GRP Trail at UTMB 2025
by GRP Trail athlete Elena Horton
(Photos from Sportograf)
Last month, 4 members of the GRP Trail team traveled to Chamonix, France for the 2025 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) World Series Finals. In the shadow of the iconic Mont Blanc, they all tested themselves on some of the most famous and grueling courses in the sport. Mead Binhammer lined up in the 100k race, traversing from Courmayeur, Italy through Champex-Lac, Switzerland and finishing in Chamonix (CCC). And while Canyon Woodward, a veteran of the marquee 109-mile UTMB event, tackled his 4th consecutive finish this year, teammates Britta Clark and Elena Horton got to experience the big loop around Mont Blanc for the first time. Each race offered its own blend of awe, adversity, and unforgettable moments.
The CCC
Mead competed in the Courmayeur–Champex–Chamonix (CCC), a 100k journey across Italy, Switzerland, and France with 20,000 feet of climbing. He started the race smart and steady, gaining ground on the field consistently and finishing in 36th place side by side with fellow Vermonter and former GRP runner Eric LiPuma. When asked about highs and lows of the experience, he shared that one of his best moments came while cresting Les Tseppes and flying down the rolling descent into Vallorcine, a section he had previewed earlier in the week. The toughest challenge arrived much earlier, at mile 17, when he first felt blisters forming, yet he admits he didn’t have much of a low amidst the joyful day. He showed off his mountain running strength while soaking in the entire experience, as he spent all of Saturday cheering on his teammates in the UTMB race. He’s already bounced back to win the UTMB Grindstone 100k in Virginia just 3 weeks later, earning him automatic entry back to the finals in Chamonix next year.
The UTMB
Canyon, Britta, and Elena all lined up in the 176 km (109 mile) UTMB, a race with 32,000 feet of elevation gain while circumnavigating Mont-Blanc. The race this year was marked by challenging weather, as the light rain at the 6pm start grew into a steady downpour that morphed into sleet, hail, and eventually full-on blizzard conditions at higher elevations in the middle of the night. All runners had to grapple with managing their gear, nutrition, hydration, and mindset amidst the varied conditions.
Canyon has steadily improved each of his 4 years of competing on this world stage, culminating with an amazing 13th place finish this year in just over 22 hours. That’s nearly an hour and a half faster than last year and 3 hours faster than his first attempt back in 2022. Reflecting on his highs and lows, he described wrestling with nausea and sleep deprivation on the long climbs of the final 50k. Yet through the adversity came defining highs: the moment of hugging his parents and partner at the finish after charging through the deafening chute of cheers; the sight of endless headlamps strung across the ridges behind him; and the test of managing nutrition and gear through driving rain, high winds, and even blinding snow.
Britta had some experience on the trails from her 100k CCC race experience back in 2023, yet she courageously tackled her first 100 mile distance at UTMB this year. Her previous furthest race was the 75 mile Lavaredo Ultra in Italy, where she placed an impressive 4th and qualified for this year’s UTMB finals. She described how the energy along the route carried her forward, especially the stretches lined with kids shouting encouragement and reaching out for high fives. Seeing her friends throughout the course and her partner Kevin crewing in the aid stations added to the amazing community experience. Every 100 mile has its adversity, and she showed her tremendous grit as she battled nausea starting in the middle of the first night. Her low of the experience was puking by the side of the trail 27 hours into her race before pushing through the final stretch to the finish, where she posted an impressive 27th place on the world stage.
For Elena, UTMB was the culmination of a long rebuild after injury. She had earned her spot by winning the Canyons 100-miler in April 2024 but took over a year away from racing to recover. At UTMB, she found strength in the atmosphere: from the electric energy of the fans to the quiet surprise of her family greeting her on a remote Italian mountainside Saturday morning. The race was not without setbacks - heavy legs and nausea in the first 20 miles, muddy falls through the night, even a broken pole halfway through, reflecting that she had to fight mentally to not write off the entire race so early. That persistence paid off, as she climbed steadily through the field in the second half, rising from around 40th to finish 18th among women.
The UTMB finals are not just about results - they are about the shared journey through beauty and hardship, the quiet camaraderie on the trails, and the simple resolve to keep moving forward. For Britta, Mead, Canyon, and Elena, 2025 carried the extra joy of sharing this pinnacle experience together. They represented GRP with grit and heart, and returned home deeply grateful for the support near and far that carried them through the mountains.