- Birkebeinerrennet
thumb|"Birkebeinerne". Painting by Knud Bergslien, 1869Birkebeinerrennet (lit. The
Birkebeiner run/race) is a long-distance cross-countryski race (ski marathon ) held annually inNorway . It is Norway's race in theWorldloppet Ski Federation . It is one of three races held under the Birkebeiner moniker, the other two beingBirkebeinerrittet (bicycling) andBirkebeinerløpet (cross-country running).Race
The race starts at Rena and ends at
Lillehammer , a distance of 54 km. The number of participants is limited to 12,000 and is usually fully subscribed.History
The run has been held since 1932, and commemorates a trip made by the Birkebeiner loyalists to save the heir to the Norwegian throne,
Håkon Håkonsson , in 1206. All participants carry a backpack weighing at least 3.5 kg, symbolizing the weight of the then one-year old heir.In 2007, the race was cancelled due to extremely high winds (90 km/h or 55 mph). However, at the time of cancellation, the event had been underway for nearly an hour, with roughly a quarter of the 13,000 competitors already on course. Despite the efforts of officials to send everyone back to the start, 55 hard-nosed Norwegians eventually reached the finish in
Lillehammer , and upon being interviewed, blasted the decision to cancel the event [http://braytonosgood.com/birkebeiner-report] .Past Winners
Men
Women
pecial 2002 FIS World-Cup Race
In 2002, the race was included as the last event in the FIS world-cup. The world-cup class was won by
Thomas Alsgaard andAnita Moen Guidon finishing in 2:24:08.7 [ [http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=CC&raceid=3574 FIS-Ski Results Lillehammer 2002, Men] ] and 2:43:39.1 [ [http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=CC&raceid=3575 FIS-Ski Results Lillehammer 2002, Woman] ] , respectively, faster than both Rezac's and Hilde GP's records as of 2008. The participants in the world-cup class were, however, not required to carry the 3.5 kg backpack.External links
* [http://www.turrennklubben.no/skirace_info/Birkebeinerrennet.kmz 3D animation of race] Requires
Google Earth software.
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.turrennklubben.no/skirace_info/Birkebeinerrennet.kmz 2D View] inGoogle Maps .
* [http://www.birkebeiner.no/renn/ Official homepage (in Norwegian)]
* [http://www.birkebeiner.no/renn_eng/ English version of the official homepage]References
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