Should the UTMB keep growing?

For a brand, a business, or an event, growing often seems like the ultimate goal. More visibility, more participants, more partners, more impact. So why would anyone sometimes want to slow down?

What played out at the UTMB press conference

Last week was the UTMB press conference, and one topic caught my attention in particular: how can an event that has gone global keep developing without losing what makes it who it is?

Today, the UTMB is far more than a race. It's a showcase for the destinations that host it, an opportunity for outdoor brands, and an experience that brings together an international community of runners.

Three mayors, three countries, three readings of the same success

What makes this debate particularly interesting is that it doesn't play out in just one place. The UTMB crosses three countries, and each of the elected officials involved reads it differently.

On the Italian side, Roberto Rota, mayor (syndic) of Courmayeur, highlights what the event creates between the territories: he regularly praises "the union of the French, Italian and Swiss peoples" made possible by a race that ignores administrative borders to follow only those of the mountains (Lyon Capitale, 2026).

On the Swiss side, Christophe Darbellay, president of the Valais Council of State, sums up well what the event represents for a territory's image: "For us, the UTMB is an exceptional showcase, a global showcase the way you dream one could be" (Lyon Capitale, 2026).

On the French side, the tone is different. François-Xavier Laffin, mayor of Chamonix since March 2026, wants to evolve the model: reduce the footprint of the exhibitors' village in the town center, limit nighttime routes through nature reserves, and better regulate the influx of spectators during race week (u-Trail, 2026). Not opposition to the event, but a clear intent to take back control of its scale.

Three mayors, three countries, and already two different readings of the same success: one of influence to celebrate, and one of impact to contain. That's exactly what makes the question interesting for a communications professional: the same brand can be experienced as an opportunity or as a problem, depending on where you're standing when you look at it.

What growth actually changes on the ground

This success raises a new question: how far can growth continue? Because the development of an event also brings new challenges, very concrete ones, for the territories that host it:

• more traffic, on mountain roads not always built to handle it;
• more pressure on a fragile natural environment, especially at night;
• more partner presence, with a risk of visual saturation in historic town centers;
• more foot traffic around the event, well beyond the runners alone.

This is exactly where the two readings meet. On one hand, the UTMB represents an exceptional opportunity for international exposure and economic dynamism for the territories that host it. On the other, some residents and their elected officials are asking that this success no longer come at the expense of local quality of life.

An event doesn't draw its strength only from the number of people it brings together. It also draws it from the story it tells and what it wants to convey.

The real issue isn't size

So maybe the question isn't whether to keep growing, but rather how to grow in a way that stays consistent with your values. That's the whole paradox of outdoor events: their purpose is to introduce exceptional territories to as many people as possible, while also helping preserve them.

The challenge for the coming years may be less about chasing ever more growth, and more about finding the right balance between:

• Exposure, for the territories and destinations.
• Participant experience, so the race stays desirable.
• Partner visibility, since partners fund part of the model.
• Respect for the environment, without which there's no playing field left.

Personal takeaway

This debate speaks to me directly as a communications professional: it's a textbook case of what happens to any brand that succeeds too fast. Growth is never free, it always shifts a balance somewhere else. The real strategic skill isn't knowing how to grow, it's knowing when to slow down, and why. This tension between growth and preservation is what comes up most often in my public commentary on this industry.