The Wolf Mountain two-person double marathon relay in Skien, Norway started Saturday morning July 3, European time. A number of big names cross country and biathlon World Cup skiers were entered. Results should be in shortly.
Fasterskier.com readers could last year read about Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset’s solo attempt to break the old record for the most number of times up and down the mountain in 24-hours. Odd-Bjorn broke the record. Not long after that a young orienteering runner (which received a lot less publicity) shattered Hempseed’s new record.
This year the race is between two person teams with each person running the distance of a marathon up and down the mountain. This equals seven times up and down the 3 kilometer long hill for each runner (skier). They will be tagging off between each leg.Â
Some of the Worlds best cross country and biathlon skiers are entered. Here are the teams:
        ·       Lars Berger and Frode Andresen — Biathlon, Norway
·       Kristen Skjeldal and Frode Estil — Cross Country, Norway
·       Anders Aukland and Odd-Bjœrn Hjelmeset — Cross Country, Norway
·       Jaak Mae and Andrus Veerpalu — Cross Country, Estaland
·       Mathias Fredriksson and Anders Sœdergren — Cross Country, Sweden
– It’s 10,000 altitude meters and a full marathon. They are going to feel it says the organizer Tore Hansen. Â
How are you able to finance this type of race?
– Our budget is 400,000 Norwegian Crowns (US $57,000). I did the entire fund raising myself and you can’t believe how much work it was. Incredible if I’m going to put a word on it
– Hansen is not willing to say anything about the prize structure, but it is more than pocket change.
Hansen expects several thousand spectators to line up along the course.
Several Orienteering runners had expressed a desire to participate, but were not allowed “start rightsâ€.
– They can run, but not this year. Now it’s about biathlon and cross country. We might add orienteering another year. I want this to become a big annual event and am working on a five-year plan. I even want the world’s best runners to be a part of this, says Hansen
Frode Estil is one of the participants.
– It’s going to be a good workout and it’s going to be interesting to see how this race will develop, says Estil
Estil holds Hjelmeset and Aukland as the biggest favorites.
– How do you prepare for a race like this?
– I’m taking it easy for a few days before the race and am planning to do the same after the race.
Estil doesn’t feel that this type of race is that extreme.
– I have done many things that are tougher than this, says Estil.
