AXA Fjällmaraton
AXA Fjällmaraton (Literally: AXA Mountain Marathon) is a long distance race, considered the hardest and most important one-day mountain marathon in Sweden. The total route has a length of 43 km (27 mi) with a cumulative elevation gain of 2,100 meters and similar elevation loss. The race takes place between the mountain resorts Vålådalen and Trillevallen in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County since 2005. Until 2012 the race was known by the name Vértex Fjällmaraton.[1]
Over time additional races have been added to the original Axa Fjällmaraton proper, currently:[2]
- Öppet Fjäll (Open course) runs the marathon course but without the mass start of the racing day so that runners may run at a leisurly tempo at their own convenience
- Halvmaraton (Half-marathon), 27 km (17 mi) with a cumulative elevation gain of 1,150 meters
- Kvartsmaraton (Quarter-marathon), 13 km (8.1 mi) with a cumulative elevation gain of 600 meters
- Minimaraton (Mini-marathon), a children's race with two age categories: 0–6 years run 800 meters, 7+ years run 1,500 meters
- Vertical K (Vertical kilometer), a race to the peak of Åreskutan
- Inov-8 sprinten, a sprint where competitors take on qualifiers and heats before reaching the final
In 2012-2014 Ottfjället upp was a vertical race to the peak of Ottfjället, but this was replaced by Vertical K to the peak of Åreskutan in 2015.
Winners
The course has changed over time in different ways so course records are not listed here. The fastest male winning times have been under 3 hours 30 minutes and female winning times just over 4 hours, so considerably slower than a normal asphalt marathon race.
Andreas Svanebo has won the race six times in seven starts and Emelie Forsberg three times in three starts. Forsberg's first win in 2009 is widely cited, including on CNN. She had borrowed a backpack from a friend and brought a chokolate mud cake that she had baked. Before the last big ascent she stopped for 20 minutes and ate the cake, got new energy and won the race. Two years later she was back, did not stop to eat en route and improved her time by 30 minutes.[3][4] In 2014 when an established world class runner Forsberg was back again and improved her time by another 30 minutes.[5]
| Year | Country | Man | Country | Woman |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 |  Sweden | Andreas Svanebo | Sweden | Hanna Wikberg |
| 2006 | Sweden | Fredrik Sätter | Sweden | Kicki Fransson |
| 2007 | Sweden | Andreas Svanebo | Sweden | Therese Svensson |
| 2008 | Sweden | Andreas Svanebo | Sweden | Maria Lundgren |
| 2009 | Sweden | Andreas Svanebo | Sweden | Emelie Forsberg |
| 2010 | Sweden | Anton Sjöholm | Sweden | Therese Svensson |
| 2011 | Sweden | Andreas Svanebo | Sweden | Emelie Forsberg |
| 2012 | Sweden | Andreas Svanebo | Sweden | Annika Billstam |
| 2013 | Sweden | Anders Kleist | Sweden | Lena Gavelin |
| 2014 |  Norway | Eirik Haugsnes | Sweden | Emelie Forsberg |
| 2015 | Sweden | Anders Kleist | Sweden | Ida Nilsson |
References
- ↑ "AXA Fjällmarathon". AXA Fjällmaraton. Archived from the original on 2015-05-07.
- ↑ "Races". AXA Fjällmaraton. Archived from the original on 2015-05-15.
- ↑ Paul Gittings; Olivia Yasukawa (8 October 2014). "Emelie Forsberg: Running's sky queen with a sweet tooth". CNN. Archived from the original on 2015-07-26.
- ↑ "Axa Fjällmaraton" (in Swedish). Runner's World. 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-10-17.
- ↑ "Resultat Damer Solo" (PDF). Fjällmaraton. 9 August 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-26.
External links
- Official website
- AXA Fjällmaraton on Facebook (in Swedish)