Well, no one saw that coming in the microcosm of high-level trail running. Vincent Bouillard came out of nowhere or almost to win the 21st edition of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. He notably took advantage of the carnage of favorites, many of whom dropped out. His time is nevertheless impressive. He completed the course in 19 h 54 min 23 s, becoming a member of a very select club of runners who have completed the race in less than twenty hours… all in his first UTMB.
Originally from Annecy, aged 31 and relatively unknown in the world of top-level trail running, he was quite far down (69th) on the list of favourites at the start and is not a member of a sponsored team.
Bouillard succeeds American Jim Walmsley who was aiming for a double but had to abandon after around nine hours of racing and 83 km due to a knee injury.
Only one 100-mile race under his belt
An engineer by profession, specializing in the development of shoes for the equipment manufacturer Hoka, Bouillard had previously only run one so-called “100 mile” race (approximately 160 km), the Kodiak Ultra Marathons last October in California, which he won.
His record, however, includes victories or good rankings in several other shorter races, such as the Gorge Waterfalls (United States) in 2023 (1st) or the MaXi-Race of Lake Annecy in January (5th). The first pursuers, the Frenchman Baptiste Chassagne and the Ecuadorian Joaquin Lopez were close to the finish in Chamonix to complete the podium.
In the women’s race, American favourite Katie Schide won in a record time of 22 hours 09 minutes 31 seconds over the demanding 176.4 kilometre course with almost 10,000 metres of elevation gain around the giant of the Alps.
