While RL is open to everyone, S2S is, at least until 2025, only for competitors
with a FIS license. And maybe even be glad for that, because my whole body
aches just thinking about doing these two races as racers right after each other,
on two consecutive days. In 2023, the **40 km RL had an elevation of 983 m** and
the **68 km S2S even 1455 m**. However, the lengths of both are slightly „fluid“ –
before the RL became a Ski Classics race, it was, for example, 34 km, which is
now (after adjustment to 35 km) shorter from distances that can be chosen by
amateurs. In 2024, the longest RL will be 50 km and S2S 60 km.

When I searched for the motivation behind the creation of the second race (S2S),
the organizer’s **CEO, Leif-Ketil Gamst** (L.G.), summed it up like this: *“Of course it’s
quite epic to have a finish line by the sea, running from the mountains to the
fjord, but that’s not the main reason. We have now created a track over 100 km
long from Setermoen via Bardufoss to Finnsnes opened every weekend from midFebruary to the end of April, but most importantly open to everyone. It supports public health, livability and of course business and ski tourism in our area. This is according to Colonel Reistad’s values: to develop skiing in the region, including
activities such as recruitment to clubs and the creation of facilities for active
athletes and the general public.“*

.<>
[* https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53532932748_5f8a2d4286_o.jpg *]

*Picture 2: Logos of both races*

Both races are the **northernmost races of the Ski Classics serie**, both taking place
in **Midt-Troms region of Norway**. The races have a very similar face and visuals,
moreover they have a common intersection in the town of Bardufoss; RL has a
finish and S2S start there. The organizing teams of the races are not completely
joint, but they are almost joint – in both teams people work with an overlap to
the other race.

Now let’s take a closer look at both races from that mountainous way with a total
length of 110 km (or, as some locals say, **11 miles**, as in Midt-Troms region it is
normally counted in **Scandinavian miles**).

Reistadløpet
=========
RL is a race with a start in **Setermoen** and a finish in **Bardufoss**, created in **1958**
as a memorial to Colonel Ole Reistad. The versatile athlete **Ole Imerslun Reistad**
(26.6.1898–22.12.1949, hereinafter as O.R.) was not only an Olympic participant
(at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp) and Norwegian champion (1922) in the
pentathlon, but even an **Olympic champion** (at the 1928 Olympics in St. Moritz )
in the former military sport, which was a ski race over a distance of 30 km. In
addition, he was an athlete, a football player and a ski jumper (so actually a
nordic-combiner). His multidisciplinarity was confirmed by the **Egebergs
Ærespris award**, which O.R. received in 1922 for a **combination of cross-country
skiing and athletics**.

.<>
[* https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53533192560_7cc0b0f4bf_z.jpg *]

*Picture 3: Ole Reistad, a colonel by profession, was a versatile athlete and local
a war hero with a huge organizational talent (Photo from the book Legenden Ole
Reistad, by Andreas Fossland, 1998)*

O.R. was born in **Furuset** near Oslo. In order to become a legend in Bardufoss,
which is an astronomical 1,600 km away, his equally remarkable military career
and deeds for the public and development and tourism must have helped him,
in addition to his sports career.

During World War II, O.R. he first worked in **Kjeller** (near Lillestrøm, east of Oslo),
where he once began his military studies. Now in the rank of **captain**, he served
as a flight instructor and the person responsible for monitoring the airspace.
When southern Norway capitulated before the German attack in 1940, O.R. with
the other pilots to move the planes just from the south from Kjeller gradually to
**Bardufoss**, which lies beyond the Arctic Circle, where he landed on 5th May. It
was from here that Norway, together with the Allies, resisted the German attack
longer than in the south, but did not prevent defeat. The Norwegians had to build
an air training base outside of Norway, which happened in Toronto, Canada after
a short attempt in Finland. The base was called **Little Norway** and O.R. he arrived
there before Christmas 1940.

Here the O.R. he became the **commander** and expanded the base significantly.
After the war, he was assigned as commander of the **Air force North** at the base
in Bardufoss, which he was in charge of until his illness and untimely death in
1949. It is cruel, but sportsman O.R. died at the age of just 51 from complications
associated with brain tumor surgery.

It was in Bardufoss that he had to prove his abilities as a natural leader as a
colonel. He had the courage to make his own (and often difficult) decisions and
stand behind them, he was a great motivator, able to get the best out of people
and connect often different worlds, for example the military with civil society,
performance sports with leisure, etc.

In addition to the usual „managerial“ skills necessary for the army’s interaction
with the authorities, he had to manage several thousand interned German
soldiers, Russian prisoners of war and vengeful local residents. Wherever he
worked, he showed incredible organizational talent. In his native Furuset, he
raised money for the construction of a stadium, in Little Norway for the
expansion of the base, in Midt-Troms region he initiated the construction of the
**Kampenhytta** and **Skihytta** tourist huts, in addition, he did not lack the image of
an action hero. According to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, in 2010 it
was revealed that O.R. during his time in Canada in the fall of 1942, he **planned
the Allied invasion** into occupied Norway. The invasion was to be huge both in its
size (1,100 planes and 120,000 soldiers were to be involved) and in its
background (the action was being prepared by the USA and the neutrality of
Sweden was to be negotiated before it)

For Bardufoss locals, O.R. was and an interesting variegation – when he arrived
in Bardufoss on 17th May 1945, he brought with him a bear with two cubs from
Canada, who were supposed to remind him of the Little Norway base.
O.R. was therefore a locally recognized figure, and it was the residents of MidtTroms area who had the idea to establish the RL, the first year of which took
place in 1958. The original name of the RL is **Oberst Ole Reistads minneløp**, what
means Colonel Ole Reistad’s Memorial Run.

.<>
[* https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53532744131_af8bbc6a40.jpg *]

*Picture 4: Reistadløpet race route and profile from 2023*

The rank of colonel was not mentioned by chance, the military permeates
everything in this region, Bardufoss has only 2500 inhabitants, but it is an
absolutely essential place for the Norwegian army with a key airport. After all,
both races are organized in cooperation with the army, and the general director
of the race L.G. he is a retired officer. The relations between the organizers and
the army are perfect and **beneficia**l for the race – the soldiers during the races
have the functions of medics and forwarders, in addition, they have one special
mission: **preparing the track**. Although it would be possible to cross the tracks
only with a classic large snowmobile, the army tracked vehicles can compact the snow much more. Soldiers usually ride these tracks twice a season – after the first big snowfall and before the race, free of charge as part of military exercise.

.<>
[* https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53531854407_4ef9545609.jpg *]

*Picture 5: Army vehicles compacting the snow on cross-country trails usually
twice a season*

The location behind the Arctic Circle gives the race an almost 100% guarantee of
snow. So far, the race has not been held only five times – in **1960**, **1980** and **1989**
due to weather, in **2020-2021** due to covid. The April date is chosen with regard
to the specifics of the area. The local races here start on the first weekend in
December, but the polar night starts then and lasts until January, so the races
are held on lighted tracks. The weather conditions can also be a complication,
when the weather at that time is not really inviting to overcome the mountains,
so RL (and S2S as well) are counting with a much friendlier April date.
About 300 volunteers are needed to organize RL, almost the same for S2S, so the
total number is somewhere **between 500 and 600 volunteers** overall. As for the
equipment, 5 large snowmobiles are needed for both races together, in addition
to several snowmobiles with small snowmobiles (approx. 3 to 4) along the track
in case of momentary need.

The following three sports clubs also participate in the organization of RL,
specifically in the preparation of tracks: **Bardufoss og Omegn Idrettsforening**
from Rustahøgda („BOIF ski“; idrettsforening = sports association), **IL Kampen**
from Bardufoss and **Bardu Idrettslag** from Setermoen („Bardu IL“; idrettslag =
sports team).

The clubs provide their services to the organization of the race on a **volunteer
base**, it is thousands of volunteer hours for each club. Thanks to the race’s
partners and the organizer itself, they earn a grant for this.
The organizing team was also inspired by the Jizerská 50. The chairman of the
board of the organizer, **Jørn Erik Berntsen**, ran the Jizerská 25 in 2022 and was
interested not only by the number of competitors (at that time there were a
record 8,194), but also by the number of spectators and the impact of the race.
The Norwegian organizing team is very well aware that RL can never become
Vasaloppet in terms of the number of competitors (where 15,800 competitors
started in the main race in 2023), but by attracting amateur and hobby
competitors to achieve their dream and that is the number of **5,000
competitors** . So far it is far from reality, in 2023 RL ran a total of around **800
competitors**.

Summit 2 Senja
=========

S2S, on the other hand, is a **new race established in 2023** and has the motto Fra
fjell til fjord (translated „from the mountains to the fjord“). It starts in **Bardfufoss**,
runs through the interior of Midt-Troms region through the mountains, and ends
in **Finnsnes** at sea level, where the fjords Finnfjorden and Laksfjorden meet. The
above-mentioned altitude difference of **1455 m**, caused by the fact that the track
leads through the massif of the mountains Vakkerhumpen (its peak is 503
m.a.s.l.), Berrskallen (473 m.a.s.l.), Lysheia (534 m.a.s.l.) and Kistefjellet (1003
m.a.s.l.), is also completely unique

.<>
[* https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53533065539_e6d0f1b90c.jpg *]

*Picture 6: 2023 Summit 2 Senja race route and profile*

Have you also wondered, like me, why the race is called Summit 2 Senja?
The word **Summit** can mean, among other things, the top of a hill, but also some
**final point**, the final.

Number **2**, the English „two“ sounds phonetically the same as the English **“to“**
(the preposition „to“); in addition, according to the organizers, the number 2
means that it is a race on the second day.

It remains to be clarified how it is with **Senja**. In the years 1838-2020 there was
a municipality of **Lenvik** uniting municipalities both on the island of Senja (with
1586 m2 it is the second largest Norwegian island with approx. 8,000
inhabitants) and on the mainland around the town of Finnsnes (with approx.
4,800 inhabitants), which is the goal of the race, from which a bridge leads to the
island of Senja. A few years ago, the entire island of Senja was administratively
merged with the town of Finnsnes, the municipality of Lenvik along with others
was abolished and **renamed Senja**, with Finnsnes as the administrative center.
By using the name Senja, the support of the entire Senja region is also declared,
not only from the town of Finnsnes.

The sports clubs **Målselv IL** from Bardufoss, **IL/BL Unglyn and Sørreisa Tur- og
Løypelag** from Sørreisa and **IL Pioner** from Finnsnes help with the organization
of S2S. Both races have one support club in common, and that is **BOIF Ski** from Rustahøgda, which grooms the finish of the RL, which is also the start of the S2S, to which the first section of this course is added.
The whole concept of the S2S race was so successful that it was declared **the race
of the 2022/2023 season** in a vote of the **Ski Classics series** teams. Quite possibly,
in addition to the beautiful landscape, professional organization and facilities, a
few novel ideas contributed to this.

Already in 2022, the organizers tested **electric scooters** on part of the RL track,
which after another successful test in 2023 and the extension of their range will
reach the entire track of both races in 2024.

In addition to the effort to introduce more economical technologies, the race is
also accompanied by creativity, a sense of humor. The original idea is just the
fact that the destination of S2S is by the sea, on the **pier of Finnsnes harbor**. As
a reward, the winner gets an orange lifebuoy instead of a wreath, and the
organizers went even further to highlight the ship theme properly. In the race in
2023, they managed to secure a stylish scene – a ship of the regular Hurtigruten
line – at the finish line of the race.

.<>
[* https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53532928513_8f0a94feee.jpg *]

*Picture 7: The finish of the S2S race is in Finnsnes harbor where the winner is
awarded a lifebuoy instead of a wreath. With a stylish scene – a ship of the
regular Hurtigruten line, which transports passengers since 1893*

**Hurtigruten** (translated as the „Fast Route“) is actually formally Kystruten
Bergen-Kirkenes („Bergen-Kirkenes Coastal Route“) and is a route that since
1893 provides daily and year-round shipping between **Bergen** and **Kirkenes** and
dozens of ports in between. The race organizers arranged to extend the boat’s
anchoring time in the port of Finnsnes so that the passengers could see the race
finish and the race finish, in turn, would have such an attractive scene. According
to the ship’s schedule, after arriving from Harstad, the ship has to anchor in the
port of Finnsnes for half an hour (11:00-11:30), so it was necessary to **delay the
ship in the port** for about an hour.

For some types of experiences, you just have to go in your backyard and for
others you have to go all the way to the Arctic Circle. Have a good trip!

Through the eyes of a legend: Anders Aukland
=============================
.<>
[* https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53531885062_63b4c509fe_o.jpg *]

**Best 2nd on RL (in 2017), 29th on S2S (in 2023)**
*Both RL and S2S are very tough races. I like the monumental races with prestige
and history, such as Marcialonga, Vasaloppet, Birkebeinerrennet and Jizerska.
They are flatter and also suitable for tourists. But it’s good that there are also
more extreme ones, like RL and S2S. I have a lot of memories of them and S2S
was my last race in SkiClassics. There are fantastic mountains, nature, the whole
area.
I and the other runners from Ski Classics are running it doube polling, but the
winner (author’s note: Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget won both the RL and S2S in
2023) used classcial style.*

Through the eyes of a legend: Kateřina Smutná
============================
.<>
[* https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53532773826_0729133602_o.jpg *]

**Best 4th at RL (in 2017), S2S did not race, retired in spring 2021**
*Reistadløpet was one of my least favorite Ski Classics races. It was mainly due to
the fact that the track is very hilly with a large gradient with endless sharp climbs
that often have to be completed on the track. So I always chose skis waxed for
climbing. And also because it takes place regularly at the end of winter, the
conditions are mostly spring, which brings difficulties with waxing and selection
of skis. I guess it’s a shame that I have never run there whole the race double
polling. But I saved my energy for the last final race in Levi, Finland. After the
failed Reistadløpet, I managed to win in Levi…*

*I must humorously add that the views of the mountains are amazing in this
race, so when walking up steep hills, when there is no other way, you at least
have time to admire a landscape :)*

*I run there several times and never once stood on the podium, also because in
this part of the season, girls from FIS worldcup also took part in the race, highquality Norwegian racers, and they were a little fresher than us Ski Classicsgirls, who had 12 marathons in a row….*

——————————————————————————

Author´s thanks:
=============
**Leif-Ketil Gamst** (the CEO of Reistadløpet SA) – for all the support, advices, sponsored accomodation and bib
**Maria Holm Simonsen** (Folkebladet.no) – for material and media support of my project
**Ivar Løvland** (AS NYE TROMS) – for media support of my project
**Anders Aukland** and **Kateřina Smutná** – for interviews with them