For this episode, I spoke with Fabrice Perrin, the Director of Sports, Community and Sustainability at UTMB, the world’s largest trail running event series. We sat down in Olympic Valley the day before the start of Western States (which he was preparing to run) to talk about the new sustainability policies UTMB is implementing across its Mont Blanc races, what it means for athletes and organizers, and some of the tougher questions on why the race series formulated these new measures the way they did. 

We talk about:

• The newly announced pillars around sustainability for the race - commit, measure, reduce, offset

• Why travel makes up over 85% of UTMB’s footprint—and how the race is trying to change that

• How the race is trying to promoting behavior change, and the mechanics of the lottery weighting clause 

• What it means to offset emissions responsibly, and why UTMB didn’t make that cost optional (or cover it for runners themselves) 

• The tension between climate action and access: who gets to race, and what does it cost?
  

UTMB approached me about having this conversation, and I was glad to have the opportunity to dig in. I called upon a few friends who are members of the PTRA to gather more questions than the ones my research prompted - a special shout-out to Dakota Jones for helping me thoroughly prepare for this conversation. 

Links:

• UTMB's Sustainability Commitment 

• UTMB’s Social Media Announcement 

• Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA’s) response

• Protect Our Winters (POW) France

• UTMB Go – Carbon Footprint Planning Tool

• Renewable Energy Credits 101

• EcoAct (current offset partner)

• Paris Agreement summary (UNFCCC)
  

Keywords:

trail running, climate action, sustainable events, UTMB, ultra running, carbon offsets, weighted lottery, environmental policy, outdoor industry, equity, endurance sports, clean transportation, public transit, sustainable racing, offsetting ethics, global warming, glacier melt, climate storytelling, climate, sport, emissions reduction