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Esther

@alpinefieldnotes

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Vignettes from📍Rhône-Alpes 🏔🏃‍♀️
Trail running for beauty | shoe nerd for fun | storytelling with [Pr]esence | cross-cultural kid for life. 🇫🇷🇬🇧🇺🇸

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September, you were golden. And full of change. Just enough change for all five of us to bear this month in fact. But so much goodness through new doors.

In the fringe hours, we somehow squeezed in final dinners al fresco, annual garden and mystery trail races, an anniversary date to remember how it began, bikes and hikes to touch the forest floor and remind ourselves that we are not the sum of our typing fingers.

Life is full but we’re thankful for all the exciting places we got to go, to film, to pitch, to run this month. And for the beautiful, patient people we get to call family, friends and colleagues.

Autumn, the sun-scorched tank is full. We’re ready for you! 🍂🍁 by @alpinefieldnotes

Sometimes you have to sign up for a race just to make sure you actually get in your weekend long run.

Last Sunday had all the ingredients for an excuse: a heatwave, guests staying at ours, end of school year insanity, and a work trip early the next morning. But I set my alarm at 5am and I slipped out early with my friend to the emerald start line.

It turned out to be one of those perfect mornings that reminds you why you run. Locals rang cowbells through the valley, waterfalls lined the climb from Sixt to Refuge de Gers. Somewhere after the hut, an older lady shouted that I was in the top 25. I wasn’t convinced she was right, but it seemed like a good enough reason not to lose too many spots on the descent.

Double track gave way to a couple technical foresty trails before another race merged into ours, making it impossible to know where anyone stood. I reasoned it wasn’t ever about positions but savouring this huge luxury of running in one of my favourite places on earth. I put my earbuds in, and locked in for the final kilometres.

I saved a safe pace, thinking I’d still have to run the extra loop around the lake like previous years but the finish came quickly and for some reason my name lit up in pink: first in age category. Even better, meeting up with my friend, she told me she had won hers too.

Some mornings are absolutely worth the early alarm. We stayed for the podium and were back before the heat of the day. A great morning out. by @alpinefieldnotes

Wasn’t quite ready to skip Spring and go straight to July! Close to a 30 degrees celsius difference between this weekend and last at the same elevation. For US peeps: that’s a 55F gain! 🤯 It was as if May was hijacked by teenagers. (IYKYK)😅

Is it the same where you are?

<< Swipe left to melt the snow. by @alpinefieldnotes

Another 50k in the books. Technically 56km and 2200m+, for those counting every painful step.

The moment I arrived in Millau, my right knee started throbbing, as if my body already knew what was coming. Was I overtrained? Undertrained? By evening, the doubts were loud. Eight hours of running through the gorges suddenly felt like a terrible idea. But after a quick call home, I figured anyone can walk to the first 20km marker then quit. Worst case it would be an expensive but beautiful hike. 🫣

Don’t do this at home but a kind pharmacist sorted me out with pain meds, and after a few restless hours of ‘sleep’ the 3:30am alarm clock sounded. In the pitch black, my friend and I boarded a shuttle winding for an hour through rocky overhangs to La Malène. Was I going to run this far back? Somehow, by race start, my knee had settled and I was determined to hang as long as possible. I tucked in behind a runner with a solid pace and we spent about 15km chatting through the morning light and perched villages. It was near perfection.

Then, out of nowhere, my new friend lost feeling in her arm and started gasping for air. She needed urgent medical help. We stopped. I helped her lie down on the mountain and stayed with her while emergency teams tried to geolocate us in the gorges. Time dragged on, runners streamed past. But are we even human if pace matters more than life?

We got her sorted and then the rest of the day became even more about surrender, clearly a skill I need more of. Taking a step back, I could see the beauty of humanity: Melissa getting up early to serve her killer homemade lentil soup to hundreds of sweaty runners at an aid station. Just because. Michele smashing her first 50k after months of training. Finishing with Sissi, a triathlete pushing through her own knee pain while talking about her little boys waiting at home. Volunteers turning remote hamlets into rooftop parties. Taking time out to serve.

Not the race I imagined. But the journey in humility I needed. Longer trails have a way of reminding you that unless you are on the actual podium, the real reward is rarely the result. It’s usually a tender lesson about yourself. Highly recommended. xxx by @alpinefieldnotes

Ingredients for a great family holiday:

• FUN for all ages
• New FOODS to discover
• FRESH air every day
• FRIENDS to make memories with
• FAR enough from the crowds (close to trails helps)
• And ideally no FREAKING devices

You don’t always get all six. But when you do, it’s pretty magical.

A few spring days in the Ardèche gave us exactly that: canoeing the gorges, exploring Chauvet cave, hiking to Pont d’Arc stunning rock arch, cycling with friends along the Ibie river, attempting a moelleux au chocolat at the campsite with no oven, and still dreaming about a mushroom + chestnut cream chicken paired with an astounding local wine.

Short trip but one for the books.

What would you add? What are your secret ingredients for a perfect vacay? by @alpinefieldnotes

Easter sunrise hike with the fam. Not easy to get to the trailhead before 7am with teens but we made it. A little breakfast up top. A short reading of the Easter story. The most impromptu hiding of a few Easter eggs on the way down the mountain to motivate the troops. A good way to start the day. Happy Easter 2026 friends! 💐 by @alpinefieldnotes

Looks like I ran about 350 hours in 2025 (a little over 2500km / 77000m+ of vertical gain).

Not my best, not my worst but who really cares about the stats. 😆 30+ years of consistent running: THAT is the real victory and it’s still a great school.

Here are 10 great lessons 2025 taught me:

1. It’s worth earning less to be able to run more.

2. Know your why for running. It doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.

3. A loving spouse and a safe running environment makes or breaks a mother’s running. 🙏🏽

4. When running solo in remote terrain, don’t assume GPS map will load. Download the map! I learned this the hard way mid-mountain, shivering, no headlamp, sun going down. 🥶😱

5. Daylight runs in the Winter are worth rearranging your life for if you can. That messy home can always wait. Still bring the headlamp!

6. When the weather tells you to stay in, that’s usually when the best runs happen. Bonus: the mean dogs stay inside. 🐕☠️

7. A great marketing campaign can sell any shoe. But don’t fall for doctored up ads featuring a badass you in such or such shoe. The proof is in on the ground testing by unsponsored runners with independent views. (Thanks for letting me be on the incredible team @metaendurance!)

8. In 2025, shoe tech matters. We know that tech can save road runners precious seconds. But in 2025 trail shoes shouldn’t feel like hiking boots. We’re tired of running in compression molded EVA foam. We want durable road pop underfoot with bulletproof grip.

9. Rest days are by far harder than run days. But they are essential, especially for masters runners. Related: strength and cross-training are annoying but key to running stronger and longer.

10. Every run tells a beautiful story. Like puzzle pieces, each one tells of the seasons of a place. Of your season in life. Of your physical fitness and mental health. It’s that journal that doesn’t lie. Don’t shy away from it. It’s teaching you how to stay humble and true to yourself. ❤️

What are some things that 2025 taught you?

#runninglife
#runstrong
#runnersofinstagram
#trailrunning
#womenwhorun
#mastersrunner
#runwisdom
#lifelessons
#runningthoughts by @alpinefieldnotes

Said goodbye to family today. We went from a full house with endless buzz in those twilight Christmas and New Year days to just us five, back to the work and school grind. It feels like whiplash. Sheesh, it’s hard to live on the other side of the world to family. Sure makes every shared moment that much more precious. Till next time. 💙

📸 Mer de Glace & Annecy / @fermentophile by @alpinefieldnotes

Autumn you’ve been golden! 🍁🍂 by @alpinefieldnotes

I was in a funk today. You know, that blah feeling you get when you’re drained and routine takes over? I started robotically making an apple tart for the fam and someone saw my lifeless eyes. He said: you know what, why don’t you care for yourself and make that tomorrow instead? Go up, you’ll love it.

Of course I would. 🥹

Within 30mins, I was running above the cloud layer, where perspective clears and the world softens. A little plod to fill the tank to better care for a family who deserves to live with someone who loves herself first.

Autumn trails are kind of like poetry. They are an invitation to look up. An invitation to admire, to reflect on the beauty of the human experience, complete with its ups and downs.

#autumnrun #abovetheclouds #whyirun #trailrunning #lesbrasses #trailsociety #trailrunner #trailmama #runningismytherapy #runningdiaries #trailsisters #hautesavoiexperience by @alpinefieldnotes

Squeezing every last bit of the final weekend of summer. ☀️🏃‍♀️🏃🏽⚽️🌳🥂🍾

Long runs, short runs, chats with friends, dads playing girls’ soccer team, treetop climbing, laser games with sports’ team, family marking milestones. Just spent enough time indoors for homework!

Shoes: @metaendurance by @alpinefieldnotes

Summer flew by and just like that, it’s back to school for these three! As you can tell, some are more excited than others. 😅

La rentrée feels so different now.

A walk, a discreet kiss and a wave for the one, and “you can go now!”
A drop-off at the bus for the other two, never seeing teachers or meeting classmates.

We send them off hoping and praying that all the time and love poured in strengthens these youngsters to survive a raging sea of critique, of otherness, of being different.

The challenges sure look different at these ages, but watching these kids come into their own and growing into kind, trustworthy, capable humans is surely one of the greatest gifts in life. ❤️

Here’s to 🇫🇷4e, 5e, and CM2!
(🇺🇸 8th, 7th, 5th / 🇨🇭 10e, 9e, 7P). by @alpinefieldnotes