M65-69 at UTMB 2026: Sullivan Conquers the Massif

• Michael Sullivan, 69, wins the M65-69 field in 41:18:32 — nearly four hours clear of the field — posting a 22:55/mi average across 174 km of mountain terrain.
• Christian Dees claims 2nd in 45:00:17, edging Guido Pizzorno (3rd, 45:18:13) by just under 18 minutes in a battle that swung across the final checkpoints.
• Dees ran the 516th-fastest men's split on the Trient→Les Tseppes segment; Pizzorno answered with the 970th-fastest men's split on Vallorcine Entrée→Vallorcine Sortie — two athletes trading blows late in a race that had already consumed more than 40 hours.
• All three men finished within UTMB's 45h 30min time limit — completing a full circumnavigation of the Mont-Blanc massif through France, Italy, and Switzerland.

Three men stepped up to one of ultrarunning's most unforgiving stages — 174 km, over 9,700 meters of climbing, and a course that winds through three countries — and all three made it home. The winner did so with authority. Michael Sullivan, at 69 years old, crossed in 41:18:32, averaging 22:55 per mile through thin mountain air and 97% humidity. His gender place told the story of a measured, intelligent race: he moved from 963rd among men at the first checkpoint to 843rd at mid-race, then surged to 767th before the final push back to Chamonix — a genuine move forward on the course's hardest terrain. He also posted the 236th-fastest men's split on the Champex-Lac segment, a standout effort deep into the race when most legs are failing.

Behind him, the contest for 2nd and 3rd was a genuine fight. Christian Dees, 65, ran a relentless second half — climbing from 1,608th among men at the opening checkpoint all the way to 1,323rd by the finish, gaining ground steadily through the night and into the following day. His 516th-fastest men's split on Trient→Les Tseppes showed real late-race strength. Guido Pizzorno, 67, had the opposite arc: strong early (1,239th among men at the first check), he faded through the middle miles before steadying. His 970th-fastest men's split on Vallorcine Entrée→Vallorcine Sortie came in the race's closing kilometers, but Dees had already built an 18-minute cushion that held to the line.

Finishing UTMB at any age is a feat. Finishing it past 65, in over 41 hours of continuous mountain movement, is something else entirely. Sullivan, Dees, and Pizzorno each earned their place in Chamonix.