Author Archives: Doug Mayer

“Still living the dream, are we?” Simon, arguably the funniest of our Run the Alps guides, shuffles out into the living room of our staff apartment in Chamonix, France. It’s 7:00 am on an August day last summer, and I’ve already been working for two hours. I sigh loudly. “Ah! There it is! The famous

Got plans this March? Join us for something new and totally different! For our first time ever, Run the Alps is offering a winter “Ski Mo” trip! Based in Chamonix, France, our winter trip includes time training and learning Ski Mo skills with two of Europe’s best-known ski mountaineering athletes and coaches, Valentine Fabre and

It’s early morning in Chamonix, France, as I write this sentence. Outside, the streets are deserted. People like to say that Chamonix never stops, but when you live here, as I do now, you realize it stops twice a year, late fall and again in late spring. But especially now, when the nights are getting

For all intents and purposes, trail running season is fading away in Chamonix, as it is for much of the Alps. It starts in early summer with the Mont Blanc Marathon races, and slowly builds toward UTMB’s many events at the close of August. Then, as the first snows appear on the peaks above town,

Trail Verbier St Bernard, TVSB, is one of the great trail races in the Alps. The event is held in the Valais canton of Switzerland near the Italian border.

This summer, Run the Alps was pleased to help Hillary Allen as she trail ran around Mont Blanc, getting a sense of the route in advance of supporting Colorado’s Zach Miller during the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc. Here’s her story.  Have you ever been so lost in a moment, so lost in a space in

Yesterday, Run the Alps Senior Guide Simon Conroy and I ran from Courmayeur, Italy to Chamonix, France, along the second half of the Tour du Mont-Blanc. The route we chose was 85 km with about 4,300 meters of climbing. I’m getting ready for a certain trail race in a few weeks.  Here’s how I fueled:

Run the Alps is pleased to offer this short piece from past Sierre-Zinal Race Director Jean-Claude Pont. Pont, retired from careers as a university professor, researcher, and Swiss mountain guide, remains a sort of Renaissance man – deeply intellectual, charismatic and thoughtful, though often holding views counter to the prevailing sentiments of the day. I

This summer, Run the Alps added a new position to our list of seasonal crew – intern and staff writer. Julia Maxwell, a recent graduate of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calfornia, joined us in Chamonix in June and will be staying through the end of August. Julia splits her time between Run the Alps

The miracle was not that you finished, the miracle was that you had the courage to start. (Matthieu Girard, at Trail Verbier St-Bernard pre-race briefing). I’ve always agreed with that sentiment. I suspect it resonates with each of us who dares to enter a challenging mountain race. To that quote, I’d add a corollary: Too