“On arrive au bout.” These are the words with which Nicolas Darmaillacq justifies the end of the trail he has been organizing for years, the Skyrhune, the emblematic race of the Basque Country. Too many people, too much money, values that are being lost… Trail running in France has become THE fashionable discipline, today with more than a million participants and 4,200 races listed on the calendar. An event symbolizes in an exponential way the passage to the industrial era of this small sport of nature lovers who wanted to run in peace on paths: the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc – or UTMB, the Holy Grail of the discipline broadcast worldwide from August 26 to September 1.
An outrageous race, sponsored by a car brand, filmed like the Tour de France, where the price of a bib can reach 400 euros and where demand is such that the organizers must make a drastic selection of aspiring competitors. Among the outsiders for the final victory, behind the extraterrestrial Kilian Jornet (four successes to his name, in addition to a whole host of other titles), Andy Symonds will be at the start this year… without many illusions. “I’m really not in tune with the values of racing. But I accept this contradiction.”
Trail running is the story of a sport whose popularity has exploded, quietly, over the last fifteen years. “Ten years ago, you were only served a beer on arrival, and if you were lucky, a small cake”jokes the British Andy Symonds, one of the most beautiful track records of the European field. Now, the winners of major events are rewarded with checks with five-figure sums. Sponsors are jostling to associate themselves with this discipline which exudes life in the open air and love of nature. “We are about to become like cycling in terms of greenwashing”warns Andy Symonds, who regrets that the Grande Boucle is already serving as a publicity stunt for Total, Ineos and oil-producing Gulf countries.
In 2023, the sponsorship of the UTMB by The car manufacturer Dacia had caused a lot of ink to flow. This year, it is the equipment manufacturer Hoka that is adding its name to the most famous trail on the planet, but the Renault subsidiary is still among the event’s partners.. “[Avoir Dacia en sponsor principal], It was badly received, it must be admitted”recognizes Frédéric Lénart, general director of UTMB Group. “The brand remains a partner, but a little less visible. Maybe we were a little hasty. But we are convinced that we still stick to the values of trail running.”
Values that make big brands salivate, even when it comes to putting their name to events that only reach a local audience. “I organize a trail in Provence, which is part of a network of races trying to promote ethical values, describes Andy Symonds. This circuit also includes another event, which had been approached by Total to sponsor the 2024 edition. We discussed it a lot among ourselves, and we managed to convince them to give up.”
Sponsors are jostling for position because the riders jostle to sweat in the fresh air. Take the Opal Coast trail, which makes the barge trek around Cap Blanc-Nez.
The race director turns into a nightclub bouncer as soon as the bibs go on sale. “Every year, we turn away between 3,000 and 4,000 people, assures Franck Viandier, organizer of the Opal Coast Trail. For Saturday races, we could easily double the capacity. And we have developed a system to prevent people from buying several bibs to cut short speculation… We must stick to a limit of participants, set with the regional nature protection services.” The race crosses several protected areas and negotiations are tough with public stakeholders and environmental associations to minimise the impact of the trailers on the dunes and on the seagulls of the Opal Coast.
“For some distances, we sold out all 5,000 bibs in twelve minutes. Like a U2 concert!”
Franck Viandier, organizer of the Opal Coast Trailto franceinfo
A congestion caused by what many organizers call “the Parisians”. A new public, coming from running – which is also experiencing an exponential boom with more than 12 million participants – not always aware of the customs and traditions of running in the great outdoors. “We really felt this change at the educational levelpoursuit Franck Viandier. The kind of person who doesn’t understand why people refuse to serve drinks at refreshment points if they haven’t brought their own collapsible cup, or why there aren’t refreshment points every 2 km like in road marathons…”
A reflection of the evolution of society, analyses sociologist Olivier Bessy, himself a distinguished trail runner. “The original trail embraced the values of post-modern society, with a return to nature, simplicity, and the desire to escape. In the 90s, hypermodernity and its ‘always more’ side rubbed off on the discipline, where ultra-trail was much more valued.” Despite the resurgence of sobriety with the rise of environmental issues, for the majority of trail participants, the ultimate reward is found in the look on their colleagues’ faces at the coffee machine on Monday morning, after the race. “The symbolic benefits are considerable. Saying that you have finished the UTMB is like saying that you have done the Paris marathon.”supports Olivier Bessy, author of a book on the 20 years of the event. “We have not left the storytelling of the struggle between man and nature”summarizes Axel Pittet, who oversees the trail running university diploma at the University of Grenoble-Alpes.
Hence an over-representation of CSP+ in this new trail public. Enthusiasts who spend more and more to satisfy this new passion (800 euros per year at least for a few bibs and decent equipment, according to the 2022 Running Barometer). Eco-responsible brands have even been created specifically for the discipline, such as Wise. You have to be ready to spend 150 euros for a t-shirt, twice as much for a backpack, which will certainly last ten years, but force their owner to give up the latest fashionable gadgets. “The trailer is aware of being in the middle of this dissonance between its values and its appetite for marketing”continues Axel Pittet.
“We are not responsible for the evolution of the trail, but we support it”, responds the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc, through the voice of Frédéric Lénart, to the followers of “it was better before”. “There are several axes in trail running, and we embody one of them.” The industrial version, surely. Building on its success over the past twenty years, the UTMB Group has become the trail counterpart of what ASO – the organiser of the Grande Boucle, Paris-Roubaix and the Vuelta – embodies in cycling. The French company now oversees 44 events around the world, bringing together 150,000 runners.
The UTMB Group also advocates a more feminine version of trail running. This big circus, which spreads from Canada to New Zealand, displays its desire to attract more women to a sport where they become rare as soon as the distance increases (around 20% on events exceeding 40 km). “It’s a cultural trait [en Europe]we don’t see that at all on our trails in Oceania”says Frédéric Lénart. To attract more female athletes, there is no question of reserving a quota of bibs for women: the organizer prefers to focus communication on the champions and the anonymous people who manage to shine in the legendary event.
For the moment, these ladies are in reality mainly targeted by formulas that aim to take Mr. Trail Runner and his family on a sports tourism trip. In Auvergne, the Volvic Volcanic Experience even offers, the day after the effort, a tourist walk to be able to calmly contemplate all the wonders of nature that the runner would have missed the day before, too busy scrutinizing the ground to avoid slipping on a badly placed root. “The idea is really to offer a global experience”explain Hugo Charrier and Benoît Grassigny, who created the Finishers application to help runners find their way through the jungle of races on offer (with a spectacular map to support it). “It’s interesting to see that we have this practice of sport that goes beyond physical effort.”
“In France, trail running has become bourgeois.”
Axel PittetUniversity specialist in trail running
Enough to make local elected officials salivate in search of events to occupy the off-season. “We are receiving more and more mid-mountain guides commissioned by local elected officials, to learn how to organize a trail on their territoryemphasizes Axel Pittet. Some see it as a way to stop the drop in attendance due to low snowfall, or to develop tourism in the summer. Many races in Isère are no longer hiding and are targeting the Parisian public two hours away by TGV.” A response to the aspirations of new trail enthusiasts.
Is another trail possible? This is the question asked by those who have taken the plunge in recent years: younger organizers, even more sensitive to environmental issues. Like François Hinault, who set up the Grand Raid du Finistère, on the Crozon peninsula. Absence of signage, supplies brought by the runners and distributed at different points of the course, banning of poles to limit damage to the ground, desire to limit each event to a few hundred participants (and if possible locals), lifetime exclusion of a runner caught throwing his rubbish in the countryside and even refusal to provide safety pins to attach the bib… “It’s a symbol, but one more commitment”assures François Hinault.
Small and large measures that have enabled it to obtain eco-certification. “There are still new experiences to be created”claims François Hinault. Why not on the model of American races, harder, more extreme, longer, and above all 100% “roots”?
Roots question, a variant of overcrowded trails has made its comeback under the radar in France. “Do you know about off trail?”asks Axel Pittet. A few friends, ten at most, who set off on a wild 150km raid in the Alps, spending the night in refuges. No one looks at their stopwatch, and no one records their performance on Strava. “It exploded during Covid, as official competitions were suspended, remark Axel Pittet. This is what most closely corresponds to the purist spirit.”
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