The 2026 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) started ominously, with evening thunderstorms calling for a two-hour delay and a slight course reroute. But by the time 2,406 runners got rolling out of Chamonix the skies had basically cleared. And in the end, near-perfect concisions and a particularly fast course were simply a perfect storm for a super fast race.
America’s Ben Dhiman (and last year’s runner-up) ran away from the field on the just major test piece up Col du Bonhomme before the 40K mark. He ultimately finished in 18:16:29, earning the first sub-19-hour men’s finish in the race’s history. French national treasure Blandine L’Hirondel matched it on the women’s side, becoming the first woman to break 22 hours with a 21:54:49 finish. She’s just the second woman (and third person) to win all three UTMB World Series Finals races, OCC, CCC, and UTMB.
The editors of Trail Runner were on location in Chamonix, France, checking out the new gear, watching the race unfold, while putting together a list of the fastest shoes at UTMB 2026. I’ve personally used many of these shoes, so I include my own testing notes below, just in case you’re interested in emulating the elites (at least in what you’re wearing, anyway).
On the shoe side, this was one of the more interesting UTMB races I’ve covered. The diversity of brands worn by the top-10 men and women was fascinating. There were more niche shoe companies represented in the field than I’ve ever seen, brands such as Kiprun, Kailas Fuga, Norda, and Dynafit.
As someone who tests pretty much every trail shoe, I can tell you these brands all make solid shoes but often don’t get the attention they deserve. The 2026 UTMB changed that. Here’s what the top 10 men and women wore, and my take on each.
Fastest Shoes at the 2026 UTMB – Men
Ben Dhiman (1st) and Virgile Moriset (4th) – Asics Metafuji Trail 2
This marks the second year in a row that an Asics shoe has crossed the finish line first. Ben Dhiman went with what worked for his second-place finish last year and ran the Asics Metafuji Trail 2 again. I just reviewed the Metafuji Trail 2 and was impressed with its speedy, agile ride. Asics clearly has its eyes on trail running at the highest level.
[instagram src=https://www.instagram.com/p/DcqAD9KAP5G/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading]
The Metafuji Trail 2 features A-TPU, Asics’ highest-performing midsole foam, surrounded by firmer EVA to control and stabilize the soft foam. Embedded in the foam is a newly designed X-shaped carbon plate. The shoe is fast. I can see why Dhiman wore it again this year.
Baptiste Chassagne (2nd) – On Cloudultra Pro
Baptiste Chassagne wore the On Cloudultra Pro, which, in my opinion, is a hugely underrated shoe. I can’t tell if it was the first version or the second, but I’ve seen the second version, and it’s very similar to the original, which is good news. The original uses two layers of a PEBA foam (softer over firmer) with 38 millimeters of stack under the heel, but it runs like a lower-stack shoe. It’s one of the very few high-stack shoes, if not the only one, I feel comfortable wearing in Santa Barbara, California, where the trails are very rocky and technical.
Caleb Olson (3rd) – Nike ACG Ultrafly
Coming in strong at the end, Caleb Olson went from eighth at the Courmayeur halfway point to third at the line. He wore the Nike ACG Ultrafly, Nike’s second-generation trail supershoe. It features Nike’s ZoomX, the original super foam found in the Vaporfly, here contained by a textile wrap in the forefoot to reduce side-to-side squish. The ACG Ultrafly is one of the heavier racing-focused shoes at 10.1 oz for men’s size 10 and women’s size 11.5, but makes up for it with responsiveness. I’ve found it to be one of the more stable carbon-plated super trail shoes thanks to a wide base.
Fastest Shoes at the 2026 UTMB – Women
Blandine L’Hirondel (1st) – Kiprun Kipsummit Race
In front of a home-country crowd, Blandine L’Hirondel became the second woman to win OCC, CCC, and UTMB. She wore the Kiprun Kipsummit Race, Kiprun’s highest-performance trail shoe. The French brand was founded in 2008 under Decathlon, the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, and launched in the US in April 2026.
While I haven’t tested the Kipsummit Race on the trails, I have tried it on and was impressed with its bouncy, airy feel. It uses an A-TPU midsole with an embedded carbon fiber plate. At 9.0 ounces for men and 7.8 ounces for women, it’s incredibly light for a shoe with a 37.5/31.5mm stack height.
Rachel Entrekin (2nd) – Norda 055
Three-time Cocodona 250 winner Rachel Entrekin, who signed with Norda in December 2025, wore the brand’s latest shoe, the 055. Norda has steadily gained a loyal following, and Entrekin’s second-place UTMB finish has put the brand in the spotlight. I’ve been testing it, and it’s my favorite Norda shoe by far. At first, it feels a little chunky because it sits so high on the ankle, but it’s surprisingly fun and fast.
As always, Norda nails the intersection of aesthetics and function. I can’t tell you how many people stop and ask what shoe it is. The TPEE midsole is soft but very responsive. The upper uses tough-skinned, bio-circular Dyneema that really secures the foot. The $325 price tag is steep, but as carbon fiber and superfoams make their way into trail footwear, it’s not a lot more than comparable models.
Emily Schmitz (3rd) – Hoka Prototype
Hoka used UTMB week to debut its new Tecton X 4, a $247 trail super shoe with parallel carbon plates and dual-layer PEBA foam with PROFLY X construction. But in classic style for Hoka’s top athletes, Schmitz elected for a shoe not on the market. When we asked Schmitz about her podium-landing shoe, she said simply that she wore “the prototype.” Well, two pairs of the prototype (she changed shoes midrace), but she told Trail Runner they were the same.
From the outside, this undisclosed proto looks relatively similar to the Tecton X 4, with an aggressive rocker, knit collar, relatively high stack, and 4mm or so lugs. (The Tecton X 4 has a stack of 40-35 mm for men and 39-34 mm for women.) It’s possible it’s a very similar shoe made from lighter materials that will never to go market, or maybe it’s full of innovations that will be released as part of the Tecton x 5.