In the men's race, Ben Dhiman is undoubtedly this year's top favorite. After taking second at UTMB last year, he spent almost the entire season focused on preparing for UTMB — clearly coming for the win.

His biggest challenger is Vincent Bouillard, who recently won the Western States 100 and set a course record. If Vincent Bouillard stands atop the UTMB podium this year, he would have a chance to replicate Kilian Jornet's legendary feat of winning Western States 100 and UTMB in the same summer.

In the women's field, Ruth Croft's pre-race withdrawal — she who has already completed the UTMB 'grand slam' — made the dominant figure Courtney Dauwalter the most watched contender; fans eagerly wondered whether the three-time UTMB champion could make it a fourth title. At the same time, France's Blandine L’Hirondel is also a strong contender: if she wins the UTMB category she would, like Ruth Croft, complete the OCC, CCC and UTMB 'grand slam'.

Among Chinese elite athletes, men Shen Jiasheng and Deng Guomin, and women Xiang Fuzhao and Chen Lin all have overseas 100‑mile experience and have proven themselves on the international stage. Chinese trail‑running fans are most looking forward to whether a Chinese athlete can break into the world top ten again this year.

For elite runners, UTMB can generally be divided into the first night's race and the second day's daytime stage. Performance in that initial night section is crucial: darkness, cold, and massive climbs and descents cause troubles, and many injuries and withdrawals often happen during the night.

As the race progressed, Ben Dhiman gradually took control of the race, moving into the lead from La Balme at 41.1 km and extending his advantage to seven minutes by Les Chapieux at 52 km. American Chris Myers moved up to third.

By 90 km, Ben had stretched his lead over second‑placed Baptiste to twenty minutes, and 2023 UTMB third‑place finisher Joaquin Lopez had moved up to third.

Undercurrents were stirring in the women's race. This year's Cocodona 250 overall winner Rachel Entrekin surged into first at 46.9 km, with Blandine and Lucy in second and third.

But after 70 km the race came under Blandine's control; after passing Rachel she began to run solo at the front. As a hometown athlete, winning on home soil would be an ecstatic achievement.

As mentioned earlier, the night section is a high‑risk period for withdrawals. After a hard night of racing, Courtney Dauwalter, Vincent Bouillard, Xiang Fuzhao and Shen Jiasheng all unfortunately withdrew. After the night, the highest‑placed Chinese athletes were Deng Guomin in 35th and Chen Lin in 25th — fans hope their positions can improve further.

Entering the second day's daytime stage, Ben Dhiman and Blandine gradually killed off the suspense, steadily increasing their respective leads.

At Vallorcine (155.3 km), Ben Dhiman's lead over second‑placed Baptiste had reached half an hour. On the following downhill section, Ben Dhiman slipped and fell but, fortunately, was not badly hurt, and he continued to push hard toward the prospect of breaking 19 hours.

Ben Dhiman reached the final aid station in 17:41:21 — only the final 7 km downhill to the finish remained! Amid the crowd's roaring cheers, Ben Dhiman strode toward Chamonix.

In the end, Ben Dhiman crossed the line in 18:16:29, realizing his dream of winning UTMB — more than an hour faster than last year's winner Tom Evans, making history.

Although the organizers confirmed this year's route did not include some of UTMB's classic sections and therefore the time will not be recognized as a course record, producing such an astonishing performance on the UTMB course is enough to call Ben Dhiman's run legendary!