July 04

Emelie Forsberg: sets a new FKT in the Kungsleden Trail

Posted by adefrutos on July 4, 2018 in emelie forsberg, emelie forsberg interview, mont blanc, mont blanc ultra trail, salomon, salomon running, salomon trail, salomon trail running, salomon trailrunning, trail runing, trail running, trail running 2018, trail running spain, trail running spain 2018, trail running Sweden, Ultra Trail, ultra trail europe | 2 Comments

EMELIE FORSBERG SETS A NEW RECORD IN THE KUNGSLEDENG TRAIL

Emelie Forsberg achieved yet another record, after establishing new speed marks in Monte Rosa and Mont Blanc in late June, she now possesses also the Fastest Known Time (FKT) in the Kungsleden Trail, in the Swedish Lapland. Emelie Forsberg completed the 450km trail in 5 days and 21 hours, beating the current FKT, held since 2017 by Norwegian ultrarunner Sondre Almdahl, who completed the trail in 6 days, 2h 51’.

The challenge for Emelie Forsberg started on the midnight of July 3rd in the northern part of the trail, in Abisko. The first stage was the longest, running 116km through the midnight sun until reaching Saltoluokta, the hut where Emelie worked when she was 19 and where her love for the mountains started.

.
From there, the Swedish athlete ran the 70km of the second stage until Kvikkjokk. Despite the amount of kilometres, Emelie’s legs were feeling fresh and so was her mood. The third stage was probably the wildest, running through a wild and not concurred track of 96km. “I was running alone today, and it’s so nice the state I got into, just one step at the time, a good pace and to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. I am so lucky”, explained Forsberg.

On the fourth stage, Emelie started in Jäkkvik feeling very tired. Little by little she started to feel better and managed to finish in high spirit the 97km of this stage. It was hard, but the end was near.

Finally, on Saturday, July 7th Emelie ran the last stage of the Kungsleden. Despite having sore legs, the motivation was up to achieve the challenge, and Emelie completed the stage, and therefore, the trail. Stopping the watch: 5 days and 21 hours.

_____________

EMELIE’S DATA FOR KUNGSLEDEN

Day 1 : 110 km, 2408m D+ – 2 boat crossing – 15.31 hours

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move228259671

Day 2: 66 km, 1600m D+ – 2 boat crossings – 9.14 hours
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move228259694

Day 3: 91 km, 2169m D+ – 2 boat crossings – 12.4 hours
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move228259759

Day 4 : 96,5 km, 2240m D+ – 1 boat crossing – 15.14 hours
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move228259838

Day 5: 81,5 km 2700m D+ – 13.50 minutes
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move228259871

Some data about Emelie’s Kungsleden…

450 kilometers

11.117 meters elevation

5 days and 21 hours

4 crew (2 cameras, 2 logistics)

25 cheese sandwiches

2 cakes

_____________

EMELIE FORSBERG: ATTEMPTING A FKT IN KUNGSLEDEN TRAIL

Emelie Forsberg has started on the midnight of July 3rd her new personal project trying to set up a new Fastest Known Time in the Kungsleden trail, in the Swedish Lapland. Recently, Emilie set up two records in one week, a new FKT of ascent to Mont-Blanc (4.810m) completing the 30km with 4000m+ that separate Chamonix from the summit in 7h53min and a few days later she climbed Monte Rosa (4.554m) from Alagna, 35km with 3500m+ in 5h03min.

Photo: Sergi Colomé

_____________

KUNGSLEDENG – WHY THERE?

Kungsleden (King’s Trail) is a 450km hiking trail in the Swedish Lapland. It starts in Abisko in the north and finishes in Hemavan in the South in a rather flat terrain: the highest point is the Tjäktja Pass at 1.150m and the lowest at Kvikkjokk (330m). However, the trail is challenging and not only implies running but also rowing, when crossing many of the rivers that crosses the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Europe. The spectacularity and the wilderness of the aspects make it for a very popular hiking destination in summer and for cross country in winter.

This trail is very special for Emelie, when se was 19 she used to work in Saltoluokta mountain hut in the Kungsleden trail, and it was how she started her love for the mountains.

_____________

KUNGSLEDENG – FTK 450KM HIKING TRAIL

Kungsleden is a 450km hiking trail that hikers usually cross in 15 days. Emilie’s goal is trying to do it in less than 5 days. That means that she will have to run between 80 to 110km each day.

“FKT for me is not only about records, it’s about challenging myself in an environment I love. I find that I can often push myself more on a challenge, a summit I run up to, because I know that this is what I really want. And to do it in a light alpine environment I feel that my capacity is really strong. This kind of efforts are very rare in the women’s world so I would also like to inspire other girls to push their limits”, Emilie said.

She will be uploading every day on her social media to communicate about her progress on the route. Later on, a video piece will be produced about her journey in the Kungsleden.

We hope everything goes great with Emelie these days.

Photos from Phillip Reiter