Vivobarefoot Elite Athlete, Jennifer Asp, racing in the Primus Trail SG
For the second year, the Vivo team travelled to one of the most picturesque mountains in Sweden for the annual Kia Fjällmaraton; a week-long trail and mountain running event attended by some of the country’s top athletes.
In typical Åre fashion, the weather swung like a yoyo from hot to cold, dry to wet and everything in between. This didn’t deter 3500 people signing up to the 6 different events across the week, finishing with the infamous 43Km Fjällmaraton on the last day. Vivo Elite athletes Ola Nyberg and Jennifer Asp were taking part in a number of races during the week, alongside a team from behind the scenes at Vivobarefoot HQ!
The week kicked off with the 27km race – turbulent weather made the trail muddy, but a fast pace was set by the leading pack (this was to the be theme for the week, with some unbelievable finish times!). Emilie Forsberg took the women’s crown with a time of 2 hours 29mins, with Vivo’s Jennifer Asp finished in 15th. In the men’s race Peter Engdahl won in a staggering 2 hours.
Next came the Vertical Kilometre. Perhaps the most unique and interesting race of the week. It involves running up to the Åre mountain top (1500m above sea level) as fast as you can! The unforgiving terrain means you must use all manners of technique to finish the race, including scaling rocks, running and even climbing up the mountain face with ropes! 100’s lined the course with cowbells shouting their support for 200 or so that took part! This is a race we highly recommend taking part in if you ever attend the Fjällmaraton week, although it’s gruelling, the views at the top are something to behold!
We were all blown away by this young Vivo lover, who sped to the top in his Primus Trail FG.
Athletes spanning generations tackled the famous Vertical K
Race 3 was the 7km trail run, officially sponsored by Vivobarefoot. The course, although shorter than most events in the week, had everything from technical downhill sections to steep climbs. It was a quick race from the get go, but Vivo athlete Ola Nyberg stormed to victory with a staggering 30minutes! This race saw 500 people from all age groups and abilities taking part, with plenty of people making use of the Vivobarefoot Primus Trail FG (insert link).
Vivo Elite, Ola Nyberg, takes 1st place in the Fjallmaraton 7Km
The 400m sprint was Thursdays race and was one for the ever faithful Åre crowd! 100’s lined the short course that had all forms of terrain to navigate – it was a chance for the athletes to show their power! Vivo’s Jennifer Asp went into the race as one of the favourites but was pipped to a photo finish in the final!
Jennifer Asp, showing every second counts
After a much-needed rest day we headed 20km from Åre to the beautiful Vålådalen for the main event of the week; The Kia Fjällmaraton. The course took the runners over three mountain peaks: Ottfjället, Hållfjället and Välliste, to the finish at Trillevallen mountain station. The race was extremely demanding and offered varied terrain and technical sections, challenging even for the most experienced runners. With a distance of 43km and 2100m worth of climbing you can see why!!
Ola Nyberg did us proud once again, tearing into 10th place in the infamous 43Km.
The Kia Fjällmaraton week was an experience everyone one involved will not forget and any runners out there itching for a new challenge, we highly recommend it. Until next year….
AS TOLD BY NICHOLAS CHARLIER (BELOW) : VIVO SENIOR PR MANAGER AND FJALLMARATON ATHLETE!
