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If you follow the pointy end of the sport, particularly in North America, it’s been a turbulent few months in the trail running world since the 2023 racing season came to a close.
Much of this malaise has stemmed from the rapid growth trail running has gone through over the past several years as increased exposure, sponsorship money, and the expansion of global race series have impacted the sport.
But as January winds down, there have been signs of constructive communication between elite athletes and officials behind the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), the global trail racing enterprise headquartered in Chamonix, France.
On January 23, elite athletes Kilian Jornet and Zach Miller, along with other representatives of the Pro Trail Running Association (PTRA), met with UTMB Group officials via a video conference call, as a means to discuss concerns and questions about some of the actions the UTMB Group has taken over the last two years through the development of the UTMB World Series, and to level-set athlete expectations going forward. The UTMB Group was represented at the meeting by UTMB cofounders Catherine and Michel Poletti, CEO Frédéric Lénart, and elite athlete and team manager Marie Sammons.
In independent efforts on January 24, the UTMB Group issued a press release, Jornet posted a lengthy statement on his Instagram account, and the Pro Trail Runners Association made a statement suggesting the meeting was productive and that a positive way forward could be achieved. Based on what has been shared, there appears to be a collective and intentional effort to put a positive spin on the UTMB World Series, and the UTMB World Series finals in Chamonix in particular, heading into the 2024 season, but also to ensure positive changes will be made.
“Kilian and I were happy to have these initial discussions but ultimately what we want to see is action and changes,” Miller told Trail Runner on Wednesday. “The meeting was good, all very positive. I really appreciated them taking the time to do that. The things that we have posted on social media and in the email that we sent out have gotten a lot of discussion and dialogue going, and a lot of attention, which I think generally is good. I mean, of course there’s some messiness in there, but, for the most part people are talking, and I think that’s the first step.”
Trail Running’s Turbulent Times
Backlash against the UTMB organization and the UTMB World Series qualifying circuit arose last summer when UTMB announced that international automobile brand Dacia had been brought on as the presenting sponsor. In October, additional discontent from the North American market erupted based on the perceptions of tactics to begin a new race at Whistler Resort in Canada. The Ironman Group (which organized the new race that will begin in 2024) and the proprietors of Coast Mountain Trail Running (which had operated a previous race until 2022) had differing interpretations of events and timelines, some of which remain unresolved. Then, increased angst arose in December when Corrine Malcolm was let go for speaking out against the UTMB organization while she was under contract as a paid UTMB race commentator.
It all came to a head after an impassioned email written by Jornet and Miller was leaked on social media in mid-January. The letter was sent to dozens of elite runners and seemed to propose a boycott of this year’s UTMB World Series Finals races in Chamonix, with the suggestion of elite athletes racing head-to-head at a yet-to-be-determined alternative race later in the year.
In his Instagram post on January 24, Jornet credited UTMB with being “a trailblazing and unifying force in the trail running community” and acknowledged the Polettis and their team for being actively engaged in the community and advocating for the sport and its values. However, Jornet said, since the launch of the UTMB World Series in its partnership with Ironman two years ago, “there has been an increasing concern for many perceiving that the sport’s essence and its community was being overlooked.”
Jornet insisted that the letter he and Miller sent out to other elite athletes two weeks ago was not done out of malice or an attempt to boycott this year’s UTMB World Series Finals races in Chamonix, even though it specifically asked athletes to consider not competing in Chamonix this year and to instead consider engaging in a discussion about an alternative race. Meanwhile, the PTRA clarified that it was in no way involved in the letter Jornet and Miller sent.
Jornet is a four-time UTMB champion (most recently in 2022), while Miller is a four-time top-10 finisher since 2016, a span that includes his runner-up finish to Jim Walmsley last year.
“Trail running evolution, partly thanks to UTMB, has brought positives like competitive races, prize money, antidoping, media coverage and sponsorships. These developments are, in many ways, beneficial to the sport,” Jornet wrote in his post. “Nonetheless, growth should be thoughtful. Lately, the aforementioned progress seems to have been marred by missteps. This has included controversial race acquisitions, neglecting or unhearing the community in what we believe are important subjects such as environmental impacts or accessibility. The UTMB board stated that some were due to misinformation and misunderstandings.”
Jornet and Miller received both overwhelming support and harsh criticism from the international trail running public around the world after their email was leaked by British trail running coach Martin Cox. All the while, UTMB officials—both from the French organization started by the Polettis in 2003 and the U.S.-based Ironman Group, which has played a big role in growing the UTMB World Series—have been working behind the scenes to make amends for mistakes and perceived missteps, even amid 2024 race registration numbers reaching record levels around the world.
Booming Worldwide Growth
It’s not just the UTMB World Series that has been expanding and trying to get a bigger chunk of the international trail running pie. The sport has been growing internationally for years—there’s been a huge commercial boom since the end of the COVID pandemic—with more brands getting involved, more global race series, and also the inception of the new World Athletics-sanctioned World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.
In November, the formation of the World Trail Majors was announced as a series of nine independent ultra-distance races around the world that began organizing more than a year ago as an alternative to the UTMB circuit. Plus, the global Euro-centered Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) has expanded into China and Japan for the first time this year, while, at a lower level, the global Xterra Trail Run and Spartan Trail series are also expanding. Trail running is booming at the domestic level, too, both by way of small regional races and events produced by medium-sized race organizers like Aravaipa Running, Daybreak Racing and the Cirque Series, as well as with UTMB starting several UTMB World Series races in North America since 2022.
Since May 2021, UTMB has been 45 percent owned by the Ironman Group, the multinational sports marketing company known for its success and history of aggressive moves in the triathlon space. Over the ensuing 30 months, the new amalgam launched more than 25 World Series races around the world, in an effort to cement UTMB’s marquee races in the French Alps at the top of trail racing’s pyramid.
With the help of the Ironman Group, the UTMB World Series has grown from about 20 races in 2022 to 37 races at the end of 2023. The UTMB news release from January 24 said there are 41 races confirmed for 2024, but officials also made it a point to mention that certain events within the UTMB World Series are managed directly by the UTMB Group, others by the Ironman Group, and others within the framework of a license agreement.
“Whatever the model, all events are managed and promoted by teams located in the event territory who are in permanent contact with the local community in order to listen, understand, interact on a daily basis, and respond as best as possible to requests and specificities related to local issues,” the UTMB release said. “UTMB representatives understand that this very rapid development could have created misunderstandings and even concerns among certain audiences or territories.”
A Way Ahead
At the summit with UTMB officials and elite athletes on January 23, specific concerns were discussed—including qualification regulations for the UTMB World Series Finals, policies on inclusiveness, prize money, and what Jornet and Miller said was a lack of transparency—and UTMB Group representatives explained the circ*mstances in which some of those aspects were incorporated into, or removed from, the UTMB World Series, and vowed to continue to improve its communication and business practices.
“I am hopeful for stronger, more open communication between the community—including elite athletes represented by PTRA and UTMB— focusing on the sport development with its values at the center,” Jornet said in his post.
“As an athlete in a privileged position, staying silent would be easier, but given the community’s concerns, speaking out felt necessary,” he added. “By mobilizing elite trail runners, together with (Zach Miller), we aimed to foster collaboration between race boards and runners, finding common ground for the sport betterment. This isn’t about creating discord but about fostering constructive dialogue to preserve our sport’s integrity and values. By speaking up and engaging in these conversations, we strive to collaboratively grow the sport while honoring its heritage and future.”
The PTRA was similarly optimistic about the future of UTMB and the ability to work through important issues.
“We hope and believe that with more transparency and better communication among the parties, the elite athletes represented by PTRA, the local communities and UTMB, many issues will be solved, always staying true to our values and common goals,” the PTRA said in its statement.
Doug Mayer is the owner of the Run the Alps tour company and an independent journalist based in Chamonix, France, who authored The Race that Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB. Brian Metzler is the executive editor of Outside Run.
