The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® 2014 - what the statistics tell us so far

This year more than 14,000 runners answered the call for registration. Altogether there will be 7,500 participants on the start lines of the 5 races, representing 77 nations, mobilising more than 2000 volunteers and attracting 50,000 spectators!

In the 5 events: 52.1% of runners are foreigners and 47.9% are French

It is the first year in which there are more foreign than French runners in the Ultra-Trail® event! The top five countries are the same as in 2013. After France comes Spain: 8.93 %; Italy: 8.90%; Great Britain: 6.22% and Japan: 3.73%. They are followed by Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and the United States.

In the UTMB® France represents 37.54% of runners, Spain 10.82%, Italy 8.22%, Great Britain 7.95% and Japan 7.34%. It is worth noting that China has increased its participation from 7 (in 2013) to 39.
If the TDS® is the race where the French are the most numerous (59.6%); it is the PTL® for the Italians (16.85%).

77 nations represented

This includes three new small countries: Brunei, Mauritius and San Marino.

The others are: Algeria; Andorra; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Brazil; Brunei; Bulgaria; Cambodia; Canada ; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Equator; Estonia; Finland; France; Gabon; Germany; Greece; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Ireland; Island; Israel; Italy; Japan; Kuwait; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxemburg; Macedonia (ex-Rep of Yugoslavia); Malaysia; Morocco; Mauritius; Mexico ; Montenegro; Nepal; Netherlands; New-Zealand; Niger ; Norway; Paraguay ; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Romania ; Russia; Saint-Marino; Serbia; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; South Africa; South Korea; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom ( England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland); United States of America; Uruguay; Venezuela

Great line-up of elite athletes

There are 317 runners (male and female) in the elite category* registered for one of the five Ultra-Trail® races. 145 have registered for the UTMB® and 30 for the OCC, the most recent addition to the races. *"Potential top 10" according to the International Trail Running Association's criteria

A slight increase in the proportion of women

13.3% of the runners for 2014 are women, a increase of 3% from 2013. They are well represented in the OCC (more than a quarter of those registered). The UTMB® has the lowest proportion, with only 8.14% of women.

From 20 to 70+ years old!

The over seventies prefer a shorter route: Ten, of whom two are women, are registered for the OCC, and four, of whom one is female, for the UTMB®. The youngest* also prefer the OCC: 32 are registered for the OCC and 5 for the UTMB®. *Category Espoir as from 20 - minimum age for registering

OCC is full in its first year

The new race launched for 2014 has been very successful and required a draw for places: the organisation received 2 443 registration requests for the 1 000 places available.

More new runners

A sign of the popularity of the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® is the number of participants coming to the event for the first time. In the UTMB® their number has increased to 50% in 2014, from 43% in 2012.

Record number of applicants for UTMB®

2014 saw 6,020 requests, while there were 5,176 in 2013, 5,088 in 2012 and 3,661 in 2011.

2014 is truly full!

The magic of the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® races has worked, better than ever. The organisation certainly shares the disappointment of those runners who were not successful in the draw but the method for registration remains fair and gives everybody an equal chance. Linked to a system of qualification points, this method allows them to ensure that all the runners on the start line have a minimum level of experience and training. It is the best solution to maintain the quality and safety of the races, while respecting the fragile nature of the Mont-Blanc massif.

Registration conditions for2015

Registration conditions for the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® 2015 will be published on http://www.ultratrailmb.com during February 2014. Pre-registration will take place between December 17th 2014 and January 6th 2015.

All applicants who did not get a place in 2014 will be attributed a positive coefficient which will double their chances of being selected in the draw for next year.

For more information, visit the race website: www.ultratrailmb.com

Further links: ultratrail.tv, Facebook: www.facebook.com/UltraTrailMontBlanc - Twitter:twitter.com/TNFUTMB