 Poster: A snowHead
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Coming out again with our van for two weeks in March and we both have a spring marathon so sadly cannot put the running too much on the back burner.
Anyone have any tips for places with near-ish ski access which are also nice to run in? By nice to run I'm talking trails that are ok in winter or small roads - very much do not enjoy running along some hairpin resort road that coaches are also trying to get along.
The best places we have found so far are basing ourselves in Taninges or Morillon (nice path along the Giffre), trail in St Gervais, small loop on back roads in Le Grand Bornand but there must be loads of others. Location(s) flexible, it'll probably be France or Italy if the snow's ok. Don't mind basing ourselves very much in the valley and having to drive for resort access although ideally not loads of driving. .
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Bourg Saint Maurice has a very nice walking/cycling/running piste down the valley towards Aime. It follows the river and is away from the road.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@belette, Serre Chevalier valley is very popular with runners.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| alasdair.graham wrote: |
| Bourg Saint Maurice has a very nice walking/cycling/running piste down the valley towards Aime. It follows the river and is away from the road. |
I ran part of that last summer and was a nice track, can also vary it and use the road which runs largely parallel to the main road which was pretty quiet.
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I have run in many resorts around the Alps, winter and summer. It really depends what you're looking for. Val d'isere you can run between Fornet and La Daille on a slow rise/drop. Chamonix has lots of options in the valley, as well as Petit Balcon loops on either side. St Anton has good long loop options. Places like Courchevel, La Tania, Val Thorens, you've really only got up and down or short loops as it's mainly hills. Zermatt, I've run down the access road to add relatively flat distance. Andermatt has a good, long valley (golf course), excellent for longer runs. Les 2 Alpes not so good, you have to run around the town unless you want to go up the hill. Courmayeur can give you some flat options, going out and back to the south through pretty hamlets.
If I'm training for a spring marathon I tend to focus on time rather than distance and bear in mind that all training at altitude is worth more than training at sea level.
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Reinvigorating this thread as it's the annual combination of spring marathon training and ski holiday. Had been planning on going to our usual haunts round Taninges but lower resorts look to be struggling a bit this season so we're trying Bourg Saint Maurice as suggested upthread and will ski from Les Arcs, Ste Foy and La Rosiere.
A bit of Google maps and Strava research suggests that as well as the 14km "voie verte" to Aime, there is an open access 400m track! 
Last year snow was also not great lower down and we ended up based in Orelle and Cesana in Italy, with a trip to Sauze earlier in the year. The running in Orelle was good from a traffic perspective (there is none) but punishing as you really are running up the mountain, whether on the roads or small trails. I wouldn't have liked to do a run of much more than 10k or so there because of the terrain. It was really spectacular though. Cesana is flatter and I managed to construct a 10 mile loop but the riverside path is on the shady side of the valley so prone to being covered by snow and you have to be very careful. Sauze was ok, you can pay to use the treadmills at the sports centre and there's a quietish road/trail to Monfol.
Earlier this year we went to Champoluc which also had some trail options. Would have struggled to do anything other than steady trail running there and you needed ice grips or spikes.
Places I would NOT recommend running:
Avoriaz Les Prodains - sharing the road with lots of traffic. No pavement. Either gaining or losing height.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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My post isn't very well written, obviously Orelle is in France and Cesana is in Italy 
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| belette wrote: |
Reinvigorating this thread as it's the annual combination of spring marathon training and ski holiday. Had been planning on going to our usual haunts round Taninges but lower resorts look to be struggling a bit this season so we're trying Bourg Saint Maurice as suggested upthread and will ski from Les Arcs, Ste Foy and La Rosiere.
A bit of Google maps and Strava research suggests that as well as the 14km "voie verte" to Aime, there is an open access 400m track! . |
the Voie Verte was washed out in one place by the winter floods, check it has been repaired before you go for a run.
Surely the point of running is you can run anywhere.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@belette,
Around/across the lake in Tignes?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@belette, can you not get to a valley? The running season gets underway here next month, and we have the Lauterbrunnen valley 12 minutes away by train. It’s 11km out and back, with only 100 metres of altitude difference from end to end, and zero traffic. The scenery isn’t bad either.
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@belette, Have you looked at Bozel?The huttopia campsite has a running track next door and there are plenty of quiet roads / tracks in that area.
There is a free ski bus up to Courchevel from Bozel for skiing the 3 valleys and it is only 5 minutes drive to Champagny for access to La Plagne and Paradiski.
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You know it makes sense.
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Get yourself some running snowshoes and have some fun (might not be necessary depending on conditions/how packed out the trails are). I know a number of the valleys in Switzerland have winter hiking/snowshoe trails open in winter. Might as well take advantage of the mountains and snow when in the mountains and snow!
I'd second the Jungfrau region. It's one of my favorite spots in the Alps. Loads of hiking trails open in winter. Should be plenty of options even without snowshoes (though I might recommend microspikes, I always carry them in winter in the mountains).
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| skichampcouk wrote: |
@belette, Have you looked at Bozel?The huttopia campsite has a running track next door and there are plenty of quiet roads / tracks in that area.
There is a free ski bus up to Courchevel from Bozel for skiing the 3 valleys and it is only 5 minutes drive to Champagny for access to La Plagne and Paradiski. |
Great tip! Thanks. The track is the icing on the cake
Will do some more reading into Austrian and Swiss options, we've tended to do France and Italy just because we're familiar with the drive and they tend to be fairly camper van friendly.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@belette, we have a 30km cycle route along the Ziller river here in the Zillertal. The valley is between roughly 500-630m elevation, so most of the time the path is completely free of snow.
Worth looking in to as well 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I second @swskier's recommendation of Zillertal. I'm a keen runner and was almost disappointed last time I was in Mayrhofen that I spent all my time skiing instead of running. This time of year it's pretty likely to be snow-free at that level.
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FAQ
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