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Guest Runners

Run the Alps is fortunate to be tapped into a world of adventurous trail runners with a wide range of experiences, knowledge and insights. Some are elite runners, others have deep experience in differing facets of the trail running world, including story telling, nutrition and adventuring. All of them have taken to heart Run the Alps’ inclusive, supportive philosophy.

Our guest runner program enables us to share a little bit of their world with you.

Here’s who’s coming this year:

2024

Max King

Max King

Trip: Run the Alps with Ultrarunning Legend Max King

Run the Alps is delighted to welcome Max King, one of the US’s legendary trail runners, for a trip this season.

Max has consistently ranked as one of the top trail runners in the world, and has shown exceptional versatility and consistency in his performances. He has a win at the World Mountain Running Championships, has stood on the podium at Chamonix’s Mont Blanc Marathon and set records for some of North America’s top ultras, including the JFK 50-miler. He’s also run both the Steeplechase and marathon at the Olympic trials (2:14 marathon time, in case you were wondering).

What’s less known is that back in his home of Bend, Oregon, Max runs his own trail running camps, has launched a winter ski mountaineering program, and is a driving force for Salomon’s global trail running efforts, where he is one of the lead product testers who is directly involved in the development of new trail running shoes.

Best of all, Max is a great guy, admired for his honed trail running skills and deep knowledge of the sport, and his willingness to share it all with others. We look forward to welcoming him to the trails around Chamonix and Annecy, France!

You can read more about Max in this wonderful Trail Runner profile of him by fellow Salomon runner Rickey Gates, and check out his full race results over at our friends, Ultrasignup. (Heads up: he’s got 125 races and plenty of top-10 results under his belt!)

Meg Mackenzie

Meg Mackenzie

Trip: Women’s Trail Camp with Meg Mackenzie

We are delighted to have one of our best friends here in the Chamonix Valley leading two trips for us! Run the Alps welcomes our Ambassador and On athlete Meg Mackenzie as host of two very special women-only weeks!

Meg is one of our most energetic, upbeat and fun friends here in Chamonix. She has raced competitively around the world, and has had top finishes in races from Chamonix’s Mont Blanc Marathon to South Africa’s Ultra Trail Cape Town. And while Meg excels at trail running, it’s just one part of her life. She’s also a trail running coach, certified master life coach, and partners in the venture Wild Women with athlete Lucy Bartholomew. A few years ago, Meg moved full-time to Chamonix, where she continues to represent her home country of South Africa. You can read more about Meg here.

Meg’s style is inclusive, warm and supportive. “Too many women think they are somehow inadequate or not strong enough for mountain activities. My goal is to get more women involved in trail running and help those already in it to gain more self-confidence on the trails.”

Elyse Kopecky

Elyse Kopecky

Trip: Run Fast, eat slow women’s retreat with Elyse Kopecky & Rise and Run with Elyse Kopecky in the Dolomites

 

This summer Run the Alps is hosting an Alps trail running retreat with three-time New York Times bestselling author Elyse Kopecky. Her books “Run Fast. Eat Slow,” “Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow,” and “Rise & Run” have transformed how we think about the intersection of food and sports.

Elyse is well known and much adored for her bestselling cookbooks on improving running performance and long-term health and happiness. On this tour, which is open to all levels of trail runner, we’ll explore the best trails of the region while eating well and taking in classic Alps culture. Elyse will give talks on nutrition and take us through run warm-up and stretching sessions.

Mirna Valerio

Mirna Valerio

Trip: Mirnavator in the Alps & Trail Run with The Mirnavator in Switzerland!

What do you see when you close your eyes and think of a typical trail runner? Although trail running seems to be the domain of thin, fast people, it is also a sport that has welcomed people like Mirna Valerio, who in her own words is a plus-sized, slow-AF runner who lives and breathes the trail. This African-American adventurer, hailing (presently) from Winooski, Vermont, defies trail running stereotypes.

Author of the blog Fatgirlrunning and best selling novel ‘A Beautiful Work in Progress’, Mirna shares her experiences as a larger woman in a world of thinner athletes. Mirna’s story has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, on the NBC Nightly News, CNN, on the CW Network, and in REI’s documentary, The Mirnavator.

Her writing has been featured in Women’s Running Magazine, Self Magazine Online, Outside Online, and Runner’s World Magazine. She was chosen as a 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.

We’re psyched to welcome Mirna to the Alps!

“This body is fierce, beautiful, and unapologetic. It’s meant to move through the world as it wishes: lifting, walking, and running, rolls and all. Love handles, bouncy boobs, curves, tummy, butt, back fat, and all.” (Mirna Valerio)

Tim Tollefson

Tim Tollefson

Trip: Tim Tollefson in the Alps

Tim is, simply put, one of the US’s great trail runners. He has won races around the world, including Javelina Jundred, Lavaredo Ultra Trail 120K, and Ultra Trail Australia 100K. He was third at the 2017 UTMB Mont-Blanc— and who was in front of him? Arguably the two best trail runners in the world, Kilian Jornet and François D’Haene.

Those data points are impressive, but Tim is also a deeply grounded, thoughtful and empathetic person. You might have heard his remarkable interview on the Rich Roll podcast or seen his video about the challenges he has faced over the years with body dysmorphia. Tim has faced adversity on and off the trail, and we’re lucky to be able to share in the wisdom he’s accrued from these moments in his life.

Most recently, Tim has launched a wonderful new event, the Mammoth Trail Festival. It’s everything a trail running event should be: inclusive, challenging, fun, and an all-around good time. Run the Alps is pleased to be a partner of this special new US trail running festival.

We are so happy to finally welcome Tim on this special guest tour. He’s been friends with Run the Alps since he was hanging out in our Chamonix apartment years ago!

Yassine Diboun

Yassine Diboun

Trip: Trail Run with Yassine Diboun in the Bernese Oberland

This summer we are happy to welcome Yassine Diboun, an accomplished ultra runner and flat out one of the nicest guys we have ever met, on our trip this summer.

A few of his accomplishments in the running world include competing for the United States in the 2015 World Trail Running Championships, a top 10 finish at the Western States Endurance Run 100 mile race, and a third place finish at the HURT 100 mile race in Hawaii. His love for running and the outdoors has led him to dabble in many endurance sports, including triathlon, mountaineering, and long-distance fast-packing (which includes crossing the Oregon Pacific Crest Trail in 8.5 days w/ friends!)

For Yassine, running is much more than fast times and results. He uses the sport to address issues in his community that are important to him, including race and inclusion, and substance addiction recovery. He helped create a local run group in Portland, called Run TRG (The Recovery Gym), which focuses on creating community and fostering recovery from substance addiction. Part of that program is an annual sunset to sunrise run to support recovery, and mental health, called Move Through Darkness. Yassine is co-owner of Wy’east Wolfpack, a company that provides personal training, coaching, corporate wellness, youth programs, and much more!

We are inspired by Yassine and excited to welcome him to the Alps this summer!

Anna Frost

Anna Frost

Trip: The Dream Team Tour

If you know trail running, then you’ve heard of Anna Frost! Anna Frost, or Frosty, as many of us know her, has been one of our trail running idols for more than a few years. This summer, you can join her on our Dream Team tour, and soak up the views with one of trail running’s all-around greatest people. Anna brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, from competing at the highest level around the world, to balancing motherhood and sport and everything in between. Added bonus? Anna is a lot of fun to hang out with!

Growing up as a child in New Zealand, Anna has been running since she was a little kid. In her two decades as a professional runner, she has run everything from vertical kilometer races to 100 mile epic events. Some of her notable wins include the Coastal Challenge stage race in Costa Rica, and Colorado’s Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run mile race– a race she won twice! She has also set a Fastest Known Time on the Snowman Trek in Bhutan, completing the route in 15 days and 7 hours! In 2019, she became a mother– something she calls, “the most rewarding and loving race yet”.

Today, Anna coaches athletes from around the world and spends time doing what she loves most: running, exploring, and simply being outdoors. She splits her time between New Zealand and Colorado each year with her daughter Skylar and husband, Ron ‘Braz’ Braselton.

Run the Alps is excited to welcome Anna to Chamonix this season!

Mimmi Kotka

Mimmi Kotka

Trip: The Dream Team Tour

Run the Alps is excited to welcome back Mimmi Kotka, one of the world’s top trail runners, joining us for a special trip this July.

For those of you who don’t know Mimmi, she’s low-key, smart, empathetic, and a lot of fun. Our trip with her last year was such a fun time– one of the highlights of the summer for all of us. Mimmi and her husband Toni have lived part-time in the Chamonix valley for a number of years now. Sponsored by La Sportiva, she also happens to be one of the world’s strongest ultrarunners. (Though she’ll never mention it, we will.) Mimmi has won or been on the podium at a number of major trail races around the world. That list includes first place at the 101 km CCC and 121 km TDS races in Chamonix, France. In 2021, she placed third in the UTMB, with a remarkably impressive finish.

Mimmi isn’t just a trail runner, either. She also has an advanced degree in Nutrition, and is a partner in Moonvalley. She has a fun sense of humor, and always has interesting insights to share on trail running.

Along the way, Mimmi will share tips from her years of trail running in the Alps.

2023

2022

2021

2019

2018

Blog

5 Tips for Trail Running in the Alps from Training App Vert.run

5 Tips for Trail Running in the Alps from Training App Vert.run

Embark on your Alpine running adventure fully prepared with these essential tips from Vert.run–the Official Training partner of Run the Alps.

Guided

Chamonix Dream Team Trail Camp

Chamonix Dream Team Trail Camp

Run with Anna Frost, Mimmi Kotka and Meg Mackenzie! As friends of Run the Alps, this trio has come together for a special trip.

New gear

Run the Alps Salomon ADV Skin 12 Trail Running Vest

Run the Alps Salomon ADV Skin 12 Trail Running Vest

This is THE vest for trail running. No need to take our word for it- year after year, the Salomon ADV Skin has been the best-selling vest on the market. Period.