 If you are part of the ultra-running community and you keep abreast of developments in the sport then you'll know how much it's grown in the past 10 to 20 years and you'll be aware of UTMB. Since its inception in 2003, UTMB in Chamonix, France has come to be regarded as arguably the mecca for ultra-runners. A race which thousands of ultra-runners aspire to do and it is an incredible place with an amazing atmosphere during race week and I have to say I do love it. However, not everyone feels that way and even before their partnership with the Ironman group, some in the ultra-running community felt that UTMB was attempting to monopolise the sport. 20 years since that first race around Mont Blanc and UTMB has created the World Series with rumours having to take part in other UTMB branded events around the world just to stand a chance of gaining entry to the World Series finals in Chamonix in France. Now if you're a trail runner who feels this is all a bit too much then you don't have to subscribe to any of it. You don't have to take part in UTMB, you don't have to take part in any UTMB branded events. There will always be plenty of independent trail and ultra races to do, run by very well-respected, well-managed, well-organised independent race companies. However, for those of us who do want to run in Chamonix, there's currently only one race in the UK, that's the Ultra Trail Snowdonia in Wales, which offers the Running Stones currency, that's the currency that you need in order to enter the lottery to apply for a place in Chamonix. With that in mind, recently I was fortunate enough to spend a few moments with Florian Lamlin who is the CEO of UTMB International and I asked him what plans he and UTMB have to expand into the UK. It's a very short interview, but if you know the UK Ultra running scene and you know UK Ultra races, then Florian gives us some very tantalising insights. My name is Florian Lamlin, I'm the CEO of UTMB International, the branch of UTMB Group in charge of the international development. UK is a massive country for us, we've seen figures that are outstanding in terms of growth. Yes, today we have one event which is the Ultra Trail Snowdonia, interesting by UTMB, as you know, which is in Wales, in Lanveris. It's only the only event in the series in the UK. We are looking at other parts of the UK, so for sure we are looking at the Lake District, we are looking at Scotland and we are looking at the Pigs District, which are basically the places in the UK where the most elevated mountain can be found. So I can't reveal for now what kind of name of races we are discussing, but I can tell you we are discussing with many races over there, there is many interest from races to join the series, even creation could also be an option, so both options, even creation or acquisition of existing events are contemplated today. So what can we pick out from that? Well Florian mentions three areas in the UK, Scotland, the Lake District and the Peak District. In the lakes the big main event up there is the Lakeland 100, which has for many years now been one of the top 100 mile races in the UK. It's a well-established event and it's run as far as I'm aware on a not-for-profit basis by Mark Lathwaite. Now I don't know Mark and I'm sure there are many of you out there who know a lot more about this than I do, but as far as I understand it, the Lakeland 100 race is not for sale to UTMB. So could UTMB create a rival event in the Lake District? Could two big 100 mile races survive side by side in the lakes? Well I don't see why not. Positive outcomes of that would be boosting the local economy with so many more tourists arriving to run around the lakes. However we have to balance that of course against the environmental cost of more people using the trails. However that's a debate for another time. Next Florian mentions Scotland. Now if you were going to create an iconic race series in Scotland with thousands of meters of elevation gain and stunning views where would you choose? I don't know. Ben Nevis? Glencoe? Interesting then that the Skyline Scotland weekend organised by Ure events which includes the Ben Nevis Ultra and the Glencoe Skyline recently announced that they would be hosting their final event this September. The two things could be completely unrelated but who knows? Has Shane Olly sold the Skyline Scotland event to UTMB? Finally Florian mentions the Peak District. Now that's not an area that I know very well it's not an area that I have running but the obvious event there is the Peak District 100. It's a very small event it has a 100 and a 50 and a marathon but this year there were only 13 finishes in the 100. Is that an event that UTMB want to take on? Would they have approached the organisers of the Peak District 100 to buy out that event? Now that wasn't the end of the conversation. I noted that Florian hadn't mentioned an area which is very close to my heart so I asked. Are there any conversations happening in the southwest of England around Cornwall area? In the southwest part of England I would say not so far. We know that there is many great organisation organiser over there so I have to say that for now the conversations are more in the area that I mentioned. Nevertheless we know that this part of England is absolutely amazing. We're looking at the South Scotland as well. We need to find some places that are on that flat. We need some kind of elevations so we can't go to very very flat sections even if some places are very very good trailer at that place but if you're an organiser or if you have an idea of a trailer over there I'd be very happy to discuss with you about any opportunity over there. So no plans to set up a race on the southwest coast path in Cornwall. No plans to take over the mud crew archivetrician 100. However Florian did talk about the south coast. Now does he mean the southeast? We're looking at the south but I've well. Are UTMB looking at taking over perhaps one of James Elton's Centurion races. The South Downs Way is the most iconic the most popular race on the south coast that might fit the bill. Not a huge amount of elevation but perhaps just enough. Or could he be looking at talking to Neil Kirby of UK Ultras who also do a 100 mile race down on the southeast coast. If you're more in the know than I am if you have any ideas of your own about what might be happening then do drop a comment down below and let me know. Let's have a conversation down there. What's clear is that UTMB will be expanding into the UK in the very near future. UTS the Ultra Trail Snowdonia will not be the only UTMB event in the UK offering running stones for long. So that's good news if you want to run in the UTMB series finals in Chamonix because there will be more options meaning you will have to travel less far to go and get your running stones. Bad if you are against the idea of UTMB expanding and monopolizing the ultra running sport. Thank you for watching. If you found the video useful or interesting then please do hit the subscribe button and the bell notification icon so you are notified every time we upload a new video and we'll see you on the start line next time. Bye bye.