Guides

Half of the year I live in the beautiful British Peak District and the other half in the French Alps. I do my trail running for fun, and very rarely enter races any more, although I have completed many British long distance events and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc twice. I love to create a journey, running through the mountains with a light rucksack!

After a realisation aged 39 that I wasn’t living the life I wanted, I quit my job, sold my possessions and moved to the mountains. More than a decade later I am still following my passion for life and spend my time trail running, paragliding and ski touring, as well as travelling to other mountainous regions of the world.

Being based in Interlaken, Switzerland, I am fortunate to have some amazing trails on my doorstep. The outdoors and especially the mountains have been a way of life for me for as long as I can remember, starting with a career as an outdoor instructor in the UK and then a permanent move out to the Alps in 2006. An avid racer of both short and long distances on road and trail, I’m as much motivated by the training required as the actual competition

I’m a small-town kid, originally from Colfax, Washington, in the United States.  I started running at age six in the rolling, dusty hills of Eastern Washington state. After a brief stint as a too-short rower while at university, I returned to running as a coach for high school cross-country and track in Seattle and Chicago. More recently, I had the honor to compete for an Amsterdam track club in international competitions! I’m a middle-distance athlete in my heart (and in my legs), but my definition of “middle-distance” creeps ever upwards. Next to trail running, my guiding work includes leading snowshoe trips, avalanche education courses, and leadership development and continuing education courses.

I am passionate about nature and I love to share the opportunity to connect with nature and by doing so, connect with our natural essence, too. I’m also passionate about sports: I push my limits through trail races, and by hanging on the side of a mountain, climbing multi-pitch routes.  I also like to discover new landscapes and simply spend time alone in the wilderness, exploring and observing life.

I grew up in Yorkshire, Northern England. These days, I travel regularly between the Peak District, Northern Wales, the Lake District and the Alps. I love trail running and in the mountains. The appeal for me is the ability to journey through stunning landscapes, keeping it light and simple. I enjoy the buzz of races and have completed a few ultras, but am equally happy with a good long day – or few days – running through the hills with good companions, both human and canine!

I grew up on the island of Jersey, in the UK, where a childhood spent swimming, sea kayaking and running on the coastal paths fostered a lasting love of the outdoors. I now live in France, on the shores of the beautiful Lake Annecy. Running has been a constant fascination since my teenage years, at first hooked on the physical challenges of harder and faster, and then the great sense of well-being experienced when everything starts to flow.

I have lived in Chamonix since 2016. In the winters, I usually head back to Scotland for its renowned winter climbing scene: it’s a brutal, but highly rewarding experience, and I find it builds both character and confidence for mountaineering in the Alps. I’ve been guiding in one form or another for almost a decade, and have worked from the French, Swiss and Austrian Alps to the Italian Dolomites, as well as the Spanish Pyrenees and Picos de Europa.

I grew up surrounded by the Cascade mountains in Bellingham, Washington, in the US. At an early age I learned to ski, and soon developed a love for running on trails. Growing up with a French mother, I originally came to France on a 6 month exchange to learn the language and the culture. At the end of this exchange, I arrived in Chamonix for a two week ski vacation and, like many others, I fell in love with the Mont Blanc Massif. I have been living here since 2012.

I love being outside, being active and eating chocolate! When I was growing up, my family and I spent many a summer holiday orienteering around midge and bog filled forests in the UK, which I think I must have enjoyed?! It was from there where my love of being outdoors grew. My career has been very outdoors oriented – from working at a summer camp in Australia, to taking students on an expedition to Borneo, to leading adults up Kilimanjaro.

Growing up, I moved every year due to my parents’ jobs. After school, I started my studies on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, then went to Morocco for two more years to study Physiotherapy. I also went to New Zealand for a year and traveled around the country in a van, spending time hiking and climbing.

After New Zealand, I came back to France and managed climbing ropes for airy construction jobs, but I knew it wasn’t how I wanted to live in the mountains. So I got a job working as a caretaker at a mountain hut. In the end, I became a Mountain Leader and now I feel that every day I share with guests is a gift!

I’ve chased a mountain lifestyle for nearly thirty years, although grown-up life and careers have got in the way occasionally. Originally from Monmouth in South Wales, I have always been drawn to open spaces. I’ve been fortunate to live and work in Canada, New Zealand and, for the last ten years, in the French Alps. I made a return to mountain guiding in my early 40’s, which might be my mid-life crisis job, or crise de quarantaine, as the French call it. But it’s by far the most rewarding and fulfilling role I have had in the last two decades– and the most relaxing!

I learned to love the mountains as a kid on epic Boy Scout trips in Washington’s Cascade and Olympic ranges. Camping in snow caves, climbing volcanoes, 50-mile backpacking trips, and one rain-drenched canoe trip taught me I was built for endurance in nature.  After a too-long interlude in pancake-flat Chicago, I discovered the joy of running pell-mell down single-track during the Matterhorn Ultraks race in 2018. Since then I haven’t stopped looking for flowy trails wherever I can find them!

I’m originally from Devon in the Southwest of England, where I made the most of the countryside by running, cycling and horse-riding throughout my childhood. I was fortunate to get involved with The Dorset Expeditionary Society, through which I joined trekking and climbing trips around the world, while gaining mountain leading qualifications. One trip led me to the Chamonix valley, where I eventually moved in 2007— and where I live today, with my husband, Jack, and our dog, Bari.

I was born in Essex in the UK, a long way from any mountains. But, at the age of 18 I started to travel and work across the world and fell into expedition guiding. I started to get my certifications and then, in 2009, I moved to Chamonix, France. Eight years later, I settled in France’s Eastern Pyrenees, close to the Mediterranean Sea. Here, I can run the trails all year round, and have finally discovered the home of my heart. I’m in the mountains most days, sometimes by myself, sometimes with friends and other times with clients.

I was born and raised in the Netherlands, but have been living in France for almost two decades. For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed hiking, cycling, trekking, trail running and climbing in the mountains. At school, I studied architecture, but later realized that I wasn’t cut out for a desk job. So, I started working as a guide and expedition leader in the African deserts, jungles and mountains. Once back in Europe, becoming an International Mountain Leader was an obvious choice!

I came to trail and mountain running from mountaineering, as a way to travel through beautiful landscapes but without freezing my hands all the time! I’ve been lucky enough to trek, climb high and lead trips in the Himalaya and in South America, as well as in the Alps and at home in bonnie Scotland.

My love affair with the mountains began with climbing expeditions to the Alps and the Andes when I was at college. As soon as I graduated, I escaped to the Alps as quickly as I could and I’m very fortunate to now call the Chamonix valley my home. My passion for trail running developed a few years ago when I became friends with a bunch of people from Run the Alps and they started dragging me on longer and longer runs! I really enjoy the sense of freedom you get from moving fast through the mountains with a light pack and I’m really looking forward to many more adventures with Run the Alps!

Coming from a country with absolutely no mountains, being in steep terrain is a passion that I have developed in my second life. I moved to Denmark from my home in Latvia in 2011, to get a Mechanical Engineering degree. After achieving my goal and spending a few years in the office, I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I quit my job and got rid of all my possessions– except a backpack. I started pursuing my new dream to become a mountain guide. In the process, I covered well over ten thousand kilometers in the mountains, all of it on foot.

Originally from Lyon, France, I got into running through athletics, so the early days were all about running around a track. I moved to Chamonix, France in 2014, to work with the ski company Black Crows, and started running in the mountains with the local trail running club, Chamonix Mont Blanc Marathon Club, CMBM. Since those days, I’ve become crazy about trail running, and now I don’t want to run anywhere else!

I received a degree in English Literature and joined the Army as an Officer in the UK’s Royal Gurkha Rifles. I served in Afghanistan and Iraq, losing part of a thigh muscle in the latter, thanks to an explosion. This has ever since proved a strong and convenient excuse for not being the fastest runner on the mountain. I started mountain running in earnest in Nepal in 2015, where I was working in the post-earthquake relief and redevelopment sector. Running in the mountains fills me with excitement and joy; something I feel privileged to experience and to share.

I grew up in London and started my career working in the city. After several years of using all my free time to escape to the mountains, I decided it was time to change my career to work outdoors so I could share my passion with others. I came to trail running from walking and mountaineering. Over time I wanted to travel longer distances in the mountains. Through that process, I discovered I had an affinity for trail running. I love planning my own running adventures, and particularly enjoy long multi-day mountain journeys.

I absolutely love running. Trail running has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and has always been core to my fitness and mental health. Once I left the Army, I found myself craving challenges to go further and higher. Eventually it led me to completing UTMB Mont Blanc twice and set the foundation for a sport that truly makes me happy. It’s such a wonderful way to connect with nature and the environment.

Having grown up in the Lake District, in the North West of England, the “fells” are in my blood. From a young age, I have been wandering around in the mountains having adventures, and this seems to have grown into a career! I have lived and guided all over the world. I moved to Switzerland four years ago, where I have enjoyed mixing my running with my love of mountaineering and climbing. When the snow arrives, strapping on some light skis and Lycra makes sure I keep the legs in shape over the winter. I seem to spend most of my time poring over guide books and map, trying to work out what the next adventure will be!

I was born in the Netherlands in 1984. When I was 18 years old I left the Netherlands to study Physical Therapy in Ghent, Belgium. During this time I discovered the beauty of the mountains when I did my first multi-day mountain hike around Mont Blanc with two friends. When I finished studying I decided to live in Guatemala and worked as a volunteer in a project for children with disabilities. Most of my free time was spent climbing volcanoes! After two years working as a physical therapist in Belgium I went back to Guatemala for two more years – and kept on climbing volcanoes. I had the chance to climb the highest peaks in Mexico as well. In Nicaragua I ran my first 100km trail running race and since then I just love trail running. I’ve  lived in Switzerland for 9 years, and I still love to spend most of my time in the mountains.

I grew up on a small farm on the misty, soggy hills of Dartmoor, England, where my family ran a bed and breakfast for hikers. As a child I was very active, working on the farm and at nearby horse stables. I remember running down to the yard before sunrise, feeding 8 horses, mucking out the stalls, and then running back up the hill to shove clothes on for school! When I turned 18, I headed for the Alps. I think I literally heard the mountains calling, because I never looked back!

Before becoming an International Mountain Leader, I worked my way through many ski resort jobs from cheffing in luxury chalets in Val d’Isere, France, to fitting skis– all, so that I could stay in the mountains. The alpine environment is an essential resource for me: I have been known to get cranky if I have been valley bound for too many days. When that happens, I know it’s time to head up into the hills!