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Ultra Trail Mount Blanc Training Plan

from £39.99

UTMB isn't a race you can bluff your way through. It's 170km around Mont Blanc with 10,000m of climbing that'll find every weakness in your preparation, spread across France, Italy, and Switzerland.

These training plans are built for runners who know what they're getting into. The Mont Blanc massif means sustained alpine climbing through two full nights, technical descents that'll wreck your quads by 80km if you haven't prepared them properly, weather that swings from baking heat to freezing storms in a few hours, and endless cycles of climbing and descending with barely any flat running until you're absolutely cooked.

Over 20 weeks, you'll build what UTMB actually needs. The ability to keep moving at 1,500 to 2,500m altitude when the air gets thin, quads that can handle massive descents like the 20km drop off Grand Col Ferret when you're already deep in the hurt, and the technical skills to deal with rocky trails and scree fields at 3am when you're running on fumes. Training sessions mirror what you'll face out there: big sustained climbs up to the high passes, long punishing descents on tired legs, back to back mountain days so you know what running through multiple nights feels like, and the pacing discipline to not get carried away in the first 30km and blow up spectacularly at Courmayeur.

You'll get purposeful vertical volume, heat and altitude prep that actually works, strength sessions focused on keeping your quads intact, night running progression, and fueling strategies that hold up in alpine conditions. Whether you're aiming to finish under the arch in Chamonix or chasing a solid time, this plan prepares you for what UTMB will actually throw at you.

By race day, you'll know how to pace the nine major climbs without destroying yourself, get down 10,000m of descent without your quads giving up, fuel properly through two nights and 40+ hours of running, and keep your head together when altitude, darkness, and fatigue all hit at once.

Taking on another race at the UTMB Final?
We also have plans for:

TDS- 148km
CCC- 100km
OCC- 57km

UTMB isn't a race you can bluff your way through. It's 170km around Mont Blanc with 10,000m of climbing that'll find every weakness in your preparation, spread across France, Italy, and Switzerland.

These training plans are built for runners who know what they're getting into. The Mont Blanc massif means sustained alpine climbing through two full nights, technical descents that'll wreck your quads by 80km if you haven't prepared them properly, weather that swings from baking heat to freezing storms in a few hours, and endless cycles of climbing and descending with barely any flat running until you're absolutely cooked.

Over 20 weeks, you'll build what UTMB actually needs. The ability to keep moving at 1,500 to 2,500m altitude when the air gets thin, quads that can handle massive descents like the 20km drop off Grand Col Ferret when you're already deep in the hurt, and the technical skills to deal with rocky trails and scree fields at 3am when you're running on fumes. Training sessions mirror what you'll face out there: big sustained climbs up to the high passes, long punishing descents on tired legs, back to back mountain days so you know what running through multiple nights feels like, and the pacing discipline to not get carried away in the first 30km and blow up spectacularly at Courmayeur.

You'll get purposeful vertical volume, heat and altitude prep that actually works, strength sessions focused on keeping your quads intact, night running progression, and fueling strategies that hold up in alpine conditions. Whether you're aiming to finish under the arch in Chamonix or chasing a solid time, this plan prepares you for what UTMB will actually throw at you.

By race day, you'll know how to pace the nine major climbs without destroying yourself, get down 10,000m of descent without your quads giving up, fuel properly through two nights and 40+ hours of running, and keep your head together when altitude, darkness, and fatigue all hit at once.

Taking on another race at the UTMB Final?
We also have plans for:

TDS- 148km
CCC- 100km
OCC- 57km

Race:
Training Peaks:

    • Structured run workouts designed for trail performance

    • Integrated strength & conditioning sessions to keep you strong and resilient

    • Guidance on kit and equipment choices for race day

    • Post-race strategy and recovery advice

  • From the moment you leave Chamonix the course feels serious. Long alpine climbs stretch on for hours, technical descents slowly wear down your legs, and runnable sections are far rarer than most runners expect. The distances might be different, but the environment is the same for everyone. Even OCC, the shortest race, takes you high into exposed mountain paths. CCC and TDS stack fatigue quickly, and by the time UTMB runners reach Courmayeur at 80km, many already feel as though they have completed a full ultra.

    The race is full of contrasts. You can start in warm sunshine and be pulling on layers against cold wind and rain a few hours later. Night running is guaranteed on UTMB and TDS, and very likely on CCC. Altitude plays a quiet but powerful role. Above 2,000m your heart rate behaves differently, eating becomes harder and every effort feels heavier than it should. Trails that seem straightforward in daylight can feel completely different at 3am when tiredness sets in.

    Aid stations are welcoming and well stocked, but they can also swallow huge chunks of time if you are not organised. The real challenge is what happens between them. Steady fueling, controlled pacing and protecting your legs on the descents matter far more than any single fast section.

  • Quad durability is the limiting factor for most runners, not cardiovascular fitness. By Courmayeur it's common to lose 30-60 seconds per kilometre on descents you'd normally cruise down. Over 100+ kilometres, that compounds dramatically.

    Sleep deprivation doesn't just make you tired. It disrupts your ability to fuel, navigate and make decisions. Runners often stop eating properly without realising it, then hit a wall that takes hours to recover from.

    Road fitness alone won't carry you. You need specific strength for thousands of metres of downhill, real hiking power for the climbs, systems that work when you're moving from 25°C sunshine into 5°C wind and rain at altitude, and the ability to keep fueling when everything feels hard.

    Our training plan integrates our Iron Legs programme to help you skip up and down those alpine climbs.