{"id":19058,"date":"2025-11-11T09:13:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racefinder.pt\/?p=19058"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:15:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:15:52","slug":"utmb-in-portugal-what-the-utmb-index-is-and-where-to-earn-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/utmb-in-portugal-what-the-utmb-index-is-and-where-to-earn-it\/","title":{"rendered":"UTMB in Portugal: What the UTMB Index Is and Where to Earn It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you\u2019re a trail runner, you\u2019ve probably thought it at least once:<br><em>\u201cOne day, I want to run UTMB.\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>UTMB\u00ae (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) is the <strong>pinnacle of trail running<\/strong> \u2014 an annual gathering in Chamonix where athletes from all over the world take on long, emotional, technical routes through the Alps. But the journey to Chamonix doesn\u2019t start there. It starts with experience \u2014 and that experience can be built <strong>right here, in Portugal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udfe3 What is the UTMB Index?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>UTMB Index<\/strong> is a score that proves you have recent race experience at a certain distance level.<br>When you finish a UTMB Index race, you receive an index in one of the four UTMB categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Category<\/th><th>Approx. Distance Range<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>20K<\/strong><\/td><td>Up to ~25 km<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>50K<\/strong><\/td><td>~25\u201375 km<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>100K<\/strong><\/td><td>~75\u2013125 km<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>100M<\/strong><\/td><td>125+ km<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Having an updated UTMB Index:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Shows you\u2019re <strong>prepared<\/strong> for that distance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gives <strong>priority access<\/strong> to UTMB World Series registrations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helps you <strong>enter high-demand races earlier<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And may grant <strong>privileged lottery access<\/strong> in some cases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In simple terms:<br><strong>Your UTMB Index is your gateway to progress toward the UTMB World Series.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf9 UTMB Index Races in Portugal (Coming Up)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are <strong>5 upcoming events in Portugal<\/strong> where you can earn or renew your UTMB Index \u2014 now with <strong>confirmed dates<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1) <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.racefinder.pt\/event\/epicx-azores-by-decathlon\/\">EPICX Azores by Decathlon<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccd Azores<br>\ud83d\uddd3 <strong>December 5\u20136, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Volcanic ridges, lush island valleys, ocean air and technical trails that feel like an adventure expedition.<br>One of the most atmospheric races in Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2) <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.racefinder.pt\/event\/maxi-race-madeira\/\">Maxi Race Madeira<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccd Madeira<br>\ud83d\uddd3 <strong>December 6\u20137, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A race that defines \u201cmountain running.\u201d<br>Expect steep climbs, laurissilva forest, altitude variations and technical descents \u2014 Madeira doesn\u2019t ask for your best, it <em>demands<\/em> it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3) <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.racefinder.pt\/event\/trilha-da-amizade\/\">Trail da Amizade<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccd Vila Real de Santo Ant\u00f3nio, Algarve<br>\ud83d\uddd3 <strong>December 6\u20137, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The name says it all: <strong>friendship, community, shared joy<\/strong>.<br>A perfect race for athletes looking to <strong>earn their first UTMB Index<\/strong> in a supportive atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4) <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.racefinder.pt\/event\/proenca-cross-trail\/\">Proen\u00e7a Cross Trail<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccd Proen\u00e7a-a-Nova<br>\ud83d\uddd3 <strong>December 19\u201321, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interior landscapes, varied terrain and a strong local organisation.<br>A balanced race that builds confidence and mountain rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.racefinder.pt\/event\/nexe-107-trail-ultra-endurance\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.racefinder.pt\/event\/nexe-107-trail-ultra-endurance\/\"><strong>Nexe 107 \u2013 Trail Ultra Enduranc<\/strong>e<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccd Santa B\u00e1rbara de Nexe, Algarve<br>\ud83d\uddd3 <strong>January 2\u20133, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A long-distance endurance effort through hills and rural tracks.<br>Ideal for runners developing pacing strategy and long-duration stamina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2728 Final Thought<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If Chamonix is the dream, Portugal can be the beginning.<br>Step by step, season by season \u2014 every trail builds something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Your next start line might be closer than you think.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u27a1\ufe0f Explore more trail events at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.racefinder.pt\/events\/running\/trail-run\/\">racefinder.pt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re a trail runner, you\u2019ve probably thought it at least once:\u201cOne day, I want to run UTMB.\u201d UTMB\u00ae (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) is the pinnacle of trail running \u2014 an annual gathering in Chamonix where athletes from all over the world take on long, emotional, technical routes through the Alps. But the journey to Chamonix [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[75,79,1723,1792],"class_list":["post-19058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-running","tag-portugal","tag-runners","tag-running","tag-trail-run"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racefinder.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}