Abolish UTMB Running Stones - Return to Local Qualification to Drastically Reduce Climate Impact - Project #2

We are calling to abolist the UTMB running stones system and a return to local race qualifications, to protect our planet and make the sport accessible to all.

This is Project #2 to Abolish UTMB Running Stones System. A project by For The Trail which is working towards making trail and ultramarathons ask less of the natural world and environment.

Just four years ago, you could qualify for UTMB by racing any of your local ultra-marathon races. I personally have 4+ ultra-marathon races within an hour's drive and 8 races within a 2 hour drive that could have earned me the points I needed to get in to the UTMB lottery.

I would only have to do one bigger journey to Chamonix to compete in a UTMB final race, such as OCC, CCC, UTMB, etc.

Now, UTMB has bought out races under the 'by UTMB' banner, replaced the points system with a stones system and now stones can only be collected at these specific events. 

They have removed the potential to collect points from your local ultra-marathon races, some of which you may have been able to walk to, car share to or get public transport to. 

Your nearest qualifying race may require a flight or a 6+ hour drive and you are now forced to make this journey. 

Multiply that by the 2,000+ athletes at each event, travelling from across the globe just to collect stones, and the climate cost is staggering.

As well as making the decision to negatively affect the climate, UTMB have added to the elitism in the sport, with the UTMB Stone system in place, it now also means that stones, instead of points are now costing much more than points could with other races that are local to us. To get 3 stones in the UK costs around £239 (full-price of UTS 100km) which equates to £79 per stone. With non by-UTMB races, I previously could have done a 100km ultra-marathon race for £79 and had the equivalent points gained. 

This means as well as a climate impact issue, it has also become an issue of inclusivity, cost and affordability, which completely goes against trail, mountain and fell running ethos, which has always been inclusive.

Climate breakdown continues to get worse, environmental collapse and our life systems are breaking, but what is even more shocking is that you can look at the local mountain environment in Chamonix Valley where the race starts and finishes.

The glaciers of Mont Blanc have retreated dramatically in the last few decades, not long ago, runners crossed active glaciers on the UTMB route. Today, most are gone and within 20–30 years, there may be none left to see. Chamonix Valley is not free from climate or environmental issues and they face serious environmental consequences as a result. 

The extreme locations on earth, such as high altitude mountain towns and villages where we love to run and enjoy nature are actually those affected more so by current climate issues, so these decisions they have made make it even more shocking.

UTMB made a deliberate commercial decision that forces potentially 100,000+ athletes per year to travel vast distances repeatedly, not just once to the UTMB race after they have done more local races to collect points, but multiple times just to qualify for stones which gets them potential entry in to UTMB.

These choices are directly conflicting with climate breakdown and environmental collapse happening on earth today that directly affect the trails and natural world we love to move through as well as our life systems.