The Arctic Circle Race is a three-day ski race in Greenland. Five Swedes took on this year’s challenge of the 160km race: “It is said to be the world’s toughest ski race; I thought, ‘how hard can it be’ but it was really hard,” says Anette Blückert.

The Ski Classics Challengers event Arctic Circle Race is a three-day race in Greenland. The start and finish take place in Sisimiut, north of the Arctic Circle. The long-distance race involves a total of 160km of skiing. Day one started in Sisimiut with a 52-kilometer loop to the camp, where the participants stayed for two nights. 

On the second day, the participants skied a loop of 57 kilometers with the start and finish at the camp, and then day three largely followed the same loop as day one but in the opposite direction to the finish at the Atlantic.

Watch here the best moments of Arctic Circle Race 2023:

“My boyfriend Johan and I wanted a common challenge. For my part, I have skied Vasaloppet a few times; a year ago, we did the Nordenskiöldsloppet. Via Johan’s friend, we found out about this race in Greenland and that it was said to be the world’s toughest ski race. I thought, how hard it could be? But it was really hard. By far the toughest thing I’ve done,” says Anette Blückert.

How did you prepare?

“We raced Nattvasan on Friday evening and Vasaloppet on Sunday to test what it’s like to ski two long races in a short time. But I could have done Vasaloppet every day for a month because this race was so much tougher. It was more like skiing up red and black alpine slopes. In several places, it was so steep that the only option was to take off the skis and walk,” says Blückert, who had a total time of 20 hours after three days of competition.

The race was first held in 1997 but has been on hiatus for the past three winters due to the pandemic.

This year’s edition had 160 participants (100 of these raced the 160km race, the rest in the shorter race of a total of 100 kilometers) from 19 different nations.

What was the most difficult?

“So the course was extremely tough with steep slopes and extremely hard snow. I think it was clearly tougher than the Nordenskiöldsloppet (220km). But the most challenging thing for me was the cold. We lived in a tent, and it was around 25 degrees below zero, but we were lucky with the weather, which consistently meant bright sunshine. We brought freeze-dried food, but I had an extremely hard time getting nutrition, so I was completely depleted of energy. Luckily, we had hard bread and soft cheese in a tube. That’s what I got.”

What will you remember?

“Despite the challenges, it was an extremely cool experience. Nature was incredibly beautiful, with the mountains, the snow, and the environment. And then I will remember all the nice people. It is awesome when the entire starting field lives together in the same place. You live together with your competitors. And all those you saw who did not participate in the race stood and cheered,” says Anette.

Arctic Circle Race is a Ski Classics Challengers event; read more about the race here.  

Read More: Bellingham and Pessey Winners of Day 3 and Overall At The Arctic Circle Race