5 years ago we had this love/hate relationship with UTMB because of its scale - but UTMB has changed in a way that to say 'so what? you can love and hate it at the same time' doesn't feel right. This is not a natural evolution, it's a conscious decision of very few people to change the sport in order to fill their pockets and cash in on runners' dreams. Not much to love about that.
Great start to the discussion! I think what Damian Hall meant with his statement "you can love and hate the UTMB at the same time" is exactly that: as a participant, he has had an infinite number of great moments there that he can and would like to cherish. On the other hand, the company's business practices have changed in a way that he can no longer reconcile with his values. So yes, two feelings. At the same time. Personally, I find the whole situation very dynamic. Especially the influence of the trail running community on the UTMB group is impressive. I can't think of any other corporate dispute where the end consumer has so much power and so many tools at their disposal other than simply "not buying the product". There's still a long way to go, but I see movement, and that's good.
You're right - the 'countermovement' is definitely very visible, not sure I see changes in practices though. 'Sitting down for a chat with Kilian' was probably business as usual before, too - it's now used as a fig leaf.
The list of participants doesn't feel as strong this year for me - so maybe the lights don't shine as bright as they used to even if people are still 'buying the product' because they started their journey to UTMB a long time ago, have put in all the effort over years and don't want to give up on the dream even if UTMB is taking the piss. We might see that tide change in coming years.
5 years ago we had this love/hate relationship with UTMB because of its scale - but UTMB has changed in a way that to say 'so what? you can love and hate it at the same time' doesn't feel right. This is not a natural evolution, it's a conscious decision of very few people to change the sport in order to fill their pockets and cash in on runners' dreams. Not much to love about that.
Great start to the discussion! I think what Damian Hall meant with his statement "you can love and hate the UTMB at the same time" is exactly that: as a participant, he has had an infinite number of great moments there that he can and would like to cherish. On the other hand, the company's business practices have changed in a way that he can no longer reconcile with his values. So yes, two feelings. At the same time. Personally, I find the whole situation very dynamic. Especially the influence of the trail running community on the UTMB group is impressive. I can't think of any other corporate dispute where the end consumer has so much power and so many tools at their disposal other than simply "not buying the product". There's still a long way to go, but I see movement, and that's good.
You're right - the 'countermovement' is definitely very visible, not sure I see changes in practices though. 'Sitting down for a chat with Kilian' was probably business as usual before, too - it's now used as a fig leaf.
The list of participants doesn't feel as strong this year for me - so maybe the lights don't shine as bright as they used to even if people are still 'buying the product' because they started their journey to UTMB a long time ago, have put in all the effort over years and don't want to give up on the dream even if UTMB is taking the piss. We might see that tide change in coming years.
Yes, I am also convinced that the situation is volatile and will continue to change more often in the next years.