Regulations 2010
The Ethics of the Ultra-Trail®
The runners, volunteers, organisation and partners are united in the same adventure and share the share the same values:
EQUITY
The rules were conceived for everybody and therefore are applicable to everybody
No financial incentives, but the same prize for all runners who finish
RESPECT FOR OTHERS
Respect for oneself and for others permits absolutely no cheating of any form
Respect for the volunteers who participate for the pleasure
Respect for the local population who accommodate the race
Respect for the organisation and its partners f
RESPECT FOR NATURE
Never drop litter
Respect for flora and fauna
Don’t cut the corners because this provokes erosional damage to the area
Take advantage, for oneself and one’s companions, of communal transport or car pool
IMPARTATION AND SOLIDARITY
Prioritise assisting anybody in danger or difficulty
Support a charitable association: to put one’s own suffering in perspective & to be aware of one’s privileges
EXPLORE YOUR LIMITS
Learn to know oneself and develop self-autonomy in order to maximize the commitment in respect of physical and mental integrity.
"l'Ultra, is looking for personal resources one didn’t expect to find"
"l'Ultra, is a little pride and a lot of humility"
Forum d'Ultrafondus
REGULATIONS OF THE UTMB® / CCC® / TDS
ORGANISATION
Les Trailers du Mont Blanc (association loi 1901 registered in the official journal of 29/11/ 2003 as n° 1627, Club FFA n° 074060), are organising The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® with the support of the communes of Chamonix, Les Houches, Saint-Gervais, Les Contamines, Hauteluce, Beaufort, Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Seez, La Thuile, Pré Saint-Didier, Courmayeur, Orsières (La Fouly, Champex-Lac), Trient and Vallorcine.
EVENTS
The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® is an event, the essence of which is to offer several events deep in the countryside, making use of the well trodden paths of the Mont Blanc and Beaufort regions. Each event is run in one stage, at one’s own speed, but within a time limit.
- L’UTMB® [Tour of Mont-Blanc] : around 166km with about 9,400 metres of height gain, starts from Chamonix, 46 hours maximum.
- The CCC® [Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix] around 98km with about 5,600 metres height gain, starts from Courmayeur. 26 hours maximum
- Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie [TDS] : around 105km with about 6,700 metres height gain, starts from Chamonix, 31 hours maximum.
- La Petite Trotte à Léon [PTL]: this event is appreciably different from the 3 other events and has its own regulations.
CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
To participate, it is essential:
- To be fully aware of the length and peculiarities of the race and be sufficiently trained for it
- To have acquired, prior to the race, a real capacity for self-sufficiency (1) which permits the management of problems induced by this type of course, and notably:
◊ to know how to face, without outside help, climatic conditions which can become very difficult due to the altitude (night, wind, cold, rain or snow)
◊ to have the know how to face the physical and mental problems as a result of extreme fatigue, digestive problems, articular and muscular pain, minor wounds…...
- To be fully aware that it is not the role of the organization to help a runner to overcome these problems
- To be fully aware that for such an activity in the countryside security depends on the capacity of the runner to adapt to the problems encountered, or envisaged.
(1) the participation in other races in order to have the number of necessary points (see the paragraph REGISTRATION CONDITIONS) to be able to register, is useful in acquiring this experience, but it is not always sufficient.
These races are open to anyone, man or women, born in 1990 or before (categories hopefuls to veterans), graduates or not.
SEMI SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The individual principle of racing in semi self-sufficiency is the rule.
In particular :
1) Each runner must have all his obligatory equipment with him at all times during the race (see paragraph EQUIPMENT). He transports this equipment in a pack marked at the distribution of race-bibs and it must not be changed during the course. The weight of this pack at the start of the race or at the exit of a refreshment posts must be superior, or equal to, 2 kg. At all other points of the course, the weight of the pack must not, for any reason, be inferior to 1kg.
2) Refreshment posts have been supplied with drinks and food to consume on the spot.
Only plain water (excluding other drinks) is destined for filling-up water bottles or bags. Each runner makes sure to have, at the start of each refreshment post, the quantity of water and of food necessary for them to reach the next refreshment post.
3) Personal assistance by the family is only tolerated at the refreshment posts, in the zone specifically reserved for this purpose and at the discretion of the chief of post. This assistance can only be given by one person, without special equipment other than a pack with a maximum volume of 30 litres. All professional assistance (team or professional trainer, doctor or other persons in the medical profession, para-medics...) is strictly forbidden.
The remainder of the refreshment post is strictly reserved for the runners. You must follow the path scheduled inside the refreshment post if you would like to stop.
4) It will be forbidden, to be accompanied during all or part of the race by a person not enrolled, outside the tolerance zones indicated close to the refreshment posts.
ENROLMENT CONDITIONS
The organisation of The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® has established a list of qualifying races for the Ultra-Trail® 2010. Each race included in this list has been attributed with 1, 2, 3 or 4 points. To register, it is necessary to have acquired a minimum number of points by having finished, exclusively in 2007, 2008 or 2009, the races in this list:
- to register for the UTMB®, it is necessary to have acquired a minimum of 4 points, only one race worth 1 point is permitted
- to register for the CCC®, it is necessary to have acquired a minimum of 1 point
- to register for the TDS (Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie), it is necessary to have acquired a minimum of 2 points.
To consulate the full list of regulations regarding qualifying races please consult the “Qualifying Races” page at www.ultratrailmb.com.
In the case of the declaration of races without exact references, non-conformity to the regulations or deceit, the organisation reserves the right to cancel a registration with out the re-funding the admission fee.
A specific medical certificate is required to validate the enrolment. The original must be sent by Post before the 31st May 2010. Failure to submit the medical certificate by this date will result in the cancellation of the registration with a re-imbursement of 40% of the registration fee (less costs).
ACCEPTANCE OF THE REGULATIONS AND OF THE ETHIC OF THE RACE
Taking part in the North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® involves accepting without reservation the current regulations and the ethic of the race as published by the organisation, which can be consulted on www.ultratrailmb.com
A special little bag for collecting one’s rubbish is handed out to each runner with their race number. Any runner seen throwing his rubbish on the course will be penalised.
It is imperative to follow the paths as signposted, without short-cutting. In fact, to shortcut a path causes a detrimental erosion of the site.
Dustbins have been placed in large numbers at each refreshment post and must be imperatively used.
MAXIMUM NUMBER OF RUNNERS
UTMB® : 2300
CCC® (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix) : 1800
TDS (Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie) : 1200
ENROLMENT
Enrolment fees :
Enrolment exclusively on the Internet and secured payment by banker’s card:
- UTMB® : 147 €
- CCC® : 100 €
- TDS : 100 €
Engagement fees include all the services described in the present regulations..
The registration for any of these races is firm and final and it is not possible to change races.
GUARANTEE OF ENROLEMENT CANCELLATION
Any person can at the moment of their enrolment subscribe to the cancellation guarantee, averaging an additional charge of 10 euros per person to add to enrolment fees on the same payment.
The object of the guarantee is to enable reimbursement of the fees incurred for the enrolment to one of the three races in the case where a runner asks to cancel his enrolment because of the following events:
- an accident, a serious illness or the death of the runner himself/herself.
- a serious illness necessitating hospitalisation or a death one’s spouse or common law husband/wife, one’s parents or one’s children in the first generation, this in the thirty days preceding the event.
In the case of an accident or serious illness to the runner, it is necessary to furnish a medical certificate attesting to the contra-indication to taking part in the race. Any other cause of cancellation must be justified by a certificate delivered by the competent authority.
Conditions of indemnity: Any demand for reimbursement must reach us accompanied by the medical certificate, at the last in the 10 days following the event. The demands are treated in the two months which follow the event.
CANCELLATION OF AN ENROLMENT
Any enrolment cancellation must be made by e-mail or by registered mail. No withdrawal can be recorded by telephone or fax.
In the case of cancellation for a cause described in the paragraph above, the competitor can, if they have subscribed to it at the time of their enrolment, make his guarantee of enrolment cancellation function by sending us with his letter of withdrawal the necessary document (see above paragraph).
If an enrolled competitor has not subscribed to the guarantee of enrolment cancellation or desires to cancel his enrolment for a reason not covered by this guarantee, the reimbursement of monies paid at the enrolment can only take place under the following conditions:
| Send date |
Amount Reimbursed, in % of the amount |
| Before March 15 | 60% |
| From March 16 to May 15 | 50% |
| From May 16 to July 31 | 40% |
After the 31st July no reimbursement can be made.
No exchange of race number is possible.
EQUIPMENT
Obligatory material :
• mobile phone with option enabling its use in the three countries
(put in one’s repertoire the security numbers of the organisation, keep it switched on, do not hide one’s number and do not forget to set off with recharged batteries)
• personal cup or tumbler 15cl minimum (water bottle not acceptable)
• stock of water minimum 1 litre,
• two torches in good working condition with replacement batteries,
• survival blanket,
• whistle,
• adhesive elastic band enable making a bandage or a strapping (mini 80cm x 3 cm),
• food reserve,
• protective raincoat for bad mountain weather,
• running trousers or leggings (au minimum pedal pushers covering the knees),
• cap or bandana.
Required by the frontier police forces:
• identity papers
Very strongly recommended
- gloves, a hat and warm clothes indispensable in the case of cold weather forecasts
- the sum of 20 euros minimum (in order to cover the unexpected....)
Advised (list not definitive):
telescopic sticks, change of clothing, compass, knife, string, sun cream, Vaseline or anti-overheating cream, needle and thread,...
If you decide to use sticks, you must keep them throughout the whole of the race…No stick will be admitted into the runner’s sacks.
RACE NUMBERS
Each race number is handed out individually to each runner on the presentation of an identity card with photo, having had marked his pack and having signed an engagement of honour to keep it with himself his obligatory material through the entire race.
The race number must be worn on the chest or the stomach and must be permanently and fully visible throughout the entire race. So it must always be positioned over any clothing and cannot in any case been fixed onto the back or a leg. The name and logo of the sponsors must neither be modified, nor hidden.
The race number is the pass necessary to get to the shuttles, buses, refreshment posts, nurses, rest, showers, places for depositing or recuperating the bags…Except in the case of refusal to comply with a decision taken by a race official, the race number is never withdrawn but in the case of retirement it is deactivated.
A present is handed out to each runner at the time they return their race number.
RUNNERS BAGS
UTMB® : each competitor receives with his/her race number, 1 30-litre bag. Having filled it with the affairs of their choice and having closed it, they can deposit it, at the end of the afternoon, at the Chamonix welcome base, in the ENSA gymnasium. The bag is transported by the organisation to Courmayeur. When reaching Courmayeur, each runner must take their bag. Whenever they leave the welcome base, they deposits their bag at the place set aside for this purpose. The bag is then taken back to Chamonix.
CCC® : each competitor receives, with his race number, one 40-litre bag which he can fill with the affairs of his choice and deposit near to the Sports Centre of Dolonne (Courmayeur) before the Start. The bag is then taken back to Chamonix.
TDS : each runner receives with his race-bib a 40 litre sack which he may fill with his personal belongings and leave in a designated area near the start in Courmayeur. The sack will then be taken to the sports centre in Chamonix.
Recovery of the bags at Chamonix or at Courmayeur : The bags are handed back either to the competitor or to their entourage, uniquely on presentation of the race number. The bags must have been collected within two hours of the end of the race. After that, the runner will have to come himself to recover his bag at his own costs from the organisation, at Chamonix.
The organisation ensures the returning to Chamonix the bags of runners who have retired, on condition to having announced their withdrawal. The delay of returning is based on the logistical constraints and the organisation cannot guarantee a complete returning of the bags before the end of the race.
Only the bags supplied by the organisation will be transported.
Sticks are not transportable in these bags.
The contents of the bags not having been checked, any complaint about the contents on arrival is not acceptable. It is recommended not to put valuable objects in it.
It is recommended to keep toiletry and change of clothing material at Chamonix.
RESCUE AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
First aid posts are positioned at different points throughout the course. These posts are in radio or telephone liaison with Race Control. A medical control team is present during the entire duration of the events at the Chamonix Race Control.
The rescue posts are aimed at bringing help to any person in danger with the means particular to the organisation or registered.
If it appears that a runner is in difficulty or seriously injured to call for assistance :
- go in person to a first aid point
- telephone the course controller
- ask another runner to alert the first aiders
It is essential that each runner helps anybody in danger and alerts the first aid point.
Do not forgot, that due to the problems related to the environment and the type of event, one might have to wait for assistance for longer than anticipated. Your security, therefore, depends upon the quality of the materials that you have in your pack.
A runner calling on a doctor or a rescuer submits himself to their authority and undertakes to accept their decisions.
The first-aiders and officials doctors are especially authorised :
- to put any competitor out of the race unfit to continue the event (by invalidating the race number).
- to evacuate the runners whom they judge in danger by any means at their disposal.
In case of necessity, for reasons still going in the interest of the person rescued, it will call on official mountain rescue which will take, at that moment, the direction of operations and will be to work any suitable means, including helicopter air-lift. The resulting cost of the use of these exceptional means will be born by the rescued person who will also have to ensure his return from the point where he/she will have been evacuated. The only resort is for the runner to constitute and present a dossier to his personal insurance within the deadline given.
If for any reason it is impossible to make contact with the course controller, you can call the rescue services dierect ( especially if you find yourselves in a zone « urgences seulement/sos only »)
- 112 from France
- 118 from Italy
- 144 from Switzerland
CONTROL POST AND REFRESHMENTS POSTS
A control is carried out on the arrival of any rescue or refreshment post.
Mobile control posts are set up in places other than the rescue and refreshment posts. Their position is not communicated by the organisation.
Only the runners carrying a visible and duly controlled race number have access to the refreshment posts.
The course guide will identify the precise list of refreshments points.
A hot meal is offered at Les Chapieux and at Courmayeur for the UTMB® and at Champex for the UTMB® and the CCC®, at Bourg Saint Maurice for the TDS.
A meal after the race is served at Chamonix
MAXIMUM AUTHORISED TIME AND HOUR BARRIERS
The maximum time for the event, for the totality of the course, is fixed at:
- UTMB® : 46 hours
- CCC® : 26 hours
- TDS : 31 hours
The hour limits for Starting (hour barriers) of the principle control posts will be defined and communicated in the course guide.
These hour barriers are calculated to enable participants to reach the Finish in the maximum time imposed, while make possible stops (rest, meal…) To be authorised to continue the event, the competitors must set off again from the control post before the fixed hour limit (whatever their arrival hour at the control post).
Any competitor put out of the race and wishing to continue his course can only do so after having returned his race number, at his own responsibility and in complete autonomy.
In the case of poor meteorological conditions and/or for reasons of safety, the organisation reserves the right to stop the event underway or to modify the hour barriers.
REST AND SHOWERS
Uniquely for UTMB® : at Les Chapieux, at Courmayeur and at Champex each competitor can benefit from a rest point (local with camp beds and blankets).
Both races: a rest room is made available at Chamonix all runners. This room is strictly reserved for the runners who have just finished their race.
This by no means constitutes in any case an accommodation solution for an entire night. The runners having completed their race by Saturday and wishing to prolong their stay must take care of their own accommodation.
It is possible to take a hot shower, only at the arrival. Throughout the course, showers - when there is one- are available on medical advice.
Access to the rest room and to the showers at the arrival is strictly limited to barefooted runners (a bag is supplied to you at the entrance for your shoes)
WITHDRAWAL AND REPATRIATION
Except for injury, a runner must not retire anywhere else other than at a control point. He must therefore warn the person in charge of the post, who definitively invalidates his race number. The runner keeps his invalid race number because it is still his pass for shuttles, buses, meals, care rooms…
Repatriation will be decided on by the post head, based on the following general rules :
- Buses are available at the Start of Les Contamines, Les Chapieux, Courmayeur, La Fouly, Champex, Trient and Vallorcine, Bourg Saint-Maurice, La Thuile, to repatriate runners who have retired back to Chamonix.
- Runners who abandon at another rescue or refreshment post but whose state of health does not necessitate being evacuated must get back as quickly as possible and by their own means to the closest repatriation point.
- Concerning the refreshment or rescue posts accessible to cars or four-wheel drive
During the closure of the post, the organisation can, in the measure of means available, repatriate the runners having retired and still present at the post
In the case of unfavourable weather conditions justifying partial or total closure of the race, the organisation ensures the repatriation as soon as possible of those runners having retired.
If you retire before a control point, going back and meeting with the closers, they invalidate your race number. The runner is then no longer be in the control of the organisation.
PENALTY - DISQUALIFICATION
Race officials present on the course, and those in charge of different control and refreshment posts are authorised to uphold regulations and to immediately (*) impose a penalty for non-respect, based on the following chart :
| BREACH OF RULES | PENALTY (*) – DISQUALIFICATION |
| Taking a serious shortcut | Penalty 1 hour |
| Not a serious shortcut but one away from any path or via a closed shortcut | Penalty ¼ hour |
| Lacking obligatory safety equipment (no minimum water supply of 1 litre, no jacket, no torch, no survival blanket, no mobile phone) | Immediate disqualification |
| Lacking other obligatory equipment (running trousers or leggings, 1 single torch, cap or bandana, whilst, adhesive elastic band, food reserves, cup/trumbler | Penalty 1 hour |
| Refuse to have obligatory equipment checked out | Disqualification |
| Throwing away rubbis (voluntary act) by a competitor or a member of their team | Penalty 1 hour |
| Not respecting people (organisation or runners) | Penalty 1 hour |
| Not helping someone in difficulty | Penalty 1 hour |
| Receiving help outside authorised zones | Penalty 1 hour |
| Being accompanied along the course outside the tolerance zones clearly marked close to the refreshment posts | Penalty ¼ hour |
| Cheating (eg: using transport, sharing race number,…) | Immediate disqualification and for life |
| Race number not visible | Penalty ¼ hour |
| Not wearing the race number in the correct manner | Penalty ¼ hour (during which the runner adjusts his race number in the correct manner) |
| Recognised dangerous attitude (e.g.: sticks with unprotected points pointing at the runners or the spectators) | Penalty ¼ hour |
| Lacking an electronic chip | Depending on the Race Jury |
| Not passing through a control point | Depending on the Race Jury |
| Refusal to comply with an order from race control, from a race official, from a head of post, from a doctor or from a rescue worker | Disqualification |
| Refusal to accept an anti-drug test | The runner will be sanctioned as if found guilty of taking drugs |
| Departure from a control post after the hour limitation | Disqualification |
| Underweight pack |
1st nonconformity; the runner can not continue without correcting his pack |
| Pack not tagged | 1 hour penalty |
(*) Penalties of ¼ hour or of one hour are applicable immediately, in that the runner must interrupt their race during the entire duration of the penalty.
Any other breach of the rules will be the object of a sanction decided on by the Race Jury.
ANTI-DRUG CONTROL
Any competitor can be submitted to an anti-drug control during or at the Finish of the event. If he/she refuses or abstains, the sportsman or woman as if found guilty of taking drugs.
COMPLAINTS
All objections must be in writing and lodged with the course director, with a caution of 100 (one hundred) euros (non-returnable if the objection is not valid), within two hours of the arrival of the runner concerned.
EVENT JURY
This is made up of:
- a representative of the runners
- the president of theTrailers du Mont-Blanc
- the course director
- and relevant people chosen for their competences by the president and course director
The jury is authorised to give a ruling in the time compatible with the imperatives of the race on all the objections lodged during the event. The decisions will be without appeal.
MODIFICATIONS TO THE COURSE OR TO THE HOUR BARRIERS; CANCELLATION OF THE RACE
The organisation reserves the right to modify at any moment the course and the positioning of the rescue and refreshment posts, without warning.
In the case of too unfavourable weather conditions (important amounts of rain and of snow on high ground, strong risk of storms) the Start can be delayed for a maximum of two hours, after which, the race is cancelled.
In the case of poor meteorological conditions, and for reasons of safety, the organisation reserves the right to stop the event underway or to modify the hour barriers.
Any decision will be taken by the event jury.
INSURANCE
Civil responsability :
The organiser has taken out a civil responsability insurance for the duration of the event. This civil responsability insurance guarantees the financial consequences of its responsability, of that of its officials and of the participants.
Individual accident:
Each competitor must be in the possession of an individual accident insurance covering possible costs for search and evacuation in France, in Italy and in Switzerland. Such an insurance can be taken out with any organisation of the competitor’s choice.
NB : helicopter-borne evacuations in Switzerland and Italy are not free of charge
GUIDE
A guide is down-loadale from www.ultratrailmb.com from the month of June or is sent during the month of June to the runners who have requested it (7€ costs). It includes in particular practical information such as the hour limits of passage, refreshment places, rescue posts, care posts, as well as access points for accompanying personnel.
RANKINGS AND REWARDS
For the 3 races, only the runners arriving at Chamonix (UTMB®, CCC® and TDS) are classed.
No monetary prize is handed out; all the runners classed in the same race receive the same specific allocation.
For each race, a general classification man and woman and a classification for each category man and woman are established : the first 10 men and the first 5 women in the general classification , as well as the first 3 from each category receive a trophy and a prize
INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
Competitors who are sponsored may only have the sponsor's logos on their clothing or equipment used during the race. All other publicity accessories (flags, banners ) are forbidden at all points of the race including at the finish.
PICTURE COPYRIGHTS
Every competitor gives up expressly their claim on picture copyrights during the event, as he/she gives up any recourse contrary to the organiser and to the official sponsors for the use made of his/her image.
IMAGE RIGHTS
Every competitor gives up expressly any claim over image rights during the event, as they give up any recourse running counter to the organiser and to his sponsors authorised for the use made of his image.
Ultra-Trail®, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®, UTMB® and Ultra-Trail CCC® are legal trademarks. Any communication about the event or use of pictures of the event must be made respecting the name of the event, the trademarks and with the official agreement of the organisation.
Presentation