The 2024 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc CCC (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix) kicks off Friday this week (August 30), and we’ve got some exciting fields to preview. The 101-kilometer (63-mile) course starts in Italy, and weaves its way clockwise around the Mont Blanc massif, through Switzerland and ending in streets of Chamonix. The course being run this year mirror the 2023 course exactly, so for those following along closely, those will be the major timing points to reference for how the race is progressing. In the men’s field, we have two former champions (inclusive of the former and current course record holders) returning in Petter Engdahl and Hayden Hawks, while in the women’s field, we’ll crown a first-time champion. Here are some athletes to pay attention to:
Athletes to Watch: Men’s Race
In 2022, Petter Engdahl (SWE; Adidas Terrex) set the CCC course on fire with an absolutely blazing record winning time of 9:53:02, becoming the first runner to ever crack the 10-hour mark. He opened his season this year by earning a Golden Ticket at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k, following it up with a less than perfect races at the Western States Endurance Run 100-mile race (WSER), finishing just outside the top ten. Petter is a truly elite multisport athlete, and he’ll hope to repeat his 2022 success on this course.
Adam Peterman (USA; Hoka) returned to racing this year spending an extended stretch of time on the shelf with a stress fracture following his 2022 racing season. The Missoula-based athlete has had a top ten finish at the Speedgoat by UTMB 50k and a podium at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 46K. He’ll hope to regain the form that saw him win both WSER and the World Mountain and Trail Running Championship in 2022.
Starting his fourth CCC race, Andreas Reiterer (ITA; La Sportiva) will be looking for the form that helped him achieve a fourth place in 2021, and a third place in 2022. Earlier this season, Andreas won the Chianti Ultra Trail By UTMB 100k and the Eiger Ultra-Trail by UTMB 100k. He’s noted a leg issue in a recent Instagram post, so we’ll keep an eye on whether he makes it to the start line. If healthy, he should be in top five contention.
Following an extended stretch of racing this year which culminated in a historically fast fourth place finish at WSER, Daniel Jones (NZL; Adidas Terrex) will return to UTMB this year, after successfully completing the full UTMB last year, finishing in twelfth place. Dan has had some steady training since WSER, including a full loop on the UTMB course, so he’s clearly still got legs that should propel him into a top spot.
In last year’s CCC race, Dakota Jones (USA; NNormal) was locked in with the race leaders for a battle that lasted up until the last major aid stop, culminating in a third-place finish. Despite a challenging season so far, where Dakota has struggled to finish inside the top ten at any of the major races he’s toed the line at, he has the historical racing pedigree to ensure he’s competing with the front group for this race.
It has been seven years since Hayden Hawks (USA; Hoka) won CCC, which he accomplished in a then course record time. Since then, Hayden has had one of the more decorated careers in American ultrarunning, including most recently a course record win at the hyper-competitive Black Canyon 100k this past February, and subsequently a podium finish at WSER. With an aggressive frontrunning style, expect Hayden to be mixing it up with the lead men.
Andreu Simon Aymerich (ESP; Asics) is no stranger to UTMB week. The Spanish athlete has previously had a top ten result at CCC, and finished on the podium at OCC. Despite not making it to the finish line in two additional attempts at CCC, Andreu Simon consistently shows up at top level international races, with results including a win at Transgrancanaria in 2023 and podium finishes at the Val d’Aran by UTMB CDH 100k and Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB 45k earlier this season.
Earlier this summer, Caleb Olson (USA; Nike Trail) made history at the WSER by recording the fastest time at the race by a 100-mile debutant (14:40:12). This will be Caleb’s third running of CCC, the most recent of which was in 2022, where he was the highest ranked American finisher in the race. In addition to his success at WSER, Caleb has also had a win at the Grindstone by UTMB 100k, and podium performances at the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k and Madeira Island Ultra-Trail (MIUT) 85k within the past twelve months.
In his first attempt at CCC last year, Jon Rea (USA; Hoka) took fourth overall in a performance that saw him work his way up the ranks over the course of the day. Jon capped off his 2022 with a course-record win at the Javelina Jundred 100-mile race, running an incredibly speedy 12:43:10 for the distance, and finally cracked the top ten at WSER earlier this season with a ninth-place finish, and will bring his durable mountain running legs to take another shot at the CCC course.
After two years of finishing in the top 25 at UTMB, Rod Farvard (USA; Hoka) is surely looking forward to only running the back half of the full course by taking on CCC this year. Rod’s 2024 season has been highlighted by brilliant win at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k, and a battle for the ages against Jim Walmsley at WSER, where Rod ultimately finished second. He’ll hope to keep his hot streak alive at CCC, and if his legs are feeling fresh, there’s no reason why Rod shouldn’t be in the mix at the finish line.
Honorable Mentions: Seth Ruhling, Peter Frano, Luke Grenfell-Shaw, Guangfu Meng, Manuel Merrillas, Cole Watson, Zachary Garner, Eric LiPuma
Athletes to Watch: Women’s Race
After spending an extended stretch of time away from the sport recovering from injury, Jazmine Lowther (CAN; The North Face) made her return to ultra-distance racing earlier this summer with a win at Speedgoat by UTMB 50k. This will be Jazmine’s second attempt at CCC, where she finished in fourth place in 2022. With the level that Jazmine has been able to compete at over the course of her career, she’ll be in the mix to battle for a top spot.
Lining up for her third attempt at CCC, Rosanna Buchauer (GER; Dynafit) will be looking to repeat her previous success here. Rosanna finished fifth in 2022, but was unable to find a rhythm with the lead group in last year’s race and ended her race early. She’s found success at the highest levels in the sport with fifth place finishes at both of the last two World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, and recently won the Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB 120k. Rosanna should be primed to continue her success here.
Arden Young (CAN; Norda) has improved her timing and placement year over year at CCC since first taking on the course in 2019, attaining her best result to date last year when she finished in tenth. This year will be her fourth crack at the course, and she’ll bring some momentum from strong results achieved at two very deep Golden Ticket races earlier this year at the Black Canyon Ultras 100k (11th place) and Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k (10th place). Consider Arden a lock for a smart and measured race, and someone to move up in the field as the race progresses.
Arriving on the international scene’s radar last summer, Hau Ha Thi (VNM; Mude Running) impressed with her debut European ultramarathon performance, running with the front pack all day to earn her a fourth-place finish at CCC. Unbeaten in ultra-distance racing since then, Hau is surely looking to continue her hot streak and replicate her success from last year.
After three years of racing at OCC which culminated in a race win at last year’s edition, Toni McCann (ZAF; Adidas Terrex) has made the jump up to CCC, where she’ll attempt to run her longest race to date. Toni has been completely dominant at shorter ultra distance races, exemplified by wins this year at the Transvulcania Volcanes 48k, Ultra-Trail Cape Town 55k and the Broken Arrow Skyrace 46k. Despite the step up in distance, Toni has a complete skill set to compete for a race win.
Anna McKenna (AUS; 2XU) has spent the last two years attempting to win automatic entry into the Western States Endurance Run. Despite coming up just short, she’s performed exceptionally in a number of top-tier races in pursuit of this goal, achieving results which include top five finishes at the Tarawera Ultramarathon by UTMB 100k, Black Canyon Ultras 100k and twice at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k. Clearly no stranger to the distance and stiff competition, she’ll have a crack at CCC and look to continue this trend of high-level performance.
Splitting her time between national-level ski mountaineering and trail ultramarathon running, Emmeliese von Avis (USA; unsponsored) burst onto the scene with a top ten performance at CCC last year, in her most impressive international-level performance to date. She’s most recently won the Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB 80k, and will use the full breadth of her mountain fitness to secure another top 5 finish this year.
A mainstay on the Golden Trail World Series circuit, Sylvia Nordskar (NOR; Hoka) finished in sixth overall in the series rankings in 2023, and currently sits in fifth overall in the 2024 rankings, with her a race win at the renowned Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon to her name this season. Sylvia will be racing at CCC for the second time (twelfth place in 2022), and has a racing history that demonstrates skill on both fast and technical courses that should serve her well in pursuit of a top spot.
EmKay Sullivan (USA; Craft) has a trail racing background that has historically been oriented towards races under 50km. That all changed earlier this year when EmKay ran arguably the best race of her career, finishing in second place at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k against some top competition. She return to this distance again for her second attempt at a UTMB week race, and hopes to carry her recent successes forward.
Debuting at UTMB week is Silvia Puigarnau (ESP, Scarpa), who is another athlete that has historically leaned towards shorter distance ultras, while only recently pivoting to more regular long-distance races. Silvia’s 2024 race season has been headlined by podium finishes at the MIUT 85k and Val d’Aran by UTMB CDH 110k, both of which serve as great benchmarks for predicting success at CCC.
Honorable Mentions: Kathrin Gotz, Yuri Yoshizumi, Virginia Perez Mesonero, Holly Page, Heather Jackson, Sarah Keyes
The race starts at 9:00am local time in Courmayeur, Italy on Friday August 30 (3:00am Eastern Daylight Time / 12:00am Pacific Daylight Time) and will be streamed live on the UTMB YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@UTMBMontBlanc
Make sure you get your Freetrail Fantasy picks in for all three of the UTMB World Series Finals (OCC, CCC, & UTMB). We will be picking 10-deep for the men’s and women’s competitions in each race.