Tom Evans wins his first UTMB title

It turns out that third time running the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc – the fabled UTMB – really is the charm for the UK’s Tom Evans, even if the weather was decidedly not charming.

The 33-year-old former British Army Officer battled rain, snow and sleet, a strong field of international runners and about 9,500m of elevation gain and loss on the weather-shortened 103-mile race around the Mont Blanc massif on Friday and Saturday, en route to winning in 19 hours, 18 minutes and 58 seconds.

Evans won the CCC (100K) in 2018 and the Western States 100 in 2023, but dropped out of the UTMB in both 2023 and 2024. Last year, he told Runner’s World that he aspired to become the first British UTMB champion since Jez Bragg in 2010 – and that he would return to the race ‘every year until [he] wins, if possible’.

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Evans, fellow Brit Jon Albon and US runner Ben Dhiman were in the mix early in the race after runners departed Chamonix in a constant drizzle that soon turned into a downpour. By the time runners began to climb up to the Col de la Seigne mountain pass between France and Italy, the weather turned much colder. Before long, they found themselves trampling through more than six inches of snow in blizzard-like conditions.

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Runners set off for the 2025 UTMB from Chamonix, France

The snow and cold weather continued for about another 30 miles though Italy and didn’t let up until Evans ran through Arnuova, where he began to surge prior to the 2,500m Grand Col Ferret mountain pass into Switzerland. He created a 12-minute gap on Dhiman – who was moving in second – and continued to power on at the front as temperatures rose and clear skies prevailed. Albon, meanwhile, looked to be struggling as he came into Champex-Lac, shortly after 8am on Saturday morning. He then withdrew.

Evans ran strong over the final 35 miles through Switzerland and back into France, even though the trails were wet and muddy after three days of consistent rain.

He had a sizeable lead when he reached the huge throng of fans at the aid station in the French town of Vallorcine. He visibly relaxed and whooped it up as he ran through of a tunnel of hundreds of cheering spectators, reminiscent of a scene from the Tour de France.

From there, he made the final climb up the La Flégère ski area before running the final downhill trail into Chamonix. Dhiman, originally from Ohio but who has lived in France for the past three years, also finished the UTMB for the first time after two failures, taking second in 19:51:37. Josh Wade, also from the UK, was third in 20:05:06 – marking one of Britain’s best efforts in several years.

Evans called the win a career moment, but only the second best thing that’s happened to him this year. Earlier this spring, his wife, Sophie, gave birth to their first child, daughter Phoebe.

‘My goals today weren’t to win,’ said Evans after the race. ‘My goals today were to be able to look at myself in the mirror after the race and be proud of what I’ve achieved.

‘I stuck with a plan of just being really, really patient,’ he added ‘And then at Arnuova, it kind of just all opened up and got a little bit of a gap and from there, I thought, “Right, here’s my opportunity – let’s try and take it”. I think with these things, if you try and if you try too hard to win, which I have done previously, it’s really difficult. So it was difficult anyway. But this year, it was all about letting the race come to me and it’s just the most incredible, spectacular race and to have a victory at the UTMB is a dream come true.’