Ultra-Trail de Montmartre 2026

Ultra-Trail de Montmartre: the hill goes female

No mountain, no trail, no aid station at a mountain hut: just steps. Lots of steps. For its 5th edition, the Ultra-Trail de Montmartre (UTMM) is selecting only women 👟. Its creator, Casquette Verte, fully embraces a radical choice. Rules of the game, numbers, stakes: we sum it all up for you.

Behind the famous cap is Alexandre Boucheix, a runner and videographer who has become a figure of French trail running. A regular at the UTMB as well as the Diagonale des Fous, he cultivates an iconoclastic style. His craziest idea? Turning the steps of the Montmartre funicular, at the foot of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, into an ultra-trail playground. Four editions later, the 18th arrondissement of Paris buzzes every year-end to the rhythm of its climbs.

271 round trips, that stings 📐

The challenge boils down to one line: link together round trips up and down the steps to match the event record of 271 laps. Translation: about 143,000 steps, nearly 80 km and 11,650 m D+ / 11,650 m D- ⛰️. More elevation gain than many alpine ultras, without leaving the ring road.

Two statuses reward the toughest. Finisher: completing all 271 round trips, a record held by Christophe Nonorgue. "Nisher": achieving it under the cutoff of 25h12, a time set during the first edition ⏱️. To date, only seven runners have reached the finish.

Why only women? ♀️

The numbers speak for themselves. Over the first four editions, men made up 90 to 100% of the field. In the last draw, 60 women had applied, versus 1,340 men, for 20 spots 🎟️.

This time, all 20 bibs will go to female runners. Boucheix explains: nobody was surprised by a start line that was almost exclusively male, so he is rebalancing. He also rejects the "women's edition" label: it is simply that only women will take the start. His credo comes down to one sentence: "We have to shake up the status quo" 💥.

Aurélie De Montjoye, proof by example 🏅

A woman is already on the honor roll. Belgian Aurélie De Montjoye is among the seven finishers, in 24h47 at the 2024 edition. A time under the "Nishers" cutoff 🔥. Enough to inspire the 20 selected runners.

In Montmartre, the race is mostly a pretext. The organizer wants spectators to get attached to twenty strangers: on the first lap they cheer them on, on the last they chant their first names. The short, repetitive format puts supporters right next to the athletes, far from the image of the lone trail runner on a summit. The Ultra-Trail de Montmartre will also attract other profiles, not just elevation-gain machines 🫶. Exact date of the 2026 edition: Friday, December 11.

Want to try urban elevation gain? 🎯

No need to aim for 271 round trips to get a taste of vertical effort 😉. Several city races 🏙️ slip stairs into their course. To prepare for a real ultra, go through the trail calendar and spot the races that earn points on MyTrails. Next step: reserve your bib 🏁.