The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman

The UTMB Index and race scores have become increasingly significant in the global trail running ecosystem. The Index upstream of sponsorship and race entry opportunities for pros, it allows fans to gauge who is performing best on the world's stage, and it helps media members contextualize performances across years, distances, and different course terrains.

Today the UTMB Index is evolving in some subtle yet important ways. Joining me to talk all about it are Adrian Vincentand Karen Merlin — two members of the team who worked on this new system and are well qualified to explain how things are changing and what it means for the sport.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro + episode overview (UTMB Index)
00:50 – Guest introductions (Adrian Vincent & Karen Merlin)
02:50 – Why the UTMB Index was created
07:25 – Why the index matters for the sport
10:45 – Index vs. race scores explained
13:40 – What the index is (and isn't)
15:45 – Why changes were needed
19:40 – Gender scoring discussion
24:40 – Myth: bias toward UTMB races
26:15 – Challenge of collecting global race results
30:55 – Myth: weather/conditions affect scores
37:15 – New scoring system overview
39:25 – Step 1: Finding similar races
42:40 – Step 2: Expected score + confidence
47:45 – Step 3: Selecting high-quality data
51:20 – Step 4: Final calculation (regression explained)
55:05 – Retroactive re-scoring (what changes)
56:10 – Impact on everyday runners
57:10 – Impact on elite athletes + qualification
58:55 – Myth: bad races hurt your index
01:00:55 – Highest scores ever (new system)
01:06:10 – Behind the scenes of the rebuild
01:09:00 – Transparency + final thoughts
01:10:30 – Closing remarks

Additional Material:

• Educational video: "How my UTMB Index is calculated" 
• Methodology note 
• General public article

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