How it all started

July 2023, my wife and I are on our summer holiday. This year we chose to go to Sweden again. Flight from Brussels to Stockholm, and then a rental car to Bjursås for the first days of our road trip in Dalarna. After a day of hiking, and a visit to the beautiful city of Falun we drove on to our second destination: Idrefjäll. On our way, we passed Mora, known as the finish town of the Vasaloppet.

After lunch and fika we went to the Vasaloppets hus, the museum about the history of the Vasaloppet. Walking around the museum, looking at the pictures of the champions, but also the pictures of all the "normal" competitors started to inspire me. I don't know why, and I still can't explain it. But a voice inside my head said to me: "I want to become a part of the Vasaloppet history as well".

A few days went by. But the idea of competing and finishing the Vasaloppet didn't leave my head. On the contrary, it grew stronger and clearer to me what I wanted. On July 11th 2023 at 15:54 while having fika I told my wife: "I want to run and finish the Vasaloppet in 2026". That was the exact moment this adventure started.