UTMB sets parental standard
UTMB has introduced a new pregnancy/parental deferral policy that coverage says sets a benchmark other ultra races are still struggling to match. Race directors and athletes are now debating how many events should follow UTMB’s lead on flexible entry options for parent athletes. (runningmagazine.ca)
UTMB first rolled out a pregnancy policy across its World Series events in 2023 and formally expanded and rebranded it as the "Child Welcome Policy" in October 2025. (res.cloudinary.com)) The policy explicitly covers pregnant athletes, athletes with a pregnant partner, parents via adoption or surrogacy, and athletes pursuing medically assisted reproduction (MAR). (res.cloudinary.com)) For lottery races UTMB now offers priority entry for women who are pregnant for up to five years for 50K, 100K and 100M categories, while partners and parents via adoption or surrogacy receive priority entry for up to two years. (res.cloudinary.com)) Non‑lottery UTMB events offer either a full refund (minus service fees) or a deferred entry of up to two years, and the policy allows athletes to repeat the deferral process if they meet eligibility again during a deferral period. (res.cloudinary.com)) UTMB requires documentation and deadlines — requests for lottery‑race priority must be submitted before the event preregistration period closes, and athletes must ensure a valid UTMB Index when they activate a deferred race entry. (res.cloudinary.com)) Other high‑profile ultras have taken different approaches: Western States introduced a pregnancy deferral in 2018 that lets pregnant entrants roll their place over indefinitely but does not extend that indefinite rollover to partners. (wser.org)) Hardrock updated its policy in June 2024 to extend pregnancy/parental deferrals up to five years and to explicitly include adoption and surrogacy, while advocacy groups such as SheRACES maintain a public database tracking which races do and do not have clear pregnancy deferral rules. (runningmagazine.ca))
