The world’s biggest trail running event got underway earlier this week in Chamonix, France, and you can tune in to the live action from the French Alps on your laptop or phone.

The around-the-clock live coverage includes expert commentary in multiple languages with video coverage…

For years, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) has been the most celebrated and most competitive ultra-distance trail running race on the planet. The race starts in Chamonix and sends runners on a 172km counterclockwise journey around the Mont Blanc Massif through parts of Italy and Switzerland before finishing back in Chamonix. The route goes up and over 10 mountain passes and includes about 33,000 feet of vertical gain and loss.

What began as a singular race in 2003 has turned into a festival of races and events that attracts more than 12,000 participants and thousands more spectators. In addition to running races, there are dozens of fun runs, shoe launches and demos, speakers’ panels, film premieres, vertical challenges, and running industry events, making it the busiest week of the year in Chamonix.

The main race, UTMB, which begins Friday (18h00 SA time), is still the most notable race and one of three championship races of the 60-race UTMB World Series, along with the OCC (08h15 on Thursday) and CCC (09h00 on Friday).  The course of each race is vastly different, with its own challenging features and volume of elevation change.

How to Stream UTMB: Each of the races can be followed via live tracking, while the championship races (OCC, CCC, UTMB) can be watched via livestream on the UTMB website or on YouTube. The around-the-clock live coverage includes expert commentary in multiple languages with video coverage provided by drones, e-mountain bikes, and runner follow cams.

Storylines to Watch at UTMB

Women:  In the marquee UTMB event, American Courtney Dauwalter once again headlines the women’s race. The 40-year-old Leadville, Colorado, resident has won the event three times (2019, 2021, 2023), trailing only British runner Lizzy Hawker (2005, 2008, 2010-2012) for the most wins among women. American women have won the race 10 times, the most among any nationality.

Although Dauwalter has been nearly unbeatable since 2018, she suffered a rare DNF at the Cocodona 250 race in Arizona in May, even though she was leading at the 175km mark when she dropped out. She’s won 25 of the past 26 races she’s finished, dating back to 2020, with the lone exception of the 2023 Javelina Jundred 100km race that she ran with her mom. In March, Dauwalter won a trail marathon race in March in Colorado and a 50km race in Arizona, and then won the Lavaredo Ultra Trail 120km race in Italy in late June.

While the trail running world was hoping to see Dauwalter face off with two-time UTMB champion Katie Schide, an American who lives full-time in France, the 2022 and 2024 champion has opted instead to focus on the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships next month in Spain, especially given that she just won the Hardrock 100 in course-record time on July 12.

Instead, Dauwalter’s primary challengers will likely be American Abby Hall (Flagstaff, Arizona), New Zealand’s Ruth Croft, Zimbabwe’s Emily Hawgood, Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth, and American Heather Jackson (Bend, Oregon). A year ago, Hall, 35, finished 31st among women in UTMB about 16 months after suffering a devastating knee and leg injury. But her real comeback moment came in June, when she won the Western States 100 in Auburn, California, the biggest win of her career. Before her injury, she posted three top-10 finishes in the CCC 100km, including a runner-up finish in 2021.

Men:  Last year, Vincent Bouillard, a full-time shoe materials science engineer for Hoka, pulled off a surprise UTMB win in the fourth-fastest time ever run on the course. He’s not returning to the race this year, and neither is 2023 champion Jim Walmsley, who became the first American to win UTMB, or 2022 champion Kilian Jornet of Spain, so this year’s race is wide open and could see a first-time champion crowned.

Walmsley is running the OCC, in part, so he can remain fresh to compete in the September 25-28 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Spain, while Bouillard is skipping the UTMB week of races entirely to focus on next month’s world championships. Jornet just finished third at the Western States 100 and is planning to return to the U.S. to summit all the peaks in the American West in September.

That said, the men’s field is chock-full of experienced international competitors, led by American Hayden Hawks, France’s Ludovic Pommeret, New Zealand’s Daniel Jones, China’s Ji Duo, and British runners Tom Evans and Jonathan Albon.

Hawks, 34, is a two-time CCC winner (2017, 2024) who has also twice finished on the podium at Western States. Pommeret, 50, the 2016 UTMB champion, won his second straight Hardrock 100 title in July and last year placed fifth in UTMB. Although the 33-year-old Evans has been battling injuries the past few years, he has a Western States 100 victory (2023) and a CCC title (2018 ) under his belt. Albon, 36, won CCC in 2023 and OCC in 2021, and also has 14 obstacle course racing world championships to his credit. Jones, 34, is a former 2:16 marathoner who has placed among the top five at the past three Western States 100 races, while Duo, 33, has won numerous races in China and was 13th in UTMB in 2023.

Race Schedule and Course Information

Monday, August 25

• PTL, Chamonix, France, 300km, 25000m of elevation gain, 151 hours cutoff time
• MCC, Martigny, Switzerland, 40km, 2350m of elevation gain, 10 hours cutoff time
• TDS, Courmayeur, Italy, 153km, 9000m of elevation gain, 44 hours, 55 minutes cutoff time

Tuesday, August 26

• ETC, Courmayeur, Italy, 15km, 1200m of elevation gain, 4 hours, 30 minutes cutoff time
• YCC, Courmayeur, Italy, 15km, 1200m of elevation gain, 4 hours, 30 minutes cutoff time 

Thursday, August 28

• OCC, Orsières, Switzerland, 61km, 3400m of elevation gain, 14 hours, 30 minutes cutoff time

Friday, August 29

• CCC, Courmayeur, Italy, 101km, 6050m of elevation gain, 26 hours, 30 minutes cutoff time
• UTMB, Chamonix, France, 174km, 9900m of elevation gain, 46 hours, 35 minutes cutoff time

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