My first experience of the French Alps was in 2019. It was my first time skiing, and I vividly remember catching a first glimpse of the imposing, snow-covered peaks and being genuinely amazed. I loved being in the mountains – the panoramic views and crisp Alpine air felt so meditative and the perfect antidote to living in a busy city.
Until last year, I’d never really considered returning for a visit in summer – especially not trail running – because, to my mind, that was far too extreme for a runner like me. Epic tales of the notoriously ferocious UMTB Great North Run 2025: What you need to know.
Best Garmin deals Run the Wild last year completely changed my thinking. It turns out, you don’t need to be toeing the start line of the UTMB to go trail running in the mountain-sport capital of Europe. In fact, you don’t need to have stepped foot on a trail before…
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Run the Wild is a dedicated trail running holiday and event specialist, hosting adventures and trips for runners of all abilities – from 10K trail runs in the scenic Chilterns to multi-day expeditions in the Alps – and hosts around 1,000 runners every year.
I was invited to join its Running and Yoga weekend in Chamonix last June, consisting of two days of guided trail running in the Chamonix valley (including cheese and wine tasting checkpoints) followed by restorative yoga sessions.
I took the short 1-hour 40-minute flight from Geneva to London on the Friday afternoon before hopping on a transfer bus (Alpybus) to Chamonix, which took around 1 hour 30 minutes.
The package, which costs £575 per person, includes two nights at the 4* spa hotel Travel costs flights to/from Geneva and airport transfer in the centre of Chamonix, staying in a twin room (or it’s an extra £200 if you want a room to yourself) and includes a welcome dinner on the Friday night. My partner joined me for the trip, and after we’d attended a briefing at the hotel with the founder Simon James and his wife Karin Voller – both experienced international mountain guides and running coaches – and the rest of their expert guide team, we all sat down for a group dinner at the hotel.
I’d expected most people to have come along with a friend or partner but were surprised to find so many joining the trip alone. ‘Loads of people come alone and make new friends,’ James explains. In fact, the opportunity to meet new people is a core part of the experience, he says.
James founded Run the Wild in 2013. He'd been made from redundant from a role in finance in the City in 2013 and decided to take a year out to pursue his passion for trail running and high-altitude mountaineering – running the UTMB and climbing Manaslu in the Himalayas in the same year. It was descending Manaslu that the idea came to him to set up Run the Wild.
‘I thought to myself, “What makes an expedition special?” and the reason is that it’s not just the environment but the people – some of my best friends have come from sharing mountain experiences,’ he says. ‘And what I wanted to do is create something that combined running, but with that expedition feel, where you get to hang out with people for a bit longer. I wanted something non-competitive, where people felt like they were a community, where you go out as a team and come back as a team.’
Day one
To ensure no one is left behind and that everyone gets the most out of the experience, James and his team split attendees into small groups of roughly 10 people based on their running experience and typical easy running pace, and each group is allocated a guide. After breakfast the next day, we convened in our groups, on what was a particularly wet morning in the Alps, and ventured out of the hotel and into the rain...
Heading north-east out of Chamonix beneath grey, misty skies, we soon found ourselves trotting along scenic trails on the valley floor, following the river L’Arveyron, in the direction of the Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in France. I joined the intermediate group and we ran at a leisurely and conventional pace with regular stops, where our guide would take time to unpack the landscape around us, pinpointing the native flora and fauna (even stopping so we could sample some edible plants!) as well as the history and geography of the valley.
Upon reaching the hamlet of Les Bois, we joined shaded forest trails and gradually ascended via switchbacks to reach a vantage point where we could catch a glimpse of the formidable Mer de Glace – its glassy peak veiled by pristine white clouds that were finally beginning to part.
My group consisted of runners with differing levels of trail running experience; while some ran regularly on their local trails back in the UK, others had never ventured off-road before. For the majority, though, running on mountain trails was a completely new experience and we shared a collective sense of awe as we took in the grandiose views surrounding around us.
As we descended to the hamlet of Le Lavancher, our guides shared lots of helpful tips on descending steep terrain, including using how to use poles to slow down, maintain balance and even navigate obstacles, and before too long we were back at Les Bois, where the Run the Wild team had set up a cheese-and-beer tasting checkpoint (the best kind!) for us all to refuel. The sun had finally emerged at this point, and dried our soggy gear as we sampled cheeses, meats and beer from the local area. There was only around 5km left of trail running from here, and with even terrain beneath our feet once more, we picked up the pace along the valley floor to get back to the hotel in time for the first of our two yoga classes.
We'd covered around 14km in total (and climbed around 500m of elevation) so taking time to stretch and release tight muscles with a yoga flow led by an expert local instructor felt particularly restorative, and I was even surprised to find myself drifting in and out of sleep as we adopted the Savasna pose at the end.
On the Saturday evening, after a blissful afternoon spent by the pool, we were left to our own devices and my partner and I headed to a local craft beer bar – Big Mountain Brewing – to toast our efforts, before dinner at La Calèche – a famous Chamonix haunt, renowned for its traditional Savoyard cuisine, where we eagerly tucked into its spectacular Fondue Savoyarde.
Day two
The next morning, we awoke to glorious sunshine and clear blue skies, and as we jogged through Chamonix, of which Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe, stands at the foot. We were treated to unobstructed views of this mystical mountain.
Pausing for a moment to admire the famous Eglise St. Michel church– the iconic start and end point of all Mont-Blanc summit attempts, and the site of UTMB’s famous finish line – I felt genuinely moved, as I thought of all the epic alpine expeditions and feats of endurance that had been undertaken over the years in the beautiful but savage landscape surrounding this historical town.
Leaving downtown Chamonix, we climbed up to a balcony to join the Petit Balcon Sud trail, an easily accessible, forest-covered trail that runs around the lower valley floor (approx altitude 1,200m). We then veered off the trail for a short time to climb up to La Floria, where a gap in the forest opens up to offer up glorious panoramic views of Mont Blanc and the Mer de Glace valley. From here, we re-joined the Petit Balcon Sud and descended to Les Tines, where once again, the Run the Wild team were waiting for us with a generous selection of cheeses and wines for us to sample from the local Haute Savoie and Savoie regions, which all tasted especially moreish after 10km or so of running.
Fuelled by cheese and wine, we then made our way back to the town, following the river L'Arve almost all the way, arriving back at the hotel just in time for our second yoga class, which we were lucky enough to do poolside thanks to the glorious weather.
After a debrief with Simon and the rest of group, most then headed backed to Geneva to catch a flight home, but thankfully, we had opted to pay for an extra night at the hotel, so had time to unwind and enjoy the hotel spa facilities. I was so glad we did this, as it gave us more time to relax and enjoy another dinner in Chamonix (pizza at JOIA by Pizzeria Des Moulins – would recommend) while reflecting on our weekend's adventures.
It also meant we could enjoy a third morning on the trails on the Monday before heading home. To make the most of our time in the Alps, we got up early, headed into town for quick breakfast (coffee and pastries at Moody Coffee Roaster – another great local spot!) and returned to the Petit Balcon Sud trail to retrace much of the same route from the day before, which was the perfect way to round out the weekend before we made our way home.
On the transfer bus back to Geneva I found myself Googling 'How to get a place in UTMB' and 'How hard is it to climb Mont Blanc?' – which are two terms I'm almost certain I'd never typed into my phone before – at least not for my own benefit. But being in Chamonix does that to you. This famous town at the foot of Mont Blanc has a particular aura about it that's hard to describe. Here, almost anything is possible.
Is it for me?
If you're new to trail running and would love to experience running in the mountains but have no idea where to start, absolutely – especially if you don't feel confident planning a route and/or navigating in a trail environment. The only requirement is that you're able to run 10K in 75 minutes on road. The trip gives you a fantastic flavour of what it's like to run in an Alpine environment and is a great opportunity to learn some new skills while meeting new, like-minded people.
More experienced trail runners, though, are likely to get less from the trip. While 14km and 500m of elevation each day was enough for me, the more intrepid trail runners among us would perhaps find the routes a little tame and may be better served taking on longer, more technical and challenging routes at higher altitude (of which there is no shortage of in Chamonix).
Need to know
What's included
- 2 nights (Friday/Saturday) in the central 4* spa hotel Travel costs flights to/from Geneva and airport transfer (or similar alternative) – sharing a twin (single room can be added for a supplement of £220).
- Runners World, Part of the Hearst UK Wellbeing Network
- Travel costs flights to/from Geneva and airport transfer
- 2 The UK’s best running routes
- mornings of guided trail with technical instruction
What's not included
- Travel costs (flights to/from Geneva and airport transfer)
- had painted a rather intimidating picture
Find out more: runthewild.co.uk/runs/alps/
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