Montane Kong Vinter

The Montane Kong Vinter returns to Copenhagen and joins ARWS Europe

Press Release / 25.11.2022

The Montane Kong Vinter race is one of the first on the calendar for 2023, taking place on January 14th in the Copenhagen area.  It’s one of the few winter races in Europe and has a lot to offer, including an experienced planner, a long history, a great venue and inclusion in the ARWS Europe Series.

This will be the 13th Kong Vinter, although it began under a different name back in 2009, and over the years the race has established a reputation for entertaining and innovative courses.  It’s held as part of the Danish Federation’s calendar (DARU), and they were the first to introduce a referee programme to ensure a consistent quality of racing.

With so many races behind them, the race organising team has a lot of experience and expertise, and the current organiser and planner is Lars Bukkehave.  Lars is well known for racing in the World Series, will be planner for the Nordic Islands AR next year, and has also organised Xterra’s and other races in both Denmark and Sweden over 15 years.

Some high profile racers take part each year.  Silver Eensaar says the Kong Vinter has “a big race feel” and Petri Forsman has raced 6 times and said, “Kong Vinter is a great adventure race with good orienteering and great maps.”

This year the race is back in the Copenhagen area, so it’s a great chance to combine the race with a visit to Denmark’s capital, which is accessible by air, and by road and rail from mainland Europe Sweden.

The race makes life easy for visitors, with accommodation options, food at the finish, bike hire available, and has 3 courses to offer all racers an option. 

The ‘Fighter’ distance is a 4 hour race “for anyone who wants a good day in nature. Perfect for family, friends and colleagues.”

The Challenge (and  U21) course is 8 hours “for those who want to challenge themselves and are looking for their next adventure.”

While the Masters is the ARWS European Series distance at 16 hours, “for the elite and the seasoned adventure racer.” 

The shorter races are for teams of 2-3, while Masters’ teams can be 2-4 participants, but to be part of the ARWS Europe Series a team has to be a 4 person mixed. Only the Masters course includes kayaking, and the ARWS Europe class winners will get a free place in the European Championship final in France next September.

The race starts and ends around Hareskoven and takes the race in to a new route which has permission to visit some beautiful natural areas, where few people run or bike.  This year they’ve promised to upgrade their climbing challenges (tree climbing is a frequent task in this race), and as always, there will be some tough orienteering and a few historical landmarks along the way.

The Montane Kong Vinter is a race with something for everyone, and will be a great way to start the 2023 racing year.

Website: https://www.kongvinter.dk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MontaneKongVinter