Hey fam,

here i am, wrapping up UTMB week without being there - and tbh i won’t talk too much about the races themselves as there simply are way better outlets for race results. Baby came a week early, that means i had quite some time watching UTMB races in the livestream and what an emotional rollercoaster that was! I’m not a fanboy but maaaan, i really was sad when i realized Ida-Sophie Hegemann dropped out of TDS after being 2nd woman for roughly 100km. Jim Walmsley winning OCC in such an action-packed race was absolutely mental. But ngl, watching Francesco Puppi, fighting through CCC and winning first place made my head explode. He’s so so back.

And then UTMB. What a heartbreaking race. I “knew” Courtney was winning and when she wasn’t she showed everyone what a big win she is for our sport. Even it was clear for hours that she wouldn’t get near the podium this year and she was definitely “hurting”, she pushed through the second half of the race and made it to the finish line. What an athlete. Last one’s Katharina Hartmuth. She finished 2nd two years ago and i really had high hopes in her race style as she always starts “slower” and then fight up to the higher ranks. AND SHE DID. What a third place. Checking into livestream every 10-15min couldn’t have been more rewarding than this.

Last but not least - please let’s not forget all of the other 10.000+ runners starting and (maybe even not) finishing during the week. All my respects to everyone! As i said some days ago, my favorite activity in Chamonix (beside running) is hanging out near the finishline to celebrate “late” finishers of the races. It’s wholesome!

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FYI: i won’t post every activation and release and this’n that in here, so my advise is to check the Runners Highest instagram channel as A LOT was and is going on around UTMB right now and will be until like mid next week. I wanna have a short "opinion” on stuff below. Click Here for the IG Channel.

UTMB - FUCK UTMB? Where are the real runners?

I’m makin’ it short: i heard about too many influencers and content creators and brands and business and not enough real runners in Chamonix for years now but never has it been voiced by more “people i know or follow” as in 2025 and i have some thoughts about that as well.

1 i think you can do business and love running at the same time. You can be invited to Chamonix, do your vlog or whatever and still be a real runner. You can enjoy the drinks and cigarettes and whatever and still love the next day’s f*ckin’ early morning yoga sesh with Hoka. Why shouldn’t you? It doesn’t mean you don’t love trail running enough.

2 i think too many “real runners” who work in the industry forget that they’re part of the big money machine as well. (Trail) running is booming and that also means people can live from running (way better than 10+ years ago) - one way or another. So imho it’s difficult to take one part and ignore the other. “things come at a cost”. Also i really hate gate keeping sometimes. And in this case it’s not the small undercover brand you just found out about, it’s running itself. You’re a runner if you run, if you love running. That’s my definition.

3 UTMB is the biggest trail running event in the world. It’s an expo, it’s a meeting point for more than just one industry. Of course every brand wants to be involved and is. If you want to rawdoggin’ trail running experience i (for a fact) know that there are hundreds of small family-like trail run events in every country. You don’t “NEED” to be in Chamonix if you don't like the commercial side of trail running and if you don’t like influencers and content teams being around. Find your local event, run with a hundred likeminded runners and enjoy it. It is amazing, but from the last years (and even 10+) i know that UTMB Chamonix never has been a small and uncommercial event. I saw Oumou’s post yesterday and tbh i interpreted it differently to many others (in the comments) as i read it like this: trail running is free, make out of it what you want and need. If you want “the big stage”, UTMB is the place. If it’s your expression of personal freedom, so be it. Go run alone, that’s possible - in my experience even in Chamonix and during UTMB week.

Don’t get me wrong: this is just my 2 cents and not a scientific essay. I wasn’t in Chamonix this year and heard it’s been branded even more than in the years before. And i don’t think everything has to be bigger to be better all the time. But sometimes i feel all the critizism feels a bit off to me. Especially when it comes from people heavily profiting from the increasing success of trail running booming over the last years. As always, i’m open for feedback and comments. :)

FYI: interesting take on the Zara/Fast Fashion in Collabs topic by APR Mag. Worth a read!