In 2022, Vasaloppet celebrated 100 years and I decided it was time to be a part of it. I can’t ski and cycling 90km would have been relatively easy for me, so I had one choice: running. Yes, you read correctly, I ran the 90 km from Sälen to Mora in one go. I did it not only for the awesome medal and t-shirt, but mainly for the experience.
I’ve spent some Sundays in Sweden watching Vasaloppet on TV but it never crossed my mind that one day I would be the one standing there, at the start line in Berga. It was 5 am and a rainy August morning and I had 1300 other runners as company.
The blueberry drink tasted as good as I had imagined. The emotion crossing that iconic portal in Mora was however a lot more intense than I had expected. It is indescribable even for me who did not grow up with it. I can only recommend it!
What is Vasaloppet?
Vasaloppet is no ordinary race. It is the world’s largest cross-country skiing race, with about 50 thousand participants from all over the world. The start is in Berga, outside of Sälen and the finish line is in Mora, just underneath the iconic portal that holds the race’s motto. A 90km race that challenges and makes many people sweat every year. However, this is not just another crazy long race. There’s history behind the course and the whole experience breathes culture and tradition.
The motto of Vasaloppet says it all. I Fäders Spår För Framtids Segrar – In [our] fathers’ tracks for future victories.
The beginning of everything
Sweden was in union with Denmark, but the Danish were not treating the Swedes very well (if you ask the Swedes anyway. If you ask the Danes, they will probably disagree 😊). The nobelman Gustav Eriksson was not happy about that and tried to fight the Danes but got arrested. He escaped and fled through Sweden, headed for Norway. He had just passed Mora when locals heard that the Danes had killed Gustav’s brother and father and were now after him. The locals immediately sent their two best skiers after Gustav, to bring him back and help him fight against the Danes. They caught up to him in Lima, not far from Sälen. There he turned around and skied back to start his fight to get Sweden back. Slowly he regained the kingdom and became the king of Sweden, under the name of Gustav Vasa.
Therefore, Sälen is not only the start of the world’s largest skiing race, but even the start line of Swedish royal history!
Curiosity: Due to the historical nature of the race, only classic-style skiing is allowed. Just like Gustav Vasa probably did back then. Nowadays participants are allowed to use modern equipment, which is a lot faster and easier to race with.
The first Vasaloppet
Over 400 years after Gustav Vasa, in 1922, Anders Pers from Mora had a brilliant idea: turn this piece of Swedish history into a skiing race. He published his idea in a local newspaper (you can read a translation of the original article here). The article got a lot of attention and even got republished by Dagens Nyheter, one of the largest newspapers in Sweden. Seeing that the idea was well received, the local ski club, IFK Mora, decided to organize the race and soon enough people started registering for it.
The course is guessed, as there’s no way to know exactly how Gustav Eriksson traveled back then. The distance was long, so he probably traveled from settlement to settlement, and since the area was not so populated, it was still relatively easy to draw the course. The settlements on the way became aid stations and some mandatory rest points on the first race, as the organizers were afraid of having participants drop dead on the course.
On March 19th, 1922 at 6:04 am, 119 men stood on the start line just outside Sälen. Of those, 117 completed the whole race and reached the goal in Mora. The first person ever to cross the finish line was Ernst Alm after 7h 32m and 49s. Nowadays, with more modern equipment and depending on weather conditions, the elite skiers arrive in Mora after about 4 hours.
Women in Vasaloppet
In Anders Pers article is stated that “the race is long (…) but the intention here is to have a real test of manhood”. This was not a joke. The race was for men only and sadly it took maaaaany decades until women were allowed in it. BUT not as many decades until women completed the course.
Confused? Let me explain.
In the second ever Vasaloppet, in 1923, a woman officially completed the course: Margit Nordin. Her performance got more attention than any other male participant. When she reached the goal after more than 10 hours, she was drowned in flowers and cheers from the public. Everyone wanted to see and congratulate the hero. However, Marit’s performance also disturbed many and newspapers reported that this would inspire many other female participants and lead to an increased number of female athletes the year after. That should be stopped as it was considered dangerous.
Consequently, 8 days after Marit’s race the organizers decided that women could not participate in the race, which was enforced between 1924 and 1980!
In these almost 7 decades, quite a few women sneaked in and did the race anyway. Some dressed as men, with different levels of success. Others with a fake bib number and some under a male’s name. Some made it all the way, although without any official time, while others got stopped before reaching the goal.
A new era for women at Vasaloppet
From 1981 women were allowed to participate (again), but it was only in 1997 that they got their own competition class in Vasaloppet. This means that officially, there are only female winners after 1997, even though many finished the race in the 17 years before that. Even more disturbing, is the fact that the female winner has gotten a lower prize money than the male winner until 2011, when it was finally evened out for both genders.
Fortunately, the number of female participants in Vasaloppet has been increasing in the past years. For this year’s 90km race, 22% of the registrations were women. A record! The current organizers have also been actively campaigning to get more women to participate in their races.
Kranskulla and Kransmas
Kranskulla (a woman) and Kransmas (a man) are the people who wait at the goal for the winners of Vasaloppet, to hang a wreath (krans) around their neck. They are locals and active in either the ski club of Mora or of Sälen. They are also ambassadors for Vasaloppet, for that year and forever. This is a very special role, and it is a big honor to be chosen.
It all started in the first Vasaloppet. The race organizers had ordered a big wreath from the local gardener, called Lindqvist, to prize the winner at the goal. He was on his way to the goal when he saw two girls, fully dressed in the traditional costume “kulla” on the lookout for the athletes. There and then, a thought crossed his mind. What if instead of handing the prize to the winner himself, one of those girls wearing the traditional clothes did it? He approached them and asked if any of them wanted to do it. Therese said yes, becoming the first-ever Kranskulla. This nice tradition that has been kept until today.
Since no women were allowed to participate in the race, it took a lot longer to get a Kransmas (a man dressed in traditional local clothes). The first Kransmas made an appearance in 1988, awarding with a wreath the winner of Tjeivasan, the 30km race for women only. In Vasaloppet, it was only in 2005 that the Kransmas started awarding the female winners. Before that and since 1997, when women finally got their own competition class, all winners despite gender were awarded by the Kranskulla, as of tradition.
Nowadays, the kranskulla and kransmas are present not only in the skiing races but also in the summer week at the cycling and running races.
Iconic Vasaloppet stations
The race goes from the village of Berga, near Sälen, to Mora, passing 7 iconic stations along the way: Smågan, Mångsbodarna, Risberg, Evertsberg, Oxberg, Hökberg and Eldris. What for you sounds like a bunch of random names, for Swedes these are names they have heard all their lives. Many because they have attempted the race, while others because they have seen it on TV.
In each of these stations, race participants can get snacks, drinks and cheering words. All equally important! Snacks include “vasabullar”, small cardamom buns made locally and specifically for the races. The famous “blåbärssoppa”, a sweet blueberry drink that provides energy and is gentle on the stomach is also served warm at every station. It’s the perfect fuel for a long race.
There is a Vasaloppet for most of us
In 1922, this route became a traditional skiing race and has been held almost yearly since then. Nowadays, there are races of different lengths, and styles, and even in different sports. Choose your way to get from Sälen to Mora among 15 ski races, 6 cycling races (also called Cykelvasan), and 6 running races (also called Ultravasan). There’s a race for all preferences!
- Is 90km too much? Choose half 45km or a third 30km.
- Too crowded for you? Choose “open tracks” and do it during the week before, without the pressure of the big day.
- Are you a woman? There’s a race only for females.
- Are you young? There’s also a race for juniors.
- Are you many? There’s a relay.
- Are you brave and enjoy dark winters? There are races at night.
- Is skiing not your sport? There are cycling and running races.
- Is one sport not enough for you? There’s a Vasaloppstrippeln challenge, where you do all 3 sports in the same year.
No matter your chosen race, there’s a guarantee for a good sweat, a cup of blueberry drink at one or several of the stations, and a memorable finish line moment in Mora, passing under Vasaloppet’s portal. That applies to all races, even if you choose a shorter distance. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
Part of a Swedish classic
Vasaloppet is also a part of a Swedish Classic, which is an even bigger challenge that appeals to many Swedes and foreigners. The full challenge is to:
- race Vasaloppet (90km),
- cycle around Lake Vättern in Vätternrunda (300km),
- swim Vansbrosimmet (3km)
- and run Lidingöloppet (30km)
All within 12 months. One can also choose a half-classic or a short classic (one-third of all the distances).
Do Vasaloppet! Yes, I am looking at you 😃
If you are looking for a physical challenge that is more than a race but also a piece of Swedish history, Vasaloppet is it! Go on Vasaloppets webpage, choose your preferred sport (or all of them!) and register. Join the already 1,8 million people who have crossed that somewhat magical portal. 1,7 million with tearful eyes, but that’s just my guess.
If physical challenges are not your thing you can still be a part of it by cheering athletes on the course or comfortably from your sofa. You can watch the skiing Vasaloppet on the first Saturday of March, every year on SVT but the week leading up to it is full of fantastic races and achievements. Perhaps you will be part of it next year?
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