Reaches New Heights at UTMB World Series; national record by Imamur
What is the UTMB World Series
The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) was founded in 2003 by French trail-running enthusiasts led by Michel and Catherine Poletti. The inaugural race attracted just a few hundred participants. Over the years, it grew into the world’s most iconic ultra trail event. Recognizing the growing popularity of trail running worldwide, the UTMB World Series was officially launched in 2022 to create a unified international qualification system and elevate the sport on a global scale. The UTMB World Series is a global collection of trail-running events held across multiple continents. It was created to unite the world’s leading trail races under a single competitive framework, allowing runners to earn qualification opportunities for the UTMB Finals in Chamonix, France.
The series includes races of varying distances and difficulty levels, ranging from shorter mountain runs to extreme ultramarathons that exceed 100 kilometers. Thousands of runners from more than 100 countries participate annually, making it one of the largest trail-running platforms in the world. UTMB races attract the world’s best trail runners, including professional athletes, national champions, and endurance specialists. Success in a UTMB event carries international recognition and is often considered a benchmark of excellence in the sport.
Why UTMB is Considered Tougher Than Ordinary Trail Races
UTMB races are renowned for their exceptional difficulty. Many UTMB events cover distances of 100 kilometers or more, with some races exceeding 170 kilometers. Competitors often spend more than 20 to 40 hours on the course. Unlike road races, UTMB courses involve continuous climbing and descending. Athletes may face more than 10,000 meters of cumulative elevation gain, equivalent to climbing several major mountains in a single event. Runners encounter rocky trails, steep ascents, narrow ridgelines, mud, snow, and high-altitude conditions. Technical mountain skills become as important as physical fitness. Beyond physical strength, UTMB demands exceptional mental resilience. Athletes often run through the night with limited sleep while battling fatigue, isolation, and difficult mountain. Today, the UTMB World Series represents the highest standard in trail running. It combines world-class competition, breathtaking mountain environments, and extraordinary physical and mental challenges.
Imamur’s National Record on UTMB World Series:
Bangladeshi trail runner Imamur Rahman has achieved a historic milestone in the country’s endurance sports history by successfully completing two UTMB World Series 100K-category ultra trail races within just 24 days in China, it’s a national record for Bangladesh.
Representing Bangladesh on the international trail-running stage, Imamur completed the demanding Ultra Trail Xiamen by UTMB and Ultra Trail Mogan by UTMB, two of the most challenging mountain ultramarathons in the UTMB World Series circuit.
His first race, Ultra Trail Xiamen by UTMB (14th March, 2026) covered an official distance of 97 kilometers with more than 7,000 meters of elevation gain, testing runners across steep mountain terrain, technical trails, and extreme endurance conditions.
Just 24 days later, Imamur successfully finished the Ultra Trail Mogan by UTMB (10th April, 2026) covering 82 kilometers with over 4,600 meters of elevation gain, Shortly after the starting gun, a fierce storm rolled in, bringing freezing winds and turning the mountain trails into treacherous, muddy slipways for nearly 12 continuous hours.
Amidst a field of roughly 5,000 competitors across all categories, where many elite athletes were forced to abandon the race, Imamur relied on an iron will to cross the finish line in 20 hours and 3 minutes.
Adding to this remarkable achievement, Imamur also participated in the Conghua 30K Trail Race (29th March, 2026), completing 28.5 kilometers with more than 1,800 meters of elevation gain during the same competitive period in China.
In total, Imamur covered more than 207 kilometers of mountain racing and conquered over 13,400 meters of cumulative elevation gain across the three events. The achievement showcases not only his personal determination but also the growing presence of Bangladeshi athletes in international trail running.
Imamur Rahman a Bangladeshi businessman who has redefined the boundaries of amateur endurance running, carrying his nation’s flag across the globe without a single penny of institutional sponsorship. He is the only Bangladeshi who participated in UTMB Finals, UTMB Asia Major & UTMB World Series Event on 100K Category. This time he made a national record by running back to back 3 trail races in international circuit within 24 days and proved that the limit is only in our mind not in the body.
