FAQ

If you'd rather avoid planning, navigating and being self-sufficient in the mountains whatever the weather, a guided trip would be best. You'll have one or two trail running guides who'll share their knowledge about local languages and customs, as well as being expert trail runners. As qualified mountain leaders, they'll ensure your safety and also point out wildlife, mountain peaks and historic sights. There are some options to go at your own pace by running ahead to a certain point or taking a variant, but normally the group moves together.

If you prefer to travel solo or with your own companions, always at your own pace, a self-guided tour would suit you. You should be reasonably confident in following trail descriptions and handling the challenges of trail running in a mountainous environment. Dates are flexible, based on your needs, and you can run in one region, or several – it’s your decision. Check out this blog post for more info.

That’s largely up to you! We offer tours with different levels of difficulty, as explained in our Grading System. Usually there’s no rush, and you can fast-hike many of the routes, or test your mettle against the verticality of the Alps, and arrive early for lunch at the next hut. But remember that the Alps are steep, and the trails are often technical, so you’ll normally be covering fewer miles in a day than you are used to. You can see how we grade our tours here. 

Don’t worry– it’s the most common concern we get!  

On our guided trips, no one is expected to “keep up” at all costs. Groups naturally spread out, guides manage pacing, and the culture is supportive rather than competitive. The goal is a shared mountain experience, not a race. 

Run the Alps offers a range of trips, so you can find one that suits your needs. Choosing the right trip level is important for both your enjoyment and the group dynamic. We provide tour ratings for every trip, and are happy to help you select the option that best matches your fitness and experience. When needed, we work to accommodate individual pacing so no one feels pressured. Read our blog Every Trail Runner’s Biggest Fear: Keeping Up With the Group to learn more.

A good place to start is Run the Alps Trip Grading System - a guide to finding the trip that’s right for you. You can also contact us before booking to help you select the most rewarding experience for you.

Good question! It depends on the difficulty of the tour you choose, but in general, you’ll get the most enjoyment out of a trail running vacation in the Alps if you are a regular runner, and don’t mind an hour of steep uphill hiking or running. If you’re planning to run a trail race, it’s helpful to have run at least one comparable trail race elsewhere. Prior mountain experience, such as hiking trips, backcountry skiing, or climbing are certainly helpful, too! There's more info on how we grade our tours here.

No. Run the Alps trips are designed for a range of paces. Walking uphill, hiking technical sections, and taking breaks are all normal and expected. On guided trips our guides work to keep the group supported and moving together whenever possible.

The simplest way to train is to crank up the angle on the treadmill at your gym, or start going up some hills. Need distraction? Study a few simple phrases of  French or German. 

If you think you might benefit from a little extra help, we’ve got plenty of resources for you. In our Training for Trail Running in the Alps section, we recommend a few coaches and apps, plus share our own training blogs and videos.

Yes! Non trail runnering friends and partners are welcome to share the experience of being in the Alps. While our primary focus is always on creating an outstanding trail running adventure, we can accommodate others who might be interested in a different approach to the trip. Read about the options we offer for sharing your Run the Alps trip on our blog.

We constantly develop and produce some of the best support materials in the business, such as our 60 page Guide to Trail Running in the Alps - every guest receives this, and Run the Alps Aid Station documents, to help get your trip off to a great start. We hire the best trail running guides available and invest in their training. We use top local suppliers, staying in a select number of carefully-vetted high quality hotels, avoiding dormitory spaces. From our year-‘round base in Chamonix, we can provide you with 24/7 support. Please compare tour offerings carefully!

Yes, we love welcoming our alumni back to the Alps and offer a 10% discount on all standard Run the Alps trips. Simply check the alumnus box on the registration form and we'll apply the discount when we invoice you. Please note, this discount is for alums only, it cannot be shared with non-alums and does not apply to trips with guest runners.

We do! When we create tours for a group of five or more self-guided guests, there is an opportunity for some savings and we’re pleased to pass them on to you! If you’d like to explore your options, please get in touch.

Run the Alps is committed to making our trips more inclusive and is offering grants to help people from historically underrepresented and excluded communities - including, but not limited to, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, adaptive athletes and those facing socio economic barriers - join our trips. You can learn more and apply here.

Run the Alps trip pricing is based on a double-occupancy room. However, if you’re a single traveler and prefer your own space, the single supplement fee covers the cost of upgrading to private rooms where possible. On some trips—notably our Tour du Mont-Blanc trail run—it’s not always possible to secure a private room at the smaller mountain inns. In the Alps, innkeepers will generally not allow an individual to pay for a double room and use it as a single, preferring to fill their inn and make the best use of the limited space. On our Tour du Mont Blanc run, therefore, the single supplement only guarantees a private room in Chamonix at the start and finish, and in Courmayeur, Italy. Where possible, we will work to secure one of the few single rooms at the remote mountain inns. If you are traveling alone and would like to share a room with another trail runner, we will do everything we can to match you up with another traveller in either a single-gender or mixed-gender room, according to your preference. If that is not possible, however, the single supplement will apply.

Yes—Run the Alps requires travel insurance. When you register for your Run the Alps trip, you have the option to waive our trip insurance requirement. If you choose this option, you acknowledge that you read and understand Run the Alps' terms and conditions and that exceptions are never granted to our refund schedule. 

Each year, we have some guests who have to cancel for various life reasons: injury, work changes, or other personal life events. 

Because of fixed costs, we cannot grant waivers to be more generous than the sliding scale offered in our terms and conditions. Travel insurance will help you in the event that you have to cancel your trip for reasons outside your control. 

You can use any company you like for your trip insurance. To help get you started, we’ve researched a lot of travel-insurance programs. And we’ve partnered with the most reputable company we can find: IMG, the International Medical Group. IMG offers several levels of travel insurance, from basic to comprehensive. IMG’s services also come with additional offerings such as lost-luggage reimbursement, lost-passport assistance, emergency cash transfers, and more.

We’ve answered some common questions about travel insurance here.

Tipping is less important in Europe than it is in much of the rest of the world. In general, you could tip around 5-10% of your bill, or simply round up. For example, paying 40 euros for a meal that cost 36 euros is entirely reasonable.

If your Run the Alps guide did a great job, please consider a tip for him or her, too! About 5% of your tour cost per guide is a reasonable rule of thumb, but any tip or gift will be greatly appreciated.

Yes, we can accommodate nearly all dietary needs, including allergies, intolerances, and personal preferences, but it’s important you let us know before your trip starts. Your preferences will be communicated to the hotels and huts along your route, and cannot be changed during your trip. At restaurants without set menus, you'll be able to select what you like.

In the past, the Alps eateries were known for being a bit unfriendly about food preferences, but these days, it’s becoming more common to adapt to different dietary needs. Still, options are likely to be limited compared to what you might expect at home. 

You may wish to supplement in areas you are specifically concerned about; for example, if you are vegetarian or vegan, you may want to bring additional sources of protein.

You can read more about eating in the Alps for a specific diet on our blog: Eat Your Way Around the Alps: Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten-Free.

Generally, we don't stop for heavy lunches during a trail running day. Our guides will purchase a variety of snacks to share out at the start of the day. We’ll do our best to match the desires of the group with what’s available locally, but many brands familiar to trail runners in other countries are not available in the Alps. We’ll have chocolate, nuts, chips, energy bars, and other foods along for us to choose from each day. If you have a specific brand that works well for you, we’d suggest you bring enough with you for the duration of the trip. We’ll also stop at huts and mountain inns, en route, if you find yourself in need of something more substantial, or would like a treat during the trail run.

Absolutely! Here’s a serious point: Pretty much everyone walks up the hills in the Alps - including the Pros! Also, we’re not competitive. Trail running for us is about personal accomplishment, the pleasure of being in the mountains with friends, the joy of working hard in a beautiful setting… and enjoying a few luxuries after the run. If you’re into running as fast as you can, go for it—we’ll see you at the hut!

Some trips offer flexibility such as lifts, trains, buses, road access, or shorter route options. Others, especially point-to-point or high-alpine traverses, are more committing. Trip descriptions will indicate when flexibility is limited, and our team can help you choose an itinerary that matches your needs.

On many trips, yes. On continuous point-to-point routes (such as full traverses), rest days can be harder to accommodate due to logistics. You may want to consider another trip option if you think that is likely to be necessary. Our guides will always prioritize safety and smart decision-making.

Most trips involve mountain trail running and hiking on uneven, rocky, and/or steep terrain. Some routes include narrow paths, sustained climbs and descents, or high-alpine environments that might include sections exposed to a fall risk. Terrain difficulty is often more important than pace when deciding if a trip is a good fit. Check out our Grading System to learn more about footing on each particular tour.

This is one of the most common questions we get, and it's an interesting one! Here's why. In the Alps, glaciers and technical climbing starts around 3,000 meters, or 9,800 feet, roughly speaking. The highest pass we cross on the Tour du Mont Blanc, for example, is 2,537 meters, or about 8,300 feet-- just high enough to begin to notice the altitude. But before you know it, you're down in the village of La Fouly, at 1,600 meters, or about 5,250 feet. So, in general, altitude and acclimatization is not an issue.

Alps running will have moments of exposure to steep cliffs and airy gaps. These locations are often equipped with chains or cables that are bolted to the rock. At spots like this, we stop running, and always make sure to have one hand on the cable. If you’re subject to vertigo, there are often other running options or, as we’ve been known to do from time to time, simply watch the feet of the person in front of you and focus your mind on a fine alp cheese! We consider exposure as part of the tour level in our grading system - ie. a level 1 tour has less exposure than a level 4 tour.

The Alps are classic “big mountains,” so the answer has to be; expect anything. We’ve seen snow in August, sunny days in November, and driving rain for a few days at a time. On average, however, it’s typical to have a few days of unsettled weather over the course of a ten-day period. September usually has better weather than August, which usually has better weather than July. Up high in the mountains, poor conditions can move in quickly, so it’s imperative to pay close attention to the forecast, watch the sky over the course of the day, and be flexible with your plans if conditions dictate.

Many runners, particularly locals, like to trail run with carbon fiber running poles. This is a matter of personal preference. In the Alps, we find it handy as a third point of contact with the ground can be comforting on very steep terrain, the poles move some of the hard work to your upper body on climbs, and they remove a small but noticeable percentage of the pounding on long down hills. We recommend the Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z trekking poles, ordered in the length that is right for you. (The adjustable poles add not-insignificant weight.) On our guided trips, Run the Alps will bring a variety of poles for you to try out, and in Grindelwald, Zermatt, Courmayeur and Chamonix, it’s possible to buy them.

We’re in the mountains, and that means being able to take care of ourselves in the event of an accident or foul weather. Guides will have additional resources, such as satellite phones and first aid kits. Our Guide to Trail Running in the Alps, sent upon signing up for a trip, has full details on what to bring. You’ll know what works best for you, but, in general, we’d suggest the following:

• Dry shirt, warm hat, liner gloves
• Rain shell
• Dry socks
• Sunscreen, Vaseline or other anti-chafe lubricant
• Extra francs, passport, credit card, ATM card, Swiss card
• Map of the area, route and map description for the day, if self-guided
• Baseball cap
• Sunglasses
• Cell phone
• Soft flasks/bladder with at least 1.5 liters capacity
• Personal snacks for the day to supplement those provided by the Guide

Many of our trips can work well for Para athletes and adaptive runners, depending on the route, terrain, and support needs. You can read more about what each trip entails on the tour pages.  We encourage adaptive participants to reach out in advance to discuss fit and options.

Yes, in many cases. Participants can join trips using prosthetics, guides, poles, or other adaptive equipment. Please get in touch to discuss your needs, so that we can help us plan routes, pacing, accommodations, and support.

We aim to make our trips as inclusive and supportive as possible and we regularly work with runners who use guides or have specific communication preferences or needs. Please get in touch so we can discuss your needs and how we can best support them.

Accommodations vary by region and trip. Many European mountain hotels are historic and may have limited elevators or tight spaces. If you have accommodation needs (extra space, ground-floor rooms, equipment storage, quiet rooms), let us know early so we can plan accordingly.

Most alpine trail routes are not wheelchair-accessible due to steep grades, narrow paths, and rugged terrain. However, some regions offer valley paths, lifts, and road access that may allow partial participation. We’re happy to discuss what might be possible on a case-by-case basis.

The best step is to contact us before booking. Share how you move on trail, the type of terrain you’re comfortable with, and any support you typically use. We work directly with adaptive athletes who are experienced trail runners. If appropriate, we will bring them into the discussion to assist you in selecting the right trip for you. We’ll help you choose a trip where you can thrive.