8 Days, Multiple Departures
Albania is without question one of Europe’s hidden wonders. Ancient Roman history rubs shoulders with some of the most breathtaking mountain scenery you can imagine. Waterfalls and ‘Blue Eye’ pools, charming mountain villages, a Mediterranean climate, delicious food, and empty trails await.
Spending four core days running among the mountains and valleys of the alps, traversing the high peaks which run the natural border between Albania and neighboring Montenegro.
We’ll experience running on empty trails as well as lush alpine meadows and waterfalls, with impromptu stops to bathe in natural hot springs. Our nightly accommodation will be cosy mountain lodges with delicious Albanian cuisine and wine to ensure we are well-rested and recovered.
Alongside the alps, we’ll be spending some time urban running as we explore the communist-era sights of Tirana, as well as having some well-deserved chill time on the beaches of Durres.
This retreat has been forged together from love and desire to explore magnificent places whilst keeping fit and achieving something special along the way.
The whole team behind this retreat has many years of experience in trail running and the adventure travel industry. We’ve run and explored everything from 5km to 100-mile endurance feats.
We’ve been incredibly lucky to explore the lengths and breadths of the world through our work, but our combined experience puts us in the best stead to share our running adventures with you, whatever your running ability.
We specialise in arranging excellent trail running holidays but do not book international flights. As there is a great variety of value flights departing from all over the world to Tirana International Airport (TIA).
We will discuss with you our trusted and recommended ways to book international flights through excellent ATOL-protected partners who offer great value, ease of service, and flight protection.
British citizens can enter and remain in Albania for a maximum of 90 days in every 6-month period without a visa.
Being a group of max. 12 runners with a mixture of ages and running abilities we may decide to split into flexible groups, all of which will be supported by our Albanian running guides who will travel with us on the trip.
By splitting the group will allow us all to move more fluidly, allowing all team members to run at their own comfortable pace, without feeling pressured.
Trail running in Albania is an absolute treat. The country is still well off the beaten path with very few travellers making it into the Albanian alps
We expect the trails to be empty, travelling through beech forests, lush meadows, and open pastures. For the most part, we will be running on the soft grass of the entry valleys. All of the time being surrounded by the jagged peaks of the Accursed Mountain ranges.
At times we will cross over from one valley to the next, climbing stepper paths with boulder and dry rock sections. Our maximum altitude will reach around 1,500m.
Our large luggage will be transported by pack mules on the days we do not have access to a vehicle.
Albania enjoys a Mediterranean climate and throughout the spring and early autumn, we can expect temperatures to sit in the early to mid 20 degrees C. The mountain air is refreshingly cool on clear days, but temperatures can drop a touch to the high teens (C) at night. The conditions are absolutely perfect for trail running.
Our trips are designed for people of all running abilities. Fast or slow, it doesn’t matter as we look to deliver flexible daily runs on all of our trips.
A typical daily distance on our trips would be somewhere between 6km - 15km per day, depending on the trip this could be a longer daily distance of up to 15 - 20km. Our longest days do not go much higher than this. Our daily distances are also dictated by the terrain we run on, sometimes we cross mountain passes which take a bit of time to walk over which naturally takes longer to cover the distances.
Most importantly though, these are journeys rather than races and our group trips are managed accordingly to individuals running requirements, splitting the group if necessary if the desire is to run slower or faster. If you wish to run longer, we can easily extend this for you.
We prefer to travel on beautiful, empty trails to places which are reasonably off the beaten path.
As a result, of our destination choices, there is a range of terrains which we run upon. You can expect everything from beech forests, lush meadows, open pastures and soft grass in entry valleys.
We also do a lot of running in the mountains, being surrounded by lofty peaks. As a result some of our days include walking or running if steep mountain passes as we traverse from one valley to the next. As we go higher we expect the terrain to become dryer as we move over cobbles, stones and boulder sections.
Occasionally, we run at altitudes higher than 2,500m, but typically our ascent will not go over 1,500m.
All of our trail running groups are fully-supported which means that you are only required to travel with a light pack, allowing us to travel more fluidly and giving the chance to focus on enjoying the experience in the process.
On our European trail running adventures, our large luggage will be transported ahead of us each morning by mini-van and will be left waiting for us in our rooms for our arrival later that day.
In destinations such as the Himalayas and the Albanian Alps, our large luggage will be transported ahead of us via yak, mule or porter. For such trips, we recommend bringing softer duffel bags which are easier to transport. A typical example will see our large luggage being transport several hours ahead of the groups’ departure where you will be reunited with your luggage at the end of the day.
Whilst these are trail running holidays with daily runs included, it’s a holiday after all and we feel it’s important to make the most of cultural interaction with sightseeing included alongside the running.
We combine our breathtaking routes with cultural gems which are carefully crafted to give you unique travel experiences whilst exploring the trail.
At the same time though we are flexible. If on a day you are feeling a bit tired and would prefer to explore an ancient Roman ruin rather than run through a mountain valley, we’ll make it happen for you.
No problem, a majority of people who join our trips are solo travellers.
All of our trips are set up for twin or double rooms which works well when we stay in smaller boutique lodging. We offer single supplements on all of our trips if you would prefer your own room.
Part of the joy of travelling to the destinations we visit is the local cuisine. Fresh eggs, salads, cured meats, fish, olives, curries, and rice dishes…the list is endless. We want you to experience the local culture at it’s best, which certainly involves diving into the huge diversity of delicious dishes we will find everywhere we visit.
In Nepal, we will eat tasty Dhal Bhat curries served with poppadoms, local vegetables, and steamed dumplings. In the Mediterranean fresh, vibrant salads will be delivered for lunch while in the evening we eat moussakas, paellas and other wonders which are complimented for great wines and beers.
Certainly your trail running shoes!
As each of our trips climates and terrains vary we will send out a trip specific adventure pack which will cover the types of kit and clothing required. We send this in advance so that there is time for you to purchase anything you do not already own.
No problem, we can take care of anything and everything. All destinations we deal with are used to catering with a variety of dietary requirements. Please inform us in advance and we will ensure this is taken care of for you.