7 Days Later: Edition 32 – Dæhlie Ultimate Challenge

Back to Norway! I was incredibly excited to make a return to Norway. In 2016, my friend and I had a van and went around the majority of Norway, except to Lofoten Islands and inside the arctic circle. I won’t be going there this time, unfortunately, but that doesn’t bother me because I know that I’ll definitely be returning again. Since visiting in 2016, Norway has cemented itself into my favourite places in the world. A common question I get asked is “Josh, what are your top 3 favourite places in the world?” I typically respond to this, “Norway, Hawaii, and Vietnam (I think Panama has now claimed a spot over Vietnam) are my favourite I think!”

Whilst in Panama earlier this year, my friend told me about the Daehlie Ultimate Challenge. He was a Norwegian, hence, that’s how he knew about the famous Daehlie Sportswear, a Norwegian XC Skiing brand which is now expanding into the running scene and global market. He knew I had just run an ultramarathon and was very fond of Norway, and would love the idea of returning to Norway to challenge some of their best athletes. I had to submit a video application of myself directly after finishing a run, announcing that I thought I was indeed tough enough to take on the Norwegian XC ski teams.

Fortunately, my application stood out and I was one of the 10 athletes selected to take on the Daehlie Ultimate Challenge. I was very hyped flying into Oslo, I couldn’t wait to meet the others who I’d be spending the rest of the week with. The team was incredibly diverse, with everyone flying in from countries spread out all around the world. Amongst the 10 of us, we covered Sweeden, Germany, Scotland, Norway, USA, Australia and Finland.

 

Meeting the team was awesome, as I started to learn about everyone, their passions, and sporting backgrounds. Within the group were some incredible athletes in their own right, in their respective events from marathon running, ultra running, sky racing, orienteering, vertical climbing, adventure course racing, XC skiing and much more. A lot of these disciplines and tangents to running I didn’t know much about at all, so I was fascinated by the events my new friends had completed and were training for.

 

 

Once we all arrived, we set off out of Oslo into the magnificent scenery of Norway. I was instantly buzzing, I truly had missed this place. The mountains make you feel so small as you drive along, but I was mainly in awe. I love the lakes, the small red & yellow houses that are scattered along the shore and up the hills, and the extremely fresh air. When you go to a place you connect with, I think you fall in love with everything about it. Norway has that effect on me. I can’t speak for the deep winter months, but summer, autumn, and spring – Norway is amazing.

 

 

None of us knew what the next few days entailed, and it was all still kept secret from us. All we knew was that we had a challenge first thing the following morning, and it was going to be hard, very hard. However, none of us knew what it would be and I wasn’t even going to bother guessing either. Our first evening, we spent in a traditional Norwegian Barn. These barns were built before the black plague and were also made for those who make a pilgrimage each year. We spent the night there, eating traditional Norwegian food, trying on all our new Daehlie gear and speaking to the coaches/external team members of the Women’s Norwegian XC team. This was our time to find out about the challenge in the morning but also a bit more about how the professional’s train. This was fascinating for me, as I love learning about how other athletes train to reach their individual goals. The main takeaway point was that they do a very high volume of training, with the majority of it being low intensity. When they do their high-intensity work, they really hit it hard. As they’re training between 25-35 hours a week, they spend a lot of time in the forest, swamp, and woods so their bodies can absorb the impact better. Keep in mind, this is their summer training, because once it hits winter, they’ll be racing or training on the snow.

 

The first morning of training/competition arrives, we rally together early and try not to eat too many Norwegian waffles and brown cheese. A short drive takes us to the training location. We start our warmup, but today we weren’t just running, we were running with ski poles. The type of training or exercise we were doing was called Elghulfs. (Pronounced kind of like ‘alley-hoofs’). The idea is that by using the poles, you are activating and using your arms a lot more than what you would if you were running. Additionally, the movement requires you to have a lower centre of gravity, either taking long bounds or keeping your feet low to the ground moving your legs in a fashion similar so skiing. This was completely and utterly un-natural to me. I had no other choice to learn the movement quickly and be ready to go by the end of the warm up. It was slightly embarrassing being alongside such elite athletes and being so uncoordinated, but we all had a laugh knowing I was the kooky Australia who had barely seen snow.

Disclaimer* – Before going to Norway, I really didn’t know anything about the sport of XC Skiing. Over the days I attempted to learn as much about the sport as possible. Now that I have a better understanding, I feel incredibly privileged to have trained alongside some absolute champions and idols of the sport.

 

The session began, and I was told not expend too much energy early. That was a very smart decision. The Women’s XC Ski team were machines; the combination of their aerobic capacity and leg strength was incredible. In the mix of the athletes was a lady called Therese Johaug. Therese has won four individual gold medals at world championships and is a three-time Olympic medallist. She had a reputation of being the best of both Women and Men’s XC at the ‘elghulfs’ training session, and this was evident very quickly. She motored up the mountain side and would loop back to the back of the back every rep. By the third rep, I decided to try and take her on. For about three and half minutes, I went with Therese up the steepest part of the training session. We were both breathing and sucking in as much air as we could and my legs and arms were on fire. The air that filled my lungs was icey cold and I had tingles and lactic acid across my whole body. The intensity was relentless and although I was battling, I was loving every moment.  The next 2 repetitions were very tough as a result, but I managed to make it through the session and make a slight improvement with the ski poles. Hopefully, I can get a pair to use in Australia to add some variation to my hill training in the future. Once finishing the session and making it high up the mountain, we ran/drove back down gazing out at snowcapped mountains and meandering through dense forestry.

 

Our second challenge for the day was short and punchy. 1 mile in distance but with 500m of incline. A leg burner from start to finish. This was just between our team and it was a hotly contested race. Sondre (Norway), Lari (Finland) and I battled it out. In the final couple hundred metres, Lari broke away and got the win. I put a good fight, but I just couldn’t move my legs any faster up such a steep incline. Across the day, we did well over 1000m of incline.

After these challenges, we were well and truly exhausted. Up next was roller skiing.

I was simultaneously terrified and excited to try rollerskiing. After recently trying to roller-skate in Russia but failing miserably, I knew this was going to be a big ask. Arriving at the track, we saw the Men’s XC ski team doing their session. They were flying! The power they put out and push through the poles was remarkable, which resulted in some very high speeds. One thing to note, rollerskis don’t have brakes. I was soon to be strapped in and put out on the track. I had a pole strapped on each hand, and was struggling to even roll forward. These new devices I had attached to my feet were very foreign. Adding to the challenge, I had no prior skiing experience which I was told helps a lot.

Half the group was competent on roller skis, and the other half were complete newbies. Each half had a warm up and were then prepared to race. The ‘newbie’ group had an altered track compared to the technical and undulating track that the professionals trained on.

We were to do two laps, have a 15 minute break and the return to race another two laps. I managed to get through the first race relatively safe and rather slow. I decided to try and push the envelope a little harder second time round. Up the small incline on our track my legs were feeling it. Coming around the bend and onto the downhill, I decided it would be fun to try and make some time up. My legs were shaking from the incline yet I was picking up speed. As I tried to steer, I lost control and hit the tarmac. I regathered and once again tried to pick up speed, but hit the deck again. It was a laugh and I lost a little skin, but the main thing was that my time improved. Maybe there is still hope for me yet!?

As part of the Men’s team training, they do a lot of running. Between 15-20 hours a week. It’s no surprise that they have some of the highest recorded VO2 Max test ever recorded. Our run was entirely through forest and swamp. On Sunday, we ran through swamp in the wood for around 2 hours. My toes felt like they were going to fall off but I was loving every moment. To be surrounded by my amazing Norwegian nature, elite athletes and new friends – I was in my element. I learn a lot from the other athletes, as I had a lot of time to talk over 4 and half hours of training.

I am super thankful for the experience with Daehlie sportswear and stoked to be back in Norway. I can’t wait to see what my new friends will achieve along with the professional team too. Cross XC skiing is something I will now be paying more attention to, and if you get a chance, I would highly recommend checking it out.

 

I loved the new environment I was put in and the way I was challenged out of my comfort this week. It certainly made me feel alive. Next stop, Oslo!

Big Love,

JL