Is it really worth to come to Beitostølen for a run?

On a rainy Sunday afternoon sometime in October just after the “Müggelsee halfmarathon” we sat in my living room somewhere in Berlin. We had been friends since school but were now living in different cities across Germany. During the last couple of years we had run a number of half marathons together, always finding a good opportunity to visit each other for a weekend. Exhilarated from the run we already started to make plans for the next run. This time we wanted it to be something special, so we filed through the internet for running events all across Europe. There we came across the Beitostølen Fjellmaraton. This seemed to be exactly what we were looking for – a challenging and scenic run. So, we started to plan our weekend in Beitostølen, booked our flights and rented a little cabin nearby. Einar Hegge and his team who organized the run were very helpful and amiable and helped us a whenever we had questions about the run.

Finally we arrived in Oslo on Thursday, 2nd of June 2017. We took a rental car up to Beitostølen. On the ride to Beitostølen we already fell in love with the beautiful scenery. When we arrived in Beitostølen in the afternoon we first went to pick up our bib numbers. There we also met Einar who was even kinder in person.

Besides getting our bibs we found a lot of super nice and fair priced running gear at the associated Asics sale. Who would have thought you could shop that well & reasonable price in Norway J?

Early next morning we got ready for the run. Two of us were running the half marathon and two did the 10km distance. At the start everything was very well organized. There were busses to take the runners to the starting points for the 42km and 21km distance. The other starting points were in walking distance from the center of Beitostølen. Throughout the whole race we were stunned by the beautiful nature around Beitostølen. We could have kept running for longer just for the wonderful sight and we even messed up our times just because it was so beautiful we had to stop every now and then to take a picture. At the finish line there were more people cheering than we had expected which was a really nice support for the last meters. We saw a lot of different people run, not only the usual athletes but also kids and teens, elderly and whole families doing the run together. This gave the Beitostølen run a very special and positive atmosphere of achieving a goal together and even though we were perfect strangers in Beitostølen we felt warmly welcome and connected.

In the meantime the things we had left at the starting point had been taken to the finish line, so we could easily pick them up after the run. After the run we spent a perfect afternoon at „Gronolen Fjellgard“ were we relaxed our sore muscles in the sauna and hot tub. Again everybody was very forthcoming and we received some helpful advices for the hike we had planned the next day.

In the evening we rewarded ourselves with a perfect Norwegian dinner at the „Hytta“. At the restaurant that looks like a rustic little hut, we had excellent food and wine before we went to the runners’ party to have enjoy some live music and let the evening of that perfect day fade away with the people we had met at the run.

Since we had already come this far, we had decided to do the Besseggen-hike the next day, which was supposed to be one of the most scenic hikes around the area and we did not get disappointed. The hike goes uphill along the rim of the Gjende lake for about 3hrs but shortly behind the top there is a ridge where you can see the Gjende to your left and the Bessvatnet lake on the right hand side. The breathtaking views more than reimbursed us for the challenging hike.

We spent the last evening at our cozy little cabin taking in everything we had experienced that weekend before we headed back home the next day. So if you ask yourself if it is worth to come to Beitostølen for a run, let us tell you: it absolutely is! We spent a perfect weekend packed with exciting activities, breathtaking views and lovely people at Beitostølen. We would like to thank Einar and his team for organizing this great run and for all the help around the race and everyone we met that weekend for making this trip an unforgettable memory to us.

Kathleen & Dirk from Stuttgart, Germany,

Emilie from Paris, France

and Nina from Berlin, Germany

Beitostølen June 02.-05.2017