Run the Alps

Why Run the Alps Partnered with ALPSinsight

This is a story about Dan and Janine that only a friend can tell.

For years, I had seen their photography in places like Trail Runner magazine and the Patagonia catalog. Simply put, they’re two of the best mountain athlete photographers going. Whenever I stumbled across their images, they resonated with me—they reaffirmed an emotional connection I have to the Alps. It’s a place I’ve loved for years.

So, when I started Run the Alps, I emailed Dan and Janine. It was a long shot. How could I possibly afford such talent, on a start-up budget? I wasn’t even sure they’d answer. Instead, an enthusiastic reply appeared in my inbox. We made plans to meet up in Interlaken, their home base amid the Alps. Before long, I found myself on Switzerland’s ever-reliable SBB CFF FSS trains, spiriting from one part of the Alps (the Valais) to another (The Berner Oberland.)

We talked trail running and all things Alps for two hours, and never once talked money, agreements, terms, or usage rights. Their enthusiasm for outdoors sports in this stunning corner of the world was so plainly evident. I immediately connected with it. And them.

Miraculously, an internal clock was working that day, and at some point I looked at my phone, and blurted out, “Ohmygod! I only have ten minutes to make the last train home to Champéry—and we never talked photography!”

I swear I saw Dan shoot a glance to Janine, and I swear she nodded ever so subtly. “Don’t worry,” Dan said, “We’ll figure it out.” I grabbed my pack and sprinted for nine of those ten minutes to Interlaken West, literally hopping on the train a few moments before it pulled out of the station. Swiss trains, as you might imagine, wait for no one.

Sometimes, every now and then and far too infrequently, the world seems perfect. A couple seem right for each other, they’re in the right place, and doing work ideally-suited to them. What happens next, is that, well, things happen. Great and wonderful things. In this case, beautiful stories and photography that come from an authentic place in the heart. That energy is infectious, too. Those around them get inspired—to visit a region they love, to undertake a beautiful climb, ride, or trail run, to just to make things happen in their own life. Even, sometimes, to start a business like Run the Alps. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it magic. But I do think it’s what happens when the universe, for a fleeting moment, seems in sync.

Anyone could have started Alpsinsight. But only Dan and Janine can do it in a way that’s totally authentic, and filled with that enthusiasm that I felt in a pub in Interlaken that afternoon.
Remarkable things will happen here. Just watch. How can they not?

So, that’s why Run the Alps partnered with ALPSinsight. Not because of any business deal, but because our hearts are in the same place. Watch ALPSinsight. Bookmark the web site, follow along on your favorite social media channel. Whatever happens next, I promise you, it will be very cool.

Dan and Janine would never say any of this– they’re far too modest. But I can.

By Doug Mayer

Doug is the owner of Run the Alps