UTMB – Strava Collaboration : UTMB® World Series, the global circuit for trail runners, and Strava, the leading digital platform for active people, have today announced a strategic global partnership and released a joint data story exploring the evolution of trail running.
The initiative comes as both brands aim to better serve the trail running community by delivering innovative, immersive, and community-driven experiences. Key features of the collaboration include:
UTMB® World Series and Majors featured on Strava: UTMB® World Series Majors and Finals will reinforce their presence on Strava, in particular via Clubs. These clubs will become essential spaces for sharing training progress, race insights, and community inspiration.
Strava Segments integrated into live race coverage: Key Strava segments will be integrated into the live broadcasts of UTMB® World Series Majors and Finals, as well as on their website. This innovation brings the race closer to fans and runners alike, offering real-time performance comparisons, segment battles, and deeper engagement with the course.
Combined data story on the evolution of trail running: The two brands have collaborated on a data analysis which reveals trends over recent years – from training to racing – as to how trail running participation has increased, barriers associated with the sport are being broken down, and the sport is becoming more approachable and inclusive. The data can be found below.
“At the heart of this collaboration is a commitment to providing athletes with the best experience.” said Antoine Aubour, Brand, Communication & Marketing director at UTMB Group. “Whether they’re training for their first 20K or chasing a podium at the Finals, they often look and find the same things on Strava and in UTMB World Series events: a community to share with, key data to understand their performance and decisive routes to discover new places. Together with Strava, we support a richer, more supportive trail running ecosystem.”
UTMB – Strava Collaboration : From Training to Racing: A Data Story on the Evolution of Trail Running
Following the HOKA UTMB® Mont-Blanc World Series Finals, this UTMB – Strava Collaboration is a combined data story which offers a unique insight into how trail running has evolved globally.
According to recent activity data from Strava, there has been a 2x increase in the count of athletes uploading trail runs in the first half of this year compared to the same time-period 3 three years ago.
Similarly, participation in UTMB Index Races in the first half of 2025 was 2.4x higher than the same period in 2022, with over 800,000 race starts in just 6 months! A clear sign of the discipline’s accelerating expansion and appeal to newcomers in that 42% of these runners were competing in their first-ever trail running event.
According to the most recent UTMB Index race data, there has been a 2.6x increase in the number of female participants in trail races in the first half of this year compared to the same time-period 3 three years ago.
Globally, women are particularly strong in shorter distances, accounting for over 50% of participants in Oceania and Africa in 2024. Europe hosts the largest number of female runners, with over 160,000 taking part in UTMB Index races in the first half of 2025.
In looking at the growth of participation in trail running on Strava, remarkable growth has been seen particularly among the younger female cohort. In the first half of this year compared to the same time-period 3 three years ago, there has been a 6.5x increase in the count of Gen Zfemales uploading trail runs globally.
Globally, the share of runners in a Club on Strava has increased 31% since pre-pandemic in 2019, and the biggest increase among generations has been seen with Boomers. Alongside this, there has been a near 20% increase in the share of trail runs that are grouped in the first half of this year compared to the same time-period 3 years ago. Boomers are also most likely to run with others compared to their generational counterparts.
At UTMB® World Series events, 91% of participants travel from within the same continent, and 73% come from the host country or a neighboring nation, fostering strong regional ties. More than 50% of runners come with friends or family, turning race weekends into shared adventures that extend far beyond the start and finish lines.
While trail running is often associated with epic ultra-endurance challenges, the data shows a more approachable reality. In UTMB Index races, about 2/3 participants run a marathon distance or less while 1/3 take on a course longer than 50 km, and just 1% tackle the legendary 100-mile distance. The most popular distance is between a half marathon and a marathon, with almost 50% of participation.
This coincides with trends seen in the global Strava data. The brand revealed the average distance trail run on the platform is 9.7km, with 213m elevation gain, indicating that trail running is a sport for all experience levels.
This UTMB – Strava Collaboration shows that trail running is becoming increasingly competitive and professionalized. Participation isn’t just growing at the general level — the number of elite athletes is rising as well, with 19% more elite women and 11% more elite men joining the sport over the past five years.
For people inspired to find a trail running community, they can find out more on Strava here, or sign up for their very first race, they can discover the UTMB World Series here.
