she became the first Kenya runner to win a UTMB World Series championship race. Italy’s Francesco Puppi’s decisive win in the men’s CCC 100K was an all-time performance, but Poland’s Martyna Mlynarczyk’s 21-second victory over Norway’s Sylvia Nordskar was equally as captivating for those watching it play out on the UTMB livestream or in person. And of course, it goes without saying that the commanding UTMB victories of Ruth Croft (New Zealand) and Tom Evans (Great Britain) should rank among the all-time greats.
Hot Take: Every UTMB World Series championship race was deep with talented runners that could have earned a spot on the podium. We’re witnessing a transition between the existing stars of the sport and a whole new generation of global stars who are going to own the stage for the next 10 years.
After the first 65 miles on the UTMB course, Courtney Dauwalter looked well on her way to winning for the fourth time in four tries. But the long downhill after crossing over the Grand Col Ferret into Switzerland is when her legs started to give out, and thus began a long, very slow grind back to the finish line in Chamonix. When she was passed by eventual Ruth Croft, who was truly superior on the day, and also France’s Camille Bruyas, fans held out hope that Dauwalter would surge again. But her demise was imminent and by the time she trudged into the 98-mile aid station in the ski town of Vallorcine, it was clear she was cooked.
But Courtney being Courtney, she kept doing Courtney things—smiling and engaging with fans the things that have always been more important than her amazing victories—even despite getting passed seven more times on the way to the finish. She could have easily dropped at Trient or Vallorcine after her day turned sideways, but her display of courage and respect for the race and everyone else involved (other runners and volunteers included) will probably be remembered as much as her three wins in 2019, 2021, and 2023. The hearty reception she received running through Chamonix on the way to her 10th place finish was a heart-warming moment (and tear-jerking for some) for everyone there, including and especially her.
Hot Take: Courtney’s star will never burn out. We haven’t by any means seen the last of her greatness on the trails (thank goodness!), but her effort to finish UTMB this year will always be a pinnacle moment of her career and why she is so loved and admired.
If you thought Dauwalter’s courageous trudge to the finish was impressive, the UTMB efforts of fellow elite/pro runners Emily Hawgood and Alyssa Clark were even more stunning. Clark, 32, of Coronado, California, was having the race of her life—until she wasn’t. She was in seventh place among women at the 80-mile Champex-Lac aid station and with just 21 miles, she was still moving up on the climb to La Giète. But on the big climb and descent between Trient and Vallorcine, the wheels started to fall off and it took more than seven and half hours to cover the final 12 miles on the course, eventually finishing with little fanfare at 2:48 a.m. Sunday morning.
The 31-year-old Hawgood, who hails from Zimbabwe but lives in the U.S, was among the top five women early in the race, but she began to slow in the snowy and cold conditions late Friday night and into Saturday morning. Like Dauwalter and Clark, she didn’t give in, even though it took her 23 hours to cover the final 40 miles of the course. She finished just before 8 a.m. on Sunday after more than 38 hours out on the course.
Hot Take: Bravo to both Clark and Hawgood! In both cases, it’s a reminder that it’s about the journey, not the result. But also, the courage, determination, and interest to finish what we started is at the essence of trail running and why we do hard things in the first place.
Perhaps nothing was more moving during the entire UTMB week than watching Jonathan Naboulet, a tetraplegic athlete, become the first to complete the CCC 100K in a joëlette, a portable chair on a singular wheel with two long support poles held by supporters. The 32-year-old Frenchman, who suffered a broken spine while playing rugby in 2012, was helped around the course by 35 support crew runners and reached the finish line in 25:50:49 in a rousing display of teamwork. He was one of 18 athletes who participated in one of the UTMB races through its Team Adaptive program.
“It was the most amazing team effort. I finished only thanks to them.,” Naboulet said. “UTMB and the UTMB World Series have really championed our cause and opened the doors and has encouraged people from all types of disability to take part, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Among the other adaptive athletes who reached the finish line included Travis Warwick-Oliver, a 30-year-old South African lower-leg amputee athlete who ran the CCC 100K in 23:44:25 wearing a prosthetic running blade attached to his lower right leg; and Franck Derrien, 40, a French athlete with Asperger’s syndrome, who completed the OCC 50K in 7:54:06 while clutching his faithful teddy bear companion throughout the race.
Hot Take: After a bit of a misstart two years ago, UTMB has gone out of its way to elevate and support adaptive runners in its races. Led by team manager Boris Ghirardi, a French amputee athlete and avid trail runner, UTMB has set a global example by bringing the joy and accomplishment of trail running to runners with various disabilities.
