For UTMB_^® blog launching we asked 5 photographers to share their views on the event. Spanish photographer Eduardo Castro, Japanese Yosuke Kashiwakura and French photographers Pascal Tournaire, Cyril Bussat and Franck Oddoux each selected and wrote about their photo. Here is their selection and story.

Franck Oddoux

In my mind this photo contains the ups and downs, the emotional stages by which UTMB_^® runners pass through.

After night’s demons, cold, wind, the tiredness that settles down and the bodies that are gripping, the pilgrims of the UTMB_^® see the first rays of sun appear at the Grand Col Ferret. Life circulates again, hopes are reborn and chase doubts. The promise of the descent and a finish line that stops too far away takes shape ... In my mind this photo contains the ups and downs, the emotional stages by which UTMB_^® runners pass through.

 www.test4outside.com/magazine

Pascal Tournaire

 With a little luck the Mont-Blanc was illuminated by the setting sun, my telephoto lens crushes the runners on its north face.

A simple image, to me a very symbolic image of what I love in UTMB_^®. After 28 hours of racing and shooting the first runners crossing the finish line in Chamonix, I ran to Col des Montets towards the "Tête aux Vents". The competitors were among the first hundred and would escape a second night of running . With a little luck the Mont-Blanc was illuminated by the setting sun, my telephoto lens crushes the runners on its north face.

 www.pascaltournaire.com 

Cyril Bussat

This runner is anonymous. First? Latest ? No matter what, he is « just a FINISHER » and in his kid’s eyes you can see admiration and pride.

Emotion! A keyword for UTMB_^®. It’s what drives everyone ... runners, followers, organizers, volunteers, and photographers ...This runner is anonymous. First? Latest ? No matter what, he is « just a FINISHER » and in his kid’s eyes you can see admiration and pride. I cover this race since the 3rd edition, and in my opinion the UTMB_^® is summarized in this picture.Travelling the world in search of its limits, an inner journey, and returning to the starting point being different. Enriched with personal discoveries and swollen by the love and recognition of his own and others ... Long live the UTMB_^®.

 www.photossports.com

Eduardo Castro

This picture shows how emotional that moment was and all the support he got from his wife and friends.

On 2014 I was working with the team (made up of family and friends) of Cristofer Clemente Mora at the UTMB_^®. He was going to run the CCC_^® for the first time in his life. Unfortunately, after being in second position for 50 kilometers, he had to quit the race. This picture shows how emotional that moment was and all the support he got from his wife and friends. This only made him stronger and  in 2016 he was world champion of the Skyrunner World Series (Ultra category). Actually he´s a runner of the Salomon Team. 

Yosuke Kashiwakura

"I was lucky to experience something very special, now I know better who I am, what I am capable of. My horizon has changed."

I followed the UTMB_^® runners without sleeping for 46 hours. The battery of my camera was low and my body exhausted. In front of me was unfolding the eternal history of man against nature. I held my camera firmly and was waiting for the right moment. I chose this picture to represent the UTMB_^® because I think it illustrates what the runners tell us after the race: "I was lucky to experience something very special, now I know better who I am, what I am capable of. My horizon has changed."

www.yosukekashiwakura.com