Amelie Mabbutt

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 have a masters degree in Community and Public Health Nursing Leadership and Program Development. However, after saying au revoir to my healthcare career, I took a full-time year-long program in traditional wooden boatbuilding. Now, I design and make things out of wood. Most days you can find me sawing and planing away in a dusty workshop, daydreaming about hills.

I like to cuddle with animals, climb trees and steep hills, listen to podcasts, write, and cultivate veggies. I enjoy sitting at the counter in a cozy café or bar and people-watching.  Oh, and I have a blossoming infatuation with orienteering races!  As a runner since the age of six, it’s lovely to discover new ways to enjoy it!

I once drew a cartoon that sold at an auction in Zurich for 150 Swiss franc.

I love runs with a narrative arc. I also love runs “in the backyard” that I can do over and over, developing a relationship with the route. My current favorite such lap is the Le Tour-Aiguillette des Posettes-Vallorcine-Col des Montets loop: a short intro on a rolling path, a spicy buildup to the ridge, a well-earned summit, a surefooted descent, and a final few kilometers of pure bucolic enjoyment.