Runner dies at Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc’s PTL event

A Brazilian runner competing on a team at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc’s PTL (Petite Trotte à Léon) event has tragically died in a fall, UTMB officials confirmed Tuesday. In a statement released by the UTMB organization, officials said they were made aware at 1:30 a.m. C.E.T. of a runner being seriously injured in an accident near the Refuge de Plan Glacier, on the first night of the event; a helicopter crew responded, and later confirmed that the athlete had died.

All athletes are tracked with a GPS beacon throughout the race, and the runner fell somewhere between the 36 km and 40 km mark. “The runner was with his team on an official trail, secured for the PTL and marked throughout the year, between the Col de Tricot and the Refuge de Plan Glacier,” said UTMB officials.

The 2022 PTL is a 290-kilometre event with 26,500 meters of elevation gain. Competitors race in teams of two or three, and began running at 8 a.m. C.E.T. on Aug. 22, in Chamonix, France.

Out of respect for the family of the athlete, the organizers have not released the athlete’s name. 

In 2021 a Czech runner fell to his death during TDS, the 145-km race that is part of Festival UTMB. The race was stopped while a helicopter rescue was attempted, but it was too late. The athletes who were ahead of the accident were allowed to continue their race, but the race was cancelled for most of the runners, who were sent back down the mountain to the previous aid station, where shuttle buses were sent to pick them up.

The #UTMB week is officially on ?. Good luck to all #PTL runners!

La semaine de l'UTMB a officiellement débuté ?. Bonne course à toutes les équipes de la #PTL #UTMB2022 #PTL #MeetYourExtraordinary pic.twitter.com/jyOBPS4Thz

— UTMB® Mont-Blanc (@UTMBMontBlanc) August 22, 2022

This year’s PTL event had 105 teams start, and they will be given the opportunity to decide whether they want to continue.