The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, commonly known as UTMB, will also be staged in the Sultanate of Oman. The new 137-km trail running race will involve 300 participants from various countries, starting next Nov. 29, at a time of the year when temperatures reach a maximum of 25 degrees Celsius. Like the new Chinese version of the UTMB in Gaolingong, which saw 1,900 participants from 24 countries on March 9-11, the event in Oman is sponsored by UTMB International, which is aiming for the organization of the best trail running competition under the UTMB label in all five continents over the next ten years. The 16th edition of the original UTMB, which is scheduled to depart in Chamonix on Aug. 27, will have for the first time runners from 100 countries. The largest contingent of non-European participants – a total of 385 - will come from China. According to the organizers, China has 14 million runners and 1,400 trail running events.