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Journal · SportsUTMJ: housing a team between the starts and the Métabief finish
By Robin — your host · sources at the end · 12 July 2026 · updated 10 October 2026 · 2 min read · Our method
At the UTMJ, every race finishes in Métabief, while the starts are spread along the range. A team therefore needs one shared roof, handy for reaching a start as well as the finish. In Foncine-le-Bas, Jura 835 sleeps 6 to 8 people, about 40 min by road from Métabief.
The races and their starts
At the 2026 edition, held 1 to 4 October 2026, the UTMJ itself started in Lancrans for 175 km and 7,000 m of climbing. La Renarde started in Les Rousses, over 75 km, the CMM in Chapelle-des-Bois, over 40 km, and La Lynx at the source of the Doubs in Mouthe, over 20 km. All of them finished in Métabief. Check the next edition’s programme on the official race website before you book your accommodation.
Halfway between starts and finish
From the house, Mouthe is about 20 min away, Chapelle-des-Bois and Les Rousses 30 min, and the Métabief finish 40 min. These are route-planner times, without traffic or pre-race queues. A single crew car can drop a runner at the start, come back to sleep, then drive out to wait at the finish.
Runners and crew, together
An ultra is run as a team, even when only one person wears the bib. You need room for those who run and for those who follow them: aid stations, staggered sleep, recovery. Under one roof, everyone leaves and returns through the same door, meets at the same table, and nobody hunts for a teammate from hotel to hotel in the middle of the night.
After the finish line
After an ultra, the body counts every step. Here there are none: the house sits on a single level, from the door to the bed and from the bed to the shower. The kitchen follows the race rhythm, from the pre-race meal timed to the hour to a bowl of soup for whoever stays up. The next day, the trails from the doorstep are enough for legs that still want to turn.
The rest of the year
The same paths serve training weeks in summer and autumn alike. Many runners come to scout part of the terrain a few weeks before the race: long runs in the morning, recovery in the afternoon, and a last look at the closing section towards Métabief, to know what to expect when the legs are heavy. How such a week runs is set out in the trail training camp. In winter, the range switches sport: cross-country skiing takes over, as the Foncine-le-Haut nordic area shows.
The house, for a team
Jura 835 rents whole, never by the room: the rate is for the house, shared between runners and crew. The 3 bedrooms and the study let the crew sleep while the runner is out on the course. Send us the edition you are aiming for and how many people: the reply sets out what the house can offer those days.