After a long day of trail running along the lower flanks of Mont Blanc, through the charming medieval town of Courmayeur, Italy, our aching legs demanded that we surrender ourselves to the mountain of duvets that blanketed our bed. We slept for hours– enough so that in the morning, our stomachs growled at the thought   Continue Reading →

Guest Post by Paul Martin CCC, short for Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix, is sometimes referred to as UTMB®’s “Little Sister”– a 100 km trail race that runs over the second half of the UTMB® course, from Courmayeur, Italy to Champex, Switzerland and finishing in Chamonix, France.  In recent years, however, the CCC has come into its own, with a   Continue Reading →

Among the many events that make up the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc weekend in Chamonix is the PTL, or Petite Trotte à Léon. (The name is wink to PTL founder Leon Louvey, a longtime UTMB® volunteer based in Champex Lac, Switzerland.) The stats on the course are simply jaw-dropping: 300 kilometers long, with 25,000 meters of   Continue Reading →

Guest Article by Willie McBride, Columbia Montrail Athlete and co-founder/owner of Wy’east Wolfpack. Traveling to the Alps in Chamonix, France for the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® week is a very special experience, especially for trail runners from the United States. It’s like going to the Super Bowl– after only watching high school football. The sheer energy,   Continue Reading →

It’s the big Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® week here in Chamonix, France, and the town has come alive with tens of thousands of trail runners and friends. It’s an exciting time to be here in the home of Run the Alps. There are events all over town throughout the week, and Run the Alps is pleased   Continue Reading →

Home to hundreds of kilometers of single track trails, vertiginous climbs, cozy mountain huts, and Europe’s premier trail races, Chamonix, France really is the world’s trail running capital. But, what to do when you’re in town… but not racing? Run the Alps polled our guides, staff, and other trail running friends in the valley to   Continue Reading →

Our adventure continues as we learn more about “Mad Max” Romey. If you missed the first part of our story, you can find it here and read more about the wild character that is Salomon Trail Running’s film maker, Max Romey. **** We were able to find beautiful surroundings in which Max could immerse himself   Continue Reading →

We stood, awestruck, as we watched a madman sprinting full-speed down a mountain, on a collision course with a massive ice block high in the Swiss Alps. Our cameras were out and ready to film this stunt go—we could only assume—terribly awry. His GoPro was stuffed in his mouth to record the moment from his   Continue Reading →

The packing list for the UYN Vertical Courmayeur Mont Blanc Trail Race: Running shoes; check. Sunglasses; check. Running vest; check. Climbing helmet… Check?! The northern Alps village of Courmayeur, at the base of Mont Blanc, recently hosted one of the more outrageous trail running races in the Alps: the UYN Vertical Courmayeur Mont Blanc. The   Continue Reading →

In June, Run the Alps’ friend David Loutzenheiser visited the Dolomites mountains of northern Italy and took part in the Dolomiti Extreme race. David found an enthusiastic community and a warm welcome and, after running his 53km race, he had the chance to meet with race directors Paolo Franchi and Corrado De Rocco. He found   Continue Reading →