Lidingöloppet

The course

The race starts in timed groups at Koltorp on the south of the island and heads north-east on gravel trail past Kottlasjön and the fields at Långängens gård. At about 5-6 km you reach the oaks and the ski slope at Ekholmsnäs, where the first proper climbs come, and then drop to the water at Inre Kyrkviken (8 km) and Hustegaholm (9.5 km), a drinks station set among meadows. The first 10 km are the most crowded: in the big middle groups you run at the pace of the pack on narrow trail.

The middle third runs through the forest at Fågelöudde (around 15 km, the first cut-off) and the spruce woods at Södergarn and Rudboda, then round the north of the island past Askrike to the Grönsta checkpoint at 20 km, a few hundred metres from the finish field that you will see again ten kilometres later. The organiser's own coaching advice is that the race starts here: the climbs come closer together, and the deciduous woods at Trolldalen and the viewpoint over Kyttingeviken (23.5 km) precede the hardest stretch.

Abborrbacken, 522 m long at 8 per cent, comes with about 5 km to go and is where most people walk; the organiser says that is fine and often faster. The last kilometres through Sticklinge and past the Tyktorp drinks station (3 km to go) roll on into Karins backe, the final rise before the finish at Grönsta gärde. Timing is by chip on the bib with splits at the checkpoints; drinks stations at the start, Ekholmsnäs, Hustegaholm, Fågelöudde, Grönsta, 6.3 km from the finish, Tyktorp and the finish serve sports drink and water, with buns, bananas, pickles and cola at some. The finish area at Grönsta gärde has the En Svensk Klassiker tent for people completing the fourth event.

How to enter

Entries for 2027 opened straight after the 2026 race on the organiser's entry system; on 14 October 2026 the 30 km was open at 1,095 kr. The 2026 edition had a cap of 18,000 for the first time, set on 12 August 2026 when entries were running 30 per cent ahead of 2025, and it was reached on 16 September 2026, ten days before the race. Before that the race last sold out in 2014. The 15 km and Rosa Bandet-loppet had no cap. Expect a cap again and enter by the summer if you want a place.

The 2027 price list has four steps for the 30 km: 1,095 kr to 30 April 2027, 1,195 kr to 30 June, 1,295 kr to 25 August and 1,395 kr to 25 September 2027 (about 100-130 euros). For comparison, 2026 ran from 796 kr before 31 October 2025 to 1,395 kr for late entry. The fee covers the chip-timed bib and the drinks stations; a Folksam race insurance is sold separately and is the only way to get money back if you are injured or ill. Entries are otherwise binding, with no refund if the race is moved or cancelled.

You can sell or transfer your place through My Pages until the Thursday before race weekend for 200 kr, paid by the buyer; at the race office over the weekend it is 300 kr. Start groups run from the elite group 1A (seeding time 2 h 08 min for men and women) to group 13. Any professionally timed 10 km or longer road or trail result within three years counts for seeding, and you can also run a digital 10 km on your own GPS watch or Strava between 1 January and two days before the race. Without a result you start in the last group; re-seeding is free until the Thursday before and 300 kr over the weekend.

You can run the 30 km from the year you turn 17, though under-18s need a guardian's consent to register. Starting in an earlier group than assigned means disqualification; starting later adds 10 minutes per group to your time. No licence or club membership is needed.

How to train for it

Run hills late in long runs

The climbing is spread over 30 km but the hardest hill, Abborrbacken, comes at 25 km. Put hill repeats at the end of your long runs, not the start, so that your legs learn to climb when tired. The organiser suggests both short steep repeats of up to 150 m and longer gentler slopes of over 500 m with a jog down.

Get used to gravel and roots

The surface is prepared gravel trail and forest path, not road. In rain the roots and rock around Ekholmsnäs and Fågelöudde get slippery, as in 2026. Do your weekend long runs on forest trails so that your ankles and your pace judgement are ready.

Pace the first 10 km at the pack's speed

In the middle start groups the first kilometres are packed and you will run slower than planned whether you like it or not. The organiser's coaching panel suggests splitting the race into three 10 km sections and running the first and the last at the same pace; time held back early is easy to make up after Grönsta.

Plan to walk Abborrbacken

522 m at 8 per cent after 25 km of hills: most of the field walks it, and the organiser's own advice is that walking the steep hills can save time and energy. Practise brisk uphill walking with a short stride and arm swing so that it is a choice and not a collapse.

Seed yourself with a 10 km

A professionally timed 10 km, or the free digital 10 km seeding run, moves you out of the last group into one that matches your pace. That saves you from queueing on the single-track sections and keeps you well clear of the 16:35 cut-off at Fågelöudde.

What you need

• Trail or road shoes with some grip; the course is gravel and forest path with roots and rock that get slippery in rain
• A light rain or wind layer for a late-September afternoon start that finishes towards dusk for the slower groups
• Chip-timed bib collected at Lidingövallen before or during race weekend; it must be visible and you must start in your assigned group
• A bag for the clothing drop (details come with the start confirmation), with dry clothes for the bus back to Ropsten
• Your own gel for the first 10 km if you need one; the stations serve sports drink, water, buns and bananas
• A GPS watch if you want to run the digital seeding 10 km before the race

Getting there and staying

Lidingö is a Stockholm suburb across the Lidingö bridge, so you can stay anywhere in the city. Get to Ropsten by metro and take the organiser's free shuttle buses, which run both ways between Ropsten and Lidingövallen; local buses to Lidingö are on sl.se. Parking on the island is limited to areas the organiser designates (60 kr by Swish, half to the Pink Ribbon cancer collection), and taxis cannot reach the venues directly. The organiser asks you to be at Lidingövallen at least two hours before your start.

Bibs are collected at Lidingövallen, the athletics ground that is the race hub, on the Friday from late morning to 21:00 and from 07:30 on the Saturday and Sunday. The 30 km starts at Koltorp and finishes at Grönsta gärde, both a walk from Lidingövallen; you enter the start pen 20 minutes before your group's time. The start certificate tells you how the clothing drop works. The finish area has the En Svensk Klassiker tent where people who complete the fourth event get their diploma, and shuttle buses back to Ropsten.

The 2027 weekend is 24-26 September: Friday evening the Lidingöfemman 5 km, Saturday the 15 km from 10:00 and the 30 km from 12:30, Sunday the children's races and Rosa Bandet-loppet. Around 2,500 volunteers from local clubs staff the event, and the whole weekend draws about 35,000 entries.

History

The first Lidingöloppet was run in 1965 with 644 entries and 512 finishers; by 1977 there were over 9,000 entries. It became one of the four events of En Svensk Klassiker when the challenge was created in 1971, together with Vasaloppet, Vätternrundan and Vansbrosimningen, and in 1997 it was Sweden's first environmentally certified sports event. The record weekend was 2015, with 44,915 entries across all races and 21,838 in the 30 km.

Numbers fell through the late 2010s and the 2020 edition was reduced to 7,291 entries, then recovered: 31,650 entries and 26,692 finishers across the weekend in 2025, and a 30 km field capped at 18,000 for the first time in 2026, when it sold out for the first time since 2014. The 30 km and 15 km are part of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour, upgraded to Gold level for the 2026-27 season; the 2026 15 km races were won in course records by Burundian runners.

Where to find out more

• TCS Lidingöloppet 30 km (opens in a new tab): Organiser's race page: cut-off times, drinks stations, start groups and the GPX profile.
• Registration fees 2027 (opens in a new tab): The organiser's price list for every race of the weekend, in Swedish.
• Seeding rules (opens in a new tab): Which results count, the digital 10 km option and deadlines for changing start group.
• Official results (opens in a new tab): Searchable results for every race since 1993.
• Lidingöloppet trail on Naturkartan (opens in a new tab): Lidingö municipality's map of the permanent 30 km trail, which is open for training all year.
• En Svensk Klassiker (opens in a new tab): What the four-event challenge is and how Lidingöloppet fits in.