UTMB · free tool

UTMB Cutoff Calculator

UTMB has only 4 enforced cutoffs across 174 km — but missing any of them ends your race. This calculator projects your arrival at each cutoff based on your fitness and the actual course profile.

174.0 km · Chamonix, France
9,900 m elevation gain
46h45 total cutoff
Course loaded
Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc
174.0 km · 5 enforced cutoffs · race cutoff 46:45:00

Defaults to the race cutoff. Set a faster goal to see your buffer at every aid station.

ETAs use a linear pace projection from your target finish time — useful for cutoff planning, but does not account for where the elevation gain sits on the course.

Why UTMB is hard

What the GPX doesn't tell you.

  • 174 km with ~9,900 m of vertical gain across the Alps — average grade is brutal even on the runnable sections.

  • Night running is unavoidable for most finishers — fatigue management compounds with altitude.

  • Cutoffs at Courmayeur (km 80, 21h) and Champex-Lac (km 124, 32h) are where most DNFs happen.

Cutoff history

UTMB enforces only 4 cutoffs plus the finish (46h45). The Courmayeur cutoff at 21 hours catches runners who started too aggressively on the early climbs; the Champex-Lac cutoff at 32 hours catches those who blew up over the Grand Col Ferret. Champex is statistically the deadliest cutoff for finishers — many runners arrive there with no margin and DNF in the final third even though they technically made the cutoff.

The crux

Where the race is decided.

The stretch from Courmayeur (km 80) to Champex-Lac (km 124) — 44 km with two of the biggest climbs (Grand Col Ferret, Ferret) coming in the middle of the night. Pacing through this section is what separates finishers from DNFs.

Pacing the cutoffs

Tactical advice for UTMB.

01

Pre-Courmayeur, target a pace that gets you there with at least 90 minutes of buffer. Tighter than that and the second half punishes you.

02

Champex-Lac is the practical "halfway test" — if you arrive with less than 60 minutes of buffer, you are unlikely to finish under cutoff.

03

Vallorcine (km 153) is technically the last cutoff but the climb to Tête aux Vents after Vallorcine is where late-race DNFs accumulate. Build buffer earlier.

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