COVID-19 Update
January 10, 2022
As we move into our 2022 tour season, we anticipate our operations going back to normal. Our first tour will be in mid-May and we are hoping that things will be relatively normal by then and moving forward into our tour schedule. We will still be implementing protocols that will make our tours safer overall and will continue to monitor the situation regularly as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Care,
Andy and Kim
As we move into our 2022 tour season, we anticipate our operations going back to normal. Our first tour will be in mid-May and we are hoping that things will be relatively normal by then and moving forward into our tour schedule. We will still be implementing protocols that will make our tours safer overall and will continue to monitor the situation regularly as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Care,
Andy and Kim
Heading into the 2021 Tour Season Update December 7, 2020:
Hello Runners,
As we near the end of 2020, we can reflect on what a challenging year it's been and hopefully look forward to a much better 2021. With vaccines on the horizon and new leadership, we are hoping to get back to a more normal 2021. With that said, we hope to be able to host our full tour schedule in 2021 while still remaining cautious and implementing some of the options we offered in 2020 until we're sure travel restrictions are relaxed and things return close to normal in the world.
With our 2021 tour calendar now released, we are hoping many of you are anxious to travel again and begin reserving your spots on one (or more) of our varied tours. While we hope we can go ahead with our tours as planned in 2021, we will be continuing with the steps we took in 2020 to ensure that you're comfortable reserving a spot on one of our tours. These steps will be in place until further notice:
1. Those already registered for a tour and having paid their deposit, will be contacted directly around 45 days out from the tour date regarding the status of their tour. A final decision on whether the tour must be cancelled will be made at least 30 days out from the tour date.
a. Final payment for the tour will not have to be made until 30 days out from the tour departure date to allow for a watch and wait approach. Normally, final payment is required 60 days out from the departure date. We recommend that you wait until 30 days before your departure date before deciding to cancel your trip.
b. Deposits or full payments made on 2021 tours may be carried over to 2022 and used on the same tour one year later or another Adventure Running Co. tour. We would prefer that these deposits be used by December 31, 2022 but we will allow you to carry the deposit or full payment over indefinitely with essentially no expiration date.
c. If a tour must be cancelled due to COVID-19 complications, you may receive a full refund. However, we would really appreciate if you could defer the deposit or full payment to help support our operations and those of our various small partners we work with, many of whom have already been paid for services such as lodging and tour support. With most of our tours canceled last year, we're still working to get back on our feet in 2021.
d. If we must cancel a tour for whatever reason, you will receive a full refund.
2. To make things easier for you to reschedule your tour next year if we have to cancel due to Covid-19, and also to make it easier for us to re-book our lodging and other support services, we will move our tours back exactly one year to essentially the same week in 2022. In most cases this should be possible. We truly hope that, if we do need to cancel a tour due to COVID-19 related complications, you will be able to join us again in 2022 on the same date.
3. We're hopeful that our tour schedule can go ahead as planned in 2021 and we anticipate a high level of interest in our tours with travel limited last year. Because of this, we will be requiring a deposit in 2021 to ensure your spot on a tour. This is a departure from our 2020 Covid-related accommodations, but the steps outlined in (1) above still apply.
4. We highly recommend travel insurance for any new bookings. For complete peace of mind, we recommend that you add “Cancel for Any Reason” coverage. For more information about travel insurance you can scroll to the bottom of our FAQ page for some options.
5. For our part, we’ll continue to review best practices for the adventure travel industry and keep you updated as the situation continues to change. We really hope this means positive change in the near future!
We thank you all for your support and feel blessed to know so many of you as friends and family. As outlined below, we would appreciate giving us a "shout out" as you see fit. Times are still pretty tough for everyone right now and any positive vibes certainly help!
As before, continue to follow these sites for accurate information about the COVID-19 pandemic:
The World Health Organization - daily situation reports
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention - travel updates by country and hygiene and prevention tips
The United States Department of State - travel advisories by country
Follow all the guidelines, stay safe, stay healthy and care for each other and your local communities. We’re all in this together and we really hope to see you all on the trails soon!
With Care,
Andy and Kim
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APRIL 17, 2020 UPDATE:
Hello Runners,
As we arrive at mid-April, still more than 60 days before our first tour of the summer, we continue to monitor the ever-changing, yet more clear picture of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is clear that social distancing, stay at home orders and restrictions on travel are helping to slow the spread of the virus and “flatten the curve”. These orders however, have significantly impacted our ability to safely operate our tours and events and placed incredible challenges in the face of the entire travel industry and the world’s economies. We’ll continue to assess the COVID-19 situation and adjust accordingly. The health and safety of our runners and the communities we travel through will always be at the forefront of any decision we make on whether to continue with a tour or event.
At the present time, essentially all of the parks, forests and public spaces we utilize for our tours have been closed to commercial use. While these closures will vary from place to place, they will dictate our ability to operate this year. We’ll continue to be in contact with and be sure that we’re following direction from our local, state and federal partners. Since we’re still more than 60 days from our first tour, we will remain in “watch and wait” mode.
In an effort to reduce uncertainty surrounding our tours, we are putting in place extraordinary steps for 2020. Hopefully these options will help guide your decision on whether or not to join us on an adventure this year. Until things begin opening up and travel restrictions lifted, we will be taking the following steps:
1. Those already registered for a tour and having paid their deposit, will be contacted directly around 45 days out from the tour date regarding the status of their tour. A final decision on whether the tour must be cancelled will be made at least 30 days out from the tour date.
a. Final payment for the tour will not have to be made until 30 days out from the tour departure date to allow for a watch and wait approach. Normally, final payment is required 60 days out from the departure date. We recommend that you wait until 30 days before your departure date before deciding to cancel your trip.
b. Deposits or full payments made on 2020 tours may be carried over to 2021 and used on the same tour one year later or another Adventure Running Co. tour. We would prefer that these deposits be used by December 31, 2021 but we will allow you to carry the deposit or full payment over indefinitely with essentially no expiration date.
c. If a tour must be cancelled due to COVID-19 complications, you may receive a full refund. However, we would really appreciate if you could defer the deposit or full payment to help support our operations and those of our various small partners we work with, many of whom have already been paid for services such as lodging and tour support.
d. If we must cancel a tour for whatever reason, you will receive a full refund.
2. To make things easier for you to reschedule your tour next year, and also to make it easier for us to re-book our lodging and other support services, we will move our tours back exactly one year to essentially the same week in 2021. In most cases this should be possible. We truly hope that, if we do need to cancel a tour due to COVID-19 related complications, you will be able to join us again in 2021 on the same date. We are so looking forward to having you join us in 2020 and we hope that, if you have to, you could join us again next year.
3. For all of our remaining summer and early fall tours in 2020 (up to Tour of Duluth in early September), you may Book Now and Pay Later! We aren’t requiring a deposit to hold your spot for these tours. Our late October Zion-Bryce tour is currently filling up and we’re really hoping things will be much better by then. Because of this, we would like you to continue with a deposit for this tour to secure your spot.
4. We highly recommend travel insurance for any new bookings. For complete peace of mind, we recommend that you add “Cancel for Any Reason” coverage. For more information about travel insurance you can scroll to the bottom of our FAQ page for some options.
5. For our part, we’ll continue to review best practices for the adventure travel industry and keep you updated as the situation continues to change. We really hope this means positive change in the near future!
We truly feel fortunate to have such a large group of friends that have joined us on past adventures. We’re grateful for the kind words you’ve sent our way and for those that have asked how they can help in these turbulent and unprecedented times. If you’re so inclined, here are some easy and quick things you can do to help a bit:
1. Leave a review of Adventure Running Co.on our Facebook page or on our Google Business site. These certainly don’t have to be long, but if you had a great time with us and wanted to drop a note, it would be immensely appreciated. People do take a look at these reviews and we could use a few more reviews, particularly on our Facebook page if you use that platform.
2. Leave a review of one of our partners on their website or social media. If you particularly enjoyed a hotel or vacation home you stayed in when you were running with us, give them a little shout out! Many of these businesses are small, family run operations just like us, and your positive feedback could really help them out or buoy their spirits in this bleak time for the adventure travel industry and those who rely on our business.
3. Post some photos of your adventures with us and tag us @adventure_running on Instagram and @adventurerunningco on Facebook. Or hashtag us #adventurerunningco We’d love to see the photos and live through some great memories or your adventures with us!
4. Post some photos or videos of your current adventures! We’d love to see what you’re up to right now as you get out and get some fresh air while maintaining your social distancing.
We really believe that when we finally get a vaccine and we’ve taken all the precautions necessary to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities from COVID-19, people will begin traveling again with gusto! We sure hope that you look our way to get your Adventure On! We’ve taken this time to explore some new and exciting trip ideas for coming years. We know we’ll have some awesome adventures to share!
Continue to follow these sites for accurate information about the COVID-19 pandemic:
The World Health Organization - daily situation reports
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention - travel updates by country and hygiene and prevention tips
The United States Department of State - travel advisories by country
Follow all the guidelines, stay safe, stay healthy and care for each other and your local communities. We’re all in this together and we really hope to see you all on the trails soon!
With Care,
Andy and Kim
MARCH UPDATE:
The good news is that we have good availability on most of our tours. Our earliest tour departure date is late June and we have some wonderful tours to choose from!
Now, the not so good news.....
For over two months, the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak has been at the forefront of international news. The welfare of our runners is the first priority of Adventure Running Co. and our local partners, most of which are small, family run companies like us. At Adventure Running Co., we've been monitoring the situation closely, and we wanted to provide some clarity for prospective travelers wanting to stay safe and informed.
As this is presently a dynamic situation and the outlook changes daily, our recommendation as of now is to take a "watch and wait" approach. Fortunately for us, none of our tours begin until late June, which is about 4 months out. We are hoping there will be more clarity by that time and our tour locations will be safe. Our trips take place in remote locations, away from large gatherings of people, and should generally be considered among the safest places to be. Even our Mont Blanc tour, of which a portion of the trail passes through the remote far northern Alps region of Italy, should be a safe travel location by mid-July. The present travel restrictions for Italy are expected to last until April 3, at which time we will again evaluate the safety of the tour.
As of now, we intend to run all of our trips as planned, unless travel is restricted at a Level 4 Travel Advisory by the US Department of State. The only area any of our tours travel through currently affected by a Level 4 Travel Advisory is Italy, of which our Tour du Mont Blanc passes through for three days. As mentioned above, this advisory is expected to last until April 3, a full 3+ months prior to our tour date. We will cancel any trip in areas under a Level 4 Travel Advisory or quarantine at least 30 days before its departure date.
If you are considering travel this year and are holding off because of the current uncertainty, we are fortunate that we are a small enough business to allow us flexibility. We can continue to schedule our trips close to the trip date and keep you informed of the changing, hopefully improving, situation. We can allow you to make decisions about final payment for a tour as close as 30 days out and still be able to confirm reservations and be sure accommodations and other logistics are in order.
To make the waiting easier, we are adopting a 30-day advance notice re-booking policy. What this means is that you can watch and wait up to 30 days prior to the scheduled start of your trip to see if things are good to go as scheduled, or re-book to a different available tour in 2020 or another tour in 2021 with no fees. This will carry your deposit or full payment over to the other tour or to next year. Cancelling your tour would be subject to our cancellation policy as laid out on our F.A.Q. Page with few exceptions. Of course, as always, if Adventure Running Co. has to cancel a tour for whatever reason, you will receive a full refund.
We hope that you can continue with your tour as planned or re-book and carry your payment over to another tour or to next year. This shows support for the many small businesses that contribute to the operation of our trips and that are striving to adopt more flexible policies as well during this challenging time. Also note that airlines are providing much more flexibility with their booking. Most are allowing no change fees, rescheduling of flights and applying the value of an unused ticket as credit to another flight in the event you have to cancel your flight, including large airlines like Delta. Check with the airline you've booked to see their response to the coronavirus outbreak. Along these same lines, be sure to use travel insurance when you make a reservation. See our F.A.Q. for links to some travel insurance providers and seriously consider "Cancel for Any Reason" coverage.
For more information, we recommend that people watch credible and reputable sources of information. The following websites are useful to everyone:
The World Health Organization - daily situation reports
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention - travel updates by country and hygiene and prevention tips
The United States Department of State - travel advisories by country
With all of this in mind, we truly hope things improve dramatically and we're optimistic that they will by the time our tour season really begins. We certainly want you to join us on one of our amazing tours, but more importantly, we want you to be safe and we want to be sure we're also doing our part to protect our more vulnerable fellow citizens. Hope to see you on the trails soon!
With Care,
Andy and Kim
Hello Runners,
As we near the end of 2020, we can reflect on what a challenging year it's been and hopefully look forward to a much better 2021. With vaccines on the horizon and new leadership, we are hoping to get back to a more normal 2021. With that said, we hope to be able to host our full tour schedule in 2021 while still remaining cautious and implementing some of the options we offered in 2020 until we're sure travel restrictions are relaxed and things return close to normal in the world.
With our 2021 tour calendar now released, we are hoping many of you are anxious to travel again and begin reserving your spots on one (or more) of our varied tours. While we hope we can go ahead with our tours as planned in 2021, we will be continuing with the steps we took in 2020 to ensure that you're comfortable reserving a spot on one of our tours. These steps will be in place until further notice:
1. Those already registered for a tour and having paid their deposit, will be contacted directly around 45 days out from the tour date regarding the status of their tour. A final decision on whether the tour must be cancelled will be made at least 30 days out from the tour date.
a. Final payment for the tour will not have to be made until 30 days out from the tour departure date to allow for a watch and wait approach. Normally, final payment is required 60 days out from the departure date. We recommend that you wait until 30 days before your departure date before deciding to cancel your trip.
b. Deposits or full payments made on 2021 tours may be carried over to 2022 and used on the same tour one year later or another Adventure Running Co. tour. We would prefer that these deposits be used by December 31, 2022 but we will allow you to carry the deposit or full payment over indefinitely with essentially no expiration date.
c. If a tour must be cancelled due to COVID-19 complications, you may receive a full refund. However, we would really appreciate if you could defer the deposit or full payment to help support our operations and those of our various small partners we work with, many of whom have already been paid for services such as lodging and tour support. With most of our tours canceled last year, we're still working to get back on our feet in 2021.
d. If we must cancel a tour for whatever reason, you will receive a full refund.
2. To make things easier for you to reschedule your tour next year if we have to cancel due to Covid-19, and also to make it easier for us to re-book our lodging and other support services, we will move our tours back exactly one year to essentially the same week in 2022. In most cases this should be possible. We truly hope that, if we do need to cancel a tour due to COVID-19 related complications, you will be able to join us again in 2022 on the same date.
3. We're hopeful that our tour schedule can go ahead as planned in 2021 and we anticipate a high level of interest in our tours with travel limited last year. Because of this, we will be requiring a deposit in 2021 to ensure your spot on a tour. This is a departure from our 2020 Covid-related accommodations, but the steps outlined in (1) above still apply.
4. We highly recommend travel insurance for any new bookings. For complete peace of mind, we recommend that you add “Cancel for Any Reason” coverage. For more information about travel insurance you can scroll to the bottom of our FAQ page for some options.
5. For our part, we’ll continue to review best practices for the adventure travel industry and keep you updated as the situation continues to change. We really hope this means positive change in the near future!
We thank you all for your support and feel blessed to know so many of you as friends and family. As outlined below, we would appreciate giving us a "shout out" as you see fit. Times are still pretty tough for everyone right now and any positive vibes certainly help!
As before, continue to follow these sites for accurate information about the COVID-19 pandemic:
The World Health Organization - daily situation reports
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention - travel updates by country and hygiene and prevention tips
The United States Department of State - travel advisories by country
Follow all the guidelines, stay safe, stay healthy and care for each other and your local communities. We’re all in this together and we really hope to see you all on the trails soon!
With Care,
Andy and Kim
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APRIL 17, 2020 UPDATE:
Hello Runners,
As we arrive at mid-April, still more than 60 days before our first tour of the summer, we continue to monitor the ever-changing, yet more clear picture of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is clear that social distancing, stay at home orders and restrictions on travel are helping to slow the spread of the virus and “flatten the curve”. These orders however, have significantly impacted our ability to safely operate our tours and events and placed incredible challenges in the face of the entire travel industry and the world’s economies. We’ll continue to assess the COVID-19 situation and adjust accordingly. The health and safety of our runners and the communities we travel through will always be at the forefront of any decision we make on whether to continue with a tour or event.
At the present time, essentially all of the parks, forests and public spaces we utilize for our tours have been closed to commercial use. While these closures will vary from place to place, they will dictate our ability to operate this year. We’ll continue to be in contact with and be sure that we’re following direction from our local, state and federal partners. Since we’re still more than 60 days from our first tour, we will remain in “watch and wait” mode.
In an effort to reduce uncertainty surrounding our tours, we are putting in place extraordinary steps for 2020. Hopefully these options will help guide your decision on whether or not to join us on an adventure this year. Until things begin opening up and travel restrictions lifted, we will be taking the following steps:
1. Those already registered for a tour and having paid their deposit, will be contacted directly around 45 days out from the tour date regarding the status of their tour. A final decision on whether the tour must be cancelled will be made at least 30 days out from the tour date.
a. Final payment for the tour will not have to be made until 30 days out from the tour departure date to allow for a watch and wait approach. Normally, final payment is required 60 days out from the departure date. We recommend that you wait until 30 days before your departure date before deciding to cancel your trip.
b. Deposits or full payments made on 2020 tours may be carried over to 2021 and used on the same tour one year later or another Adventure Running Co. tour. We would prefer that these deposits be used by December 31, 2021 but we will allow you to carry the deposit or full payment over indefinitely with essentially no expiration date.
c. If a tour must be cancelled due to COVID-19 complications, you may receive a full refund. However, we would really appreciate if you could defer the deposit or full payment to help support our operations and those of our various small partners we work with, many of whom have already been paid for services such as lodging and tour support.
d. If we must cancel a tour for whatever reason, you will receive a full refund.
2. To make things easier for you to reschedule your tour next year, and also to make it easier for us to re-book our lodging and other support services, we will move our tours back exactly one year to essentially the same week in 2021. In most cases this should be possible. We truly hope that, if we do need to cancel a tour due to COVID-19 related complications, you will be able to join us again in 2021 on the same date. We are so looking forward to having you join us in 2020 and we hope that, if you have to, you could join us again next year.
3. For all of our remaining summer and early fall tours in 2020 (up to Tour of Duluth in early September), you may Book Now and Pay Later! We aren’t requiring a deposit to hold your spot for these tours. Our late October Zion-Bryce tour is currently filling up and we’re really hoping things will be much better by then. Because of this, we would like you to continue with a deposit for this tour to secure your spot.
4. We highly recommend travel insurance for any new bookings. For complete peace of mind, we recommend that you add “Cancel for Any Reason” coverage. For more information about travel insurance you can scroll to the bottom of our FAQ page for some options.
5. For our part, we’ll continue to review best practices for the adventure travel industry and keep you updated as the situation continues to change. We really hope this means positive change in the near future!
We truly feel fortunate to have such a large group of friends that have joined us on past adventures. We’re grateful for the kind words you’ve sent our way and for those that have asked how they can help in these turbulent and unprecedented times. If you’re so inclined, here are some easy and quick things you can do to help a bit:
1. Leave a review of Adventure Running Co.on our Facebook page or on our Google Business site. These certainly don’t have to be long, but if you had a great time with us and wanted to drop a note, it would be immensely appreciated. People do take a look at these reviews and we could use a few more reviews, particularly on our Facebook page if you use that platform.
2. Leave a review of one of our partners on their website or social media. If you particularly enjoyed a hotel or vacation home you stayed in when you were running with us, give them a little shout out! Many of these businesses are small, family run operations just like us, and your positive feedback could really help them out or buoy their spirits in this bleak time for the adventure travel industry and those who rely on our business.
3. Post some photos of your adventures with us and tag us @adventure_running on Instagram and @adventurerunningco on Facebook. Or hashtag us #adventurerunningco We’d love to see the photos and live through some great memories or your adventures with us!
4. Post some photos or videos of your current adventures! We’d love to see what you’re up to right now as you get out and get some fresh air while maintaining your social distancing.
We really believe that when we finally get a vaccine and we’ve taken all the precautions necessary to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities from COVID-19, people will begin traveling again with gusto! We sure hope that you look our way to get your Adventure On! We’ve taken this time to explore some new and exciting trip ideas for coming years. We know we’ll have some awesome adventures to share!
Continue to follow these sites for accurate information about the COVID-19 pandemic:
The World Health Organization - daily situation reports
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention - travel updates by country and hygiene and prevention tips
The United States Department of State - travel advisories by country
Follow all the guidelines, stay safe, stay healthy and care for each other and your local communities. We’re all in this together and we really hope to see you all on the trails soon!
With Care,
Andy and Kim
MARCH UPDATE:
The good news is that we have good availability on most of our tours. Our earliest tour departure date is late June and we have some wonderful tours to choose from!
Now, the not so good news.....
For over two months, the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak has been at the forefront of international news. The welfare of our runners is the first priority of Adventure Running Co. and our local partners, most of which are small, family run companies like us. At Adventure Running Co., we've been monitoring the situation closely, and we wanted to provide some clarity for prospective travelers wanting to stay safe and informed.
As this is presently a dynamic situation and the outlook changes daily, our recommendation as of now is to take a "watch and wait" approach. Fortunately for us, none of our tours begin until late June, which is about 4 months out. We are hoping there will be more clarity by that time and our tour locations will be safe. Our trips take place in remote locations, away from large gatherings of people, and should generally be considered among the safest places to be. Even our Mont Blanc tour, of which a portion of the trail passes through the remote far northern Alps region of Italy, should be a safe travel location by mid-July. The present travel restrictions for Italy are expected to last until April 3, at which time we will again evaluate the safety of the tour.
As of now, we intend to run all of our trips as planned, unless travel is restricted at a Level 4 Travel Advisory by the US Department of State. The only area any of our tours travel through currently affected by a Level 4 Travel Advisory is Italy, of which our Tour du Mont Blanc passes through for three days. As mentioned above, this advisory is expected to last until April 3, a full 3+ months prior to our tour date. We will cancel any trip in areas under a Level 4 Travel Advisory or quarantine at least 30 days before its departure date.
If you are considering travel this year and are holding off because of the current uncertainty, we are fortunate that we are a small enough business to allow us flexibility. We can continue to schedule our trips close to the trip date and keep you informed of the changing, hopefully improving, situation. We can allow you to make decisions about final payment for a tour as close as 30 days out and still be able to confirm reservations and be sure accommodations and other logistics are in order.
To make the waiting easier, we are adopting a 30-day advance notice re-booking policy. What this means is that you can watch and wait up to 30 days prior to the scheduled start of your trip to see if things are good to go as scheduled, or re-book to a different available tour in 2020 or another tour in 2021 with no fees. This will carry your deposit or full payment over to the other tour or to next year. Cancelling your tour would be subject to our cancellation policy as laid out on our F.A.Q. Page with few exceptions. Of course, as always, if Adventure Running Co. has to cancel a tour for whatever reason, you will receive a full refund.
We hope that you can continue with your tour as planned or re-book and carry your payment over to another tour or to next year. This shows support for the many small businesses that contribute to the operation of our trips and that are striving to adopt more flexible policies as well during this challenging time. Also note that airlines are providing much more flexibility with their booking. Most are allowing no change fees, rescheduling of flights and applying the value of an unused ticket as credit to another flight in the event you have to cancel your flight, including large airlines like Delta. Check with the airline you've booked to see their response to the coronavirus outbreak. Along these same lines, be sure to use travel insurance when you make a reservation. See our F.A.Q. for links to some travel insurance providers and seriously consider "Cancel for Any Reason" coverage.
For more information, we recommend that people watch credible and reputable sources of information. The following websites are useful to everyone:
The World Health Organization - daily situation reports
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention - travel updates by country and hygiene and prevention tips
The United States Department of State - travel advisories by country
With all of this in mind, we truly hope things improve dramatically and we're optimistic that they will by the time our tour season really begins. We certainly want you to join us on one of our amazing tours, but more importantly, we want you to be safe and we want to be sure we're also doing our part to protect our more vulnerable fellow citizens. Hope to see you on the trails soon!
With Care,
Andy and Kim