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Apr 4, 2015
Doug Mayer

The Elk Mountain Grand Traverse: Not the Alps. Not Trail Running, Either.

A rowdy midnight start amid 400 glowing headlamps. Dozens of miles of wintry, Colorado backcountry. Wildly enthusiastic volunteers placed strategically at high passes and deep in the forest. Reclining with beers in lawn chairs at the sunny Aspen finish. The Elk Mountain Grand Traverse has got to be, hands down, one of the most remarkable

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Feb 7, 2015
Doug Mayer

Interview: Matthieu Girard, Race Director, Trail Verbier-St Bernard

Much like in the US, trail running and trail racing continues to grow and develop in the Alps. One of the most impressive new events is the Ultra Trail Verbier-St.Bernard, or TVSB, which is really three-races-in-one– a 111-km “X-Alpine” course, a 61-km “Traversée,” and a 29-km run between the villages of Liddes and Verbier. (The

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Dec 28, 2014
Doug Mayer

Racing a Vertical Kilometer. Times Two. At Age Eighty.

As we head into 2015, and I look back on this past season of trail running in the Alps, it’s often the people who come to mind as much as the mountains and the trails. And, top among those people this year was someone who has run over 375 races in the last three decades, René Pletschet. By itself,

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Nov 23, 2014
Doug Mayer

Last Race of the Season: La Dérupe

Warning: Trail running in the Alps can be infectious! We’re pleased to share this guest race report from Nate Moore, husband of Run the Alps’ Heddi Nieuwsma. We see more races with twenty-degree slopes in Nate’s future.  After a long hiatus since moving to Switzerland in 2012, I started trail running again about a year and a

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Nov 9, 2014
Doug Mayer

Adidas Ultra Runner Brian Tinder on Running Europe’s Oldest Trail Race

As we look back on a great season trail running in the Alps, here’s part two of our interview with Adidas Ultra runner Brian Tinder, in which we talk about his second-place finish in Europe’s oldest mountain race, the Trail des Dents du Midi. The race takes place each September in the mountain town of Champéry, at one

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