Swedish ultras

Tim Downie kirjoitti:

Quoted message said:

I've an inkling to visit an old friend in Sweden and combine it with an
ultra race over there. My friend lives near Saxnas (see
http://tinyurl.com/dqn76 (a multimap linkl)).

That's literally in the middle of nowhere! What is your friend hiding
from?:-)

Quoted message said:

There do seem to be quite a lot of ultras in Sweden but the b*gg*rs havewritten their web
pages in some indecipherable language. ;-)

At least it is in the same language family...

Quoted message said:

This is a kind of long term plan so no urgency but any tips on when are good
times to visit (to avoid the mozzies, get the best weather etc.) gratefully
received. If anyone knows of any ultras in that area, it would be a bonus
but I'm prepared to travel around a bit for a good race.

The mozzies can be a bit of a bother from around Midsummer to end of
July - which is the best time to visit weather- and ultrarunningwise -
but you shouldn't be too concerned about them, because you can do as
the reindeer do and run for the fjells. Besides, some summers you don't
really notice the pests at all.

I've heard very good words about the Adak 100km race
http://www.laplandultra.nu (Jun 30 - Jul 1).

Two other noted events in Lapland are the Björkliden Arctic Mountain
Marathon http://www.bamm.nu (Aug 25-26) and the Dunder Dygnet (which is
not an ultra, but an event with a difference)
http://www.dunderdygnet.se (Jul 8-9).

There's also the popular Ursvik Ultra 75km
http://www.sundbybergmultisport.se/uu (Apr 1-2) which takes place in a
quite unexotic suburb of Stockholm.

Quoted message said:

For starters I'm looking at a list of events on
http://www.interlog.com/~jedward/marathon.html#Nordic. Any other sites I
should be looking at?

I'm not all that sure there are all that many other events to choose
from: the Fjällräven Extreme Marathon has been turned into a
multi-day "Classic" and it appears there may not be a 2006 edition of
Åre Alpine Marathon. But if none of the above events fit your fancy or
suit your timetable, I could dig deeper or ask around.

Anders

anders said:

Tim Downie kirjoitti:

Quoted message said:

I've an inkling to visit an old friend in Sweden and combine it with
an
ultra race over there. My friend lives near Saxnas (see
http://tinyurl.com/dqn76 (a multimap linkl)).

That's literally in the middle of nowhere! What is your friend hiding
from?:-)

She used to be an axe murderer. I think she's okay now. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There do seem to be quite a lot of ultras in Sweden but the b*gg*rs
have written their web pages in some indecipherable language. ;-)

At least it is in the same language family...

Quoted message said:

This is a kind of long term plan so no urgency but any tips on when
are good
times to visit (to avoid the mozzies, get the best weather etc.)
gratefully
received. If anyone knows of any ultras in that area, it would be a
bonus
but I'm prepared to travel around a bit for a good race.

The mozzies can be a bit of a bother from around Midsummer to end of
July - which is the best time to visit weather- and ultrarunningwise -
but you shouldn't be too concerned about them, because you can do as
the reindeer do and run for the fjells. Besides, some summers you
don't
really notice the pests at all.

That kind of mirrors the situation here in scotland. The midges can be
absolutely awful but if you're moving constantly they're nothing like as
bad.

Quoted message said:

I've heard very good words about the Adak 100km race
http://www.laplandultra.nu (Jun 30 - Jul 1).

What kind of good words have your heard? I had a look at that one but iirc
it's 50% tarmac and 50% gravel (untarmaced road I'm guessing). If I can't
find anything better I might consider it but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Quoted message said:

Two other noted events in Lapland are the Björkliden Arctic Mountain
Marathon http://www.bamm.nu (Aug 25-26)

Hmm, interesting but not really what I'm looking for.

Quoted message said:

and the Dunder Dygnet (which
is
not an ultra, but an event with a difference)
http://www.dunderdygnet.se (Jul 8-9).

Ah ha! Now that's one I've read about and been interested in. Nowhere near
Saxnas but looks to be well worth the travelling. I've never been north of
the arctic circle and this would be a great excuse. Many thanks Anders.
This could be a serious contender in 2007.

Cheers!

Tim

Tim Downie kirjoitti:

Quoted message said:

http://www.laplandultra.nu
What kind of good words have your heard? I had a look at that one but iirc
it's 50% tarmac and 50% gravel (untarmaced road I'm guessing). If I can't
find anything better I might consider it but it wouldn't be my first choice.

I forgot that you're not awfully keen on roads:-) But apparently
everything works smoothly, the locals are nice in a reserved kind of
way, it's a big day in a village where nothing much happens outside
hunting season, the long course is runner-friendly, the landscape
slightly monotonous but not unspectacular, i.e. it's the road ultra
without any special challenges for someone who appreciates the sense of
quiet and solitude in the great wilderness (but is too much of a
cityslicker or redliner to wish to venture out to the rocky paths or
the soggy terrain).

Quoted message said:

http://www.dunderdygnet.se
Ah ha! Now that's one I've read about and been interested in. Nowhere near
Saxnas but looks to be well worth the travelling. I've never been north of
the arctic circle and this would be a great excuse. Many thanks Anders.
This could be a serious contender in 2007.

It caught my fancy, too, way back in 2003 when I first read about it
and the runners who've done it seem to be happy with it. It's certainly
quite unique, definitively a challenge and apparently a thoroughly
enjoyable mixture of running madness and fun for the kind people who
embrace aching muscles and stiff legs. It is also very much a social
event as you end up spending a lot of time fraternizing with the other
runners.

The Swedes tend to speak better English than the Muppets chef did, but
by 2007 you should be able to astonish the natives with your command of
a few Swedish phrases:-)

Anders

anders said:

Tim Downie kirjoitti:

Quoted message said:

http://www.dunderdygnet.se
Ah ha! Now that's one I've read about and been interested in.
Nowhere near Saxnas but looks to be well worth the travelling. I've
never been north of the arctic circle and this would be a great
excuse. Many thanks Anders. This could be a serious contender in
2007.

It caught my fancy, too, way back in 2003 when I first read about it
and the runners who've done it seem to be happy with it. It's
certainly quite unique, definitively a challenge and apparently a
thoroughly
enjoyable mixture of running madness and fun for the kind people who
embrace aching muscles and stiff legs.

Don't we all?? ;-)

Quoted message said:

It is also very much a social
event as you end up spending a lot of time fraternizing with the other
runners.

The Swedes tend to speak better English than the Muppets chef did, but
by 2007 you should be able to astonish the natives with your command
of
a few Swedish phrases:-)

I have the linguistic talents of a deaf mute when it comes to foreign
languages. Fortunately my wife spent six months working in a swedish
hospital many moons ago and can fairly rattle through a pre-op assessment
even now. Not sure how useful that will be but it's a start. ;-)

Tim

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

anders wrote:
I have the linguistic talents of a deaf mute when it comes to foreign
languages. Fortunately my wife spent six months working in a swedish
hospital many moons ago and can fairly rattle through a pre-op
assessment even now. Not sure how useful that will be but it's a
start. ;-)

It will get you to the starting line and from then on it could get
hairy. I would do a brief seminar with your wife for some basic words
like infarction, vaseline, bathroom, food and drink items. A salmon pate
sandwich rather than a PB&J could be discerning. 🙂

-Doug

Tim Downie said:

anders said:

Tim Downie kirjoitti:

Quoted message said:

I've an inkling to visit an old friend in Sweden and combine it with
an
ultra race over there. My friend lives near Saxnas (see
http://tinyurl.com/dqn76 (a multimap linkl)).

That's literally in the middle of nowhere! What is your friend hiding
from?:-)

She used to be an axe murderer. I think she's okay now. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There do seem to be quite a lot of ultras in Sweden but the b*gg*rs
have written their web pages in some indecipherable language. ;-)

At least it is in the same language family...

Quoted message said:

This is a kind of long term plan so no urgency but any tips on when
are good
times to visit (to avoid the mozzies, get the best weather etc.)
gratefully
received. If anyone knows of any ultras in that area, it would be a
bonus
but I'm prepared to travel around a bit for a good race.

The mozzies can be a bit of a bother from around Midsummer to end of
July - which is the best time to visit weather- and ultrarunningwise -
but you shouldn't be too concerned about them, because you can do as
the reindeer do and run for the fjells. Besides, some summers you
don't
really notice the pests at all.

That kind of mirrors the situation here in scotland. The midges can be
absolutely awful but if you're moving constantly they're nothing like as
bad.

_EXCEPT_ for sucking them in whilst
necessarily constantly brearting O2...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've heard very good words about the Adak 100km race
http://www.laplandultra.nu (Jun 30 - Jul 1).

What kind of good words have your heard? I had a look at that one but iirc
it's 50% tarmac and 50% gravel (untarmaced road I'm guessing). If I can't
find anything better I might consider it but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Quoted message said:

Two other noted events in Lapland are the Björkliden Arctic Mountain
Marathon http://www.bamm.nu (Aug 25-26)

Hmm, interesting but not really what I'm looking for.

Quoted message said:

and the Dunder Dygnet (which
is
not an ultra, but an event with a difference)
http://www.dunderdygnet.se (Jul 8-9).

Ah ha! Now that's one I've read about and been interested in. Nowhere near
Saxnas but looks to be well worth the travelling. I've never been north of
the arctic circle and this would be a great excuse. Many thanks Anders.
This could be a serious contender in 2007.

Cheers!

Tim