Should elites boycott UTMB in 2024?
An ultrarunning coach in Chamonix, France, has posted an email, purportedly from four-time UTMB winner Kilian Jornet and 2023 second-place finisher Zach Miller, asking him to consider boycotting the race as a protest against what they see as unfair and harmful business practices
Photo by:
UTMB/Paul Brechu
Four-time winner and course record holder at UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc), Kilian Jornet, and 2023 second-place finisher Zach Miller are asking their fellow elite runners to join them in finding an alternative race to UTMB for 2024.
Note: This story has been updated. (See below.)
“If you are receiving this, it’s because you are one of the top athletes in our sport,” begins the email, which was shared by Martin Cox, a running coach and former pro mountain runner based in Chamonix, France (the site of the race) on Instagram. “We are writing to see if you might be interested in committing to race each other at a race other than UTMB this year (2024).”
Jornet’s and Miller’s email goes on, in what most people would describe as a very moderate and respectful tone, to acknowledge UTMB as a “great race” that has done a lot for the sport and created opportunities for many high-level runners. But it goes on to criticize the organization (consisting of UTMB, the UTMB Group and The Ironman Group, which became part owner in 2021) for growing and expanding without regard to what’s best for the sport, “treating people poorly and running over everyone who gets in [their] way.”
Some background: in October 2023, UTMB/The Ironman Group announced a new ultra-trail race in Whistler, B.C., on the same weekend as the former Whistler Alpine Meadows (WAM) race, which went out of business earlier last year. Gary Robbins, WAM’s race director, says he was forced out by Vail (which operates the Whistler resort) to make room for a deal with UTMB/The Ironman Group, and many in the ultra-trail community (including former Western States course record holder Ellie Greenwood) declared solidarity with Robbins and disgust at his treatment. Then, on Dec. 1, UTMB race announcer Corrine Malcolm announced she had been fired by the organization for her outspokenness on various issues relating to its business.
We reached out to a number of elite mountain and trail runners, including some of the top finishers at UTMB in 2023, but were unable to identify anyone, other than Cox, who had actually been sent the email. However, some athletes, including Harvey Lewis (winner of Big’s Backyard Ultra World Championships in 2023) and Leah Yingling (who finished eighth at UTMB last year) told us they were in agreement with the sentiments expressed. Yingling told us she had reached out to Miller after he posted misgivings about UTMB in December, and that he responded with many of the same ideas expressed in the email. “… his point was to effect positive change, and his mind was open to what that might look like and how it might happen,” Yingling said in a direct message.
Canadian marathoner and ultra-trail runner Reid Coolsaet told us he did not receive the email, but that he supports the message. “UTMB has done a lot of good for the sport in terms of creating a very competitive event on a great course and showcasing the top athletes,” Coolsaet said. “For that reason they are being held at a high standard as leaders in the sport.
“The way they have bought races and made it mandatory for people to race UTMB races in order to qualify for UTMB/CCC/OCC has ruffled feathers in a sport that was born out of grassroots races. Many ultra-trail runners don’t want to see an Ironman situation, where mom and pop races with their own flavour are pushed out.
“UTMB putting on a race in Whistler without communicating with Gary Robbins and then letting Corrine Malcolm go was the nail in the coffin for lots of trail runners.”
“Hopefully if enough elites show their dissatisfaction with UTMB, they’ll change their business model.”
Not everyone, however, is in favour of leaving UTMB. Cox, the former pro runner and coach behind @vo2maxcoaching who shared the email, expressed strong disagreement with Jornet’s and Miller’s position, saying the letter “stinks of hypocrisy” and referring to it as a “campaign of hate … against UTMB.”
“UTMB has allowed Jornet and many of his fellow pros to climb aboard the mountain-ultra-trail money train and become moderately influential,” the post continues. “So it seems to be a little ungrateful to then turn around and attempt to hold the race to ransom.”
Popular running coaches David and Megan Roche (who coach several athletes who compete in UTMB races, but who also did not receive the email) included a segment on the controversy in their Jan. 16 Some Work, All Play podcast episode, expressing support for Jornet and Miller’s position and speculating that their decision to send the email stemmed from a perception that criticism of UTMB on social media had not brought the desired results. However the Roches acknowledged the criticism that it’s easy for Jornet and Miller, who are both at the very top of their sport, to suggest that others forgo the potentially very lucrative sponsorship opportunities that come with a strong performance at the August races in Chamonix; and they made it clear they would support their athletes in their decision-making around UTMB (while hoping they would avoid racing at UTMB Whistler).
Jornet and Miller say they have “pinpointed” a race they’d like elites to race instead of UTMB, but they don’t reveal which race they have in mind. “… please realize this is not meant to be a malicious, hateful thing towards UTMB,” the email concludes. “The idea here is to find a way to apply some pressure to the UTMB/The Ironman Group so that we can effect positive change. It would be great if one day we could go to UTMB and feel good about it, knowing that what they are doing is making the sport better, not worse.”
Update Jan. 24: In a new Instagram post, Jornet acknowledged the positive role UTMB has played in the development of ultra-trail racing, while pointing out the community’s concerns. “… since they launched UTMB World Series in partnership with Ironman, there has been an increasing concern for many perceiving that the sport’s essence and its community was being overlooked.” He added that he met with the UTMB board on Jan. 23 to discuss the issues. “This isn’t about creating discord, but about fostering constructive dialogue to preserve our sport’s integrity and values,” Jornet posted. He did not refer specifically to the email discussed above, but did say that he and Miller “initiated discussions to realign with community expectations. This involved mobilizing athletes to express concerns, not to boycott but to raise awareness.”
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
