Chamonix has, of course, been one of the world’s greatest (some believe the greatest) skiing and climbing centres for over a century, but there’s much, much more to do in the famous French mountain town, and the surrounding valley, summer or winter.
One of the more recently discovered summer sporting activities to try is trail running, and in just a few years, Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley has become a favourite of trail runners the world over, just as it is for climbers and skiers, attracting tens of thousands each summer.
There are currently 18 different trail running routes that collectively form Chamonix’s Vallee Du Trail (valleedutrail.com). These include a beginner’s route that takes a maximum of an hour, then four different smaller routes each expected to take you one to two hours, five medium routes with an expected duration of two to four hours and five large runs with a running time of four to eight hours. In addition there are four XL routes which take longer still. The starting point for all of the itineraries is accessible via train or bus.
There’s a special Vallee du Trail app to download to your mobile device which uses GPS to geo-locate your position and show route progress on IGN maps. New for 2016 is a timed route from Chamonix to the Plan de l’Aiguille, which enables runners to measure their performance and to compare with other runners. The tourist office also organises special accommodation packages all season long; click on “Specials” at sejour.chamonix.com.
Trail Running Camps
If you’d like to join in with fellow trail runners, UCPA Chamonix Valley offers accompanied preparation camps (with or without lodging), youth camps, and initiation camps. Half-day Trail Initiation Camps for beginners are available to anyone aged 16 to 55 years old and starting at €30 per person. Prices for a 3-Day Trail Preparation without lodging start at €150. For more information email: [email protected]
Trail Running Races 2016
If you prefer to take part in a competitive race on Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley’s trails then there’s a choice of marathons or ultramarathons to sign up for.
Some 7,000 runners from 65 nations are expected in the Valley to kick off the season with the Mont Blanc Marathon (montblancmarathon.fr) staged from 24–26 June 2016. This can be tackled in any one of six race formats depending on your preference, from the mini-cross or Vertical KM up to the quarter or half marathon distance 10km and 23km races, or the full 42km marathon and for the most experienced and able, the very technical Mont-Blanc 80km race with a vertical of +/- 6000m. (nb = 6000 + vertical)
Next up, L’UTMB®
from 22–28 August 2016 l’UTMB (ultratrailmb.com) is a more serious affair that attracts even more participants – some 7,500 runners from 87 countries supported by over 2,000 volunteers. In the past 13 years this race has become an international event and includes no less than five ultra-endurance events around Mont-Blanc. The namesake race is the Ultra Tour of Mont-Blanc: three countries, 170km and 10,000m + Vertical with a time limit of 47 hours max.
Finally, Le Trail des Aiguilles Rouges
On 25 September 2016 it attracts trail running experts keen to tackle the 50km course with its 4,000m vertical gain that has become known in recent years as “the” mountain trail race (aiguillesrouges.fr). The new Petit 15km long TAR race was created four years ago and involves a less demanding (albeit still demanding enough for most of us) 1,200m of vertical climbing along the route.
