In 2006, 2.5 million Swedes — nearly one-third of the population — watched Vasaloppet on television. 
Photo: Nisse Schmidt

Imagine sweating through the 90-kilometer (56-mile) cross-country ski race Vasaloppet. Hard, but maybe not impossible. Then imagine cycling 300 kilometers around the lake Vättern in Vätternrundan. Pretty tough. Throw in Vansbrosimningen, a three-kilometer swim in fast flowing icy water, and top it with the 30-kilometer Lidingöloppet cross-country run.

Now, how about completing all four events in the space of 12 months? Surely you have to be crazy. Yet each year thousands of Swedes take up this challenge called a “Swedish Classic.” Since its introduction in 1971, more than 23,000 men and 4,500 women have completed the four events in the required 12 months and received their Swedish Classic Circuit diploma.

A drunken idea
Linus Hägerbrand, a 25-year-old computer programmer from Lund in the south of Sweden, is taking on the Classic for the first time together with two work colleagues, Erik Hallengren and Eero Piitulainen.

“One night we had too much to drink and decided we should stop being couch potatoes and do something a little challenging,” Hägerbrand says. “Our friends and family were very doubtful initially, but now they’re just tired of hearing us talk about training all the time.”


Vansbrosimningen demands some tough training. Photo: Rolf Johansson

They started a blog with the aim of keeping friends and colleagues up to date on their progress. They will also add their event times to the blog as the races are completed.

Snow challenge
The three faced a problem experienced by many people in the south of the country: a lack of snow, particularly in the early winter. They have done much of their ski training on roller skis, but recently attended a cross-country training camp held by Staffan Larsson, a former Vasaloppet winner.

“We started training in the fall. Then we had a fourth guy in the group, but he was too embarrassed to be seen on roller skis,” Hägerbrand says. “I expect the skiing to be the toughest part. It’s been great so far because we’ve all lost weight and got fit, especially Eero.”

The ski race Vasaloppet takes place as the culmination of a week of festivities (February 23 – March 4) that attract thousands of visitors, competitors and spectators alike. In 2007, a record 49,100 people have entered the various races that make up the event, including the main Vasaloppet race.


Linus Hägerbrand, Erik Hallengren and Eero Piitulainen are confident after training with a Swedish Vasaloppet veteran. Photo: Staffan Larsson

"It's important to be stubborn"
Susanne Adolphi is a political science graduate working in Stockholm. She is 25 and will do the Classic with her 60-year-old father. They’ll kick off their attempt at the Classic this summer with Vätternrundan, the cycle tour that starts and finishes in her home town Motala and circles Vättern, the second largest lake in Sweden.

The first Vätternrundan was held in 1966 with 370 registered participants. In 2006, more than 15,000 cyclists took part.

“It’s not something I would choose to do alone,” Adolphi says. “At the same time it’s quite individualistic – you have to go out alone, ski alone, bike alone. It’s important to be stubborn. My dad calls me after he trains and that pushes me. I think the run will be the toughest part, and the swim the easiest.”


By the time Vätternrundan starts on June 15, Swede Susanne Adolphi plans to have 1,000 km of cycling under her belt. Photo: www.cyklavaettern.com

Not in it to win it
Bengt Hansson, who works for a ski travel company, completed the Classic 10 years ago. He remembers his last event, the Lidingöloppet cross-country run: “I’m a big, heavy guy, so I expected it to be tough. It was,” he says. “I had a cold, and early in the race my pulse rate shot up to 200. I just kept going. I had put too much into the whole thing to give up. I suffered for six months after that.”

One thing that seems to motivate those who attempt the Swedish Classic is the challenge of competing, and hopefully finishing the full circuit. Most of those who enter realize they have little or no chance of winning, but they still put in time, effort and money.

Linus Hägerbrand has a simple view. “The person who wins in our group gets a lot of honor. Michael, the guy who dropped out, is the butt of jokes around the office.”

FACTS

Vasaloppet – how it all began
Vasaloppet is close to Swedish hearts and history. Its origins lie in the fight to kick the occupying Danish army out of Sweden in 1520. On the run from Danish forces after the Stockholm Bloodbath, in which 80 Swedish nobles were massacred, Gustav Eriksson Vasa found himself alone, pleading for support from the people of Mora in the county of Dalarna. First, the locals declined to join his cause, and Vasa was forced to flee toward the Norwegian border. But news of events in Stockholm reached Mora, and two skiers were dispatched to intercept Vasa, something they achieved at the town of Sälen. Vasaloppet is now run between Mora and Sälen to commemorate this event, which eventually led to the expulsion of the Danish forces. The first race took place in March 1922, with 119 men, mainly local skiers, competing.

Training tips from Linus, Eero and Erik