The Birkebeiner Race
The Birkebeinerrennet is ski marathon between Rena and Lillehammer, Norway, to commemorate the escape to safety of baby prince Håkon Håkonsson

Commemorating the Birkebeiners' Saga

The Birkebeinerrennet was inspired on a historic account which is very well know for the Norwegians. Around the year 1200 AD, Norway was practically in a state of civil war, with many rivals fighting for the control of the country. The two main factions were the Baglers, a powerful dinasty from Østerdalen, and the Birkebeiners, which were corageous but very poor. The word Birke-Beiner (Birch-Leg) points that those people were so poor that they had to tie bark of the birch trees around their legs as foot-wear.

Birkebeiner king Håkon III Sverresson died in 1204 leaving only one baby son, Håkon Håkonsson, as the heir to his throne. The Baglers just needed to get rid of that baby and the whole Norway would belong to them. The Birkebeiners needed to save baby Håkon Håkonsson. On Christmas Day in 1205 the two best Birkebeiner skiers set off with the baby prince on a dangerous voyage through the Norwegian mountains to escape from the Baglers and take the young prince to safety in the city of Trondheim.

Thanks to the Birkebeiner's brabery, the baby survived and became King Håkon Håkonsson IV of Norway. During his reign, King Håkon ended the period of civil wars in Norway and brought stability to the country. Håkon Håkonsson died in December 1263 in Kirkwall, the Orkney Islands, and was taken back to Norway in 1264.


The three Birkebeiner races

The Birkebeinerrennet winter ski marathon has been organized since 1932 to commemorate the heroic journey of the Birkebeiner skiers. The Birkebeinerrennet starts in Rena and goes on for 54 km to the Birkebeineren Skistadion at Lillehammer. All participants have to carry a backpack that weighs minimum 3,5 kg to symbolize prince Håkon.

Hundreds of participants come every year to make the popular Birkebeinerrennet. This winter 2005, the Birkebeiner run will also hold the final of the FIS Marathon Cup. In fact, the Birkebeinerrennet has managed as well to cross the Atlantic and so a similar race is celebrated in the USA: the American Birkebeiner, North America’s largest and most prestigious cross-country ski marathon founded in 1973 by Norwegian-American Tony Wise.

There are two other popular Birkebeiner sporting events which take place after the snow has melted.

The Birkebeinerrittet is the world´s largest mountain bike race with some 10.000 participants in the 2004 edition. The course is 89 km long with start at Rena and finish in Lillehammer.

Held one month after, during the month of September, the Birkebeinerløpet is a 21 km running marathon which has been organised since 1998. Paralel to the Birkebeinerløpet event, there are shorter Nordic Walking circuits of 5 and 10 km.

Do you want to know more about the Birkebeinerrennet? Visit www.birkebeiner.no for information about how to participate in the events, as well as registration information and contact details of the organisation committee. The Scandinavian Shop > Viking Kids > The Race of the Birkebeiners Imagine the bravest Norwegian warriors that ever lived, carrying a baby prince across blizzard-wracked mountains to save his life. A fairy tale? No, this is a true story, based on the account written in 1264 by Sturla Tordsson, about the Middle Ages' most powerful king during what are known as Norway's Golden Years. Traveling to Norway? - Nordic Directory > Tourism - Tourist information, brochures and tourist literature. - Scandinavica.com > Travel - book your flights and accommodation here. - The Scandinavian Shop > Travel - Norway - tourist guides, where to go, what to do, maps and language manuals.