Madshus athlete Kevin Ramsfjell polished off the 2,600 kilometers from Nordkapp to Lindesnes in amazing 10 days and 10 hours.
Kevin Ramsfjell literally demolished the previous world record for roller skiing Norway lengthwise, which was 21 days. The 22-year-old Norwegian did it in 10 days and 10 hours: 2,600 kilometers and more than 30,000 meters elevation gain. And he didn’t even have a single blister or injury.
“I’m so impressed with my equipment. I was using the same boots the entire way, no problems. I didn’t have any blisters or hotspots on my feet, which I consider quite amazing,” Ramsfjell says.
Crushed his own target
Cruising into Lindesnes after 10 days and 10 hours, Ramsfjell didn’t just break the previous record by a landslide, he also crushed his own target.
When Ramsfjell set out to beat the record for roller skiing Norway lengthwise from Nordkapp to Lindesnes on July 16, he wanted to cut the existing record of 21 days to 13 days. The original plan was to cover 200 kilometers per day, at an average speed of 20km/h.
But halfway through the 2,600-kilometer endeavor, Ramsfjell decided to cut the already ambitious 13-day target down to 11 days. At that point, he had logged significantly longer distances each day so far, despite rain and headwinds every day of the journey.
On the last leg, Ramsfjell put in 483 kilometers in less than 24 hours.
“I wasn’t really that tired, but the last 50 kilometers felt really long. I was so close but not quite there, I had a lot of head wind, and I just felt like I wasn’t moving at all,” Ramsfjell says after crossing the finish line on Tuesday, July 26.
Madshus caught up with Ramsfjell right after he finished the last stage.
On most of the days, you rollerskied plus/minus 250 kilometers. What was it like to do 483 kilometers in one stage?
“It wasn’t that bad. I felt fine, I didn’t have any blisters or pain anywhere. I was mostly just really sleepy, especially during the darkest part of the night. Then it was cold too. But I used the cold to stay awake. Instead of putting on more clothes, I used the discomfort of being chilled to stay awake. And once the daylight came back, everything was fine and I wasn’t tired anymore.”
What do you consider the highlight of the journey?
“Above all, I am proud of managing to pull off such a long stage on the last day. I could have played it safe, stuck to the plan, divided the last distance into two chunks and still made my 11-day target. But I know I would have regretted not having tried to make it in one stage.”
What was the key to pulling off this jaw-dropping record?
“I had lined up everything specifically with rollerskiing the distance as fast as possible in mind. I had my dad driving behind me in a campervan the whole way, all the gear and logistics figured out ahead of the journey, as well as an ambitious overall plan for the distance in order to set the new record. Plus, I have a really solid training base from years and years of rollerskiing, so even if I never did any superlong rollerski workouts before this trip, I was physically well prepared.”
Check out how Ramsfjell prepared for the record
Is there anything you would do different if you were to do it again?
“I don’t think I would have scheduled the project for the middle of the summer vacation. There was so much traffic. Even though I tried to cover most of my distance during the night, there were several days where I actually had to stop sooner than I would have liked to because there were so many cars on the road.”
What is your next project now?
“To change my clothes and get an ice cream.”
FACTS: Roller skiing Norway north to south 2022
Who: Kevin Brekken Ramsfjell (22)
What: Set a new record for roller skiing Norway lengthwise
When: July 16 to 26, 2022
Route: Nordkapp to Lindesnes
Distance: 2.600 kilometers
Elevation gain: 30 000 meters elevation gain
Goal: 13 days, cut to 11 days halfway through
Previous record: 21 days (2021)
