Category Archives: Races

We’re pleased to share this story from Run the Alps Ambassador David Laney. David was Ultrarunner magazine’s 2015 Ultrarunner of the Year, and has finished third place (2015) and fourth place (2016) in the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. This short piece is the foreword to a new Run the Alps publication, the Guide to Trail   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 →

Editor’s Note: A long-time competitive trail runner from San Rafael, California, Victor Ballesteros ran Italy’s Tor Des Géants this past summer. “TDG” is, in many respects, beyond comprehension. The 330km race starts and finishes in Courmayeur, on the south side of Mont Blanc. It includes over 80,000 feet of climbing and descending. Victor is no   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 →

Recently, US trail runner David Laney and I had a chance to visit with the organizing committee of Trail Verbier St-Bernard. “TVSB,” as it’s known, is one of the great trail races in the Alps. In fact, it’s not just one race but four, high in the beautiful Valais canton, often meandering along or near Switzerland’s   Continue Reading →

At some time unknown, the 31km Alps trail race known as Sierre-Zinal slipped into my subconscious as a special event. It was one not to lose track of, a race to do one day, a bit like an exceptional mountain to climb. But I wasn’t really sure why. The race is located in the Southern   Continue Reading →

This summer, Run the Alps added a new position to our list of seasonal crew – intern and staff writer. Julia Maxwell, a recent graduate of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calfornia, joined us in Chamonix in June and will be staying through the end of August. Julia splits her time between Run the Alps   Continue Reading →

After four days of trail running from Courmayeur, Italy to Chamonix, France, on a guided Run the Alps trip, Run the Alps guest Albert Marino finished 36th in the Mont Blanc 23km trail race. This year was the 40th running of the competitive event, formerly known as the Cross du Mont Blanc. The race is   Continue Reading →

“Il est temps pour la fête! – It is time for the festival!” bellowed Olivier, one of the volunteer coordinators for Chamonix’s Marathon Du Mont Blanc. It was 10am on a Sunday morning, and we were stationed at the top of the Planpraz lift, on a high balcony just below the Aiguilles Rouges range, the   Continue Reading →

Yes, you do. For many of our guests and friends, the fact that you need a signed medical certificate from a doctor in order to trail race is a real surprise. In the US and elsewhere, most of us are simply used to suffering a bout of dubious judgement – usually concluding with, “Oh, sure,   Continue Reading →