After 5 editions of the Marathon du Grand Ballon, we’re changing its name to UTGB, the Ultra Trail Grand Ballon. The name Marathon is a little too misleading and every year we get disappointed marathon runners who weren’t expecting such a difficult off-road course.
Car ne vous y trompez pas, l’UTGB est bien un trail difficile à travers la moyenne montagne vosgienne. Cinq distances sont au programme en 2025 :
80km, 63km, 42km (marathon), 24km and 16km are on the menu
80km (3800m+), 63km (2800m+), 42km (1900m+), 24km (1000 m+) and14km (500m+) are on the menu and all these distances entitle you to a UTMB Index.
There will be very little difference in terms of distance in 2025 between the Trail du Grand Ballon (26-27 April), which is 95% sold out, and the new Ultra Trail du Grand Ballon but….. from 2026, that will change as we add a longer ultra of over 100km!
Last year there were 1,400 runners at the start, and by 2025 we’ll be offering a total of 2,000 race numbers.
Registration opens on 19 January. The first 300 runners will be eligible for our early bird rate 1 and the first 1000 will receive a great gift: our official UTGB backpack!
If the sale of race numbers follows the trend of the Trail du Grand Ballon (2500 race numbers sold in 2 days), we’ll be sold out on 20 January. …. So good luck in securing your place and good luck with your preparation!
The UTGB – Ultra Trail Grand Ballon website will be online on 1 January.
