The Ultra-Trail World Tour will announce its 2017 schedule tomorrow, but here’s the schedule a bit early! You can also learn about some significant changes to the structure of the tour going forward. For 2017, there are significant changes to both UTWT’s schedule and structure.
2017 Ultra-Trail World Tour Schedule
For 2017, the UTWT will consist of 23 races spread among four status levels (more on that in a minute):
- January 14 – Vibram Hong Kong 100k – Hong Kong (Pro)
- February 11 – Tarawera Ultramarathon (100k) – New Zealand (Pro)
- February 24 – Transgrancaria HG (125k) – Canary Islands (Series)
- April 7 – Patagonia Run (145k) – Argentina (Challenger)
- April 7 – 100 Miles of Istria Ultra Trail – Croatia (Challenger)
- April 7-17 – Marathon des Sables (250k stage race) – Morocco (Series with Bonus)
- April 22 – Madeira Island Ultra Trail (115k) – Portugal (Pro)
- April 22 – Penyagolosa Trails (115k) – Spain (Challenger)
- May 18 – Ultra-Trail Australia (100k) – Australia (Pro)
- June 17 – Mozart 100 (103k) – Austria (Challenger)
- June 23 – The North Face Lavaredo Ultra Trail (120k) – Italy (Series)
- June 24 – Western States Endurance Run (100 miles) – USA (Series)
- July 15 – Eiger Ultra Trail (101k) – Switzerland (Pro)
- August 30 – TDS (119k) – Italy/France (Pro)
- September 1 – CCC (101k) – Italy/Switzerland/France (Series)
- September 1 – UTMB (170k) – France/Italy/Switzerland (Series with Bonus)
- September 8th – Ultra-Trail Harricana (125k) – Canada (Challenger)
September 23-25 (date subject to change) – Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji (169k) – Japan (Pro)Update, December 22, 2016: Race officials have announced that there won’t be a 2017 edition of Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji, but that the race will return in spring 2018.- October 19-22 – La Diagonale des Fous (167k) – Réunion Island (Series)
- October 20-22 – Trail de Bourbon (111k) – Réunion Island (Challenger)
- October 20 – Cappadocia Ultra Trail (110k) – Turkey (Challenger)
- October 28 – Javelina Jundred (100 miles) – USA (Challenger)
- December 2 – Ultra-Trail Cape Town (100k) – South Africa (Challenger)
To start, there’ll be six new races in the tour, including three “sister” races to events already on the UTWT calendar. The three completely new races to the tour are the Patagonia Run in Argentina in April, Penyagolosa in Spain also in April, and Ultra-Trail Cape Town in South Africa in December. The UTMB sister races TDS and CCC are now part of the tour as is the Trail de Bourbon, which is held in connection with La Diagonale des Fous on Réunion. The only race to leave the tour in 2017 is the Grand to Grand Ultra in the U.S.
UTWT Scoring
As noted above, on the scoring side there’ll now be four levels of races in the UTWT for 2017. The following are the points awarded to the winner of a race at each level.
- Series with Bonus: 1,300
- Series: 1,000
- Pro: 700
- Challenge: 400
Below are the point allocations for the first 19 competitors in each level of race. A full points table is also available.
Annual and World Rankings
Going forward, there will be two UTWT rankings, an Annual Ranking and a World Ranking.
Scoring in the Annual Ranking will be based on a runner’s two highest scoring UTWT races in a calendar year. A runner must complete two UTWT races in a year to be eligible for the ranking. The top three women and top three men will receive awards annually.
The World Ranking will include a runner’s five highest scored races within a three-year period. The top female and top male runner in the World Ranking will receive an award at the end of each calendar year.
Call for Comments
- Did you participate in the Ultra-Trail World Tour in 2016? If so, what did you think?
- What are your thoughts on the 2017 UTWT schedule and scoring changes?
- Are you tempted to try one of these races?
