Hoka — Inside the Chamonix Ritual
WORDS → Simone Bertelli
DATE → 2026-09-01
Behind the scenes of UTMB Mont-Blanc with Hoka
During the week of UTMB Mont-Blanc, Chamonix transforms. Tens of thousands of people—runners, supporters, volunteers, and fans—pour into its streets, creating an atmosphere that is difficult, if not impossible, to describe. Walking through the town’s alleys and trails, you encounter runners focused on completing their final shakeout run before the big start, families and friends busy with last-minute preparations, and countless enthusiasts who have arrived just to witness the race. It is a constant presence that grows as the start approaches, making it clear just how much UTMB serves as a pillar for Chamonix.
It was in this context that we had the opportunity to experience the week alongside Hoka, the event’s title sponsor. We weren’t just spectators: we were able to follow the competition from the inside, moving between the trails and the locations where the race takes shape. Before the competition, there is also time to run. We do so by testing the new Hoka Tecton X 4, presented to us at Flylab—Hoka’s headquarters for this edition—by Jared Smith, Senior Product Line Manager, and Hayden Hawks, a team athlete. The test consists of running the final section of the race: the seven-kilometer descent leading from the La Flégère area down to the center of Chamonix, in the company of Thibaut Garrivier, sixth-place finisher at UTMB in 2023 and winner of the CCC in 2021. It’s a tangible way to get into the heart of the event: not just observing the mountains from below, but moving within them, through the territory that is an integral part of the circuit.
Friday arrives, and with it the start of the flagship race, the UTMB: 174 kilometers with 9,900 meters of elevation gain await the runners. The sunset start is spectacular. Immediately after, we move toward the first checkpoint of the evening, Saint Gervais. We are accompanied by Yannick, a local mountain guide who shares insights and characteristics of the mountains we are traversing. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are already waiting for the athletes. Before long, the leaders begin to arrive: the pace is insane and the cheering deafening. Leading the pack is Vincent Bouillard, already a winner of the Western States 100 this year, who will unfortunately later be forced to withdraw.
Right after the leaders pass, we quickly jump back into the van to reach the next point. Shortly after, we arrive at Notre-Dame-de-la-Gorge, one of the most iconic passages of the route, where the atmosphere is completely different: we are immersed in the woods along one of the steepest climbs of the entire race, yet the crowd is even larger. Lined up on both sides of the trail, fans create a corridor that leaves just enough space for one runner at a time to pass. After just over 30 kilometers, the lead has changed: American Ben Dhiman is in front, coming off two consecutive DNFs and a second-place finish in the last edition. Among the women, Australia’s Lucy Bartholomew leads the race, followed closely by France’s Blandine L’Hirondel, the eventual winner of this edition. On the van back to Chamonix, stuck in traffic, we look at the right side of the valley: a never-ending river of moving lights. These are the headlamps of the runners continuing along the trails. This year, there are 2,407 starters.
The next morning, the wake-up call is at dawn. We head back out toward Champex-Lac, another symbolic point on the route, where the athletes have already covered nearly 130 kilometers. We have breakfast in a café where, Yannick tells us, the Petite Trotte à Léon (PTL) was first conceived—the longest race of the week at 300 kilometers and 25,000 meters of positive elevation gain.
Shortly after, the first runner passes—Ben Dhiman again, now with a lead of over twenty minutes over Frenchman Baptiste Chassagne. Here, too, the atmosphere is different. The fans are still numerous despite the hour, but the mood seems to have shifted: the cheering is joined by a form of profound respect for the ordeal the athletes are facing. After more than 100 kilometers, the fatigue is evident on their faces, yet the leaders continue to move rapidly.
After a nearly two-hour journey, we return to the town where the streets are already packed with people; finding a gap from which to see the finish line is no easy task. The roar of the crowd grows, the throng tightens, and finally, the leader enters the streets. It’s Ben Dhiman. On his face, you can read exhaustion, emotion, but above all, the realization that he has just written a page of UTMB history: he crosses the finish line after 18 hours and 16 minutes, becoming the first man to break the 19-hour barrier.
Shortly after, the crowd waits once more. It is Blandine L’Hirondel’s turn, arriving at the finish line in tears. After last year’s withdrawal, the Frenchwoman claims victory in 21 hours and 54 minutes, becoming the first woman to complete the loop in under 22 hours. The arrivals continue all day and throughout the following night, and with them, our week in Chamonix comes to a close. The final event is the Hoka closing party, where we have the chance to share the evening with some of the most important athletes of the moment, including Francesco Puppi, Rod Farvard, and Hayden Hawks. Living this experience with Hoka allowed us to observe this story up close, traversing some of the most iconic places that help make the UTMB much more than just a trail running race.
