Ida Nilsson (born 8 February 1981) is a Swedish long-distance runner who also competes in

ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment ...

. In 2003 – 2006 she won a total of ten gold medals in Swedish championships in track & field and cross country running, plus two

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

gold medals. After many years away from training Nilsson won the Swedish championship in ski mountaineering in 2016 and a couple of months later won the prestigious

Transvulcania Transvulcania is a long distance race that is held annually on La Palma, one of the western Canary Islands. It is considered one of the hardest mountain- ultramarathons in the world and one of the most important in Spain Spain, or the Kin ...

ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

Childhood and youth

Nilsson hails from

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

in the flat southern Sweden. She grew up in a sports family where both her father Carl-Gustaf "Calle" and mother Katarina competed at an elite level. Two brothers, Marcus and

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, and a sister,

Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek Spiritus ...

, have belonged to the Swedish national team in athletics. At the 2002 Swedish cross country championships the family walked home with four gold medals, one silver and one bronze. In 2001–2005 Nilsson studied at the

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...

in Flagstaff, USA. She and her sister,

Johanna Nilsson Johanna Nilsson (27 March 1983 – 25 June 2013) was a Swedish middle-distance running, middle- and long-distance runner. She was a bronze medallist at the European Cross Country Championships in 2005. Despite an early retirement in 2006 she had ...

, ran for the

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks The NAU Lumberjacks are the varsity athletic teams representing Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in intercollegiate athletics. The school's mascot was adopted in 1946. The Lumberjacks compete in NCAA Division I and are full membe ...

collegiate team and had much success. Nilsson won the 2004

collegiate outdoor championships in 3000 m steeplechase and 2005 indoor championships in 5000 m. The two sisters were both ranked in the top three of a 2014 poll of greatest women's athletes in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

. Nilsson won four cross country titles in that regional conference. Both were inducted into the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks hall of fame.

Track and field and cross country

Top years

During the first years of the 21st century Nilsson was the Swedish dominant in

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

and

3000 m steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

, then a relatively new sport for women. In 2003, she was awarded the prestigious

Stora grabbars och tjejers märke Stora Enso Oyj (from and ) is a Finnish and Swedish forest industry company. It develops and produces various materials, mostly based on wood, for a range of industries and applications worldwide. It has headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, and ...

for her sports achievements. She finished seventh in the 3000m steeplechase at the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champions ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, where she set the Swedish national record at 9:39.24, a personal best. She also participated in the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics (, ), under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. In the summer of 2006 Nilsson ran 3000 m in 9:01.01, the fastest time by a Swedish athlete in more than 10 years. Nilsson's personal best for 5000 m is 15:33.18.

Injuries

After leaving college in Arizona Nilsson had a series of injuries, including a stress fracture in her hip joint in 2009. The injury didn't fully heal until the summer of 2013, and Nilsson gave up her track & field career. After this she basically didn't run at all for five years.

Personal bests

The following list is based on information from Nilsson's club Högby IF. Nilsson has never run an official 10 000 m on a track; her best similar performance is 35:03 in a 2016 road race.

Mountain running and ski mountaineering

After many years of serious injuries Nilsson was finally able to run again in 2013. Nilsson: "Now even my body feels better than 10-15 years ago. Now I feel like young again." In 2015 Nilsson won the Swedish mountain

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), 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 ...

Fjällmaraton Fjällmaraton (literally ''Mountain Marathon'' in Swedish) is a Racing, long distance race, considered one of the hardest and most important one-day mountain marathons in Sweden. The total route has a length of with a cumulative elevation gain of 2 ...

. Later the same year, in her ultramarathon debut, she placed second in the 90-kilometer Ultravasan in Sweden. In early 2016 she became ski mountaineering Swedish champion at Keb Classic (with Jenny Råghall) and won the

mountain

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. Nilsson, who during her track & field career seldom ran as far as , now competed in a number of longer races. In 2016 and again in 2017 she became Swedish

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

champion in the

masters athletics Masters Athletics managed by World Masters Athletics is a class of the sport of athletics (sport), athletics for athletes of 35 years of age and over organized by World Masters Athletics. The events include track and field, road running and cross ...

class for women 35 years. In the summer of 2016 Nilsson won the

Marathon du Mont Blanc The Marathon du Mont Blanc (Mont Blanc Marathon) is an annual marathon distance (42.195 km) alpine trail running event held in Chamonix, France. The Marathon du Mont Blanc race is the titular event but the name also refers to the group of lon ...

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

, France, proving that the unexpected Transvulcania win was not a fluke and planting Nilsson firmly in the world elite. During the winter 2015 – 2016 Nilsson lived in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and trained ski mountaineering with

Emelie Forsberg Emelie Tina Forsberg (born December 11, 1986) is a Swedish athlete specializing in trail running (skyrunning, mountain running) and ski mountaineering. She has won repeated victories in different disciplines, including European and World Champion ...

. According to Nilsson it was Forsberg who inspired her to test more ultratrail. In running events Nilsson competes for ''Högby IF'' in Sweden, ''Måndalen IL'' in Norway and ''Salomon Running'' internationally. In ski mountaineering her club affiliation is ''Fjällframfart'' in Swedish events. Nilsson has trained as a cook, a wilderness and adventure guide and as masseur. For a living she has run a small company registered in 2015 as a

sole proprietorship A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by only one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. ...

called ''Running soul – Ida Nilsson'', that according to the Facebook site with the same name offered "massage, sports massage, yoga classes, workshops and training camps for runners". As of 2018 Nilsson lives in

Måndalen Måndalen or Voll is a village in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located along the Romsdalsfjorden about west of the town of Åndalsnes. The European route E136 highway goes through the village, connecting ...

Rauma Municipality Rauma is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre is the town of Åndalsnes. Other s ...

in the Norwegian county

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

, and makes a living from skyrunning and ski mountaineering. In 2018 Nilsson together with fellow athletes

and Mimmi Kotka started ''Moonvalley'', an on-line shop dedicated to organic energy bars and sportsdrinks.

Results

Cross country and sky running

The following list includes only results after Nilsson's comeback after her five-year injury period. A fair number of the races, in particular in her native country Sweden, are asphalt races or otherwise not strictly cross country or mountain running. 2014 * 1st, Spring en mil vinn en bil , Sweden 2015 * 2nd, Kungsholmen Runt , Sweden * 2nd, Spring en mil vinn en bil , Sweden * 1st, Böda Beach run , Sweden * 2nd, , Sweden * 1st, Hornindal runt , Norway * 3rd, Vetenløpet VK, Norway * 1st, Victorialoppet , Sweden * 1st, Hornsjön Runt , Sweden * 6th, Peak Performance Vertical K, Sweden * 1st,

, Sweden * 1st, Salomon Trail Tour Järvsö , Sweden * 2nd, Ultravasan , Sweden * 2nd,

Lidingöloppet Lidingöloppet is an annual cross country running competition held in Lidingö, Sweden. The 30 km run has about 15,000 participants per year and the shorter races several thousands, making it the largest cross-country event in the world.IAA" ...

, Sweden * 1st, Salomon Trail Tour Sälen, Sweden , Sweden 2016 * 1st, Nordic Classic Running , Sweden * 1st, Salomon City Trail , Sweden * 1st,

, Spain * 15th,

Göteborgsvarvet Göteborgsvarvet () is an annual half marathon running competition in Gothenburg, Sweden (often called the Gothenburg Half Marathon in English). It is the largest annual running competition in the world in terms of entries, with its 62,000 entr ...

, Sweden (personal best for the half marathon distance) * 1st, Mönsterås Stadslopp , Sweden * 3rd, Sthlm 10 , Sweden (also Swedish championship in

, won the

class for women 35 years, personal best for the 10 km road running distance) * 1st, Öland Ultra , Sweden * 6th,

Vertical km, France * 1st,

, France * 1st, Böda Beach run , Sweden (2nd straight victory) * 10th, Dolomites Sky Race, 22 km, Italy * 4th, Buff Epic Trail , Spain (also World Championship in the Sky discipline) * 1st, Salomon 27K , Sweden (course record) * 3rd, Peak Performance Vertical K, Sweden * 1st,

, Sweden (2nd straight victory, course record) * 1st, The Rut 50K, , Montana, USA * 1st, Nordic Extreme running, , Sweden * 2nd, Trail de l'Arclusaz , France * 1st, The North Face Endurance Challenge , San Francisco, USA * 1st, Sylvesterloppet, , Sweden (new course record) 2017 * 1st, Ultimate Tsaigu Trail , China * 1st, Yading VK, China * 1st, Yading Kora Ultra , China * 1st,

, Spain (2nd straight victory, new course record) * 1st, Åndalsnesløpet , Norway * 3rd, Sthlm 10 , Sweden (also Swedish championship in

, won the

class for women 35 years for a 2nd straight victory) * 1st, Öland Ultra , Sweden (2nd straight victory, course record) * 2nd

, Italy * 1st, Böda Beach run , Sweden (3rd straight victory) * 3rd, , Sweden * 2nd, Mefjellet Opp, Vertical km, Norway * 1st, Swiss Alpine Marathon , Switzerland * 1st,

, Sweden (3rd straight victory) * 1st, Ultravasan , Sweden (new course record) * 3rd,

, Sweden * 2nd, Grand Trail des Templiers , France * 1st, North Face Endurance Challenge , California, USA (2nd straight victory) 2018 * 1st,

, Spain (3rd straight victory) * 1st, Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri , Spain * 1st, Birkebeinerløpet , Norway * 3rd, Sthlm 10 , Sweden (also Swedish championship in

, second in the

class for women 35 years) * 1st, Öland Ultra , Sweden (3rd straight victory, also 1st overall) * 2nd, Besseggløpet , Norway * 2nd,

, France * 1st, Mefjellet Opp, Vertical km, Norway * 1st, Swiss Alpine Marathon , Switzerland * 8th,

Sierre-Zinal The Sierre-Zinal race is an annual mountain running race that takes place in the Swiss canton of Valais each August. It is also known as the race of five 4000ers ("La course des cinq 4000"), as five peaks over four thousand meters are visible alo ...

, Switzerland * 2nd, Ultravasan , Sweden * 3rd Ultra-Trail Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (CCC) , France * 6th,

, Sweden * 9th, Otter African Trail Run , South Africa * 5th, Swedish Cross Country Championships , Sweden * 11th, Swedish Cross Country Championships , Sweden 2019 * 1st The Coastal Challenge , 6 stages, Costa Rica (new course record; 2nd overall) * 1st Monument Valley Half Marathon , USA * 1st Crown King Scramble , USA (new course record) * 1st Skälbyloppet , Sweden 2021 * 1st Victorialoppet , Sweden (second victory) * 1st Böda Sandsloppet , Sweden * 1st Salomon 27K , Sweden (second victory) * 1st

, Sweden (fourth victory) * 2nd Idre Fjällmaraton , Sweden * 3rd, Romsdalseggenløpet , Norway * 1st, Marató Pirineu , Spain 2022 * 1st

, Sweden (fifth victory) * 4th, Ultra Pirineu , Spain * 2nd, Trail World Championships , Thailand 2023 * 5th, Black Canyon , USA

World Cup wins

Ski mountaineering

Fastest Known Time (FKT)

She has held the

fastest known time A Fastest Known Time (FKT) is the speed record for a running, hiking or cycling route. Unlike most endurance sports competitions such as marathon world records, FKTs are self-organized and done alone or in small groups. FKTs are most popular on long ...

on the following routes: Grand Canyon South Rim at Sunrise

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

, Arizona, USA, Women's FKT Rim-to Rim-to Rim (R2R2R), 7h29m16s, 16 November 2018. Taylor Newlin bettered Nilsson's time just a few days later.

References

Notes

External links

Ida Nilsson *
Ida Nilsson's Swedish blog on Runner's World

Ida Nilsson's profile at DUV

Ida Nilsson's profile at ITRA
Skyrunning
International Skyrunning Federation website

Skyrunner World Series website

Vertical Kilometer World Circuit website
Ski mountaineering
International Ski Mountaineering website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Ida 1981 births Living people Swedish female long-distance runners Northern Arizona Lumberjacks women's track and field athletes Swedish mountain runners Swedish ultramarathon runners Swedish female ski mountaineers Female ultramarathon runners Swedish female steeplechase runners Swedish sky runners Northern Arizona Lumberjacks women's cross country runners People from Rauma, Norway NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century Swedish sportswomen