ITRA vs UTMB: What's the Difference Between the Two Systems?

You want to enter the UTMB but don’t understand the difference between your ITRA points and your UTMB index? Wondering what Running Stones are? You’re not alone — it’s one of the questions I get asked most often. In this article, I’ll untangle everything, simply.

What is ITRA?

ITRA is the International Trail Running Association — the global governing body for trail running. They’ve created two tools you’ll see on your profile: the Race Score and the ITRA Performance Index.

The Race Score

This is a grade between 0 and 1000 that you receive after each trail you complete. The score measures your performance taking into account:

• distance
• elevation gain
• average altitude
• weather conditions
• terrain type

In practice: if you run a 20km with 1000m of elevation in ideal conditions and finish in 3h05, you get a score. If the following year you run the same course in rain and mud and finish in 3h15, you might receive exactly the same score — because the conditions were harder.

What doesn’t affect your score:

• your position in the race
• your age or gender
• the number of DNFs

It’s purely a measure of your speed against the conditions of the race.

The ITRA Performance Index

This is the weighted average of your best scores. It summarises your overall level as a trail runner. The higher it is, the more accomplished you are.

ITRA Points (Endurance Points)

Don’t confuse the Race Score with ITRA Points — also called endurance points. This is a third tool, different again.

ITRA Points run from 0 to 6. Everyone who finishes a race receives the same number of points: they don’t measure your speed, they measure the effort required based on the race’s distance and elevation.

Some examples:

• A 10km with no elevation = 0 points
• A 100km ultra with significant elevation = 6 points

It’s a way of quantifying the physical commitment of a race, not your performance.

Summary of the 3 ITRA Tools

Tool	What it measures	Scale	Same for everyone?
Race Score	Your performance on a specific race	0 to 1000	No (depends on your result)
Performance Index	Your overall level	0 to 1000	No (depends on your result)
Endurance Points	The difficulty of the race	0 to 6	Yes (depends on the race)

These ITRA endurance points are NOT used to enter the UTMB. This is the most common misconception.

What is the UTMB Index?

The UTMB World Series is the global circuit leading to the iconic races in Chamonix: the UTMB, the CCC and the OCC.

To enter these races you need a UTMB Index. And this is a completely different system from ITRA.

The UTMB Index also measures your performance on a similar scale — but it’s calculated solely from UTMB World Series-labelled races. Not any trail race — only official races that are part of the circuit.

To have a valid UTMB Index you need to:

• have finished at least one labelled race in the last 24 months
• the calculation uses your 5 best results from the last 36 months, with weighting: your best result counts more, and recent results count more than older ones

If you have ITRA points, they’re of no direct use for entering the UTMB.

Running Stones

What is a Running Stone?

A Running Stone is simple: it’s a lottery ticket to participate in the UTMB, CCC or OCC in Chamonix.

To enter the lottery:

• you need at least 1 Running Stone earned in the last 24 months
• each additional Running Stone gives you one more chance of being drawn
• they don’t expire — they accumulate

How to earn them

By completing a race in one of the 4 flagship categories at UTMB World Series events:

• 20K
• 50K
• 100K
• 100 Miles

There are more than 50 events spread across every continent (Europe, Asia, Americas, Africa, Oceania). You have plenty of opportunities to earn them close to home.

Full Comparison Table

	ITRA Points	ITRA Perf. Index	UTMB Index
Who manages it?	ITRA	ITRA	UTMB World Series
What’s it for?	Quantify a race’s difficulty	Measure your overall level	Enter UTMB races
Scale	0 to 6	0 to 1000	0 to 1000
Same for all?	✅ Yes (per race)	❌ No (per result)	❌ No (per result)
Races counted	All ITRA races	All ITRA races	UTMB WS races only
Running Stones	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes

Two parallel systems, two different objectives. ITRA measures your level as a trail runner. UTMB manages access to its own races.

Key Takeaways

If your goal is to run the UTMB one day, start by running labelled UTMB World Series events to accumulate Running Stones and build your UTMB Index.

If you simply want to improve and compare yourself with other trail runners worldwide, the ITRA Performance Index is your tool.

---

Official resources:

• ITRA — International Trail Running Association
• UTMB World Series