GLOSSARY

Ultra-trail glossary

Trail running terminology, defined once and for all.

Point where the organisation provides water, food and sometimes medical aid. Mandatory or optional depending on the race.…

Personal team allowed to help a runner at defined points along the course. Regulated by UTMB rules, banned in some formats.…

Time limit at a checkpoint. Races feature intermediate and final cutoffs.…

Hard deadline by which a runner must reach a checkpoint to stay in the race. Miss it and your race is over.…

Dropping out before the finish line. Not a failure — a signal, a decision, sometimes a health matter.…

Not starting despite being registered. Injury, logistics, weather, fitness — a DNS is often smarter than a predictable DNF.…

Change bag dropped by the organisation at a checkpoint: spare clothes, nutrition, night gear. A massive time-saver on long ultras.…

Total ascent on a course, in metres. On mountain ultras, elevation gain is often more discriminating than distance.…

Best known time on an unofficial route. FKTs are community-verified and listed at fastestknowntime.com.…

Standard file format for GPS tracks. Loaded on a watch or phone, it guides the runner turn by turn.…

Scoring system maintained by the International Trail Running Association, from 1 to 6 points. The longer and more technical a race, the more…

Format where the runner carries everything: nutrition, hydration, gear. Example: Marathon des Sables.…

Format where the runner has access to aid stations but must handle nutrition between them. Standard on most ultras.…

Official boundary: ultra = race over 42.2 km. In practice, ultra-trail kicks in at 80 km or beyond 8 hours of effort.…

Qualification currency for UTMB World Series races. Accumulate stones by finishing qualifiers to enter the lottery for UTMB finals.…