The Skuleberget's #BIG5 uphill challenge boosts trailrunners' souls

 

Racing alongside someone in a natural environment elevates the beauty of trailrunning. However, when the experience is connected to a mountain like the Skuleberget, a sort of trace left by the paths remains in the runner’s soul.

One of the most suggestive places for hikers in Sweden is the summit of Mount Skuleberget, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Höga Kusten, or the High Coast. This place is a collection of unforgettable experiences and sensations for runners who enjoy being into the wild.

All year round, hundreds passionates get epic trailrunning sessions in its natural reserve.

The #HighCoastRunner group named the five trails and their steep segments that bring to the summit of the mountain “ELK, FOX, BEAR, EAGLE and LYNX”.

They are the “BIG5 uphill paths” of the Skuleberget.

Every run on these uphills will push you out of your comfort zone.

 

Know all the #BIG5 segments

 
 
 
 
 

The mountain stands proudly next to the village of Docksta, facing the fjords and the Skuleskogen National Park.

The peak at 296 m above sea level is paradoxically not the most significant point: at a just lower altitude, at 286 meters, there is the highest coastline in the world, which, due to the melting of the ice after the last glacial period, has risen from the sea level and continues to do so today, about 6/8mm per year.

This is where a challenge arose. It’s for athletes, not between athletes.

The #BIG5 Uphills Challenge is a call to gather a handful of daring runners with the goal of completing all five trails—the respective ascending segments, in particular, leading up to the top of the Skuleberget.

 

How the #BIG5 uphill paths were born

The #BIG5 segments names (and their challenge!) born in the 2019 summer, when two “brave” trailrunners - Johnny and me - wanted to complete one time all of the five uphills up to the peak of the Skuleberget. For the first time in one single long running session.

 

The first #BIG5 uphills Challenge (2019/07/09)

Johnny and Tom ran the 1st challenge of the 5 uphill segments in the evening, enjoying the summer light, estimating a course of ~20km and 4 hours long. Then, start and finish had been set from the sea level, at the marina in Docksta.

They have completed every uphill by touching the "Skrubban", the bronze sculpture at the summit. That starts to be a tradition when a trailrunner ends the segments by reaching the top.

Here you see how they ran the sequence of all the #BIG5 paths, in a course of 25km and ~ D+1.414m.

#BIG5pathLYNX uphill -> BEAR downhill -> #BIG5pathELK uphill -> FOX downhill -> #BIG5pathBEAR uphill -> LYNX downhill -> #BIG5pathEAGLE uphill -> ELK downhill -> #BIG5pathFOX uphill -> BEAR downhill

 

A little history about the #BIG5

Before this trail, we already had considered how difficult is to agree on the names of the segments... people used different names, or not at all, Strava highlights segments with very fancy nicknames, historical paths have lost fame and walkers risk losing them...

The increase in people running on the mountain in recent years was not accompanied by the knowledge of all paths. Many runner didn't even know how to call them, between Swedish definitions and fantasy strava segments.

The mountain fortunately remained largely wild, especially between autumn and spring but the western and northern sides experienced few opportunities to be mentioned and discovered by new runners and hikers. The two editions, in September and February, of the famous race "Höga Kusten Trail," which crosses and ends at the Skuleberget, are carrying competitors only on some of the most popular, the new "Höga Kusten Stigen" and the steep path on the ski slopes.

The “Gula Stigen”, one of the trails historically used to reach the summit from the western side of the mountain, running in the woods to the left of the ski slopes, was entering into oblivion.

It was then that Johnny and me invented the names to make all five ascending trails memorable and we decided to run and highlight them all during a single trailrunning session.

Johnny suggested connecting the five paths to the wild animals that live in these parts and also thought of a name for all the paths: "the BIG5".

 

That's the simple story of how this adventure began. Then, as soon as it was feasible, we tried to replicate the experience by growing the group, and other runners began to think about it as well. We arranged the second and third iterations of the #BIG5 uphill Challenge in 2022 and 2023.

So, the High Coast Runners did it again. The last two challenges have been held in early “Spring” editions. The runners attacked the steep paths when some of them were still presenting wide, snowy stretches. Definitely a couple of a bit crazy trails, from a weather point of view, with a mountain that gifted its best (sun, wind, snow, mud, icy rocks, and flowing water).

In the three editions to date, there are 10 athletes who have completed the challange: one woman and eight men, from Sweden, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

 

#BIG5 UPHILL CHALLENGE - 2022 SPRING EDITION

2022 EDITION of the #BIG5 uphill CHALLENGE

 

#BIG5 UPHILL CHALLENGE - 2023 SPRING EDITION

2023 EDITION of the #BIG5 uphill CHALLENGE

 
 

The rules of the #BIG5 uphill Challenge

We set it with very few rules: the challenge is open to everyone; you choose the intensity according to your abilities; there are no time limits; but it must be started and completed within the same 24 hours. To be codified, it must require the participation of at least two athletes to complete it. There's no cash fee and no formal registration. But High Coast Runners always start together :)

 

Roots, mud, rocks and stones, branches and trees, berries, lichens and flowers, leaves and pine needles, ice, snow, water, wind, the sound of your steps and the rhythm of your breathing… face the challenge by running or walking on Elk, Fox, Lynx, Beat, and Eagle uphills (for experience, not speed :)

Every walk or run—fast or slow—up to the summit following one of these trails has a proper meaning and will leave emotions in your memory.

 

Through the year, anyone can challenge themselves on the mountain climbing segments

All the 5 trails at the Skule have their dedicated #stravasegments and the ranks of the runners that completed them.

Set your #PB on the #BIG5 segments registering your running session with the STRAVA app.

Search the segments and join the High Coast Runner club on STRAVA.COM: you are welcome in the group!

Elite runners show impressive Personal Best on these uphills:

Enjoy the experience to set your new PB!

The MAP-POSTER above can be customized with your notes to record your #PB on the #BIG5 upphills.

You find it on the E-SHOP: the collections of map posters tailored for trailrunning in the Höga Kusten >

 
 
 

The High Coast Runner group is sharing running experiences within the High Coast World Heritage in Sweden: join the group on Strava.com!

 
 

Are you looking for information regarding the Skule #BIG5 and the #HighCoastRunner group?

 
 

CONTACT ME:

Tommaso De Rosa

@tominthehighcoast

+46 (0)76.3136909

or +39.335.1309207 (WhatsApp too)
dockstahavet@gmail.com

 
 
 

SHARE YOUR #HighCoastRunner PASSION:

In primo piano
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HANG YOUR #HÖGAKUSTEN PASSION ON A WALL:

HÖGA KUSTEN SOUVENIRS

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HÖGA KUSTEN SOUVENIRS 🧭