PHASE 1: The first phase of this Women Step Up aims to listen to and understand women trailrunners through Focus Groups and was launched in March. The purpose of each meeting is to meet those female athletes that will be participating in Trail100 Andorra by UTMB, both for the 2024 and 2025 editions.

The first Focus Group took place on Monday, March 18, where the athletes who this year are participating in the Trail100 Andorra by UTMB, from June 14 to 16, had the opportunity to meet part of the team that is behind the project, as well as professionals in the sector and personal trainers like Anna Comet. The big topics of debate dealt with individual milestones when running in the mountains, especially how athletes should manage the barriers that society imposes on them.

Sandra Blas, amateur trail runner and geologist by profession, claimed that "sometimes it is difficult to reconcile the mother life with the training that I plan to do, especially if women around look badly at me if I leave my son with the babysitter because I have to do a trail session". Other taboo topics were put on the table, in this case focused mainly on hormonal health and sports practice. One of them, Judit Guix, a club trail runner and gynecologist, stated that "it is still difficult for us, among women who run, to talk about why sometimes our menstrual cycle is altered when we put our body to the maximum”.

Although there are still many standards associated with the practice of trail running, programs like this one bring us closer and closer to gender equality in socio-sporting contexts in which it often goes unnoticed. According to Anna Comet in this first meeting, “twenty years ago it was very difficult to find professional colleagues at the starting line of the races I went to, there were very few of us. Now we can affirm that women's trail running is becoming higher every day, but there are still some standards that do not allow us to advance for the simple fact of feeling insecure when it comes to going running alone or having to prioritize motherhood over an important training."

PHASE 2: The second phase of the program seeks to help and empower women who want to participate in any of the editions of Trail100 Andorra by UTMB starting in September 2024. In this part, the team will work hand in hand with professionals from the sector to guide the athletes and accompany them when it comes to setting new horizons and, most importantly, achieving them.

Women participation in Trail100 Andorra by UTMB

Mountain races commonly known as trail running have seen a fairly notable increase in athletes lately. An increase in athletes that has also been positively reflected in female participation. According to data from Trail100 Andorra by UTMB, in 2022 the total number of women registered was 21%. In the Trail10K, they represented the majority of those registered with 62%; 32% ran the Trail 20K, 14% the Trail 50K and, finally, 10% opted for the longest distance, the Ultra 105K. Data that confirms the increase in female participation and demonstrates in most cases that any distance is suitable for any type of athlete.

All these figures highlight the progression of women's sport in terms of participation, but there is still a long way to go if we want to achieve gender equality on the starting lines of mountain races. We refer to data that identifies fundamental issues such as problems of insecurity when running in the mountain alone or the great debate on family conciliation, especially in cases in which the female athlete is a mother. A whole series of topics that the organization hopes to address soon.

Women Step Up can only indicate one thing: we are on the right path, but we must continue to raise standards so that races are equally accessible to everyone in the world. You can follow the program through Trail100 Andora by UTMB social networks, where they will publish the next steps.

UTMB ® World Series
UTMB® World Series is the world’s ultimate trail-running circuit that unites the sport’s biggest stars and passionate runners through the best, leading international events in the most stunning locations. Built on a passion for the mountains with sustainability at its heart, UTMB® World Series gives all trail runners the chance to experience the UTMB® adventure across the world, with events taking place across Asia, Oceania, Europe and the Americas in 2022. It is the only place where runners can begin their quest to UTMB® Mont-Blanc, France, where the prestigious UTMB ® World Series Finals will be held. For more information, visit www.utmb.world.

About UTMB Group
Over the last 18 years, and since the creation of UTMB® Mont-Blanc in 2003 by a group of passionate friends, UTMB Group has been the driving force behind the development of trail running. The UTMB® Mont-Blanc is the sports pinnacle event, and every year, 10,000 runners earn their place on the start line. UTMB Group also pioneered the LiveTrail® technology, an innovative digital service that supports the management of endurance races. Revered by hundreds of thousands of athletes, UTMB® has become a global, premium, and leading brand. In May 2021, UTMB Group partnered with The IRONMAN Group to launch the UTMB® World Series, which from 2022, will bring together many of the best international events on the planet to provide exclusive access to the sport’s pinnacle event, UTMB® Mont-Blanc. The UTMB® World Series is built on the founding principles of UTMB® Mont-Blanc: surpassing
oneself; fair-play; respect for people and the environment; and solidarity. Find out more at www.utmb.world.

About The IRONMAN Group
The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll® Running Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf®, UTMB® World Series events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, Epic Series™ mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, road cycling events including Haute Route® , and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group