Finland-based Suunto has teamed up with UTMB World Series in a partnership that “will see the two companies work together to contribute to the positive development of trail running and help individual runners reach their goals.”

While supporting the trail running community is a hugely positive thing, aspects of the wording from Suunto’s announcement brought added excitement — it appeared that there would be unique UTMB mapping features delivered to Suunto’s flagship watches. A statement from the wearable manufacturer referenced “intuitive” maps that would be available on the Race and Vertical for all 41 UTMB World Series events, which are primarily in Europe and North America, with a handful of races also on other continents.

“Athletes with a Suunto Vertical or Suunto Race watch can download intuitive GPS maps in three different map styles with important landmarks, contour lines, water, paths and different sorts of terrain highlighted. Maps are available for each UTMB World Series Event, whether you are running the 100K CCC in the European Alps, the 50K Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB in California, the 100M Black River Peak race in the sugarcane fields for Mauritius by UTMB … or any other race of the circuit,” Suunto said.

However, special navigation tools linked to UTMB aren’t available just yet. In an email to ActionHub, Suunto said, “At the moment, it is simply highlighting our mapping features on watches like Vertical and Race, but as the partnership evolves, we plan to have more available, including a potential route library for UTMB World Series events, and of course the potential for tie-ins of other existing or future Suunto Apps/Guides, plus more to come.”

Currently among Suunto Guides — found in the App and downloadable to the watch — are race plans for non-UTMB events such as the K-Way Skyrun, Cultra Cameron Ultra, Stranda Fjord and Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival.

But navigation isn’t the only major talking point that has come out of this partnership, as the timing for the North American market may be viewed with particular interest. The Suunto Vertical, which has a MIP screen, and the Suunto Race, featuring an AMOLED display, were released in 2023 and received a significant amount of praise from reviewers and users, with many calling it a return to form for the brand with a storied outdoors history that dates back to 1936.

UTMB has been in the news a lot the past few months, too, but usually for the wrong reasons. A blog post last fall from Gary Robbins, race director for Whistler Alpine Meadows, who had to let go of one of his races only to see UTMB swoop in and create its own event, sparked a renewed frenzy of animosity and frank discussion about the commercialization and corporate growth of trail running — with UTMB painted by many as the “big bad” in this situation.

Still, for a smaller but reputable sportwatch maker such as Suunto, the new partnership is an opportunity to extend its visibility significantly. UTMB hosted 120,000 runners globally last year across 23 countries. The race series’ main week, which takes place in August in Chamonix, France, involves eight races of varying distances and more than 10,000 runners. It’s at a scale that isn’t ever really seen in trail and ultrarunning in the U.S. or Canada and one that impacts the dynamic of how runners from different regions will view this partnership.

“We firmly believe that collaboration empowers companies, communities, and individuals to evolve. It fosters relationship-building, innovation, and effective problem-solving,” said Hannu Korpivaara, Suunto brand and marketing director. “We are honored to partner with the UTMB World Series and to connect with all the runners out there. Together, we aim to contribute to the positive development of trail running and help individual runners reach their goals.”

Suunto is certainly no stranger to this space. Not only has the brand been a past sponsor of the elite Golden Trail series in Europe, but Suunto athletes have a legacy of performing well in UTMB races: Courtney Dauwalter, Francois D’Haene, and Pau Capell have been among UTMB Mont Blanc’s winners. A runner up from that race, American Zac Miller, has also recently showcased on Instagram that is now in the Suunto fold.

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Correction: This article has been updated to better reflect the mapping component from the partnership announcement.