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March 2025

robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

Andreas Vennberg wins 185km race

Photography: Isak Sandling

Local skier Andreas Vennberg reached the Överkalix finish line of the Bright Equipment Lapland Arctic Ultra 185 km March 4th at 01:00, making him the overall winner in this distance in an excellent time.

The second athlete to reach the Grand Arctic Resort, was Lee Francis (UK), who arrived March 4th at 19:42. Lee was on foot, so in his category, he ranks first. At 22:14, during the same night, we were able to welcome the third overall finisher and 2nd on foot, Evangelos Drosos from Greece. Christian Cullinane (UK) reached the 185km finish on March 5th at 03:06. It made him 4th overall and 3rd on foot. 5th overall and first female is Stephanie Grebner from Germany who arrived in Överkalix March 5th at 17:59.

Congratulations to all!

robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

A great first day!

Photography: Isak Sandling

The start of the Bright Equipment Lapland Arctic Ultra 2025 couldn’t have been better. After days of warm temperatures and a bit of a “snow shortage,” Mother Nature smiled upon us. On Sunday morning, we woke up to a fresh layer of snow. To top it off, it was cold enough for the trails to firm up, providing ideal conditions. Of course, the fresh snow did bring its own set of challenges, but it was a welcome change.

At 09:00, the Lapland Arctic Arena opened its doors to the public, with local businesses showcasing their products. Hot drinks and snacks were available for anyone who joined us. Following our start, we even had the Kids Lapland Arctic Ultra take place. The future is secured! A huge thank you to Linnea Bentzer-Waara, Överkalix Kommun, the local sponsors, and everyone else who supported this incredible project. It was truly exciting to see a busy start line filled with so many visitors.

We left Jockfall at 08:30 and made our way to the Grand Arctic Resort, arriving right on schedule. Just before the start, we gathered for our traditional group photo, and at 09:34, we kicked off the countdown for the 20 and 50 km races. Four minutes later, we watched the 185 and 500 km athletes begin their journey.

A special thanks to Hilding Cedering, who made it possible for us to offer hot drinks and snacks to the 20 and 50 km participants around the 9 km mark. Additionally, many volunteers from Rödupp came out to welcome everyone at the ice bridge in their community—our 20 km finish line.

Here are the overall results for the 20 km race:

1st
Liubov Boiko (Ukraine/Foot) – 2/3, 12:18 – 2h 44m

2nd
Martin Grebner (Germany/Foot) – 2/3, 12:19 – 2h 45m

3rd
Stéphane Brette (France/Foot) – 2/3, 12:57 – 3h 23m

4th
Peter Johansson (Sweden/Ski) – 2/3, 12:58 – 3h 24m

5th
Elin Larsgren (Sweden/Foot) – 2/3, 13:00 – 3h 26m

6th
Wiebke Sobirey (Germany/Foot) – 2/3, 13:01 – 3h 27m

7th
Ida Cedering (Sweden/Ski) – 2/3, 13:02 – 3h 28m

8th
Rickard Larsson (Sweden/Ski) – 2/3, 13:08 – 3h 34m
Moa Pahikka-Aho (Sweden/Ski) – 2/3, 13:08 – 3h 34m
Hulda Wirsen (Sweden/Ski) – 2/3, 13:08 – 3h 34m

Liubov Boiko from Ukraine crossing the 20km finish line just before Martin Grebner from Germany – Photography: Isak Sandling

At this stage, all the athletes were looking strong, although some were of course moving at a slower pace than others. However, so early into the race, speed was not the main focus. For the athletes it was all about finding the right rhythm, managing layers, avoiding early issues, and not overexerting themselves. The SSFA Team Fire & Ice struggled with their skis, but that didn’t stop them from making steady progress.

As they approached the spectacular Laxforsberget checkpoint, our crew was ready just in time to cheer on local fatbiker David Forsman, who was far ahead of the rest. Next came Jörgen Rokka, a highly experienced local skier, followed by another local skier, Anne Wennberg. After that, a steady stream of athletes reached the top, all incredibly happy to have conquered “our mountain.”

Andreas Vennberg from Överkalix at our Laxforsberget checkpoint – Photography: Isak Sandling

David Forsman was able to keep his high speed and finish first in the 50km. All other athletes who started in this distance also finished. They all did a great job – regardless of discipline, age or fitness level. But I do want to mention a few. First of all, David is so fast, he should really sign up for the 500 km and give record setting fatbiker Florian Reiterberger from Germany a “hard time” when he joins us again in the future. Jörgen Rokka actually started a long time after we all had left Överkalix. Seems he had thought that we start at 10:30. It did not bother him at all and he basically overtook everyone except David to finish in 2nd place overall. We were also all very impressed with local skier Anne Wemberg who was super fast. It was also amazing to see 12-year old Helga Cedering finish in a great time!

Congratulations to all finishers!

Here are the overall rankings for the 50 km race (Jockfall finish line):

1st
David Forsman (Sweden/Fatbike) – 2/3, 13:55; 4h 21min

2nd
Jörgen Rokka (Sweden/Ski) – 2/3, 15:05; 5h 31min

3rd
Anne Wennberg (Finland/Ski) – 2/3, 16:12; 6h 38min

4th
Signe Malmer (Sweden/Ski) – 2/3, 16:32; 6h 58min
Helena Forsman (Sweden/Ski) – 2/3, 16:32; 6h 58min

6th
Joris Simkens (Belgium/Foot) – 2/3, 16:40; 7h 6min

7th
Mateusz Milczarek (Sweden/Foot) – 2/3, 17:35; 8h 1min

8th
Elsa Rabou (France/Foot), 2/3, 17:45; 8h 11min

9th
Lucas Gater (England/Foot), 2/3, 18:10; 8h 36min
Simon Gater (England/Foot), 2/3, 18:10; 8h 36min

11th
Michael Dessagne (France/Foot), 2/3, 18:19; 8h 45min

12th
Matt Burgin (England/Foot), 2/3, 18:26; 8h 52min

13th
Rebecca Vaughan (England/Foot), 2/3, 18:34; 9h
Alan Cormack (Scotland/Foot), 2/3, 18:34; 9h

15th
Helga Cedering (Sweden/Ski), 2/3, 19:08; 9h 34min

16th
Jefferson Almeida (Brazil/Foot), 2/3, 20:20; 10h 46min

17th
Magdalena Allan (England/Foot), 2/3, 20:33; 10h 59min

18th
Alexander Bertuccioli (Italy/Foot), 2/3, 20:46; 11h 12min
Ervin Kapo (Italy/Foot), 2/3, 20:46; 11h 12min

20th
Frank Hojmark Enevoldsen (Denmark/Foot), 2/3, 22:05; 12h 31min
Morten Lund Jacobsen (Denmark/Foot), 2/3, 22:05; 12h 31 min

robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

Follow the race live – tracking link

After the first long night of dot-watching, it’s time to settle in and follow our athletes as they make their way through the Bright Equipment Lapland Arctic Ultra 2025. Whether you’re tracking a loved one, keeping an eye on the competition, or just fascinated by the journey – this is where you can see it all unfold in real time:

🔗 Live Tracking

Or you can of course click on the tracking banner on our landing page.

The tracking system, managed by Fjällcom, updates regularly, showing each athlete’s progress across the Arctic wilderness. Every dot tells a story – who’s pushing ahead, who’s resting at a checkpoint, who’s battling through the night.

Dot-watching is its own kind of adventure. The quiet suspense of watching a dot inch forward, the excitement of seeing an athlete reach a checkpoint, the moments of tension when one hasn’t moved in a while – it’s all part of the experience.

Stay tuned! We’ll have more updates – but for now, grab a hot drink, settle in, and enjoy the thrill of the unknown.

robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

Getting ready

Copyright: Swedish Lapland

It’s been a busy few days here at Jockfall. From Feb. 25th to 28th 13 athletes took part in our training course, powered by Trollkraft Adventure. As always, many lessons were learnt and all participtants now have a lot more confidence to face the challenges ahead. Due to the rather warm temperatures, one of the main challenges will be to stay dry …

Towards the end of the training course more athletes had started to arrive. We dealt with paperwork, handed out rental kit, had our briefing this morning, followed by the Laplandprayer, organised by Race Chaplain Pat Cooke-Rogers and, finally, our big dinner.

Tomorrow at 08:00am we will load everyone’s sleds and head all down to Överkalix. From 09:00am the “Lapland Arctic Arena” will open – which means there will be snacks, hot drinks and later on also a Kid’s Race. Anyone who is interested in this, please just visit whenever you want. The Arena will close at noon. We will start our 20 and 50 km races at 09:30am. Then, right after, the athletes in the 185 and 500 km races will head out.

For updates during the race we will mainly use our facebook and instagram pages. Also, if you would like to follow the progress of our athletes, please check out the tracking page (linked on our landing page).