Author Archives: Doug Mayer

This past weekend, I took part in Europe’s first Running Up For Air event. It was held in my hometown of Chamonix, France. The goal of “RUFA” is to bring awareness to the issue of air quality. None of us can trail run without clean air, of course. And as the owner of a trail   Continue Reading →

This short interview with US trail runner Rickey Gates is an opportunity for me to finally give some credit where it’s due. So, a brief digression. It may be that there is no one person who has been more formative to trail running in the United States in recent years than Rickey Gates. That’s ironic,   Continue Reading →

Editor’s note: Mark Brightwell is a guide for Run the Alps. He grew up in suburban Hampshire – England’s gently rolling South. He served from 2005 to 2011 with the Royal Gurkha Rifles and was injured during the Iraq war. Trail running has since become an important part of his life: a way of experiencing   Continue Reading →

This coming trail-running season, Run the Alps is excited to be offering the Via Valais, a new multi-day, trail-running route developed by the team over at ALPSinsight. A new twist on the classic hiker’s Haute Route, the Via Valais focuses on the very best mountain running available in the region. Run the Alps has just   Continue Reading →

“The beauty is unparalleled, the trails are dreamy, and the peaks are inspiring, but what never leaves you is the spirit of the people.” That’s US ultra runner David Laney, who finished third in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 2015, sharing his thoughts about what makes trail racing in the Alps so special. (You can   Continue Reading →

“Still living the dream, are we?” Simon, arguably the funniest of our Run the Alps guides, shuffles out into the living room of our staff apartment in Chamonix, France. It’s 7:00 am on an August day last summer, and I’ve already been working for two hours. I sigh loudly. “Ah! There it is! The famous   Continue Reading →

Got plans this March? Join us for something new and totally different! For our first time ever, Run the Alps is offering a winter “Ski Mo” trip! You can check out trip details here. Based in Chamonix, France, our winter trip includes time training and learning Ski Mo skills with two of Europe’s best-known ski   Continue Reading →

Salut! Run the Alps is going on tour! Run the Alps is in the U.S., and we just might be coming to a town near you. Here’s the schedule! Bay Area, California Location: Tamalpie, 477 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley CA Date: Saturday, November 24, 5:30 pm (After the Quad Dipsea, of course!) What’s Happening: Join   Continue Reading →

It’s early morning in Chamonix, France, as I write this sentence. Outside, the streets are deserted. People like to say that Chamonix never stops, but when you live here, as I do now, you realize it stops twice a year, late fall and again in late spring. But especially now, when the nights are getting   Continue Reading →

For all intents and purposes, trail running season is fading away in Chamonix, as it is for much of the Alps. It starts in early summer with the Mont Blanc Marathon races, and slowly builds toward UTMB’s many events at the close of August. Then, as the first snows appear on the peaks above town,   Continue Reading →