2024 Ultra-Trail Snowdonia by UTMB 50km training plans | Runna (2024)

FAQs

How hard is UTS 100K? ›

Most people walk the majority of the path up to the Bwlch Glas. I chose to do the same, determined not to start too fast in my first-ever 100K race. Perhaps more challenging than other 100K races, this one has 6,400 metres of climbing. To most people's astonishment, I was doing it without poles.

Participants must be both physically and mentally fit for the race and will need to meet the cut-off times in order to continue in the competition. Despite not requiring a UTMB Index, participants must be prepared to be self-sufficient for long periods of time in all weather conditions (including through the night).

While the best runners complete the loop in slightly more than 20 hours, most runners take 32 to 46 hours to reach the finish line.

UTMB or Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc

Informally known as the UTMB, this difficult and striking race takes on the original Trail du Mont-Blanc. Runners will take on 170km with over 10,000m of ascent with a maximum cut off time of 46.5 hours.

UTS 100M - £269 (168km/9500m+ & 4 Running Stones) UTS 100K - £199 (103km/6400m+ & 3 Running Stones) UTS 50K - £149 (55km/3300m+ & 2 Running Stones) ERYRI 25K - £89 (25km/1300m+ & 1 Running Stone) Nearly 50% of the available entries have already been taken for 2024's event, so don't miss out, enter today!

For the 100K and 100-mile ultra distances, you need at least 9 hours of training per week for 6 weeks. Outside of this 3- or 6-week period, you can have a lower volume and be perfectly successful, as long as you also do higher-quality training.

You need to have a valid UTMB® index, this means you must have completed a race in the desired category. For example, to be able to enter the lottery for the UTMB 100M race you must have completed an event in the 100M category.

The cost of registration for the UTMB after having secured a race place is €355 excluding admin fees. For the CCC it's €220 and for the OCC it's €135. When calculating the overall price of entering the UTMB, runners must also take into account the cost of being eligible for entering the race place lottery.

Running Stones are cumulative, have no expiration date, and each Running Stone gives you an additional chance to be drawn.

Runners who increased their sleep duration the night before the race completed it at a faster pace [21]. Furthermore, 69–72% of Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc® (UTMB®) finishers reported no sleep during the race [21, 22].

What percentage of people finish UTMB? ›

Nearly half of the racers don't finish

Although thousands of participants enter the UTMB every year, nearly half of them don't make it across the finish line. The exact percentage varies, depending on the year, but the dropout rate averages around 40%. A variety of factors can lead to the demise of participants.

In the case of the new UTMB-Ironman partnership, Ironman's investment only goes so far. According to UTMB, their company has the majority ownership; Ironman has a minority stake, and there is no option for Ironman to take control of UTMB.

For 2024, this means runners have from the 1 January – 31 December 2023 to qualify. The top 3 male and female runners at every UTMB World Series Event in races in the 100M, 100K and 50K category races automatically qualify for the following year's edition of the UTMB World Series Finals in the corresponding category.

With the course covering over 171 kilometres and includes a total elevation gain of 9,600 meters (much of which is at altitude!), makes for a physically demanding event. Runners are at risk of developing injuries such as blisters, muscle strains, and stress fractures, which can prevent them from continuing the race.

The 100km (65.3 mile) course will have approximately 14,450ft of hard-earned vertical gain and 14,450 feet of equally hard-earned vertical descent, for an elevation change total of 28,900 feet.

Running 100km over an entire day is a complex journey—so much dissolves away into distant memories when the monotony of simply putting one foot in front of the other places the brain into a vegetative-like state. It's epic. But it hurts like hell.

A 100km run will take over 12-15 hours to complete if you aren't already accomplished as a runner. If you can run a marathon in less than 4.5 hours now then you need three months training at an average 175km a week with twice daily runs if you want to run a 100km in under 10 hours.

UTS 100 km

103 km with around 6,400 metres of elevation gain.