Arctic Circle Race

There are a few hardcore adventure events that happen every year in Greenland: The Nuuk Marathon, the Polar Circle Marathon, and the Arctic Circle Race (ACR).  Initially, ACR was conceived to be a cross-country ski race from Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut – a route of 160km.  But the inaugural year, there wasn’t enough snow and it had to be canceled. The following year, for fear of a similar mishap, the organizers carved out a challenging 160km route around Sisimiut – where it has been held ever since.

The lovely Miss Billman at the top of the Camp

This year was the 14^th year the race has been running, powered by an army of volunteers, contestants ski for three days and sleep in tents at a base camp. They cook their own food at night and must carry packs of at least 5kilos at the start and 3 kilos at the end of the race. The pack has to contain a list of specific life saving equipment, like first aid kits, extra clothes, chocolate, water etc.

When I spoke to the founder of the race, he explained that it was envisioned to be a Greenlandic event, which brought skiiers into direct contact with the harsh nature and climate that is Greenland – and with that mission he has succeeded.  The race is hard. But really hard. The highest peak was around 600m (on cross country skis!) but the views were amazing.  I was lucky enough to get to see it all from the back of a snowmobile (which are SO fun by the way).

Larseraq, the founder of ACR

They are also really serious about sustainability, if you are caught littering you are disqualified from the race.  And on the last day, the entire camp is packed and snowmobiles follow the very last contestant to the finish line pulling in all the tents, toilets, kitchen etc.  Pack in- Pack out.

This year, the Greenlandic guy who has been winning for ages (and incidentally was a member of the Danish Olympic team) came in second behind a Russian guy. The top three females were all Greenlandic.