Record Numbers for UTMB Registration

News Release / 11.02.2014

The organisers at the Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc have been crunching their numbers and come up with the following impressive stats;

This year more than 14 000 runners answered the call for registration.

Altogether there will be 7,500 on the starting lines of the 5 races representing 77 nations, mobilising more than 2000 volunteers and attracting 50 000 spectators!

In total in the 5 events: 52.1% of runners are foreigners and 47.9% are French.

It is the first year in which there are more foreign than French runners in the Ultra-Trail event!

The top 5 countries are identical to those of 2013. After France come Spain: 8.93 %; Italy: 8.90%;Great Britain: 6.22%; Japan: 3.73%. Followed by Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and the United States.

In 2014: Spain passed in front of Italy and Japan overtook the Belgians!

In the UTMB® France represents 37.54% of runners, Spain 10.82%, Italy 8.22%, Great Britain 7.95% and Japan 7.34%. It is worth noting that China has increased its participation from 7 (in 2013) to 39.

If the TDS® is the race where the French are the most numerous (59.6%); it is the PTL® for the Italians (16.85%).

77 Nations Represented

Of which three new small countries: Brunei, Mauritius and San Marino.

Algeria; Andorra; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Brazil; Brunei; Bulgaria; Cambodia; Canada ; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Equator; Estonia; Finland; France; Gabon; Germany; Greece; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Ireland; Island; Israel; Italy; Japan; Kuwait; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxemburg; Macedonia (ex-Rep of Yugoslavia); Malaysia; Morocco; Mauritius; Mexico ; Montenegro; Nepal; Netherlands; New-Zealand; Niger ; Norway; Paraguay ; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Romania ; Russia; Saint-Marino; Serbia; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; South Africa; South Korea; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom ( England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) United States of America; Uruguay; Venezuela

Great Line-Up Of Elite Athletes

317 runners (male and female) in the Elite category («potential top 10» according to the International Trail Running Association's criteria) are registered for one of the Ultra-Trail® races of whom 145 for the UTMB®... and 30 for the OCC, the most recent addition to the races.

A Slight Increase In The Proportion Of Women

For 2014, the women registered represent 13.3% of the runners, so a progression of 3% in comparison to 2013. They are well represented in the OCC (more than a quarter of those registered). The UTMB® has the lowest proportion with only 8.14% of women.

Between 20 And More Than 70 Years Old!

Those over 70 prefer a shorter route: 10 registered for the OCC of whom 2 are women, 4 for the UTMB® of whom 1 is female.

The youngest (category Espoir as from 20 - minimum age for registering) also prefer the OCC: 32 registered for the OCC and 5 for the UTMB®.

Already For Its First Year, The OCC Is Full

The new race launched for 2014 has been very successful and required a draw for places: the organisation received 2 443 registration requests for the 1 000 places available.

More And More New Runners

Without doubt a sign of the aura and craze of the The North Face^® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc^® among sports persons coming from other disciplines, the proportion of the number of participants coming to the event for the first time, has increased regularly in most of the races. In the UTMB^??, they represented 43% of those registered in 2012 and 50% for 2014.

Record Number Of Requests For UTMB® Registration

6,020 requests 2014, 5,176 in 2013, 5,088 in 2012, 3,661 in 2011 etc.

2014 Is Truly Full!

The magic of the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® races has worked, better than ever. The organisation certainly shares the disappointment of those runners who were not successful in the draw but the method for registration remains equitable and gives everybody an equal chance.

Linked to a system of points, via participation in qualifying races, this method allows us to ensure that all the runners on the starting line have a minimum level of experience and training. It is the best solution in order to maintain the quality and safety of the races, while respecting the fragile nature of the Mont-Blanc massif.

Registration Conditions For 2015

Registration conditions for the 2015 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc^?? 2015 will be published onhttp://www.ultratrailmb.com during February 2014. Pre-registration will take place between December 17^th 2014 and January 6th 2015.

To know more about registration conditions, click here.

All runners not chosen to participate this year will be attributed a positive coefficient which will double their chances of being selected in the draw for next year.

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