Ultra Trail World Tour: The Season Continues With Trail With Purpose And UTMB Mont-blanc

The second forum of the Trail with Purpose initiative is now available on the UTWT Youtube channel and on UTWT TV. This forum focuses on the impact of trail running events on terrain.

For this second forum of Trail with Purpose, Christelle Bakhache, in charge of the Conservatoire d'Espaces Naturels de Haute-Savoie (Natural Areas Preservation Organization of Haute-Savoie region) and Dillon Osleger, the executive director of Sage Trail Alliance share their views on the subject.

Penyagolosa Trails HG was also present to talk about a survey they conducted together with Miguel Faucha Museo and the Autonomous University of Madrid. The objective of Trail with Purpose is to highlight the actions of organizers who are part of the UTWT and how they promote: 

• The local economy (purchase of local products for aid stations, runners' prizes, advertising material, etc.).
• Partnership programmes with companies and municipalities, as well as local tourism and local culture.
• Through Trail with Purpose, the objective is to show that it is possible to combine sport and tourist aspects of trail running in an environmentally responsible way. 

Next race: UTMB Mont-Blanc (August 23 - 29)!

TDS

Since its creation in 2009, the TDS has built up quite a reputation: with more requests at the lottery, and more competitive year after year, this race - acronym of "Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie" - connects the Val d'Aoste to Savoie, discovering the villages of the Tour du Mont-Blanc and these mythical massifs in between. Since 2019, the TDS has been offering runners a revisited route to discover the Beaufortain region and the most important places in the massif, such as the Pas d'Outray, with its breathtaking view of the Pierra Menta.

CCC

The CCC went from being the "little sister of the UTMB" in 2006, to being a unique race in itself and now lies among the most prestigious in the world. The start in the center of Courmayeur is imbued with an atmosphere that only the Italians have the secret to, and the startlist has no reason to envy her big sister. The CCC is a very competitive race and the winners will have to fight to pocket the 1500 points in the UTWT ranking at the finish in Chamonix. 

UTMB

The UTMB is the trail running event of all superlatives! Every year, all the elites of the trail running world meet in Chamonix to participate in the event’s flagship race. Running around Mont-Blanc is above all an inner adventure, a unique experience where each participant will have to draw on their strengths and push their mental and physical limits to cross the finish line. The runners will have to cover 170km and 10,000 meters of climbing in less than two days to reach the end of this journey that gives so many emotions. An adventure that changes those who participate, plunged into the most beautiful passes and peaks of the region, in a unique alpine setting.

With the he world's top 10 on competing on the UTMB the race is set to be very competitive. On the men's front, the line-up is impressive with over 81 runners with elite status. The American Jim Walmsley, the Frenchmen François D'Haene and Xavier Thévenard are the favourites... on paper. Tim Tollefson, who finished 3rd in the UTMB in 2016 and 2017 and who will be keen to succeed in his race after two failures in 2018 and 2019, will also be in the running: 

"After two difficult failures and a worldwide pandemic, I am more impatient than ever to come full circle. I'm returning to the valley with a rekindled flame and an even stronger awareness of how lucky I am to be racing here," commented the American runner.

There could be surprises and Dimitry Mityaev from Russia and the Pablo Villa from Spain, are among the ones to watch who could do well. There will be some surprises as there is little to compare with for many of the favourites who did not have a full racing season in 2020. 

In the women's race, Beth Pascall and Courtney Dauwalter are the favourites, but the Americans Katie Schide and Kaytlyn Gerbin, the French Audrey Tanguy and Camille Bruyas, the Swedish Mimmi Kokta and the Dutch Ragna Debats, who put in a very good performance in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run for her first participation, are also be in the mix:

"We all missed racing so much and the fact that UTMB will be able to take place this year feels like an important symbolic thing in our community. It will be different due to restrictions but the mountains are the same as always. To me, UTMB is a personal journey, I want to be able to feel like I have done myself justice in this race. This has nothing to do with times or positions but is about the feeling inside, you know it in your heart," commented Mimmi Kokta.