Greenlandic Products
Augusta Berthelsen from Greenland is participating in Arctic Circle Race for the 5th time. “It’s, a hard race, but I love it,” she says with sparkling eyes. She is 44 years old and among the best half of the women.
Augusta wears a hat and scarf knitted from Greenlandic musk wool. The wool is softer, lighter and warmer than lamb’s wool, and because of these qualities it is extremely popular in Greenland. When Crown Princess Mary visited Greenland for the first time she received a beautiful hand knitted scarf, so the musk trend is spreading to Europe too.



On the Track
Frederik Lundblad is a legend in cross country skiing. With two friends he has crossed the ice cap on skies from Kangerlussuaq on the west coast to Kulussuk on the east coast. Being a police officer in Nuuk he keeps fit and athletic all year round and this year his is number 9 in the race.



The heavy machinery sleeps at day and works all night preparing the tracks for the skiers. Poor snowfall for this year’s Arctic Circle Race combined with thaw have demanded an almost supernatural effort by Laarseeraq Skifte and his team who know the enormous and breathtaking landscape in the hills behind Sisimiut like the backs of their hands.



Flags and twigs mark the tracks for the skiers. The twigs have been imported to Sisimiut where the climate is too rough for trees. First the spruce served as Christmas trees for the population of Sisimiut, and later the festive trees have been turned into twigs for the benefit of Arctic Circle Race’s skiers.

And the Winner is…
Øystein Slettemark! He bends down and takes off his left ski, raises it in the air and crosses the finishing line as an untouched number 1 in the 10th Arctic Circle Race. Since Day 1 Øystein has been in the lead – a position that has never really been threatened by Martin Møller, who comes in second about 2 minutes after Øystein. On the podium Øystein is surrounded by Martin and Mauro.



Martin Møller receives a silver medal.



Johanne Nivi Mikkelsen is the first of the women runners to cross the finishing line. She wins the gold medal for the first time, maybe because Uiloq did not put up the fight she is renowned for due to her being 7 months pregnant. Johanne says that she found it difficult to eat properly while racing, and that she had to remind herself to stop at the drinking posts to get energy. Still, her results speak for themselves and she is the first lady!



Second among the women is the young first timer Niviaq Berthelsen, who crosses the finishing line with her Dad Jens Kristian Berthelsen, who is participating in Arctic Circle Race for the 10th time. Niviaq has had a great race, and she wins the silver medal.



Bright-eyed Malene Lyberth has never had a better race, and she is so happy about her 3rd place that she can barely hold back tears of joy.



Kristian Kristoffersen and Frederik Lundblad have had a close race. On the 52.6 kilometres today Frederik was in the lead, but Kristian overtook him on the last stretch, where they both gave everything they had to cross the finishing line. Kristian comes in little more than 1 minute before Frederik. “I made sure to eat a lot last night, and I think that’s why I had a good race today,” Kristian explains.



Frederik says that he will definitely be back for another 160 kilometres next year:



Aqqaluk Skifte is all smiles when he finishes as number 5 in the race. “My ski stick broke, so I got another pair of sticks that are too short for me,” Aqqalu says. “It was really hard to run with short ski sticks,” he continues, but his time is great, and he is very happy about his results.



Klaus Jeckel from Germany crossed the finishing line for the 7th time, and never has he had a better race. Klaus has been training every weekend since January, and the snow conditions have been perfect back home in Germany for him get fit for fight. This year places him among the top ten runners, and that is a personal best for Klaus, so a big congratulations to him. Actually let’s make that a double hurrah as Klaus makes an announcement about his family: “My wife is expecting twins in the summer. I’m sure that Laarseeraq Skifte and his team will make it possible for my wife and me to bring the twins for next year’s race,” Klaus says, assuring everybody that he will return for the 2007 Arctic Circle Race.



Jamie from Canada says that Arctic Circle Race was everything he hoped it would be. “The last 10 kilometres were really hard. The track was completely wiped out by the falling snow,” Jamie explains. His legs feel all right after having run 160 kilometres in 3 days, but his shoulders are a bit sour. “I’m going to write an article about the race for a skiing magazine back home,” Jamie says before being guided to a snowmobile so that he can be driven back to the dormitory to meet up with his wife.

Demanding and Rewarding
As tradition says the last skier to cross the finishing line is followed by all the volunteers and cheered at by the whole town of Sisimiut. This year Hansignaraq Mikkelsen and Kirsten Nystrup were celebrated by the joyful crowd:



The 10th Arctic Circle Race has come to an end. Before everything returns back to normal for the skiers, for the volunteers and for the town of Sisimiut, there will big a huge farewell party Monday night for all participants. Food, drinks, live music played by Sume, dance, and a photo show of all the pictures taken by the photographers are on the agenda for the party.
The ten-year history of Arctic Circle Race shows that the race is here to stay. Set in the wild and stunning Greenlandic nature, built upon the work of 150 volunteers, joined by skiers from all over the world, won by athletes of international ranking and embracing amateurs with a will to carry through, Arctic Circle Race embodies all the virtues of true sportsmanship.
Arctic Circle Race is as demanding as it is rewarding. Some skiers centre their training around the race and go for the gold, others join with the intent of completing rather than winning. What is certain is that skiers keep coming back year after year – they become addicted to ACR. And what is needed to complete the race is certainly a strong health and a fit body, but first and foremost the Arctic Circle Race is a matter of strength of mind and determination. All the skiers who come to Sisimiut to participate in the Arctic Circle Race have exactly that in common.



The volunteers without whom Arctic Circle Race could not take place:

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