Jens Burman became 21st in Lidingöloppet last weekend (with a time of 1.47.21). On Sunday, William Poromaa participated in Hässelbyloppet and finished 28th in the Swedish Championship class over 10 kilometers (31.27).
Yet, both were dissatisfied afterwards.
Perhaps it says something about a new, or rather a new-old, attitude towards running among Swedish skiers. As the focus has shifted to more strength training and more sessions on roller skis, running has been somewhat neglected.
Some want to remedy this.
I think running has disappeared a bit too much in recent years. But I have tried to break it. I have always run a lot and always responded very well to that training, says Edvin Anger.
”Requires enormous strength”
The two-time World Championship bronze medalist is far from the fastest runner in the Swedish national team. But perhaps the most impressive.
Anger is 1.90 meters tall and weighs around 100 kilos – not an optimal runner's body. Yet, he ran the Blodomloppet, 10 kilometers, during the summer in a phenomenal 31.37.
It has gone fast in running, considering the kilos I have. And it was not an extremely easy track and not an optimal day, says Anger.
The national team colleagues are impressed.
I know how it is to be that big, it's not free for knees and calves. It requires enormous strength. But he is a monster, says Marcus Grate.
Fast Majbäck
It was more common with fast-running cross-country skiers in the past. Christer Majbäck, for example, ran a half-marathon in 1.06.06 and finished eighth in Lidingöloppet in 1992 with a time of 1.41. That time would have been enough for a sixth place in this year's edition.
But there are examples even in the 2000s. Ebba Andersson, World Championship winner in Trondheim last winter with three gold medals, has participated in Lidingöloppet at the girls' and junior level four times – and won every time.
She has enviously watched as national team colleagues have participated in various running competitions this year. A creaky knee has stopped her from running at all during large parts of the preseason.
The small dose I get does not provide the joy and freedom that I normally look for, says Andersson.
I get that if I go out on slightly longer, calm runs or if I push at a certain speed on the treadmill and run very hard intervals.
Christer Majbäck is perhaps the fastest-running Swedish cross-country skier historically. He ran a half-marathon in Narvik in 1.06.06 (the first mile was run in 29.40) and finished eighth in Lidingöloppet in 1992 with a time of 1.41.05.
But there were many cross-country profiles that impressed on the running tracks in the past. Names like Tony Pölder, Anders Bodin, and Larry Poromaa – William Poromaa's father – ran half-marathons in 1.07 during the 1980s, according to an article in Runner's World from 2014.
Mia Karlsson – Frida Karlsson's mother – finished fifth in Lidingöloppet in 1988 with a time of 57.31 (the women ran 15 km at that time).
Of course, there are examples of cross-country skiers who have run fast even on this side of the millennium shift. Both Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson have participated in Lidingöloppet at the girls' and junior level several times. Karlsson has eight wins in nine attempts, Andersson has won all four times she has participated. And over 10 kilometers, both Johan Olsson (31.20) and Charlotte Kalla (35.32) have shown their skills.
Internationally, Therese Johaug stands out. The Norwegian, who has taken numerous Olympic Games and World Championship medals in cross-country skiing, became Norwegian champion over 10,000 meters in 2019. Her personal best is a strong 31.32,88 – a time that only two Swedish female runners (Meraf Bahta and Sara Lahti) have surpassed.
