Author Archives: Doug Mayer

Together, these two sets of changes have given me peace of mind that we can offer trips that are as flexible as possible, and as safe as possible.

This past summer was unlike any other– many trips and events in our trail running world were cancelled or rescheduled due to the Covid-19 virus. But, when doors close, others open. That was certainly the case with this next story. Three member of Run the Alps– Founder Doug Mayer, Tour Manager Steph Lefferts, and Ambassador   Continue Reading →

Sierre-Zinal is one of the world’s great trail races. Starting in Switzerland’s famous Rhône valley, the course climbs steeply out of the valley for 1800 meters, then rolls along a striking ridge, with views of five glacier-covered 4,000-meter peaks, before ending in the quiet end-of-the-line village of Zinal, not far from the Italian border. Now   Continue Reading →

It has been, by any measure, a year of instability and change for the world. Run the Alps has not been unaffected. We’ve responded by researching and launching a number of new initiatives—more on that, right here, soon. Like you, I am sure, I’ve found it unsettling. My inner autopilot has sought out the familiar,   Continue Reading →

Here in the Alps, as elsewhere in the world, Covid-19 has disrupted plans. For Run the Alps, we opted early in the spring to cancel all our guided trips— now is a time for all of us to travel a bit less, and do our part to minimize the global pandemic. As I look back   Continue Reading →

The Ultraks trail races in Zermatt, Switzerland, launched in 2012, quickly established themselves as one of the marquee series of races in the Alps.  Taking place in late August, Matterhorn Ultraks features six courses ranging from a 900-meter long kid’s run to a tough 49 km Skyrace, all in the famously beautiful Zermatt valley. (The   Continue Reading →

As the founder of Run the Alps, I take feedback from our guests seriously. So, when we started consistently getting reviews that mentioned we should have a Director of Hospitality, I took note. We made recruiting strong candidates a top priority. Despite the challenges that Covid has thrown every international tour company this year, at   Continue Reading →

Here’s a fact about Run the Alps you might not know: In addition to working and guiding together, we’re a pretty close group of friends. In our free time, we trail run together, climb together, have coffee together at Moody Coffee Roaster and beers together at Big Mountain Brewing. Now, one of us needs a   Continue Reading →

Whether you’re looking for a trail running guide in Switzerland’s Berner Oberland, the Dolomites, or France’s Chamonix valley, Run the Alps can now help. We’ve just launched our new trail running guide service– you can check it out, right here.   Our new booking service came from the steady drumbeat of emails we’ve received over   Continue Reading →

Not long ago, I was working with Troy Haines, the founder of Run the Alps’ partners, Alpinehikers, when he posed the question, “If you had an entire month, and you could plan any trail running trip in the Alps you wanted, where would you go and what would you do?” It was a tantalizing question.   Continue Reading →