Registration for one of the most prestigious and massive ultra-trail races in the world – Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blan (UTMB) opened on January 6. Founded in 2003, today UTMB is a week-long festival in which competitions take place in 7 distances of varying length and complexity with more than 10,000 participants! No wonder it is called the World summit of trail-running – a kind of de facto world trail running championship.

The main event is the UTMB race around Mont Blanc (171k, + 10000m), which takes place in France, Italy, and Switzerland.

Run!

Despite the quarantine restrictions for the last 2 years in Ukraine, there is a real boom of trail running. Still, because in the vast majority of cases of outdoor competitions, with a relatively small number of people scattered over large enough areas, local authorities do not prohibit. So it is noteworthy that the flagship of the trail starts of the Chornohora Sky Marathon last year gathered more than 1000 participants in both distances!

In general, many trail competitions (including “Ukrainian Trail League”, “Your Adventure”, Skole Ultra Trail, and some others) are included in the ITRA database and after the finish, you, as a participant, will automatically receive the number of points corresponding to the difficulty of the distance. . In addition, the system according to the “special formula” calculates your index performance.

Details about what ITRA scores and index performance are written here:

Around Mont Blanc in 10 minutes: ITRA points, lottery, and why run UTMB at all?

Your points are automatically “tucked” into your ITRA and UTMB profile according to the data provided by the race organizers in the finish protocols (so it is important to use the same spelling of your last name in Latin when registering for the competition, otherwise the system may generate several different profiles). If you do not have such profiles yet – no problem, just go to the sites at the links above and create your profile – the system will automatically pull up all your accrued points at this time.

After creating an account on the UTMB website – you will be able to see the registration for which races you currently have available. And then – it remains to go through a technically simple procedure for registration for one of the UTMB races. Let’s talk about the various nuances and what registration options may be available. All of the following will apply to the main UTMB races (OCC, CCC, TDS, UTMB), as the MCC is reserved for UTMB® volunteers, partners, and local runners, and a special selection process applies to PTL® and YCC.

HOW TO GET TO UTMB?

In order to get to the UTMB starts in 2022, there are two basic options:

• No lottery
• Through the lottery

REGISTRATION WITHOUT LOTTERY

If you have just started running trails with a probability of 99%, this option is not for you. After all, in a year or two to score points at the level of the elite of trail running (or at least get into the TOP-3 rating of trail runners in Ukraine) – to put it mildly, is not easy. The option to score enough points to qualify and pay 2,000 euros for charity – looks easier – but it also requires participation in at least 2 100km trails, for admission to which you will need to run first smaller ultra-distances, etc.

However, for more experienced trail runners there is still the possibility of registering without a lottery, so below we will consider all its options.

1. Charity

If you have an irresistible desire to run UTMB and a sufficient number of qualifying points (!), You can pay 2000 euros to one of the charitable foundations with which the organizing committee of the race cooperates. But the number of such slots is limited – only 140, and registration does not take place before the general registration for the lottery in December.

Please note that the organizers emphasize that the fee-only exempts from participating in the lottery. To participate in any of the UTMB starts, the benefactor must score the required number of qualifying points.

2. The elite

Without a lottery – the participation of elite runners with high index performance is possible. What should be the level to be considered “elite” for UTMB, shown in this picture (over the past few years, the requirements for the elite have grown slightly):

The top 3 IP athletes from a country can also be considered elite, even if their IP is lower than the generally defined values ​​for the elite.

3. Postponed registrations from 2020-2021

Runners who were registered with the UTMB in 2020 but did not use it in 2021 due to uncertainties about the epidemiological situation and the possibility of crossing the French border – were given the opportunity to postpone their registration for another year, ie 2022.

4. Finishers TDS Bourg-Saint-Maurice 2021

Due to an accident with one of the participants in 2021, more than 1,000 TDS runners could not run the full version, in 2022 the organizers gave them the opportunity to participate in TDS without passing the lottery.

REGISTRATION THROUGH THE LOTTERY

This is the most likely way to get to UTMB for the vast majority of trail runners. And here as who is lucky. For example, it took me 3 years to collect the necessary points and get to the CCC UTMB race in Chamonix (because in 2020 all UTMB starts were canceled and slots were postponed to 2021) J

CCC UTMB-2021: 100 km closer to the Dream

However, since last year the system of getting on the lottery has changed a bit, and now, in general, the changes have probably increased. Participation in the UTMB®, CCC®, TDS® and OCC lottery UTMB® Mont-Blanc 2022 races is available to trail runners who:

scored the required qualification points
collected running stones, participating in races by UTMB and UTWT series.
Registration according to the gained qualification points
Successfully overcoming the distance of the trail, which is certified by ITRA, you can score from 1 to 6 points. To register for different UTMB races you need to have from 4 to 10 points scored from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021, in a maximum of two competitions included in the list of UTMB qualifying races:

• UTMB®: 10 points
• TDS®: 8 points
• CCC®: 6 points
• OCC: 4 points

If you have the required qualification points – you can participate in the lottery with 1 chance (the name will appear in the lottery once).

At the same time, participants who applied and did not pass the lottery for one of the UTMB® Mont-Blanc 2020 races will have 2 chances in 2022 if they apply for the same race (their name will appear in the lottery twice). If you did not pass the lottery for the chosen race this year, next year it does not improve your chances in the lottery *

• Previously, the registration system was built so that when applying for the lottery next year for the same start – the chances doubled, and when applying for the third year in a row – registration was given automatically.

Participants can check their priority level to register for the 2022 event in their runner account.

Group registration

Special mention should be made of group registration. You can apply for the lottery in a group (from 2 to 12 people), receiving 1 ticket for all. In this case, all group members receive the same result: in case of winning the lottery – all receive slots, in case of loss – none.

The group can have runners for different distances – in this case, the group participates in the lottery for the race for which the percentage of chances of winning is the lowest. Read more about group registration here.

Running Stones

In addition to the lottery, which will continue to exist, in January 2020, a parallel registration system for UTMB races based on the receipt of running stones – for finishers of certain races, specially selected UTMB®.

List of races from Running Stones

As soon as the participant collects the required number of running stones, he gets a slot for one of the UTMB® races, without a lottery. If the number of “stones”

Details about the conditions of registration for UTMB races in 2021 can be read on the website of the organizers:

Discover the new entry process for the UTMB® Mont-Blanc!

You can see the number of running stones in your runner’s profile on the UTMB website. If you successfully pass the lottery – the stones disappear, if not – remain for next year.

DATES OF REGISTRATION AND DATES

Pre-registration for UTMB-2022 starts from 6 to 18 January 2022 and after the deadline registration is not accepted. The results of the lottery will take place on January 26, 2022.

Please note the important point – when registering for the lottery you will be charged a pre-payment of 50 euros (security deposit). If you do not pass the lottery – the money is returned, and if you win the slot – you will need to redeem it by February 6, paying the rest of its value. For different UTMB races, the cost of slots is different and this year is:

• UTMB®: € 305
• CCC®: € 189
• TDS®: € 229
• OCC: 115 €

In general, if you are registering for one of the UTMB starts for the first time – you can read the step-by-step description of the registration procedure here (with pictures-print-screens 🙂

Around Mont Blanc in 10 minutes: ITRA points, lottery, and why run UTMB at all?

In any case – I sincerely wish you success in the lottery !!!

This year, thanks to the points scored at CUT-2019 and CCC-2021, I finally have the opportunity to enter the main UTMB race. The chances of getting a slot with 1 lottery ticket are very small, the epidemiological situation is again intense, and it is still difficult to predict what will happen there at the end of the summer or UTMB-2022 will take place at all. But it is definitely worth applying. After all, there are always chances to win ?