Author Archives: Doug Mayer

This past Sunday was the 42nd running of Sierre-Zinal. The race is both legendary and, often, a true epic. Here’s why. For more than four decades, there have been famously tough competitors present—many of the world’s strongest mountain runners put Sierre-Zinal first in their summer plans. Second, the course includes a sharp, steep climb, an alpine traverse, and finally a

In the world of trail running, the vertical kilometer has quickly developed a well-deserved reputation for being as challenging as it is short. “Thirty-seven minutes in the pain cave,” as US mountain runner Max King rightfully concluded, after last month’s Chamonix’s Vertical Kilometer, or “VK.” Climbing 1,000 meters in 5 kilometers or less (and often

I am on a glacier, crawling across a ladder, a gaping abyss of a crevasse below, when the thought occurs. Ice Trail Tarentaise has got to be one of the most extreme trail races in all the Alps. This race, founded in 2011, has quickly garnered attention in the Alps, where there is no shortage of

Mira Rai, the young Nepali runner, is being interviewed. Her gentle face is radiating an infectious smile. She looks incomprehensibly fresh after winning Chamonix’s 80-km Continental Skyrunning Championships just moments ago with a new course record of 12:32:12. Her nearest competitor, Spain’s Anna Comet Pascua, didn’t see the finish line for another 22 minutes. Place

“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked. “Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice. “You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland The Vertical

As we head into another summer of trail running throughout the Alps, we wanted to share the latest news from Run the Alps! This has been a busy spring for us. A few of the highlights: *A relocation of our summer office to the French town of Argentière, just over the border from Switzerland, at the base

This time of year, there’s a certain eagerness in the air among the Run the Alps crew. We’re getting close! Our trips’ numbers are taking shape, huts are being booked, and run descriptions are being reviewed. For those of us in trail races, confirmations are flying between email accounts. It’s time… almost! As Run the

Pablo Vigil won one of Europe’s most prestigious trail races, Sierre-Zinal, four times in row—a record that stands to this day.

A rowdy midnight start amid 400 glowing headlamps. Dozens of miles of wintry, Colorado backcountry. Wildly enthusiastic volunteers placed strategically at high passes and deep in the forest. Reclining with beers in lawn chairs at the sunny Aspen finish. The Elk Mountain Grand Traverse has got to be, hands down, one of the most remarkable

Much like in the US, trail running and trail racing continues to grow and develop in the Alps. One of the most impressive new events is the Ultra Trail Verbier-St.Bernard, or TVSB, which is really three-races-in-one– a 111-km “X-Alpine” course, a 61-km “Traversée,” and a 29-km run between the villages of Liddes and Verbier. (The