The new UTMB-index has been published. I moved up 178.925 places and am now the new number 276.014. I think Kilian Jornet is getting scared, because I’m coming for his number 1 position.

Okay, that’s never going to happen. I think it would be already funny to be on the same starting line as Jornet, which is possible. Maybe, one day, if we run the same race. That’s the beauty of trail running. You can be in the same race as the big guys.

I mean, I am watching the Giro d’Italia now, but I don’t think it’s ever possible to race against Primoz Roglic, Damiano Caruso or Bauke Mollema. Okay, there are bigger names in cycling, but every big name already left the Giro, except for Roglic and Geraint Thomas.

Running fast

I was kind of curious about my UTMB-ranking. Before the ERYRI 25 kilometers at Ultra Trail Snowdonia I was number 454.939 out of 725.505. Or in other words, I belonged to the fastest 63 percent of the people on the ranking. But that was without ever trying to run fast. The races I’ve done up until Snowdonia I just tried to finish. That was enough at that moment.

Snowdonia is the first race I tried to push myself, as I told you last Saturday. So I wanted to know what that would mean for my ranking. The answer is ‘a big jump forward’. I now belong to the top 38 percent.

New ranking

That’s not just thanks to Snowdonia, but also the Brabantse Ultra Trail (BUT). See, both results have been incorporated into the new ranking. I know I could have done better at the BUT. That was only my second 50 kilometer race, so I took it a bit easy. Besides; I had run the Mighty Marathon the weekend before. But okay, that just means there is more room for improvement.

A lot more room even, because I still see myself as a newbie in this trail running world, and especially in this ultra running world. So Kilian Jornet, you better watch-out. Here I come!