UTMB Chamonix recap here we go: Hoka invited me to UTMB in Chamonix 2022 and I didn’t need a second thought, even there were some hurdles: My cousin’s wedding, remaining holidays and some other stuff made it a 3,5 day journey but it was hell of a trip. In retrospective I can definitely say that UTMB 22 was one of the TOP 3 events I’ve ever visited in a brand/product/running-related context and I can now for sure say I’ll be back in 2023. If you need more info on UTMB, pls check here!
Starting with the entry to Chamonix, you can sense the aura of UTMB that’s everywhere around – and that’s not because the whole town is branded (it is) – it’s the people coming for UTMB. They’re at Mont Blanc for a week of trail running, whether it’s for competing in a race themselves, doing own runs in the mountains, cheering runners, the crazy event surrounding the races, partying or whatever. Chamonix just turns upside down for at least 1 week and goes fully mental. I really admire it and enjoyed it 11/10 - already posted some stuff from the event here & here & here.
Luckily I had the chance to witness UTMB from Wednesday till Saturday (way too early) so I was able to check out the town, watch the race and even experience one of the best trail runs of my life with an outstanding view.
Hoka made sure we’re having a great week. It started with lunch at 3842m at Aigulle de Midi (impressive), followed by a tour through the town and UTMB expo, where all brands had their booth, many showing their latest and upcoming product. After a short 5k sightseeing run in my new Clifton 8s (thx Hoka btw) we met for dinner and had an easy night with some beers, catching up with new and old friends.
Day 2 started with a 17km trail run for me, 1200hm including a sad view on the melting glacier. But all in all the route was just amazing. My local trails are nothing near Mont Blanc, who would have thought that. Rest of the day was Spa, food chill and checkin' out what Hoka an the other brands had to offer at Chamonix. It's crazy how they rent ehole hotels for the week for the full experience.
Later i almost accidentally bumped into the first finishers of PTL, a race that started on monday already: athletes have to run for 300km with an altitude of 25.000m. Two brothers finished first and i managed to sneak into the finish zone, taking some pretty close pics. Imagine running 300 kilometers - i can tell you they looked way to fresh. Congrats guys!
Rest of day 2 was wandering around, having coffee (you'd like Moody in every city you go), catching up with what's it the people have on feet: you'd find any trail running shoe ever released, but Hoka's dominating Chamonix this year, on and off course. Also: like prototype sneakers? Go to Chamonix. I saw so many upcoming running styles i've never seen before, unreleased colorways, samples and more. My personal highlight was seeing the upcoming Hoka Mafate 3 retro on feet of some Hoka Korea employee - amazing pair, you can trust me here. One thing that's strange for my bubble was Nike being a no-show at UTMB - i've never seen so few Swooshes as i did in Chamonix. Trail-Running isn't a Nike thing (yet?).
For the rest of the evening, it was "race follow" time. Hoka made sure we were going after the leading runners, crossing their path at several spots. Unfortunately after the first spot we wer caught in heavy traffic and Jim, Killian and the rest of the leading pack was way too fast so that we didn't see them again but had the chance to see hundreds of brave runners coming by at the last stop. Felt cool to have beers while cheering the runners after 30k. It's nice to see how a running event can be hyped and thousands of people visit the course to cheer through the night.
Saturday was an early wake-up call, 04:45 shuttle back to Geneva and a 17€ breakfast all at once. So much to process after just 3 days. Thank you HOKA for an amazing experience, the stay at Alpina, all the action and the equipment - pls bring me back in 2023!
What i realised is a little disappointing: competing in UTMB in Chamonix is kinda challenging as you need to be on the index and score stones in other races. So you'll probably see me running an UTMB race in Chamonix in... 2025 or maybe even later. See you next time! If you need more info about the races, how to participate etc, click here!
