The UTMB World Series Finals in Chamonix, France, will feature a nearly $400,000 prize pool distributed among the top 10 male and female finishers in the three main races of the championship week.
UTMB Group made this announcement earlier this week, on June 18. This year’s UTMB Mont Blanc winners will receive about $21,500, more than double what Courtney Dauwalter and Jim Walmsley earned last year for their victories.
On top of increasing the prize purse for Mont Blanc, UTMB is also increasing prize money for the three UTMB World Series Majors in Spain, Thailand, and Big Bear, California. The total prize money for the series will be €344,500 (over $370,000).
This boost was largely enabled by the brand’s recent partnership with Hoka. Hoka became the title sponsor of the UTMB World Series earlier this year.
The Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA) was consulted on the prize distribution.
“We’re happy that the UTMB Group decided to consult the PTRA regarding the new prize money structure for UTMB World Series Finals and Majors,” said Francesco Puppi of Italy, a member of the PTRA Board, to RUN, “This represents an important step forward in the professionalization of the sport and the recognition of the elite athletes for the prestige, quality, and value they bring to UTMB World Series events.”
This announcement also follows a recent UTMB Group investment in anti-doping measures and increased in-competition testing.
The new prize pool is now equal to or, in some cases, significantly more than that of any other ultra-trail event and even some other endurance sports. For instance, the Professional Triathlon Organization’s T100 series offers $25,000 to the winners of each race, with a series winner earning an additional $210,000.
Prize money remains rare in trail running; many major races, like Western States 100, do not offer it. From 2006 until 2019, the North Face 50-mile championship race awarded a $30,000 prize purse.
UTMB races first introduced prize money in 2018, starting with a €35,000 ($37,000) purse. This amount remained unchanged until 2021. The partnership with Ironman and the launch of the UTMB World Series led to an increase in prize money. In 2022 and 2023, UTMB awarded about €156,000 ($162,000) in total prize money to the top 10 male and female finishers of the UTMB, CCC, and OCC races.
From this summer, the 171K UTMB Championship race in Mont Blanc will have a prize purse of €119,000 ($128,000). Winners will receive €20,000 ($21,470), second-place finishers €12,000 ($12,882), and third-place €8,000 ($8,600). The prize money will be distributed among the top 10 finishers.
The OCC 50K and CCC 100K races will each have prize purses of €76,000 ($81,700), with podium finishers receiving €13,000 ($13,970), €7,500 ($8,060), and €5,000 ($5,373), respectively. All top 10 finishers will receive cash prizes of at least €1,000 ($1,075).
The UTMB World Series Majors in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific will each feature prize purses of €25,000 ($26,860) for the 50K, 100K, and 100-mile distances. The top five finishers will receive €5,000 ($5,373), €3,000 ($3,222), €2,000 ($2,149), €1,250 ($1,343), and €1,000 ($1,075), respectively.
Most sponsored trail runners have bonus clauses in their contracts for podium finishes at key races, including the UTMB Finals. With UTMB experiencing pushback from athletes and fans over the event’s commercialization, this increased prize money will attract top-level talent and elevate the event and the sport’s profile.
Only a few athletes worldwide earn more than $75,000 annually from shoe brand contracts, so these increases will be welcomed by the athletes.
“It’s great to see UTMB continue to take steps forward in international trail running to bring together consolidated competition with a bigger prize purse,” said Walmsley in a press release. “An increase at UTMB Finals, as well as UTMB World Series Majors, gives a lot of incentive for current professionals to prioritize these races and helps inspire the next generation of runners to pursue a career in trail running.”
The new prize structure will take effect at the Hoka Val d’Aran by UTMB races in Spain from July 3-7, followed by the Hoka UTMB World Series Finals in Chamonix. The Asia-Pacific Major will be held in December 2024 in Thailand, while the Americas Major will adopt the new structure in 2025 at the Hoka Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB.
“First I would say that our ambition is to make a positive contribution to trail running,” Frédéric Lénart, CEO UTMB Group said in an interview with RUN. “It was very important as a leader in trail running to have a key role in helping athletes to make a better living from their sport. It was one of the reasons we negotiated the extension or our partnership with Hoka, so we could make this positive contribution together. And, of course, it was based on the feedback we had from the elite runners. And, of course, through the increasing of the prize money we acknowledge their investment and their engagement in sport, and we recognize the role they could play to inspire the next generation of runners.”
