Trail Running in the French Alps

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38442136605970224922024-09-24T20:59:24.435+02:00Trail Running in the French AlpsA British national, I moved to the French Alps at the end of 2011 and have been enjoying the outdoor life here ever since. My main interests are in trail running, but basically I love anything that involves going up or down a mountain. I thought I'd share a few of my experiences here.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-79739217703031007942013-05-20T15:45:00.003+02:002013-05-20T15:45:37.563+02:00This Blog Has Moved!

I've recently moved this blog to a new Wordpress platform, and you can find this at running.larjarjatte.com. This gives me greater control over the blog and I hope you see it as an improvement. Since I can't find away to seamlessly redirect everyone from the Google platform, please follow the link and update your bookmarks. All the old blog posts are on the new site. Go to the New

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-29020004105316409272013-04-26T15:44:00.000+02:002013-04-29T15:45:27.186+02:00Warm Weather Running

I was in Budapest this week on business and the weather was fantastic - sunny and dry and in the high twenties. The Hungarian parliament on the banks of the Danube I took the opportunity of flat tarmac, warm weather and daylight at 6am to get a few runs in around the river. A loop of the Margaret Island running track, then back along the Buda side and across the Chain Bridge was a great way

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0Budapest, Hungary47.497912 19.04023499999993947.1545035 18.394787999999938 47.8413205 19.68568199999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-33207268074983002602013-04-20T12:30:00.000+02:002013-04-29T15:40:02.419+02:00Winter Again

After a week of beautiful weather where I was lounging around in shorts and flip flops, I awoke this morning to 20cm of snow and wintry winds. Running the snow-shoe trail was quite appropriate Eric crossing the river using the rocks as stepping stones Just like February again

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0La Jarjatte, 26620 Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.675524 5.757691000000022519.153489500000003 -35.550902999999977 70.1975585 47.066285000000022tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-68123944192304921822013-04-17T15:27:00.000+02:002013-04-29T15:27:58.114+02:00Race Report: 2013 Paris Marathon

Its been a while since I've run a marathon on tarmac. 3 years in fact. London 2010 was my first and only road marathon which I managed in a respectably 3:35. I was a bit of a wreck at the end, but the crowd were amazing and the time was decent enough to encourage me that I had room for improvement. But then I fell in love with trail running. I turned my back on road races and headed for the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-43426487886699451212013-03-11T09:40:00.000+01:002013-03-15T09:41:45.262+01:00Long Run - Then Tapering

With just a few weeks to go until the Paris Marathon, I needed to do my 'long run', the traditional 20 miler that is the bedrock of all marathon training plans. I considered running it in Milan, where I was on business and the terrain was flat, as I also had a few hours spare one morning before meetings. However I thought that after 20 miles I might not be in much of a state to work for the rest

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-55829655049797140932013-02-24T15:01:00.000+01:002013-02-27T15:19:50.895+01:00Desperately Seeking Tarmac - A Few Thoughts on City Running

Now we're getting into the end of February, the trails around me have been under a thick blanket of snow for a good three months now and as such my weekly distances have dropped off dramatically. I'm putting in some lung-busting efforts running along the snowshoe hiking trails, often in deep powder, but the pace is slow and its not perfect training for my next goal, which is the Paris Marathon

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-69512477868037886412013-02-24T12:52:00.000+01:002013-03-21T12:53:17.189+01:00Winter Running

Winter is always the time when runners are supposed to put in the long slow miles, in order to build up a base of cardiovascular endurance that can be built upon in the coming months to bring them to their peak for races in the Spring. I'm running the Paris marathon in April, and my plan had always been to build up my weekly mileage, and our mild winter over the Christmas period meant that this

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-82119295452477540742012-09-21T12:49:00.000+02:002012-09-21T12:49:15.903+02:00Strava 100 Mile Trail Challenge

I've been using Strava to log my runs for about a month now, after having previously used a combination of Fetch Everyone and Garmin Connect for a number of years. About 4 years ago when I first got into running, I bought a Garmin Forerunner 405, which despite its downfalls (dodgy bezel, poor batter life, quirks picking up satellites) has probably been the most motivational piece of running

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.6654089 5.70502844.5750639 5.5470995000000007 44.7557539 5.8629565tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-63396558047597933982012-09-12T16:46:00.001+02:002012-09-12T16:46:59.166+02:00Home Made Energy Bars

Energy bars are expensive, and generally not full of anything special. I also live miles from anywhere so its useful to be able to rustle some up out of store cupboard ingredients. You need: 240grams of  peanut butter 240 grams of clear honey 175 grams of sugar-free mueseli 200 grams dried fruit (I use 50 grams each of pineapple, apricot, raisins & sultanas) 100 grams of seed mix,

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-38313554343161218492012-09-05T15:06:00.000+02:002012-09-11T15:10:32.190+02:00Pic de l'Aigle Morning Run

I was feeling like a more challenging outing so I ran Pic de l'Aigle this morning and got a few nice pictures since the weather was fine. df Down in the valley at the start of the climb, crossing the river Büech Eric, the border collie, waiting for me as the gradient gets steeper The view back down into the La Jarjatte valley, with the ski pistes in the background The summit

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.6654089 5.70502844.5750639 5.5470995000000007 44.7557539 5.8629565tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-64747935507439979642012-07-17T10:55:00.001+02:002012-07-17T11:39:31.558+02:00London Run

I'm in London for the week and went out this morning for a run around Hampstead Heath and then down into our Soho office. The weather has been terrible lately with no discernible summer in the UK. However I was treated to a great view of the city from the top of Parliament Hill, before heading back down into town. Early morning London skyline from Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-44635579649607952212012-07-11T15:24:00.001+02:002012-07-11T15:24:14.221+02:00Etape 2012 - Albertville to La Toussuire

I signed up for L'Etape du Tour last year before we moved to the French Alps, full of enthusiasm that having the mountains on my doorstep would mean that I would get out on my bike often and be properly fit and aclimatised by the time 8th July 2012 rolled around. Well, it didn't quite pan out that way. With a combination of work commitments, getting a dog, and rennovating a house, and niggly

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0Albertville, France45.675535 6.39272645.631156000000004 6.313762 45.719914 6.47169tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-41408039443154273512012-06-26T16:17:00.000+02:002012-06-26T16:17:10.871+02:00Eagle's Peak Loop

My house is in a valley, and directly opposite, above the Via Ferrata route and rock climbing crag, is a steep mountain face, topped out by a little nubbin known as Pic de l'Aigle, or Peak of the Eagle. I can understand why it got this name, we regularly see golden eagles circling in the area, swooping down for hares or gaining height on the thermals, and the rock itself looks like a perfect

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0La Jarjatte, 26620 Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.675524 5.75769144.664232500000004 5.7379500000000005 44.6868155 5.777432tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-53685026015866091472012-06-25T15:47:00.001+02:002012-06-25T15:47:00.411+02:00Mad Dogs and Englishman

Well, it wasn't quite the midday sun but it was definitely hot enough at 11am to make me think twice. Summer is definitely well underway in French Alps, the flies are out and the farmers are making hay while the sun shines. I was out with our Border Collie, which are a notoriously heat intolerant breed so he struggled a bit despite me stopping at few cold streams along the way. I need to get

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-11213980413963270292012-06-25T15:09:00.000+02:002012-06-25T15:09:11.121+02:00Combe Obscure Loop

I was spared dog-walking duties on Saturday morning so took the opportunity to go for a longer and more adventurous run than usual. Starting off down the valley through the forests as far as the Mougious waterfall (below). Rather than turning around though, I took the steep ascent (300m in about 15 minutes) up the left hand side. Cascade de Mougious It was a lung-busting climb to the top,

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0La Jarjatte, 26620 Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.675524 5.75769144.664232500000004 5.7379500000000005 44.6868155 5.777432tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-3921023662977753482012-05-17T15:45:00.000+02:002012-05-17T15:45:05.930+02:00Local Ultra Marathon

I just found on Facebook a posting for an Ultra Marathon (51km) up the Pic de Bure, the large mountain on which our closest large ski resort (Super Dévoluy/La Joue du Loup) is situated. http://www.ledevoluy.com/ete/fr/agenda/les-evenements/le-trail-du-pic-de-bure.html As the crow flies, this is only about 10km from my house, so I've gone ahead and entered the race as I really need an

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-6026049606194946922012-04-13T10:42:00.000+02:002012-04-13T10:42:48.916+02:00Running with a Dog

On Tuesday, we travelled over to Valence in the Rhône Valley and took owner ship of a 12 month old Border Collie called Eric. His previous owner, an 84 year old man had recently died and he was been fostered. We've been on the lookout for a Border Collie for some time, checking on the puppies available on noticeboards in the vet, but Eric came through a friend of a friend and so we took the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0Saboyer, 26620 Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.689887 5.77229144.688476 5.7698235 44.691297999999996 5.7747585tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-26944857280649385912012-03-30T17:37:00.000+02:002012-04-06T18:09:00.544+02:00Grand Ferrand Traverse

At the end of our valley is the largest mountain in the area - the Grand Ferrand. At 2,758m its not the biggest in the Alps, but at over a vertical mile above our valley floor, it presents quite a challenge to the aspring trail runner, and has quite an imposing presence over the end of the valley. The Grand Ferrand on the approach - still early morning and not much sun. All year I had

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0La Jarjatte, 26620 Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.675524 5.75769144.664232500000004 5.7379500000000005 44.6868155 5.777432tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-82227632703398878592012-03-25T17:36:00.000+02:002012-04-06T17:37:15.446+02:00Still Too Much Snow

I’ve only been running in the French Alps for a couple of months, and so far I’ve not ventured up high as the weather has been poor and there’s too much snow. However we’ve had a few weeks of fine, warm and sunny weather, and all of the snow has gone from valley level. Looking out of my office window, I can see the Grand Ferrand, the largest mountain in the area, and an ultimate goal

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0La Jarjatte, 26620 Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.675524 5.75769144.664232500000004 5.7379500000000005 44.6868155 5.777432tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-9775879101583720342012-03-17T16:33:00.000+01:002012-04-06T17:34:25.620+02:00First Ride of the Year

Since moving to France, both my road bike and mountain bike have been sat still in packing boxes in our barn. This week was beautiful sunshine, warm days and dry roads, but work commitments made it impossible to get out. Bad weather was on its way (heavy snow) Sunday, so I took my chance and headed out to the local hamlets to at least get some KMs into my legs. I’m seriously glad

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423942820671006746noreply@blogger.com0La Jarjatte, 26620 Lus-la-Croix-Haute, France44.675524 5.75769144.664232500000004 5.7379500000000005 44.6868155 5.777432tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844213660597022492.post-21254991315004900002012-03-15T16:30:00.000+01:002012-04-06T17:32:27.996+02:00Spring Run

Since moving to France, and despite now living in a trail running Mecca, I’ve completely neglected to get out recently. So after working three 18 hour days in a row, and the weather being beautiful, warm and sunny all week I forced myself to get out for a lunchtime run. It had been a few weeks since I last ran the trails at the end of the valley, and back then the weather was below freezing