Category Archives: Roots

The Swiss Alps 100 takes place in Fiesch, a Swiss ski town near Brig, that’s below the Aletsch Glacier. The event is a festival of trail running with many different challenges for mountain athletes.

While small in size, races like Argentrail have everything you would find at a bigger event: a giant blow-up start line, a well-marked route with stocked aid stations, photographers and crowds cheering along the route, and wrapped up with an award ceremony and prizes.

Taking place near to the Grand St Bernard pass, at the southern tip of the Valais canton, the Trail du Vélan is one of the longest-running trail races in the Alps. The local support and pride in the race is clear, and not surprising given the poignant story behind its creation.

The Montée du Nid d’Aigle, a near 20 km uphill-only lung-buster of a trail race, rises 2000m into the sky where the sun melts you and the oxygen in the air deserts you faster than that New Year’s gym-going resolution.

Trail des Dents du Midi’s full loop is now sold out for 2019– the earliest ever for the race. However, Run the Alps has access to entries as part of our September Chamonix-Champéry guided trip. You can read more about the trip, and race options, here. (And some spaces still remain for the Dents du   Continue Reading →

Several of the world’s most famous trail-running events take place in Chamonix, France. At each race, an army of volunteers ensures everything runs smoothly, and hundreds if not thousands of supporters cheer on competitors. But one supporter stands out from the rest: Robert Etellin. Etellin has been involved in the Chamonix trail running scene for   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 →

Yesterday, Run the Alps Senior Guide Simon Conroy and I ran from Courmayeur, Italy to Chamonix, France, along the second half of the Tour du Mont-Blanc. The route we chose was 85 km with about 4,300 meters of climbing. I’m getting ready for a certain trail race in a few weeks.  Here’s how I fueled:   Continue Reading →

I had been trail running for five hours. Well, the truth is, I hadn’t run much at all. While scoping out a route for a trail-running book project, I was supposed to be running, but rain, dense fog, and wind were conspiring to make the day challenging. Anticipating a thunderstorm for hours, I felt lucky   Continue Reading →

As I’ve been over here laying the groundwork for this new, small venture, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about my life with the show Car Talk that airs on National Public Radio.  I’ve worked for Car Talk since 1995—nearly 20 years. It’s my job, but has always been much more. In that sense, I feel lucky.   Continue Reading →