It was the year of the Americans at the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc as US men and women swept the top spots of the endurance running festival’s signature event – the UTMB – for the first time ever. Additional Americans earned spots on the podium in some of the other events that are part of the week-long trail-running festival that offers five ultramarathon options (the 106-mile UTMB, the 100K CCC, the 145K TDS, the 55K OCC, and the 300K PTL) from Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2023, in Chamonix, France.

Though there are several racing options, the UTMB serves as the main event. All eyes were on the front of the field this year as previous women’s winner and course record-holder Courtney Dauwalter of Leadville, Colo., returned and sought to complete her Western States/Hardrock/UTMB sweep. Additionally, Jim Walmsley sought to become the first American man to win UTMB, having moved from Flagstaff, Ariz., to France a few years ago to train specifically for the race.

Walmsley’s years of preparation and relocation paid off as he won the men’s race in 19:37:43, a new course record. Fellow American Zach Miller of Columbia, Pa., finished second in 19:58:58. In the women’s race, Dauwalter earned her third UTMB victory in 23:29:14, adding it to her collection of wins from 2019 and 2021.

Bay Staters Murrel, Bass Finish UTMB

While the focus may have been on the frontrunners, a pair of Massachusetts men had big weekends on the course as well and secured hard-earned finishes. Jack Murrel of Boston, Mass., and Ilya Bass of Weston, Mass., both took on the 106-mile course that started and finished in Chamonix, France, circling the Mont Blanc massif and passing through Italy and France along the way while amassing nearly 33,000 feet of climbing.

Murrel entered UTMB well prepared to have a strong showing. He finished 23rd overall at the 2021 Leadville Trail 100 and 10th overall at the 2022 Cruel Jewel 100. He also won the Bel Monte 50-mile and Napa Valley 50K ultras in 2022, and then had a solid run at the Speedgoat 50K in July that primed his legs for UTMB’s climbing.

More than 2,800 runners packed Chamonix for the 6 p.m. start. Murrel, 29, didn’t hold back much when the runners were sent on their way. He got out fast and was among the top 250 for the duration of the race.

A little more than six hours and 50K into the race, Murrel was in 181st overall. He would continue to climb the rest of the way, rarely being passed unless he was taking a rest at an aid station. The sun was about to rise as he rolled into Courmayeur, Italy, at the 81K mark for a food and rest break at one of the course’s largest aid stations. He was in 157th place when he departed the aid station at 5:47 a.m. following a 22-minute break. More big climbs awaited him, and Murrel hammered them. Twenty-eight miles later, Murrel reached the final major aid station, Champex-Lac. He was 127.6K into the race and 18:43 had expired. He pushed his way into the top 100 on his approach to the aid station, but Murrel wasn’t done charging. During the final 29 miles, Murrel passed another 21 runners. The sun was setting as he made his way to the final aid stop at La Flegere, and Murrel made the long, final downhill run from there to Chamonix by the light of his headlamp before trotting through the crowd-lined streets and on to the finish line.  Murrel placed 74th overall in 26:59:55.

Bass, 49, earned his way to UTMB by finishing the Midstate Massive Ultra-Trail 100-miler in 2020, the Bryce Canyon 100-miler in 2021, and the Canyons 100K and Speedgoat 50K in 2022. His build-up to UTMB this year included finishes at the Rock the Ridge 50-miler in May and Manitou’s Revenge 53-miler in June.

Bass’s approach to UTMB was to be patient, steady and strong. He delivered in all three areas which added up to a successful race. He started near the back of the starters’ pack and was in 2,607th place after the first 13 miles. During the next 93 miles he went on to pass half the field ahead of him.

Bass arrived at the 50-mile mark in Courmayeur after just over 18 hours of running and hiking. He was nearly halfway through his race. After a 47-minute rest to eat, change layers and prepare for the big climbs ahead, he departed Courmayeur in 2,007th place. During the course of the previous 37 miles he passed 600 people. By the time he reached Champex-Lac at 12:29 a.m., after more than 30 hours on the course, he’d surged past nearly 400 runners to 1,613th place. Bass did most of his passing during the 5K stretch that is a massive climb from Arnouvaz to the Grand Col Ferret where he moved ahead of more than 150 runners.

Bass continued the trend all the way to the finish line. He passed more than 300 runners between Champex-Lac and Chamonix. When he crossed the finish line at 1:46 p.m. after 43:47:12 on the course, he was the 1,302nd overall finisher.

Tisbury’s Broderick Has Big Run at CCC

In the CCC – the 100K race that covers the final 63 miles of the UTMB course – runners were challenged with 20,000 feet of climbing as they made their way from Courmayeur, Italy, through Champex-Lac, Switzerland, and on to the finish in Chamonix. The men’s race was won by Jon Albon of the United Kingdom in 10:14 and the women’s field was topped by Norway’s Yngvild Kaspersen in 11:51. Still, both podiums had an American presence as Dakota Jones of Salt Lake City, Utah, was third among the men in 10:41 and Helen Mino Faukner of Truckee, Calif., finished third in the women’s field in 12:38.

Stacia Broderick of Tisbury, Mass., joined Jones and Faukner among the American finishers of the CCC. Broderick, 45, qualified the CCC by finishing the Black Canyon 100K in 2022. This year she finished 20th at the Canyons Endurance Runs 100K in California and 23rd at the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon in Iceland before heading to the Alps.

Broderick had a strong showing at the CCC. She handled the big early climbs and steadily picked her way through the field. Broderick made her biggest moves during the first 54K as she passed more than 350 runners between Courmayeur and Champex-Lac. She continued to climb during the overnight hours and ultimately passed another 80+. Of the 2,400+ runners who started the CCC, Broderick ultimately finished 133rd in the women’s field and 742nd overall in 20:47:28.

Maine’s Schide Earns Podium Finish in OCC

A year ago, Katie Schide was the UTMB champion. This year, the 31-year-old Maine native who lives in France tackled a shorter race at the UTMB festival – the 55K OCC – and secured another podium finish. 

Schide and another 1,700+ runners raced on a point-to-point course from Orsieres, Switzerland to Chamonix that covered 34 miles and amassed more than 11,000 feet of climbing. 

South Africa’s Toni McCann took the women’s win in a speedy 5:18:21. Schide was second in 5:26:25, just fast enough to hold off China’s Miao Yao who was a close third in 5:27:07.

Stian Angermund of Norway was the men’s champion in 4:42:40.

It was Schide’s third time finishing on the podium at a UTMB event. She was the runner-up in the CCC in 2018, champion of the UTMB in 2022 and third place at this year’s OCC.

Editor’s Note: The UTMB does not include in its results the state of residence for its participants, only the country they represent. To have comprehensive results of all New England residents who finish races at the UTMB festival that would require sorting through more than 10,000 runners to identify the Americans, and then searching online one by one to try to identify their home states – a process that has been done in the past that takes days to complete. There wasn’t time to do that this year, so runners included in this recap were either known in advance or crowdsourced from the community. This recap of New Englanders’ results is likely incomplete. Any omissions are not intentional.