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In the course of exploring the many topopgraphic nooks and crannies of Switzerland in search of great trail running, there are some really happy surprises to be found. At the end of the deep Lauterbrunnen valley, tucked under the cliff walls that form the base of the Jungfrau and Breithorn, is one of those places:

Why pick a favorite village in Switzerland? It’s a bit of an exercise in futility. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. And as soon as you justify your choice, it’s hard not to second guess yourself when faced with the myriad attributes of places like Stechelberg, St. Luc, Bettmeralp and, well,

This last week, preregistration opened for the Ultra Mont Blanc (the UTMB), arguably the most famous trail race in the world.  The 168-km long course starts and finishes in Chamonix, France, and runs around Mont Blanc, through the mountain towns that surround the massif. Increasingly popular, there are now a series of four other races, held the

The 22K Trail des Glières in Haute Savoie, France, is a trail race with a lot of history. The Glières plateau is famous for being a hotbed of the resistance movement in World War II. The wilderness plateau, located at an elevation of about 2000m, saw the emergence of the maquis des Glières, the local

The Vertical KM race in Fully, Switzerland is considered to be the fastest vertical kilometer course in the world. The race, held on a former funicular route, is home to both the men’s and women’s world records. This past weekend, temperatures were too warm for a new world record. But, nonetheless, a great race was

Trail running here in the Alps is unlike anywhere else I’ve ever laced up my Salomons and headed out the door. One’s body simply needs time to adjust to the sheer verticality of it all— no matter what your pre-trip training back home. For me, a purely recreational runner, I notice a change at about three to four weeks. Like all

As trail running grows–some would say explodes in popularity–all manner of new ventures are taking shape. The ultra-famous, ultra-hard 166 km UTMB just announced yet one more event to its series—the OCC, Orsières-Champex-Chamonix. Running camps and personal trainers are showing up on the scene. In the states and throughout Europe, trail races are filling up in hours, sometimes minutes. Those of us

We have been at it for 20 minutes already, and I am soaked with sweat. Today’s race, Fully-Sorniot, offers runners a full five minutes of pleasant coasting along old village roads, until delivering the goods: 1.6 vertical kilometers of ass-kicking, no-holes-barred switchbacks. I try not to look up, but it’s too tempting. I glance skyward, and all I see is… rock.

2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Tour Dents du Midi, the walking route that encircles one of Switzerland’s best-known mountain ranges, adjacent to its border with France. For that reason, yesterday’s annual trail race around the seven jagged peaks that make up the Dents du Midi held special significance. With or without this historic marker, however, the

It’s been an incredible summer. Our gang of trail runners has explored areas far and wide in the Swiss Alps. We’ve run through the Engadine. Around the UNESCO Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage site. Along the peaks that mark Switzerland’s alpine border with France and Italy. We’ve run in some of the most famous trail races in the world… and in small village