History

In 1999, the first 80 km Vikingarännet was run on the northern arm of lake Mälaren (Ekoln), outside Uppsala.

It is a unique feature of Vikingarännet that the start and finish are at different places. The race starts in Sweden’s fourth largest city, Uppsala, and has its finishing point in Stockholm, making this race unique.

How it started

Vikingarännet was inspired by the “Eleven-Town-Race” which was last run in Holland in 1997. The Eleven-Town-Race has taken place four times since 1963 (1963, 1985, 1986 and 1997). After the 1997 race the winner and a number of Dutchmen from skating organisations in Holland visited the Stockholm area. They had been invited by Stockholm City and the Swedish Travel and Tourist Council. They had known for some time about the wonderful lake ice found in Sweden. Because of the very few ice winters which occur in Holland, they were looking for a skating race that the real skating enthusiasts in Holland could travel to.

A pilot study was commissioned by SIS (Stockholm Information Service) to determine how often it would be possible to arrange such a long-distance race in the Stockholm area.

The pilot study

The pilot study showed that the only route of real interest was between Uppsala and Stockholm. Further west the lakes are more open and these tend to freeze over at a later date and are more treacherous than other parts of the lake. Skating several laps on a smaller lake was not considered a serious alternative.

The first question asked was: Does the ice exist? Contacts were made with the clubs which arrange tour skating around Stockholm, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), the national Swedish Administration of Shipping and Navigation, the recreational fishing clubs and Stockholm Harbour Atuhority. The conclusion was that the ice was sufficient as shown by statistics from 1979 and onwards.

There was a probability of 50% in reaching Rålambshovs Park and 80% chance to reach Kungsängen.

The go-ahead

On the basis of the pilot study, the SIS gave the go-ahead by providing a loss guarantee, Vikingarännet became a reality. Uppsala Kommun also provided a loss gurantee for the first year. At least 90% of the participating skaters are expected to come from tour ice-skating groups. To increase the attraction to serious skaters, the Swedish skating association and Friluftsfrämjandet became organisers.

Races throughout the years

Vikingarännet 2011

Another cold winter with lots of snow. The ice was set before Christmas. Beginning of January, a lot of snow fell and it was hard to keep the the track clear. Around 18th January, the weather turned mild and the snow melted down into the ice. The track towards Stockholm was cleared 26th January and it was 5 cm of snow on a very good ice.

5 days before the race, there was 30 cm of snow and a strong wind. It was a very hard job to clear the track. A lot of skaters doubted the track would be ready for the race and didn't take part.

We had 2.500 participants in the end and the race took place 23rd Fabruary, with beautiful weather. The finish was in Alvik.

Winner was Eva Lagrange, 3,06 and Sonny Petersson 2,52.

Vikingarännet 2010

This season saw a lot of snow, which made it difficult to keep the track clear. The course became bumpy and uneven. After using four machines, we had to accept an uneven surface and due to thin ice the finish was at Smedsuddsbadet. “Vikingastafetten” was introduced this year.

The start was in Skarholmen and finish in Rålambshov/Smedsudssbadet wtih approx. 3,500 participants. Winner was Sonny Petersson, in 2.57 and Karoline Palmertz-Cerne, in 3.18.

Vikingarännet 2009

After New year, the ice set along the course and by the starting date, 22nd February, the ice was perfect from Krusenberg and further south. In the northern area, the ice was slightly worse due to snowfall. The start was in Skarholmen and the finish in Hässelby, with 3,200 participants. Winner was Johan Håmås, in 2.40 and Karoline Palmertz, in 2.55.

Vikingarännet 2008

Due to the very mild winter, the raced had to be cancelled this year.

Vikingarännet 2007

The autumn and Christmas was warm and in the middle of January, Mälaren still had open water. Around 20th January, the cold weather arrived and very good ice formed. When Vikingarännet started the 18th February, the ice was superb and many participants recorded new record times. 1.800 skaters took part. The start and finish was in Hässelby. Winner Johan Håmås, 2.40 and Karoline Palmertz, 3.14.

Vikingarännet 2006

A great winter! 90 days of excellent skiing conditions in the Stockholm area. Unfortunately, all the snow stopped the ice around central Stockholm from developing. The date of the race was 19th February, therefore there was barely 4 weeks to skate on the track “Vikingaslingan”. The interest shown in “Vikingaslingan” was very high both from the public and from the county council. Vikingarännet 2006 started in Skarholmen and finished in Hässelby. There was a short track this year, “kortisen”, of just 22 km length. The number of participants increased slightly from last year, but due to the bad weather, the final number was just under 2.000. Again the winner was Johan Håmås, in 2.45 and Ulrika Andersson, in 3.07

Vikingarännet 2005

The ice came late in autumn 2004. The beginning of December saw thin ice on Ryssgraven and over Christmas, as the ice got thicker, hurricane “Gudrun” arrived. The hurricane blew the ice away and it didn’t settle again until end of January/beginning of February. Vikingarännet was planned for Skarholmen – Kungsängen 19th February. Unfortunately, there was a lot of snow on the Monday before the race. This snow covered a big crack in the ice to Killingholmen (Skokloster) and there were difficulties locating the crack. It was decided not to start the race in Skarholmen. The new starting place became Kungsängen. Snow was a problem, pressing down, causing water to lay on the surface of the ice. Therefore the race became very wet. The combination of the late ice and lots of snow, made the participant number the lowest so far, approx. 1.600. The winner was (as usual) Johan Håmås, in 2.44 and Karoline Palmertz in 3.13. The race finished in Kungsängen.

Vikingarännet 2004

The temperature in the 2003/2004 season was a normal, but the ice was covered with snow during long periods. This put high demands on our organization to clear the ice. Short and intensive cold spells meant hard winds, which meant that the stretch to Rålambshovsparken never had solid ice.

Sunday 8th February Vikingarännet went ahead. After a week with variable weather and a fantastic job done clearing the ice, the course was in a very good condition. Despite a thick snowfall, the race took place. The winning time compared with previous years! The start was in Skarholmen and the finish in Hässelby. Winner was Johan Håmås, in 2.57.

Vikingarännet 2003

2002/2003 became the best skating winter in east Sweden for more than 20 years. The ice was already set at the end of October and the race course could be used before Christmas. The good weather gave high quality ice all the way to central Stockholm during Christmas and New Year. On the day of the race, the ice was almost perfect.

4,000 people started in great weather at Skarholmen and finished at Rålambshovsparken where the ice was only lightly covered by water. The winner of the race was Johan Håmås, in 3.09 and Karoline Palmertz, in 3.28.

Vikingarännet 2002

During Christmas and New Year 2001/2002, it snowed a great deal and was very cold in Sweden. It looked very promising. From around 5th February the warm weather came and the ice started to melt. On the date of the race, the ice had melted in several areas of the race course. The race had to be cancelled.

Vikingarännet 2001

Despite an extremely mild start to the winter, with open water in January, Vikingarännet was successfully run. The course was laid over the safe area between Kungsängen and Sigtuna and also on a part of Mälaren. A strong wind late Saturday afternoon produced bad cracks on the ice, cutting approx. 10 km of the course. This was compensated by another route at Görväln, south of Kungsängen. During the night, a thin layer of wet snow fell, froze on the ice and made the skating slow. This made the race very tough and approx. 1.000 participants did not finish the race. The start and finish were both at Kungsängen and the winner was Martin Kromkamp, in 2.58 and Christina Schön in 3.40.

Vikingarännet 2000

The ice managed to resist two weeks of very warm weather and wind until there were only a couple of days left to the race. Then, less than 24 hours before the start, a major crack appeared on the Wednesday, along the west coast of Ekoln and grew rapidly. It was impossible to let out 8,000 skaters on that ice. The race therefore had to be cancelled

Vikingarännet 1999

The first Vikingarännet was run on 13th February 1999. Due to open water around Erikssund, it was decided to run the first Vikingarännet on Ekoln, using it as a round track with one lap anticlockwise and one lap clockwise. The start and finish were both at Skarholmen, just outside Uppsala.About 5,100 skaters started and the winner of the men’s race was Hotze Zandstra, Holland, in 2.35 and the ladies race, Laura Kamminga, Holland in 3.03.