Singletrack Is UTMB Still a Net Positive for Trail Running? James Elson Weighs In (Sunday Conversation)
Mar 22, 2026
James Elson, founder of Centurion Running and UK race director, shares behind-the-scenes views of race economics and logistics. He discusses why some expedition races struggle, scaling limits for technical courses, impacts of large events like UTMB on safety and local communities, and how organisers balance portfolios, pricing, no-shows and volunteer math. He urges support for local indies while weighing UTMB’s pros and cons.
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Make Runners Responsible And Verify Competency
- Prioritize runner responsibility first but enforce competence as an organizer.
- Elson ranks runners as primary responsible, organizers second for safety infrastructure and competency checks on technical terrain.
No Shows And Deferrals Are Built Into Race Economics
- Deferred entries and no‑shows are a deliberate financial lever organizers use to manage field size and revenue.
- Elson shares empirical rates: ~20% no‑show for 50K, ~11% for 100‑mile, and free volunteer entries show even higher no‑show levels.
Why ARC's Directors Chose To Sell To UTMB
- Ferg and Jane sold ARC to UTMB because they wanted the race to grow and to remove the personal burden of year‑to‑year organizational stress.
- Elson recounts Ferg's age, burnout, and love of big‑race experiences as motives for the sale.