Vasaloppet starts a new race in 2017

It is official: When registration opens for Vasaloppet's Summer Week 2017, on Sunday September 18, 2016, there will be a new race — Vasakvartetten. As the name implies it will be a running relay race for four people from Sälen to Mora, with four sections between 19.1 and 24.2 km in length. Much like four half marathons, in other words. There will also be some small changes in Vasastafetten.

Vasastafetten, a running relay race for ten-person teams, has existed since 1991 and been arranged by Vasaloppet since 2008. It attracts about 500 teams with 5,000 runners each year. In connection with this year's Summer Week, one team with two men and two women from the magazine Runner's World completed a trial race which was received very well.

The four sections of Vasakvartetten will be: Sälen–Mångsbodarna 23.5 km; Mångsbodarna–Evertsberg 23.2 km; Evertsberg–Hökberg 24.2 km; Hökberg–Mora 19.1 km. The combined distance is 90 km.

Vasakvartetten will run on the same day as Ultravasan and Vasastafetten, Saturday August 19, 2017, with a preliminary start time of 07:00.

The race has three classes: Women, Men, and Leisure. The Women and Men classes compete for prize money while the Leisure class allows for mixed teams and even permits participants to run several sections. The age limit is 17 years and the maximum number of registered teams is 250. (With some reservation for future changes.)

Vasaloppet's Development Manager Johan Eriksson shares the background and thinking behind Vasakvartetten:
"For us, Vasakvartetten is part of a larger commitment to running. The Summer Week started with Vasastafetten, then Cykelvasan took the stage and lifted the summer activities in many ways. After that we started developing the running section with Ultravasan, which affirms Vasaloppet's position as a great challenge."

"Now it is time to go further with running, offering a challenge to those who feel compelled to try a half marathon out in nature," Johan Eriksson continues. "The twist to this challenge is that four friends take on the Vasaloppet track together. Our mission is to get people off the asphalt and let them experience the beautiful and classic Vasaloppet terrain."

There are also some changes in Vasastafetten which will hopefully simplify things and get more teams to the start:
"Yes, as well as starting Vasakvartetten we are also making a few small changes in Vasastafetten: We are softening the rules and allowing teams in the new Leisure class to run several sections per person. The reason is that we've had several teams drop out only days or hours before the start, due to a team member getting sick. With this rule change such teams will still be able to participate if one member runs two sections."

"So we are altering the classes, turning the old class "Mixed" into "Leisure". In the Mixed class we had restrictions on how many men and women were needed, but team selection will now be more free. This means that if you want to compete for prize money, you must participate in the class Women or Men."

Footnote:
When Cykelvasan premiered in 2009, Vasaloppet's Summer Week was created with mountain bike cycling and running. New races have been added over the years: Ungdomscykelvasan 2012, Ultravasan 2014 and Cykelvasan Öppet Spår 2015. Vasaloppet's Winter Week 2017 will also see the premiere of Nattvasan. The goal is to have races that suit everyone!

Registration for Vasaloppet's Summer Week 2017
Opens on Sunday September 18, 2016, at 09:00 on vasaloppet.se

Vasaloppet Summer Week 2017
Fri 11 Aug: Cykelvasan 30. 32 km. Start Oxberg.
Fri 11 Aug: Ungdomscykelvasan. 32 km. Start Oxberg.
Fri 11 Aug: Cykelvasan 45. 45 km. Start Oxberg.
Fri 11 Aug: Cykelvasan Öppet Spår. 94 km. Start Sälen.
Sat 12 Aug: Cykelvasan 90. 94 km. Start Sälen.
Sat 19 Aug: Ultravasan 45. 45 km. Start Oxberg.
Sat 19 Aug: Ultravasan 90. 90 km. Start Sälen.
Sat 19 Aug: Vasastafetten. 4.5–15 km. Running relay race for ten-person teams. Start Sälen.
Sat 19 Aug: Vasakvartetten. 19.1–24.2 km. Running relay race for four-person teams. Start Sälen.

Vasaloppet Winter Week 2017
Fri 24 Feb: Kortvasan. 30 km. Start Oxberg.
Sat 25 Feb: Tjejvasan. 30 km. Start Oxberg.
Sun 26 Feb: Ungdomsvasan. 3, 5, 7 or 9 km. Start Mora Ski Stadium.
Sun 26 Feb: Öppet Spår Sunday. 90 km. Start Sälen.
Mon 27 Feb: Öppet Spår Monday. 90 km. Start Sälen.
Tue 28 Feb: Halvvasan. 45 km. Start Oxberg.
Fri 3 Mar: Stafettvasan. 9–24 km. Five-person teams. Start Sälen.
Fri 3 Mar: Nattvasan. 90 km. Two-person teams. Start Sälen. (1,500 entries. FULL 160320)
Sat 4 Mar: Öppet Spår 9 km. 9 km. Start Eldris.
Sun 5 Mar: Vasaloppet. 90 km. Start Sälen. (15,800 entries. FULL 160320)

High-resolution photos from Vasaloppet
http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/vasaloppet/image/list

Text and photos may be freely published.

For more information

Jon Svensson, Marketing Manager Vasaloppet
Mobile: +4672-553 31 90
Email: jon.svensson@vasaloppet.se

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