Alex on Trails

With the COVID-19 pandemic making it feel wrong to go outside and exercise, I started feeling restless and came up with an unconventional idea: running in my stairway. Stuck indoors with some free time on my hands, I spent almost an hour meticulously measuring the height of each step in my building to calculate the total elevation. It turns out that one climb equals 13.55 meters of elevation, meaning I’d need to go up 74 times to make 1 kilometer! Armed with this knowledge, I was ready to tackle this unique challenge and turn my stairway into a vertical running track. It wasn’t just about staying active—it was about finding creative ways to keep the spirit of adventure alive during these unprecedented times.

Just like everyone in the world, this year has been quite challenging, and I had to adapt my plans significantly. Originally, I had signed up for a series of ambitious races: the EcoTrail Paris in March (45k), MIUT in May (85k), Ultra Lozère in June (110k over 2 days), 6000D in July (65k), and the CCC in August (106k). It was supposed to be an epic year, culminating in the classic UTMB race ending in Chamonix. However, all of these events were cancelled due to the global situation, making it hard to stay motivated without a clear goal in sight. Fortunately, at the last minute, I signed up for the first edition of a ‘small’ race in the Jura, thanks to a tip from Mathieu. This race, called La Renarde, was surprisingly one of the few events in France that didn’t get cancelled in 2020. Part of a festival with several races over the weekend, La Renarde covered 73k with a 2300m elevation gain. We started at 7am under a blanket of snow, but as the day progressed, the sun emerged, creating per...