Fjällmaraton (literally ''Mountain Marathon'' in Swedish) is a long distance race, considered one of the hardest and most important one-day mountain

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

s in Sweden. The total route has a length of with a cumulative elevation gain of 2,100 meters and similar elevation loss. The race takes place between the

mountain resort A mountain resort is a place to holiday or vacation located in an elevated and typically at least relatively isolated area. The term resort implies integral hotel or inn accommodations, restaurants, and either or both sports facilities or sce ...

s Vålådalen and Trillevallen in

Åre Municipality Åre Municipality (, ) is a municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Järpen. The present municipality was formed in 1974 through the amalgamation of "old" Åre Municipality with the surrounding municipalities ...

Jämtland County Jämtland County ( sv, Jämtlands län, ) is a county or '' län'' in the middle of Sweden consisting of the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, along with minor parts of Hälsingland and Ångermanland, plus two small uninhabited strips ...

since 2005. Until 2012 the race was known by the name ''Vértex Fjällmaraton'', then ''AXA Fjällmarathon'' and from 2017 ''KIA Fjällmarathon'' depending on varying sponsors. Over time additional races have been added to the original Fjällmaraton proper, currently: * ''Öppet Fjäll'' (Open course) runs the marathon course but without the mass start of the racing day so that runners may run at a leisurely tempo at their own convenience * ''Halvmaraton'' (Half-marathon, in 2016 called ''Salomon 27K''), with a cumulative elevation gain of 1,150 meters * ''Kvartsmaraton'' (Quarter-marathon), with a cumulative elevation gain of 600 meters * ''Minimaraton'' (Mini-marathon), a children's race with two age categories: 0–6 years run 800 meters, 7+ years run 1,500 meters * ''Vertical K'' ( Vertical kilometer), a race to the peak of

Åreskutan Åreskutan is a mountain at Åre in Jämtland in central Sweden. It is one of the better-known mountains in Sweden. The mountain (and the village of Åre itself) is easily accessible by train. The mountain massif features the largest ski resort ...

* ''Inov-8 sprinten'', a sprint where competitors take on qualifiers and heats before reaching the final In 2012-2014 ''Ottfjället upp'' was a vertical race to the peak of Ottfjället, but this was replaced by ''Vertical K'' to the peak of

in 2015.

Winners

The course has changed over time in different ways so course records are not listed here. The fastest male winning times have been under 3 hours 30 minutes and the fastest female winning times a little under 4 hours, so considerably slower than a normal asphalt marathon race. Andreas Svanebo has won the race six times in seven starts. On the women's side

Ida Nilsson Ida Nilsson (born February 8, 1981) is a Swedish long-distance runner who also competes in ski mountaineering. In 2003 – 2006 she won a total of ten gold medals in Swedish championships in track & field and cross country running, plus two NCAA ...

has won four times in four starts. Emelie Forsberg's first win in 2009 is widely cited, including on CNN. She had borrowed a backpack from a friend and brought a chocolate mud cake that she had baked. Before the last big ascent, she stopped for 20 minutes and ate the cake, got new energy and won the race. Two years later she was back, did not stop to eat en route and improved her time by 30 minutes. In 2014 the by then established world class runner Forsberg was back again and improved her time by another 30 minutes.

References

External links

* * {{facebook, AXA-Fj%C3%A4llmaraton-190353317677275 (in Swedish) Mountain running competitions Athletics competitions in Sweden Long-distance running competitions Ultramarathons Recurring sporting events established in 2005 2005 establishments in Sweden Golden Trail Series