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On the morning of August 8th, 1897, ten guides from Chamonix’s Compagnie des Guides gathered next to the Saint Michel church. Their objective? A mountain race up and down the Brévent. It was, as far as historians can tell, Chamonix’s first trail race. The route, according to Chamonix’s Blog de Christine, went via Les Moussoux,   Continue Reading →

Since last March, I’ve heard that phrase a lot. “I’ll come out and visit you… when things get back to normal.” “I’ll make those plans… when things get back to normal.” Normal, however, was just a daydream amid a steady drumbeat of difficult news. 2020 has been a year that has tested all of us.   Continue Reading →

As much as we love running the flowy alpine trails of the Alps, stopping along the way at a high mountain hut for a delicious treat is — we confess —  a big part of why we love to trail run here.  All this winter, we’ll be bringing a little bit of that Alps mountain culture home   Continue Reading →

We’re ridiculously proud of our guides here at Run the Alps. Each of them is a highly skilled trail runner, with a deep knowledge of the trail running scene here in the Alps. They’re also simply wonderful people who are fun to spend time with on and off the trails.  There’s something else each of them has   Continue Reading →

Got someone with a little Alps trail running problem on your holiday list? Or, maybe you just want to bring a little bit of the Alps trail running scene home for the holidays? We’ve polled Run the Alps staff and friends for their favorite Alps trail running gift suggestions. Some of these items can be   Continue Reading →

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 →