News Item
Wicklow Round now a UTMB qualifer
Wednesday January 13 - Eoin Keith
The Wicklow Round has been recognised as an official qualifying race for the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc. The UTMB is one of the most prestigous ultra distance mountain running challenges in the world, involving a 166km circuit of Mont-Blanc with over 9000m of climbing.To Qualify for the UTMB a runner must gain 4 qualifying points using a maximum of two qualifying races. The Wicklow round is worth 3 qualifying points.
Forum Messages
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Adrian Tucker | Jan 13, 8:41PM | Great to see the UTMB have allocated 3 points to the Wicklow Round. This is a great development for Ultra trail running in Ireland and hats off to whoever done the necessary work on this. This development now makes it possible for IMRA runners to gain the necessary 4 point to qualify without too much travelling to other countries to gain the necessary points for entry to UTMB, and if your into Ultra's you haven't lived till you've UTMB'd. The closing date for UTMB 2010 entry is today at midnight, and so far the entries are 40% over subscribed, therefore there will be a lotto for all registered entries to fill the places. Ther's going to be a lot of very disappointed people when the lotto result is announced next week. (fingers crossed for the few the irish entries). So for those interested in doing UTMB 2011 a suggestion would be Wicklow Round 2010 worth 3 points, and StLyon (France) Dec 2010 worth 1 point. All 4 points must be obtained in the one year. See the following link re IMRA runners doing St Lyon in the company of Markus during Dec last year. http://runssel.blogspot.com/2009/12/racereport-la-saintelyon-06122009-saint.html Also an account of the UTMB by Aisling Coppimger can be view in the reading room of the IMRA site. |
| Eoin Keith | Jan 14, 11:33PM | The good news is that there are likely to be more races in Ireland which will be recognised as UTMB qualifers. I know one application is already in process, and I would guess it will be assigned 2 points. Adrian, are you sure that all the points have to gathered in one year? The way I read it is that they can be cummulated using any 2 races in the previous 3 years. And best of luck with your application. Also, best of luck to all the other IMRA applicants. |
| grainne connor | Jan 15, 11:15AM | yes Eoin thats right, you don't need to complete all of the races in one year to apply for the TMB draw. For this years application you can use points from ultras completed over the last three years. So anyone who did the wicklow round last year could use those points for the next two years. They would also need to do another ultra to bring the points up to 4. Eoin you probably have the required number of points to apply. |
| Adrian Tucker | Jan 15, 1:02PM | It is possible that my interpretation of the rule is incorrect with regard to obtaining all 4 points in the one year. The use of the word ‘exclusively’ makes me think that it is in the one year that the points must be acquired. Here is the actual rule from the site (google translate version): To enrol for the UTMB® 2010, you need to have acquired a minimum of 4 points by having completed , in 2007, in 2008 or in 2009 exclusively (*), races included in this list. The 4 points have to be acquired with 2 races maximum. Grainne’s and Eoin’s interpretation might well be correct, which makes obtaining your qualifying points a little easier. |
| Colm Hill | Feb 3, 6:38PM | To collect the points for the Wicklow Round is there a set time you have to complete the route in? Colm |
| Moire O'Sullivan | Feb 6, 3:17AM | Hi Colm, I presume that in order to actually complete the Wicklow Round, you have to summit the 26 peaks and get back to the finish under 24 hours. Over 24 hours means you got round but did not complete the Wicklow Round according to its stipulated rules. Therefore I'd presume that over 24 hours would not give you the UTMB points. But I may be wrong... |
