UTMB 2026 unfolded across a full week in Chamonix, not just one race. More than 10,000 runners from 121 nations took on eight distances over the week, from OCC's shorter opener to the marquee event, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc itself: 176 kilometres, three countries, 9,900 metres of climbing, inside a 46-hour cutoff. Alongside it run CCC, the 100km qualifier from Courmayeur to Chamonix via Champex-Lac, and YCC, where the next generation takes on the same terrain.
This year, the mountain made its intentions clear early. Storms over the massif delayed the UTMB start by two hours and cut a section from the course. The night before, 575 runners in the TDS field had already been beaten by the cold rain. Still, American Ben Dhiman ran the first sub-19-hour UTMB finish in the race's history, and Blandine L'Hirondel became only the second woman ever to win the UTMB, CCC and OCC treble. Behind the leaders, six Fractel athletes were somewhere in that field too, fighting their own personal battles.
Here's how their UTMB 2026 played out.
Annie Hand - UTMB
Annie's knee gave out just 10 kilometres into UTMB's 176km loop. From there, downhills were off the table for the next 164 kilometres. She leaned into what she had left instead. "The uphill climbs felt really good," she said. At the second-last aid station, she made a friend, and the two of them hauled each other up the final three ascents to the finish. "Grateful for my support crew, who were amazing," Annie reflected afterwards. "You have to play the hand you were dealt." Forty-one hours and fifty-two minutes after starting, and with her E-Nova cap still on, she'd completed the full loop.
Jaime Black - UTMB
Jaime ran the same 176km course, patient and controlled through the early kilometres. "Thirty-five kilometres of deafening crowds from the start, into pure silence among the most beautiful landscapes," is how he describes the shift into the mountains. Trouble found him around Lac Combal at 2am, when involuntary micronaps started pulling him off his feet, including one two-minute stop asleep on a rock. Caffeine gels and stubbornness got him to Courmayeur for sunrise, where he'll admit to "a bit of a cry to myself" before locking back in. He crossed three countries on foot, finishing 155th in 27:15:19 alongside fellow Australian Rhys Lawler for the final stretch.
Fergus Jackson - YCC Junior
A hip niggle a week out had Fergus nervous heading into the youth race through Chamonix and Courmayeur. None of it showed on the day. "The highlight was definitely the start, running through the main street of Courmayeur," he said. "The atmosphere and setting were incredible." He ran calm and controlled throughout, finishing 32nd in 1 hour 42 minutes. "I just feel totally content," he said afterwards. "I'm so proud of myself to have raced as I did."
Jack Ferris - CCC
Jack lined up for CCC, in his CP-Threshold cap, into conditions he didn't sugarcoat: "the weather was wild, but I enjoyed the big climbs." He cruised the first half, then ground out the second on whatever he had left, and crossed the line in 70th place overall, 13:09:21. "The atmosphere, and all the people cheering like they're your own fans," was his highlight. His verdict: "Hurting is more fun."
Sophie Broome - CCC
Back for a second crack at CCC after racing it in 2024, Sophie wanted to see what she was capable of with more experience behind her. Last-minute course changes added an unexpected challenge, but she stayed locked in, helped by family who'd flown over from the UK to crew the race. "The balcony section, in rainy, foggy, windy and muddy conditions, reminded me so much of running on the fells back home," she said. A long, stormy descent toward Martigny and a difficult stomach tested her, but in her V-Green Bee tee, she found her rhythm again on the climb to Trient, finishing 41st woman and 164th overall in 15:18.
Tia Bool - CCC
The Alps introduced themselves to Tia early: a 2,500m ascent to Grand Col Ferret in rain, thunder and wind strong enough that her hands went numb. Waterproof pants went on, and she kept traversing through zero-visibility ridgelines until the clouds finally lifted into La Fouly. Her legs held up for the whole race, but her nutrition fell apart around 80 kilometres in, mid-way through a 2,000m ascent, until her crew met her with hot chips at the 90km checkpoint. "Nothing was stopping me from getting to that finish line," she said. She finished 139th woman in 20:28, across 108 kilometres and 6,450 metres of climbing.
UTMB doesn't reward the strongest runner on paper. It rewards whoever can hold themselves together the longest, through storms and switchbacks and the hours after midnight when everything in your body says stop. Six athletes, three different races, and one result they all share: every one of them crossed that line in Chamonix.
Proud of this crew, on and off the mountain. If UTMB 2026 has you thinking about your own line to Chamonix, explore Fractel's latest trail collection, built for exactly these conditions.
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