The Spartan Trail World Championship (STWC), in its fifth stop, is moving to Åre, in central Sweden. The mountain village with just over 12,000 inhabitants is the home of the Kia Fjällmaraton.
Held between July 29th and August 5th, runners will contest eight distances (half marathon, vertical kilometre, 8k, 2x 12k, 27k, 45k and 100k) in a trail festival in the northern Scandinavian fjords.
As part of the ULTRA championship of the Spartan Trail World Championship, the 100k (which will also award 4 ITRA points) starts on Thursday, August 3rd, where more than 130 trail runners will run 6,200m of elevation gain on rugged trails, surrounded by forests.
The Kia Fjällmaraton, which this year will celebrates its 19th anniversary, hopes to create an atmosphere in the finish area with the public invited to cheer on the runners. Alongside the Spartan Trail World Championship, the Ottsjö 8K also takes place. Participants and spectators will also be able to take in live music and sample traditional food.
The Spartan Trail World Championship (STWC) is a global championship with multiple stops around the world. Each race in the world championship has multiple distances, with two selected to score in the final STWC ranking.
The STWC features two simultaneous championships – an ULTRA championship (distances of 50km or more) and a TRAIL championship (distances up to 49km).
The 2023 season started in February with Transgrancanaria, followed by the Patagonia Run in the southern hemisphere, and continuing with Maxi-Race Annecy in the heart of the Alps. The series also recently had a stop in the tropical rainforest of the Brisbane Trail Ultra.
Now, in the heart of the European summer, the Spartan Trail World Championship moves to Sweden. Kia Fjällmaraton Årefjällen, billed as Sweden’s most prestigious mountain race, offers the chance to be part of STWC 2023 with the Kia Fjällmaraton 45K for the TRAIL category and the 100k race for the ULTRA category.
The 2023 season will have nine events worldwide, each offering points for the final ranking of the championship. Upcoming races include Salomon Ultra Pirineu, Borneo Trail Classic, Shinshiro Trail Classic and Golden Gate Trail Classic.
The STWC will have cash prizes for the overall rankings in both the male and female categories.
