Author Archives: Doug Mayer

This weekend is one of the biggest trail races in the Alps, the Eiger Ultra, which each year draws thousands of runners to the Bernese Oberland village of Grindelwald. Though just in its fourth year, the race already has captured the imagination of runners from around the world. Much of the race course includes dramatic

Italian trail race directors seem to love the technical. They have a penchant for daring routes along ridges and twisty-turny vertical climbs that sneak around rock bands, requiring both hands– and a mind that’s not swayed by the abyss in your peripheral vision. This, after all, is the country that brought us Skyrunning—and with it, highly

Indisputably, Chamonix’s best-known trail running weekend comes at the close of August, with the start of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. But, earlier in the summer, there’s a lesser-known event that bring tens of thousands of runners, friends, and family to town: The Chamonix Mount-Blanc Marathon races. Together with UTMB, the events form bookends for summer

Who you pick, and who picks you, says a lot about a company. We’re pleased to be partners with some of the greatest folks in the trail running community. They include Dan and Janine Patitucci, of PatitucciPhoto. Ibex, for our clothing. Patagonia, for our client gear. ALPSinsight, for sharing trail running opportunities in Switzerland’s Jungfrau region.

I have a serious soft spot in my heart for crazy trail running ideas: the self-created adventures, the offbeat concepts, the way-out-of-the-mainstream mountain runs that have you shaking your head in a combination of admiration and shock, thinking “Who dreamed up that idea—and how many beers had they had–when they did?” So, when Salomon team member Rickey Gates mentioned an Alp town

This article originally appeared in The American Trail Running Association‘s (ATRA) newsletter, Trail Times, in April 2016. Run the Alps is a corporate member of ATRA, whose mission is to represent and promote mountain, ultra, and trail running in the United States. Run the Alps encourages you to join ATRA and support trail running across the US. Here’s

I’ve heard of a lot of downright twisted trail races over the years. There’s Mount Marathon in Seward, Alaska. (Check out this rather intense video of the race.) There’s Fully, Switzerland’s Vertical KM, considered one of the steepest, most direct vertical races the world. Nearby Leukerbad has its quirky thermal sprint. There are plenty of others. And then

What should Alp trail runners keep in mind, to lessen their environmental impact when running through pastures and over high cols? We set out to find out, courtesy of the French nonprofit, Mountain Riders. Based in Chambéry, France, the goal of Mountain Riders is to increase awareness and educate the public about the importance of protecting

Did you happen to catch the cover of DIRT, Trail Runner magazine’s annual special edition for 2016? It features what is rapidly becoming an iconic Alp trail running route. Photographed by Dan and Janine Patitucci, of Patitucci Photo and ALPSinsight, the image is a perfect choice for DIRT because it encapsulates almost everything so many

I’m staring at a second hand that’s moving with an implausible smoothness. As the hand sweeps around the dial one last time, the color on the clock face changes from red to orange. Something about the scene feels familiar. I flash back to my childhood, watching alpine ski racers during ABC’s Wide World of Sports with