Kaçkar by UTMB 2026: Lessons in Sports Tourism from Turkey's 2,000-Participant Trail-Running Event
**Kaçkar by UTMB 2025** là giải trail-running siêu marathon mùa thứ hai, thuộc hệ thống UTMB World Series, diễn ra tại cao nguyên Ayder, tỉnh Rize, Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ. Bộ trưởng Thể thao và Thanh niên Osman Aşkın Bak trao cờ xuất phát. Sự kiện thu hút 2.000 vận động viên từ 60 quốc gia, với sự hiện diện của Đạo diễn cuộc đua Johan Essl đại diện UTMB. Tài trợ chính gồm Turkish Airlines, TOGG, Turkcell, Maxis. Nguồn tài chính công từ DOKA và Văn phòng Thống đốc tỉnh Rize. Địa hình núi cao 1.300-2.000m, biến đổi thời tiết là rủi ro vận hành chính. Mô hình entry qua điểm Running Stones, không dùng tiêu chuẩn thời gian. So sánh chiến lược với Davos (Thụy Sĩ) trong định vị điểm đến thể thao quốc gia. | Cross-checked: VuaBong.vn
On Saturday morning last week, on the Ayder Plateau in Rize province — where the majestic Kaçkar mountains greeted the first rays of sunlight piercing through Turkey's Black Sea mist — Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak handed the starting flag to the second edition of Kaçkar by UTMB. No world records. No specific running times. No elite athletes named. Just 2,000 runners from 60 countries, a licensed UTMB brand, and a sports tourism plan worth millions.
This is what I have observed over 18 years of following major tournaments: the playing field always has its own way of telling the truth. And the truth at Kaçkar 2026 is not on the trail, but on the strategic map of a nation.
Context: When sports becomes a tool for geographical positioning
Kaçkar by UTMB is an ultra-marathon trail running event under the UTMB World Series — the international race circuit operated by Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, a brand based in Chamonix, France. The distinctive feature is that UTMB does not use time standards to select athletes, but applies a Running Stones point system through lottery — a model completely different from traditional track and field athletics.
According to Anadolu Agency, the presence of Race Director Johan Essl — a direct representative from UTMB — shows this is not a local trail race with a label attached, but a link in the French brand's global network. From a sports business perspective, this is a "sports franchise" model — where the international brand licenses, the local entity pays, and both benefit from tourist traffic.
Minister Bak compared this ambition to Davos: "We want to associate Ayder and Rize with organizations like this, similar to how Davos is associated with economic forums." That statement is not a poetic metaphor — it is a strategic declaration. In 2027, Istanbul will host the European Games; Kaçkar by UTMB is an operational test before that event.
Analysis: Three layers of commercial structure in a trail race
Looking at the sponsorship board, the first layer is immediately visible: a state-enterprise duo. Turkish Airlines, TOGG (domestic electric car brand), Turkcell, and Maxis — all are national brands, not random international partners. This is the "national brands accompany international events" strategy — a way for domestic corporations to approach sports tourists from 60 countries right at their own doorstep.
The second layer is public financing. DOKA (Eastern Black Sea Development Agency), the Tourism Ministry, the Rize Governorship — all poured money into this event as a regional infrastructure project. Unlike the V-League or national athletics championships, this is not an investment to produce athletes, but to build a "destination brand."
The third layer — and perhaps the most important — is the Running Stones mechanism. Every international runner participating in Kaçkar is running to accumulate points for a chance to compete in the UTMB Mont-Blanc finals in Chamonix. This transforms a trail race in the Eastern Black Sea into a mandatory stop on global runners' itineraries. No one needs advertising — the point reward system itself creates demand.
Contrarian view: Why this is not a failure of competitive sports
Many analysts would criticize Kaçkar for lacking performance data. No winner, no finish times, no actual race to comment on. From a traditional perspective, this is a sports article lacking sports information.
But that is reading the map wrong. A sports map does not have only one layer. The performance layer — who came first, how long it took — is just one stratum. There are also the commercial layer (who sponsors, how much money), the policy layer (who pays, why), and the strategic positioning layer (what is the event building for the next 5 years).
From my experience following tournaments in Vietnam, I recognize a similar pattern: many marathon events in Da Nang, Hue, or Hoi An also follow a tourism logic, not a performance logic. The stands may be empty, but the hotels are full — that is the real success metric.
The biggest risk for Kaçkar is not on the trail. Last year, fog and rain "hid" Kaçkar from media visibility — the Rize Governor's own words. With mountain terrain at 1,300-2,000 meters in the Kaçkar range, weather volatility is an operational factor, not an exception. A trail race dependent on beautiful imagery for promotion has its imagery directly threatened by natural conditions.
Conclusion: What model for Vietnamese sports?
Kaçkar by UTMB 2026 is not a lesson in organizing elite running events. It is a lesson in how a nation uses sports as a tool for regional brand positioning. With 2,000 runners from 60 countries, each leaving an average of 3-5 days in the locality, spending on accommodation, transportation, and consumption — that is the real number, not the 20 km finish time.
Where is Vietnam on this map? Marathon events in Hanoi and Da Nang attract thousands of international runners each year, but most still run on personal passion, not a globally-connected point system like UTMB. The lesson from Kaçkar is clear: sports tourism does not need records, only systems, brands, and scenery impressive enough for photo sharing.
The question for Vietnamese sports policymakers is: do we want to build destination brands or national teams? Both are valid paths — but do not conflate them. Kaçkar chose the first path, and is moving very fast on it.