Itinerary

You’ve arrived to the Kingdom of Norway! Find your way from the airport to Lillehammer by train (90 minute scenic journey). Don’t worry, we’ll be ending our journey in the great city of Oslo. For now, it’s time to make our way to the Olympic host city in 1994, Lillehammer! Registration commences at 5pm that day. 

To pay homage to this Olympic city, it’s time to kick things off with a race around the Olympic town, up the ski jump, and around the biathlon stadium to end in the old town of Maihaugen. Lillehammer received the Olympic bid for great reasons and we’re all about to see why.

Later on, we’ll kayak and SUP lake Mjosa alongside the river Lagen. Steady temps of 70-80 degrees should make for a near-perfect afternoon.

It’s time to move onto the Rondane Mountains and Norway’s oldest National Park. Today’s award winning features include TWO waterfalls along our route – Ulafossen and Brudesloret. Be on the lookout for wild reindeer – they’re out there! 

Tonight we’re staying at Gjendesheim, a staffed lodge with the DNT Norwegian Mountain Touring Association. We’re taking it over and getting a little rustic for the next two nights! The lodge is famous for local Norweigan food so bring an appetite!

Wake up but don’t pack up. We’re staying here for a second night (ahhhh).  Gjendesheim is breathtaking in its own right, but it’s also the gateway to Besseggen. We start the day with a one hour scenic boat ride to Memurubu where we will do the traverse of Bessegen back to Gjendesheim. We’ll be racing there – the most famous hiking route in all of Norway! 

Gjendesheim is situated right on Gjende Lake. Kick back and enjoy the view as the sun sets. Speaking of which, in Norway, in August, that’s around 11pm! 

Today we head towards the coast! Before that, we’ll detour to the Gieranger Fjord, one of the many stunning stops along the way this week. A breathtaking boat ride will have us gazing up at waterfalls left and right. No race today. Just take it all in and rest the legs.  

We’ll pull in late to Andalsnes, the gateway to Isfjorden. This is where the famous trail runner, Kilian Jornet, and his family are living. After exploring Andelsnes, you’ll understand why. These mountains are arguably the most appealing and unexplored in the world. This will be our playground for the next few days! 

Åndalsnes is located at the mouth of the river Rauma. The river flows through the Romsdalen valley, which features some of the most spectacular scenery in the entire country. Trollveggen (the Troll Wall) one of the cliff formations in the valley, has a vertical drop of more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). It was an early launch site for European BASE jumpers. Careful!

Later today we’ll take the scenic run down the Atlantic Ocean Road. The OAR is an 8.3-kilometer road that runs through an archipelago. It passes by Hustadvika, an unsheltered part of the Norwegian Sea, connecting the island of Averøy with the mainland and Romsdalshalvøya peninsula.

Say goodbye to Andalsnes as we begin our journey back south. Today we’ll be tackling Romsdalen for our second to last race. Walk it or run it but definitely summit it!

Next stop is the rustic mountain lodge of Juvashytta. It’s our last stop before the grand finale in…Oslo! Rest up as we tend to go out BIG after a journey like this one.

Another one for the R2A books! Friendships forged and memories to last a lifetime. Some will head home and others will continue their conquest of Scandinavia. See you next time!