An elderly woman is running in the hills of Chamonix. She is close to finishing the extremely exhausting UTMB race. The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (also referred to as UTMB) is a single-stage mountain ultramarathon. It takes place once a year in the Alps, across France, Italy and Switzerland. The distance is approximately 166 kilometres (103 mi), with a total elevation gain of around 9,600 m. It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in Europe. It's certainly one of the largest with over two thousand starters. The combined participation in all of the events is approaching 10 thousand runners. While the best runners complete the loop in slightly more than 20 hours, most runners take 30 to 45 hours to reach the finish line.

vertical color image day outdoors nature grass tree women transportation small group of people holding casual clothing men achievement challenge sunglasses effort fitness people competition cap non urban scene senior woman adult courage backpack caucasian ethnicity mode of transport sport scenics text europe france italy path senior adult bottle athlete tranquility selective focus western script confidence healthy lifestyle vitality switzerland chamonix ski pole adults only mont blanc exhaustion athletics conquering adversity ultramarathon competitive sport sportsperson 60 69 years