Kaçkar by UTMB 2026: When Turkey Bets on Sports Tourism Through Mountain Trails

On the morning of August 13, 2026, at the Ayder Plateau in Rize province along Turkey's Eastern Black Sea coast, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak cut the ribbon to start the second edition of the Kaçkar by UTMB ultra-trail race. 2,000 athletes from 60 countries set off on the distinctive mountain trails of the Kaçkar range, at elevations ranging from 1,300 to 2,000 meters above sea level. This is not a purely competitive event. This is a large-scale bidding portfolio by the Ankara government for the ambition to transform the Eastern Black Sea region into an international sports tourism destination. After 5 years of tracking ultra-trail races worldwide, I recognize an unspoken pattern: state-backed events typically carry two layers of narrative. The first is the glamour — 60 countries, 2,000 athletes, the minister present to cut the ribbon. The second, rarely discussed, is the substance behind those numbers. For Kaçkar by UTMB, this analysis aims to uncover both layers. Kaçkar by UTMB is part of the UTMB World Series — a global ultra-trail circuit culminating annually in Chamonix, France. What distinguishes UTMB World Series is not time-based qualifying standards but the Running Stones mechanism — points accumulated through races that increase lottery weight for entry to the Mont-Blanc finals. This is the primary reason UTMB events attract international athletes, not opportunities to break world records (trail running has no ratified world records). The race director Johan Essl, a direct UTMB official, was present at the venue — a signal that this is not a standalone local race but a node within a global brand network. The 20 km distance was confirmed, with implications of multiple distance categories, typical of UTMB-series events. Three pillars define Kaçkar by UTMB: competitively, the event provides virtually no performance data — no winner, no finish times, no elite start list. The two individuals named in the article are journalists or officials running the 20 km as symbolic participation, not genuine competition. The minister's statement that "ultra-marathon runners are world-class athletes with massive followings" is political rhetoric, not evidence of the event's actual competitive quality. Commercially, this is a national-scale sponsorship alliance: Turkish Airlines, electric vehicle manufacturer TOGG, telecom provider Turkcell, and Maxis — all leading Turkish brands. Behind them stands the state apparatus: the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency, Rize Governorship, and DOKA (Eastern Black Sea Development Agency). DOKA, a public development funding agency, suggests the event's primary capital comes from public budgets rather than free markets. Strategically, the minister compared his ambition to Davos — "we want to associate Ayder and Rize with such international organizations, just as Davos is associated with the World Economic Forum." This is clear place-branding: instead of competing on performance (no one can compete with UTMB Chamonix), Turkey chose to compete on space — transforming a mountain region into a global trail runner destination. The blind spot in this strategy lies in sustainability. A model dependent on a single event with public financing as the dominant source is fragile. If government budgets shift, if DOKA cuts investment, if Turkish Airlines changes its sponsorship strategy — the entire system could waver. No competitor dependent on a single funding source can call itself a "sustainable brand." Another risk factor: the Rize Governor himself openly noted that last year, Kaçkar was "hidden in fog and rain." The unpredictable Black Sea mountain climate with sudden downpours directly threatens the event's image value. The minister said "images broadcast from here will be very beautiful" — but an ultra-trail cancelled by bad weather cannot produce beautiful images. For Vietnam, Kaçkar by UTMB raises a thought-provoking question: what model are we pursuing? Turkey chose a different path — not trying to become a trail running powerhouse, but becoming a destination for global trail runners. Vietnam, with diverse mountainous terrain from Moc Chau to Da Lat, from Sapa to Phong Nha, has similar potential. But the question is: do we want an "imported" brand like UTMB, or a distinctly Vietnamese ecosystem? Every choice carries its price. Importing brands brings immediate traffic but creates dependence on external management. Building our own brand requires longer time but creates more sustainable value. Turkey is betting on the first path. Vietnam is still searching for its own.