Ultravasan 90

After my humiliating defeat at Fjällmaraton 100k two weeks ago, I knew I could not end the season like that. Looking for possible races, I came to think of Ultravasan 90 which follows the same course as the Swedish ski classic “Vasaloppet” from Sälen to Mora in Dalecarlia. Known for its relatively fast and flat course (although it turned out to have 1,000+ meters of climb in the end), it felt like the ideal choice to make up for my mountain misery.

Taking the train down to Mora with my new running-friend Petra, we were treated to a wonderful evening down at the lake Siljan over a glass of pinot grigio (which we all know is the best way to prepare for an ultra). Barely had we made it back to the youth hostel though before a massive thunderstorm broke out and dozens of millimetres of rain started pouring down. Falling asleep listening to the rain, I knew I was in for a challenge.

With the alarm set for 02.20, and the bus leaving at 03.00, race day was off to an early start. Once in Sälen together with hundreds and hundreds of other runners, everyone quickly forgot how early it was as there was a fantastic party mood at the starting line. Almost immediately after the gun went off, three kilometres of climb began, making me grateful for not having skis but running shoes on my feet. Completing the first 10k in under 60 minutes, I had a good feeling as the gravel road turned into surprisingly technical trails with many boards having become submerged due to all the rain that had fallen overnight. While sufficiently rainy during the first hours to leave me completely soaked, the sky soon cleared up and, halfway through the race, the sun was shining. After the mid-way point in Evertsberg, the course also turned significantly more runnable with some runners even switching to road running shoes. Sticking to my Salomon S/Lab Ultra 2, I was gradually coming up against my limits though, forcing me to mix walking and running for the last 30 km of the race.  After 90 km and 11 hours, I finally arrived at the finishing line in Mora, where it, to tell the truth, was hard to keep the tears in check as I was handed my medal and finisher t-shirt. All in all, it was an incredible ultra experience and a really well-organized race that I can highly recommend. With this behind me, I will now take a break with the racing as we have many other things coming up, not the least moving houses in about a month from now. In fact, my next scheduled race is North Cornwall Ultra in mid-January 2023.