Birken in Norway

March 12-16 2026

Thank you once more for such a nice arrangement in Lillehammer. You had done a great job, and the accomodation with the new Icelandic friends was so nice. 

Mikael Niemi who in his speach at the celebration dinner gave Globalrunners douze points

Stay in an Apartment or a Double Room at the Hotel

At Birkebeineren, you can choose to stay in a shared double room or a four-person apartment.

The hotel rooms are 16 m² and have their own bathroom, hairdryer, and flat-screen TV. A breakfast buffet is included every morning.

The apartments are 60 m² with three bedrooms. One bedroom has a double bed, and the other two bedrooms each have a bunk bed. There’s a fully equipped kitchen, a dining table with six chairs, and a living room with a seating area and TV. The kitchen features a dishwasher, refrigerator, freezer, oven, stove with four burners, and a coffee maker. Good wifi and a flat-screen TV are also included. Each apartment has two toilets, with a shower in each.

Behind the buildings with the apartments, there’s a lighted path leading to the ski stadium, where the finish line for the races is located. You can walk to a grocery store in five minutes. There are also larger COOP Mega, Europris, and REMA 1000 stores 20 minutes away on foot.

The hotel rooms and apartments are both located at the cozy Birkebeineren, which is owned and operated by a family living in Lillehammer. In the common areas, there are laundry and drying rooms, as well as a TV room with a fireplace. Free wifi is available everywhere, along with ski storage and a free sauna. The center of Lillehammer, the train station, and the exhibition area are all within walking distance, and there’s a bus to the start and back after the race.

If someone is arriving by car, you have access to free private parking outside the hotel/apartment. For electric car owners, there are charging stations outside the reception.

Friday cross country skiing in Sjusjoen

Lillehammer offers one of Norway's largest trail networks.
The trails are very well-maintained and clearly marked. Additionally, the snow conditions are usually perfect from November to April, so nothing stands in the way of extensive tours in the beautiful mountains. There are connections to the cross-country skiing areas in Hafjell / Øyer, Sjusjøen, and the Olympic trails from Birkebeiner’s ski stadium in Lillehammer. With nearly 350 km of ski trails, you are guaranteed variety!

We suggest taking the local bus to Sjusjøen to enjoy some great cross-country skiing. The bus ride takes about half an hour and costs 55 NOK if you purchase it via an app.

In the afternoon, we visit the expo to pick up our race kits. Anyone who wants to can drop off their skis for waxing service (from 300 NOK). If you'd prefer not to pick up your own race kit, we can do it for you and distribute them to everyone on Friday evening during the information meeting at the hotel.

Rode is the official waxing partner.
Waxing with fluorine/PFAS is strictly forbidden in all races for all participants and will be checked. Rode offers waxing services in Lillehammer on Thursday and Friday from 300 NOK.

If someone would prefer to race Skatebirken 54 km along the same trails as the main race on Saturday, Skatebirken will take place on Friday.

Saturday – The main race starts!

Race day is here! Early breakfast, followed by a short walk to the bus to Rena. The bus ride takes about two hours and is included in the trip price. Be sure to leave early as there can be heavy traffic towards Rena. It takes ten minutes to walk to the bus in Lillehammer.

The time you start in Rena depends on which start group you're in. The elite men start first, at 07:45. The last start group starts at 09:45.

You must carry a backpack during the entire race with the mandatory contents. It must weigh 3.5 kg. This will be checked before the start, during the race, and at the finish line. You must also wear your bib number during the entire race. The timing chip should be attached to your ankle and returned at the finish line; failure to return it will result in a fine of 300 NOK.

Today, the classic style is required on the trails.

If you’d rather participate in Halv Birken for 28 km, that race is also held today, but from Sjusjøen, which is also accessible by buses from Lillehammer, included in the trip price. Buses depart at 10:00, and the first start in Halv Birken is at 12:00.

Seeding
If you have participated in any of the Birken races in the last four years, you will be seeded. If you haven’t, you can provide results from international races you have participated in during the last two years, such as Vasaloppet, Marcialonga, Engadin Skimarathon, or Toblach-Cortina. If you don’t have any results from these races, you will start in a group with unseeded participants. A preliminary seeding table for the 2025 race will be released in November. Öppet Spår is officially not seeding-relevant, but Birken has promised to manually assess the results from Öppet Spår if you have participated, and it is no older than two years.

Seeding table for the 2024 race is available as a guideline.

Take care of nature
Littering is prohibited. Anyone caught littering will be given a 15-minute penalty added to their result. Please dispose of trash at the aid stations or in the designated trash zones along the course.

Damaged poles and skis
If you need to borrow a ski pole, they are available in the start area and at all energy stations. Please return borrowed poles at the finish line where you also return your timing chip. If you need to borrow skis, Salomon offers a very limited number at the start and at the aid stations. If you borrow skis, please return them at the finish. Collected skis and poles will be available at the lost-and-found department in Rena.

Welcome to the finish line!
The winner is expected to cross the finish line around 10:30, and the last skier will finish by 19:30. All participants will receive their certificates at the finish line. The timing chip must be returned (even if you do not start). If not returned, a fine of 300 NOK will be charged.

There are cut-off times at Skramstadsetra at 12:15, Kvarstad at 15:30, and Sjusjøen at 17:30, after which free buses will take you to the finish. From Birkebeiner Stadium, where everyone finishes, a free bus to Hakonshall is included, which is just a stone's throw from our hotel and apartments.

In the evening, we will have a Celebration Dinner together. The dinner is not included in the trip price. An invitation will be sent well in advance of the trip.

Sunday – Skiing without timing, downhill, or sightseeing

Maybe some will sleep in today before we head out for a cool-down in the tracks. Hafjell, Kvitfjell, and Skeikampen all have alpine centers with rental options for downhill skis and lift passes if anyone wants a change of pace.

Some might want to visit the Olympic Museum, check out the beautiful, ancient stave church from the 1100s, explore Norway’s largest open-air museum with 185 historic buildings, stroll around Lillehammer, or just take it easy.

Monday – Last day in Norway

Check-out by 12:00 and departure home. By direct train from Lillehammer, you reach Oslo Center or the International Airport in Oslo in two hours. It is a nice journey. 

FAQ

How do I get to Lillehammer?

We will send you a link on how to book your train tickets Oslo - Lillehammer round trip by train. You can either go from Oslo city center or from the international airport in Oslo direct. Oslo - Lillehammer by train takes around two hours. 

When do I have to book this package?
We never know when our tours get fully booked. When 8-10 friends make a booking, the tours fill up quickly. Book as soon as posssible if you want to be sure to get what you want. 

Do I have to be a member in a skiing club?
No, but you have to fill in a form where you guarantee that you are in good health. 

Why apartments? I want a room for myself.
Because it's fun, and many people find it convenient to be able to cook in the kitchen, especially since eating out in Norway can be quite expensive. There are no single rooms, but in the apartments, there are three bedrooms, so two people can share the bedroom with the double bed (which can be separated into two single beds), and the other two people in the apartment can each have their own room with a bunk bed.

We are five people, maybe six, can we share an apartment?
Of course! Each apartment has six beds in three bedrooms, plus a kitchen, living room, and two toilets with showers in each.

I’m traveling alone and have no one to share a room or apartment with?
You will be paired with someone else/others on the trip. You can choose a room or apartment when booking the trip.

Lillehammer

In Lillehammer in Gudbrandsdalen, just under 30,000 people live. The city is surrounded by mountains and lies in the northern part of Norway’s largest lake, Mjøsa, and by the Lågen river. This is where the 1994 Winter Olympics and Paralympics were held. The center of the city is picturesque with wooden buildings. The name Lillehammer comes from the word hamarr, meaning stone or cliff, and to distinguish it from the nearby town Hamar, it was given the name Lillehammer.

Lillehammer hosts the largest literary festival in the Nordic region, and in 2017, the city was designated a UNESCO City of Literature. In her home, Bjerkebæk, in Lillehammer, lived Sigrid Undset (1882–1949), who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928. Today, Heidi Weng lives in the city.

Small-scale, personal, flexible, with a lot of care and joy
We do everything we can to remain one of the most sought-after organizers in the market. The overall experience is what our previous guests appreciate most, but also the small-scale approach and flexibility. On the trip to Birkebeinerrennet, the group is small. We quickly learn each other’s names, and as organizers, we do our utmost to make sure everyone in the group feels completely satisfied with their trip. There are always guests on our trips who don’t know anyone initially. If you want to be social and have company, you’ll have it with pleasant fellow travelers. If you prefer to be by yourself, that’s perfectly fine too.

Historical Background

It was a cold winter night in the year 1206. From Lillehammer in Norway, the two birkebeiners Torstein Skjevla and Skjervald Skrukka embarked on a perilous and uncertain journey on skis across the mountains. They carried with them a two-year-old child. Their goal was to bring the child, Haakon Haakonsson, the illegitimate son of the recently deceased King Haakon Sverresson, to safety.

The future King Haakon was, by birth, part of the Birkebeiner party and found himself, with his mother Inga, in enemy territory, where the Bagler party sought to overthrow the established order. When news spread that the king’s son was in the village, time was of the essence. Saved by their head start and bad weather, Skjevla and Skrukka, with little Haakon, managed to reach safety on the other side of the mountain in Østerdalen, and then proceeded to friendly lands, where they met King Inge in Nidaros (modern-day Trondheim).

Haakon eventually became king and ended the civil wars. Under his reign, Norway experienced its golden age during the medieval period. As a tribute to the prince and his brave rescuers, every participant in the Birkebeinerrennet must carry a 3.5-kilogram backpack, symbolizing the weight of the prince. (A lightweight among two-year-olds, editor’s note).

The dramatic journey became the inspiration for Birkebeinerrennet.
The race, which started in 1932, is part of the long-distance cup and is considered one of the toughest challenges faced by skiers. The Vasaloppet is ranked the highest, followed by "Birken" and Marcialonga competing for second place.

Birkebeinerrennet is one of the world’s most iconic long-distance races, with a rich historical legacy, filled with stories of courage and adventure. Behind the brief retelling of the saga lies a deed that should always appeal to Norwegian youth. The two men struggling across the mountain in terrible storms without considering turning back or giving up. It was the future of the country that was at stake, and they used all their courage, strength, and will to bring the child to safety, believing he would become Norway’s king.

In the autumn of 1930, the author and forestry officer Haakon Lie published an article
introducing the idea of a ski race to honor the rescue of the 18-month-old Prince Haakon Haakonsson. Two years later, six men met at the Raufjellet mountain and officially decided to organize the very first Birkebeinerrennet. In 1932, 147 men completed the then 59-kilometer route – the winner was Trygve Beisvåg, who finished with a respectable time of 4:51:40.

The name "Birkebeinere" was given by the Baglers
and was originally intended to be offensive – referring to their trousers made from birch bark, implying they were poor. It turned out the Baglers were wrong, and today the name carries a sense of pride, strength, and endurance – something that thousands of skiers continue to strive for every year.