Author Archives: Doug Mayer

This is not your usual business announcement. It’s not about market opportunities or percentage of growth in an industry. It’s about people and their love of a region. In this case, the Swiss Alps. Run the Alps is pleased to announce that we’re partnered with a remarkable new company, ALPSinsight. I think ALPSinsight is going to

Recently, Lizzy has added a new title to her diverse resume—Race Director for one of the Alps’ growing trail events, the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa (UTMR).

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” — E.B. White This great quote from the author of Charlotte’s Web is taped on the wall above my computer at the Run the Alps’ office in New Hampshire.

It’s 6:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning and above my laptop’s screen, I can just now start to make out the outline of the Northern Presidentials, here in Randolph, the quirky little mountain town in Northern New Hampshire that’s my home for much of the year. On my mind is Thanksgiving… or, more accurately, thanks and giving.

Thanks to Chloë Lanthier for her help with this interview, and to Maia Rauschenberg for the transcription. Over the last decade, Chamonix has become one of the world’s top locations for trail running. It makes sense. Long the world’s center for alpinism, thanks to its location at the base of Mont Blanc and the Aiguilles

We’ve just announced our 2016 tours! These last few months have been one of the busiest periods ever for Run the Alps. We wrapped up our most successful season, departing the trails of the Chamonix valley only when snow started to work its way down the flanks of Mont Blanc. Back here in the states, we spent the

Here in Chamonix, the fall mornings are suddenly becoming much more brisk. Puffy winter shells have made their annual reappearance. Snow comes and goes from the high pastures. Trail des Aiguilles Rouges, organized by the local CMBM trail running club, was run last week. The race, a favorite among locals, bookmarks the end of another season

Autumn is my favorite time of year in the Alps. The busyness of summer has subsided. Cowbells echo over frost-covered hills. Désalpe, the annual celebration when herds of cows move down from summer pastures, is starting to take place throughout the region. In the mountains, a thin mantle of snow comes and goes with each

This past month saw the 13th annual running of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) trail race, arguably the most famous trail race in the world. The race course wends its way for 166 kilometers around the Mont Blanc massif, from Chamonix, France, into Italy, Switzerland, and finally returning to Chamonix. For many runners, the UTMB

In 1976, just two years into the now long and storied history of Sierre-Zinal, five members of a family took part in the new mountain race that was one of Europe’s first. The youngest, Daniel, needed cajoling to cross the finish—his mom Trudi promised there would be a medal awaiting him, and a chance to