Mancano appena 13 giorni all'inizio del complesso di eventi agonistico-sportivi in cui si articolerà la 12^ edizione di The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®, in programma dal 25 al 31 agosto 2014.
E queste sono le più aggiornate informazioni sull'evento che, sempre di più, si configura come il summit mondiale dell'ultratrail e della corsa in natura.

D-13 before the Trail-running world summit! 7500 trail-runners of 77 nationalities are beginning toflock to the foot Mont-Blanc, where all the international Trail-running players (trail-runners and theirfamilies, the media, partners, manufacturers,...) make a rendezvous each year at the end of August. 3 countries, France, Switzerland and Italy,19 communes, led by Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, are preparing towelcome them. The big week of The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® races is August 25th to 31st,with 5 races on the programme and numerous animations around Mont Blanc it gathers not only trail-running specialists but also fans of the mountains and of adventure.100 000 people in situ and evenmore worldwide who are ready to experience live or virtually, a week to the rhythm of emotion, passion, performance and endurance.

Passion and emotion, with 7500 runners who are coming to write the pages of their own adventure andshare it with their families, friends, colleagues, their teams....

Performance : there are no fewer than 370 international favourites spread across these ultra enduranceevents !

The highlight, the UTMB®, the race queen, which starts at 17:30 on August 29th.

A week of international performances. For this the twelfth year of the event 7500 runners are taking the start of one of the 5 events : the UTMB®, CCC®, PTL®, TDS®, or OCC. 5 acronyms which resonate internationally. Coming from all the corners of the globe the international elite are gathering to share the same adventure as the unknowns,along the same paths and under the same rules. This proximity between the elite and unknown runners, and also with the volunteers... is the key to this shared passion. Even if the levels of performance aredifferent, everybody experiences intense moments of elation in the heart of exceptional landscapes, atrue challenge after months of preparation. 

A few names to follow from among the top 100 in the ITRA's* performance index [ITRA performance index(International Trail-Running Association) : Level of performance of a trail-runner calculated on the results of their best 5 races of the year in progress and the 2 proceeding years]

A week of emotions following the races, friends, families, favourites:

1) On the internet : www.ultratrailmb.com

Web tv : on ultratrail.tv

Throughout the week, broadcasting of all the important moments : start of the races, news, livecoverage, interviews, round table discussions, conferences, films... 4 webcams positioned along the route and at the finish so as to see all the runners.

LiveTrail®, which is the best way of following on-line

• Follow each runner on-line stage by stage with an indication of their arrival time at the following points (this allows you to see the passage of your favourites on the webcam)
• The possibility of determining a list of favourites to follow
•  Follow the race leader on-line stage by stage
• Follow all runners via text message (SMS), stage by stage: subscription possible as from August 10th

Live results and statistics

On Facebook and Twitter ! News posted instantaneously. Follow the runners on the Facebook walls: points of passage will be posted automatically via an application developed by The North Face® and fed by the information supplied by LiveTrail® (bysubscription)

NeXXtep Sport

•  Follow on-line the PTL® teams live via GPS tags at www.ultratrailmb.com
•  Follow the race leader live on-line
•  Follow live runners who have rented GPS tags on the UTMB® / CCC® / TDS® / OCC Rental and reservation at www.ultratrailmb.com. 

Follow family or friends via text message (SMS). This is a personalised accompanying person's page (registration at www.ultratrailmb.com) which allowsthe reception via text message of information concerning the passage of a runner at a control point, an estimation of their arrival time at the next village (payable service).

Other services. The reception of official information sent to runners and volunteers: weather warnings,advice, route changes, changes to time barriers, state of traffic (free service).

2) Follow the races and move around Mont-Blanc

• Urban Pulse, the new generation mobility application for a better experience of your Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®. To make your life easier , Urban Pulse regroups all the information so that you canexperience the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® from the inside: the event programme, animations in the communes, transport solutions, race-bib distribution area, the following and finish of the race leaders, the Ultra-Trail® Salon times, timetables and bus stops for the buses and shuttle buses, free parking, ... but also, all the areas likely to welcome you... Urban Pulse is totally dynamic and interactive : 
• To follow the runners and find the most practical shuttle buses to take you to refreshment posts, or toestimate the travel time by car which allows you, combined with the Live Trail® information, to organiseyour personal programme for following the race.
• In the case of a change to the programme, Urban Pulse will immediately give all the new information.
• And if you have a problem locating your friends, each of them can send you their location!

3) Animations and parties in the 3 Mont Blanc countries. In each commune, in each country the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® races are the an occasion for great entertainment. Concerts, soirées, musical ambulations... For all of these rendezvous at: http://www.ultratrailmb.com/page/54/Animations.html

Conferences at the Ultra-Trail ® Salon (in French).

1) on Wednesday Augst27th

• 10:30-12:00 Corinne Peirano: "The impact of food on the brain and lucidity when racing (stayingawake, preventing hypoglycemia etc.)"
• 14:30-16:00 Jean-Christophe Beche, Président of the association for prevention and rescue - La Chamoniarde "Trail-running and the high mountains: what limits?"
• 17:00-18:30 Rémy Hurdiel: "Managing the lack of sleep during ultra-endurance events: how and why?"

2) on Thursday August 28th

• 10:30-12:00 Béatrice Mercier: "The lack of oxygen in the high mountain, a true challenge for the trail-runner"
• 14:30-16:00 Patrick Basset: "The pathologies and dangers of self-medication".

Queste le gare incluse nel palinsesto, cinque competitive più un minitrail per i più giovani.

1. THE MINI ULTRA-TRAIL® on  WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27th. So as to share their parents passion, around 800 children will run one of the 6 mini races : from 3 to 13years of age on the champ du Savoy in Chamonix / more information at : http://www.ultratrailmb.com/page/156/Mini
2. UTMB® [Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®]: 3 countries - 168km and 9600m ascent in semi-autonomy - 2300 runners start on Friday, August 29th at 17:30 from Chamonix to Chamonix in 46 hrs max.
3. CCC® [Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix]: 3 countries - 101km and 6 100m ascent in semi-autonomy - 1900 runners start onFriday, August 29th at 09:00 from Courmayeur to Chamonix in 26 hrs max.
4. TDS® [sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie]: 119km and 7 250m ascent in semi-autonomy. 1600 runners start on Wednesday, August 27th at 07:00 from Courmayeur to Chamonix in 33 hrs max.
5. PTL® [la Petite Trotte à Léon] : 3 countries - 300km and 28 000m ascent in total autonomy. A non-stop hike, without ranking, open to 100 teams starting on Monday, August 25th at 17:30 from Chamonix to Chamonix in 141 hrs max.
6. OCC©  [Orsières-Champex-Chamonix]: 53km and 3 300m ascent in semi-autonomy. 1200 runners start on Thursday August 28th at 08:00 from Orsières to Chamonix in 14 hrs max.

PROGRAMME

Monday August 25th - Chamonix: 17:30 : Start of the PTL®

Tuesday August 26th - Chamonix: 13:00-19:00 : Ultra-Trail® Salon

Wednesday August 27th - Courmayeur and Chamonix

• 07:00 : Start of the TDS®, Courmayeur (Italy)
• 10:00-19:00 : Ultra-Trail® Salon
• 22:00 : First TDS® finishers

Thursday August 28th - Chamonix

• 08:00 : Start of the OCC, Orsières (Switzerland)
• All through the day, arrival of TDS® finishers
• 10:00- 19:00 : Ultra-Trail® Salon
• 14:00 : Arrival of first OCC runners
• 18:00- 19:00 : Official Press Conference with athletes and organisers

Friday August 29th - Courmayeur and Chamonix 

• 09:00 : Start of the CCC®, Courmayeur (Italy)
• 09:00- 13:00 : Ultra-Trail® Salon
• 17:30 : Start of the UTMB®
• 20:30 : First CCC® finishers

Saturday August 30th - Chamonix 

• 07:00 : First PTL® finishers
• All morning, arrival of CCC® finishers
•  14:00 : First UTMB® finishers

Sunday August 31st - Chamonix

• All day, arrival of UTMB® finishers
• 10:00- 11:00 final press conference
• 14:30 : Last UTMB® & PTL® finishers
• Official closing ceremony of the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®