Run the Alps Adventure with Courtney Dauwalter
Guided By
Tour dates 2023
Tour dates 2023
Summary
We love Courtney, but not because she’s one of the world’s best ultrarunners. It's because she’s a wonderful person who's fun to hang with. On this trip, we’ll run trails, drink great beer, and have one big adventure in Chamonix, France.
Date
Summer 2023 - Dates to be decided
Length
5 days, 4 nights
Tour Category
Village based with one night in a mountain hut.
Fees
$3,495 per person
Single Supplement: $300
Whats included
Accommodations at a 3-star hotel for 3 nights; Accommodation at a mountain hut for 1 night; All breakfasts and dinners; Trail snacks; Big Mountain Beer tasting; Round-trip shared shuttle from Geneva Airport; In-tour transportation; Parapenting with Pilot; Run the Alps Guide to Trail Running in the Alps; License-free photography; Guided runs daily with an International Mountain Leader.
Description
Welcome to Courtney’s Big Adventure. This is her Chamonix dream trip– and you’re invited. This trip is filled with special touches that are unique among all of our Run the Alps trips.
How’d it happen? Let us explain.
When Courtney said she’d join us for a Run the Alps tour, Tour Manager Steph Lefferts asked her, “What’s your dream trip?”
Courtney is just a little bit excited about this trip..! (Photo: Martina Valmassoi.)
The answer? Trail running on some of the world’s most famous mountain paths. (Of course!) Lots of great beer from the best brewery in the region. (Thanks, Big Mountain!) A night at a cool mountain hut. (Sure thing!) And parapenting. (Whoa, really? Okay!)
So, we set to work and designed her dream trip.
And, by the way, we’ve added in a few surprises for everyone, too!
And you’re invited.
Courtney being cheered on as she leaves Vallorcine in last year’s UTMB®. (Photo: Martina Valmassoi).
Courtney Dauwalter is one of the world’s top ultrarunners. But there’s a lot more to her than just fast times and big podiums. She’s a super fun, energetic, empathetic, sometimes goofy, nearly always smiling trail runner from Leadville, Colorado with a great sense of humor and a penchant for really tasty microbrews, cows, and baggy running shorts.
For those of you keeping track at home, Courtney has two impressive wins at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, including setting a women’s course record, and an outright win– by ten hours no less– at the Moab, Utah 240 mile race. She’s ranked as the women’s top runner in the world by the ITRA Performance Index and has been named Ultrarunner of the Year by Ultrarunner magazine. You can read more about Courtney in this New York Times feature article.
Does Courtney like to have fun? Yea, maybe! (Photo: Courtney Dauwalter.)
It’s a rare opportunity to have Courtney join us. We’re excited, and we hope you are, too!
Want to join us for Courtney’s Big Adventure? Great! We’ll see you in Chamonix.
We expect this trip to sell out quickly. However, if you miss your chance (and you can check availability here), please email Tour Manager Stephanie Lefferts about getting on the waitlist.
Day-by-day
Arrive in Geneva, and transfer to Chamonix, France– a town some people call the world’s home of trail running. An airport pickup is included, making this an easy and relaxing hour-and-a-half journey. Enjoy your first views of glacier-covered Mont Blanc, with time to relax in the quiet gardens of our hotel. We’ll host a pre-dinner gathering with Courtney, our guide Giles, and other Run the Alps staff.
Arrive in Chamonix by 3pm for an optional pre-kickoff shakedown run.
We can take a short run up to Chalet Floria on arrival (Photo: Daniel Fitzgerald.)
- Dinner
- 7km, 360m ascent and descent
It’s the first day of Courtney’s Big Adventure! We’ll take the local train up the Chamonix valley, then we’ll run (okay, fast hike!) a loop that will take us into high pastures before descending for the train back to Chamonix.
Big Mountain brews a range of award-winning beers, that we’ll get to try at our private tasting. (Photo: Big Mountain Brewing Company.)
As the day winds down, we’ll have a beer tasting with Big Mountain Brewing Company We’ll kick outside on the deck– or even in the hot tub– as we enjoy a catered dinner along with some special Run the Alps trail running friends you’ll want to meet! (Yes, it’s a surprise!)
- Breakfast, Trail Snacks, Dinner
- 12km, 700m ascent and descent
This morning is time for another surprise. Let’s just say it includes an event Courtney loves, a nice trail, and a few laps– small ones, in our case.
A morning of laughs and loops over, we’ll head up to a dramatic alpine lodge to spend a night high in the Mont Blanc massif, before a cruisy, fun trail run the next morning.
Running towards the Col de Balme – right on the Swiss-French border. (Photo: Mark Brightwell.)
- Breakfast, Trail Snacks, Dinner
- 4km, 1250m ascent
Good morning! It’s time for breakfast with a glacier just over the rim of your morning coffee. Then, one of our favorite trail runs, back down to the valley.
Starting right in town, Chamonix’s Vertical Kilometer gets steeper and steeper along the way… (Photo: Doug Mayer.)
Remember when we said this is Courtney’s Big Adventure? Good, because now we’re going to each grab a parapenting guide and jump….. into the air, and sail above Chamonix, with the glaciers of Mont Blanc below us.
After our flights, we’ll have time to relax before a special farewell dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Chamonix.
- Breakfast, Trail Snacks, Dinner
- 10km, 550m descent, 1000m ascent
While today we have to bid our adieus, we’ll sneak in a final trail run before what we hope and expect has been one of the most memorable trips of our lives winds down.
Breakfast with the best view – Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille. (Photo: Kim Strom.)
(Photo: Martina Valmassoi.)
- Breakfast, Trail Snacks
- 10km, ascent 300m, descent 1200m
Trip stories
Arrival
Plan to arrive the day your tour starts, at the latest. Note that flights from the US usually arrive on the following day, so schedule accordingly. The closest airport is Geneva, Switzerland. This tour includes airport pickup in Geneva.
For those wanting to spend a few extra days in Chamonix, the “Vallée du Trail” with over 500 kilometers of trail running, we can assist in extending your time and providing self-guided trail running materials, either before or after the tour.
Departure
Plan your departure for the day the tour ends at the earliest– ideally late in the day or the day after, so you can join us for the full Balcon Nord to Montenvers run on the last morning. Since Geneva airport is only ninety minutes away by shuttle, it is possible to leave the day the tour ends.
Questions
Additional Information
Read all about Courtney in her Run the Alps Guest Runner profile.
Contact us if you have any questions.
Terms and Conditions: Read up on Run the Alps’ Terms and Conditions, Covid-19 policy, and travel insurance.
Not Included
Flights to and from Geneva; Drinks with dinner; Lunches; Optional lift before parapenting; Tip for guide.