I’m writing this from 33k’ en route to Geneva via Newark. I’m starting the trip tired - a rookie move but such is life this summer. A second Pawnee Buchanan loop in as many weeks has me trying unsuccessfully to recover amongst a non-stop flurry of family events - soccer tournaments, volleyball games, good times with friends.
Can we talk about why planes are always so cold? I brought an extra shirt and it’s not enough. I chose to forgo the seat back tray and put the warm MacBook directly on my lap. It’s currently my last bastion of hope against hypothermia. Future Islands in my ear, I type on.
The zeitgeist around UTMB this year feels different. The races themselves are of course as competitive as ever. Great but not newsworthy IMO. Chamonix and the surrounding area, however, have finally swollen to the looming breaking point and we appear to have a breach. You could feel it coming for years and this year it seems to finally be spilling over. The residents and their new mayor are worn out and, for the first time, have begun publicly pushing back. This is but one week of the summer in a town dependent on tourism but who am I to judge, it’s their home not mine. Surely as a result of conversations with Chamonix, UTMB has asked brands to pull back on community runs. Some have obliged including brands that have historically clashed with UTMB, but, by one count I came across, that still leaves 42 shakeout runs planned. Maybe in NYC that would work but not little Chamonix. Some brands are holding them daily. I know one brand had city permits previously approved for an event that were pulled this past week. The late timing seemed intent on ensuring there’s no time to regroup. It’s going down in Cham this week and this year feels like a turning point.
UTMB is in a tough spot. They’ve created a behemoth that is entirely dependent on the geography of the Mont Blanc massif yet somehow have been so successful that they’re too big for even the Mont Blanc massif. Deterring people from coming is one tactic I fully expect. That could come in the form of tourist taxes. It could also be done by limiting lodging rental permits in Chamonix. I think for UTMB this could lead to yet more bad PR. Continuing to hold such a massive slate of races while policing attendees doesn’t seem to be a good option and the optics will reflect more on UTMB than Chamonix.
What are the other options?
Could the various races move to different weeks or months? Do PTL, MCC, TDS, YCC, OCC, ETC , CCC and UTMB all need to occur the same week? (Yes I had to look up all of the race acronyms because I still can’t keep them all straight.) These races could be staggered across weeks or months instead of 5 days. This spreads out the crowds but might pose a problem for registration at some of the races. Surely many people wouldn’t traveling long distances to run ETC on a standalone weekend in June. I did see a stat, however, that 75% of TDS runners are French so it seems completely plausible that this race and others still work on their own. Maybe TDS is paired with something like ETC? I suspect, however, that many are running these shorter distances (ETC, YCC, MCC) because they’re in Chamonix for UTMB anyway. So perhaps the races are grouped and held in different months - June, July August - with CCC, TDS and UTMB as the headliners.
Even further, could the UTMB HQ rotate cities? Would it work for the race HQ to rotate to Courmayeur in odd years? Could UTMB start and finish in Courmayeur every other year? Does that displace enough of the crowd? I’d actually prefer Courmayeur to Chamonix if the need to traverse the tunnel were removed. Might Martigny even be considered as a hub despite not being directly on the course? It’s a bigger city at least. Could a start/finish in Champex Lac work? Not sure.
That city rotation changes things for elites and course records/comparable times. It’s not my ideal scenario but might we see the pro fields in the UTMB Final races (UTMB, CCC, OCC) become separated from the rest of the races? Could the pro field in these races run on a different day/week/month than the rest of us regular runners? I think this is a bad move for the larger culture of the sport but I wonder if it’s an acceptable move for UTMB’s business model. It’d help to lessen this new pressure from Chamonix. It also seems aligned with Ironman’s worldview. I think I know which way I’d expect those decision makers to lean here.
I don't have all the answers but proactively managing these growing pains is critical not only for UTMB’s business but for the momentum of the sport. We’ll learn a lot more this week as we watch how things unfold and we see a reaction from the city of Chamonix. This is the top story I’m watching.
What are your thoughts? Hit the comments.
UTMB has a LOT of brand events. “Activations” if you will. Too many? Depends who you ask. But the public appetite for these experiences is high and that itself is the take away. Long films, Substack articles and IRL experiences are winning and they’re a lot of fun. UTMB is so crowded but what a great problem to have.
For the first time ever I’m traveling to UTMB sans Pelican cases and camera gear. I have my own small group events planned this week and will be engaging the UTMB community as Auteur Sportif and MoB. Cheers to new ventures.
This week I’ll be taking a small group to the 11th century studio workshop of Andy Parkin. Andy has been welding and sculpting the UTMB trophies since 2008. The aura of his space is crazy. He’s never been front and center in any trophy presentations and really hasn’t met many of the runners. He sees mountain journeys like UTMB as more intrinsic and curiosity-based and not so performance oriented. His POV matches closely to Auteur Sportif. I reached out to him after remembering his work from a 2014 North Face film entitled . . . Curiosity. Andy is going to talk with our group about his creative approach before all 15 of this year’s trophies are swept away to be given out at the various prize ceremonies.
While many brands spend years building technical products, I’ve spent that time crafting a point of view for Auteur Sportif. Running is an art. It’s a vehicle for creativity, wonder and that spark of curiosity. It’s the lighting bolt of an idea during a run that you immediately repeat into a voice memo before it disappears. Those are the best runs. Auteur Sportif is applying that lens to events, product capsules and brand collaborations. It’s a mindset that we can gather around. The event with Andy will be one of those creative sparks for all in attendance. It will let the group experience the feeling behind the brand.
I'm so excited for this. I think it’ll be the most interesting and engaging event of the week and such a different, under-the-radar way angle into the larger event. Photos to come!
*Editors note: I’ve jumped to the Boards of Canada album called Inferno. The flight attendants have also checked the thermostat on the plane and less cold air (albeit not warm air) is now coming from the vents. Sweet relief!
I am partnering with Jon Levitt and the Long Run Labs podcast to gather a room of stakeholders for an industry discussion in Chamonix. It’s not a panel but an offline conversation without an audience that allows the room to talk openly about the issues they face, the trends they see and the ways the industry can collectively move forward. All of this happens because of actual in-person conversation - a shock, I know. In June I held a similar discussion during TrailCon alongside the Second Nature podcast. Like that conversation in Tahoe, Steve Holmberg will kick things off with some context around the state of the industry and the group will take it from there. A big thanks to rabbit for humbly hosting this brand agnostic dialogue. The TrailCon conversation was so well received that I hope to hold more of these at TRE and other future events.
I’ll spend the rest of the week jumping between numerous PR events, activations and film screenings. Stay tuned for comments on those that stand out. I’ll share snippets via Substack Notes and possibly IG stories but wading into Instagram this week is a blackhole. Some events look to be different from the norm. Here are a few I’m excited for:
Last but not least, I’m staying after UTMB to enjoy three big days of running around the Chamonix valley. I’ve planned a few routes of around 15-16 miles and 5-6k’ of vert. Based on input from you all and my IG following I reached out to a bunch of small brands to test and review some of their products during the mini-camp.
I’ll be wearing apparel from Klattermusen, a new pack from Tantrums, a quiver from Big Day Concepts, a top and shorts from SOAR, a new watch from Suunto, new gel mix from Maurten, the Kipsummit Race shoe from Kiprun, Norda 055, Hoka Tecton X4 and Arc’teryx Sylan 2.
I reached out to a bunch of other brands per your request but it didn’t work out for various reasons.(Raide, Wise, Mulet, Millet, Portal, Montane, Anojie, Terignota, Dera, Hermanos Kuomori) I know a lot of you are curious about these lesser known brands. My Raide belt will be on me but maybe next time for the rest.
Stay tuned for the writeup here on MoB. Subscribe so you don’t miss! I’ll comment on my experience with the gear but of course will have plenty to say about the brands themselves. It won’t be anywhere near a spec-laden gear review. Having worked run specialty, nobody knows or cares about fractions of ounces and forgettable foam names.
For now, check out the current rotation of running gear that I never leave behind on a run, including the recent Pawnee Buchanan loops. I’ll make a new list of favorites from the MoB Mini-Camp to share afterwards. Subscribe and stay tuned.
If you’ll also be in London for Run Culture:Live from Like the Wind please reach out. I’d love to connect. If you don’t yet have tickets I have a special speaker discount code to share with you all. To register use my affiliate link along with the code SPEAKER50 for 50% off. Half off? Are you kidding me?
Sub Fourteen is now one of Hoka’s top performing films ever and it’s only been out a few weeks. I’m proud to have directed this one. Thanks again to the incredible team that made it happen. Give it a watch if you haven’t!
Thanks for tuning in. I’ve endured my layover in Newark and am about to board for Geneva. Praying for comfy sleeping temps on this one. See you in Chamonix and/or stay tuned for an article on the other side. ✌️
-Matt
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