Turn your fall run into something more

How we did it

We gathered a group for a fall trip into Nordmarka, the forest just outside Oslo. The goal was short enough to fit on one line: run into the forest, arrive at Kikutstua lodge, eat, sleep, run home the next day.

Along for the trip were former freeskier and X Games winner Johanne Killi and Frida Bustad, together with a good group of people.

None of them were racing each other. That is part of the point.

The start

"At the start it was dry, with crisp air. A perfect fall day. We missed the trail and ended up in the ski track, in boggy terrain," says Frida Bustad.

The wrong turn only made the trip more memorable.

"I spent a lot of hours in the bog as a kid, so I was taken straight back to dryland training with the ski club: bog football, bog tag, bog orienteering, bog intervals," she says.

In short: Expect to miss a turn. A run with a destination can take a detour. An interval session can't.

Arrival: a bun and hot chocolate

Head into the forest at midday in the fall and you have a few hours of light. The colors are still there, and the sun goes down early.

"What I remember first is the good mood in the group. And not least the bun and the hot chocolate we got when we arrived at Kikutstua," says Johanne Killi.

"It was nice to get to know more like-minded people. A good run, with beautiful colors in the forest and good company," she says.

Notice what they both mention first. Not the time, not the distance. The mood, and the stop.

The evening at the lodge

What separates this from an ordinary long run is the hours afterwards. You arrive sweaty, you change, and then you stay.

"Getting into the forest to a lodge for good food and a night's sleep under your own steam is one of the strongest feelings of freedom I know. I have only myself and what's in my pack. Everything else can be left behind in town," says Frida Bustad.

"It's a very good way to disconnect from everyday life. After a good run, ski or ride, food tastes better. There is something particular about spending the evening and the night in a forest lodge, and just enjoying the nature and the quiet. That's where you recharge," says Johanne Killi.

Whether the evening is any good is settled by what's in your pack. Dry clothes the moment you stop. A layer that holds heat while you stand still outside in the dark. A headlamp, charged, for the morning after.

The morning after

It was still dark when the first ones headed out. Breakfast, packing, and then the same route back.

The run home is a different session from the run in. Your legs are heavier, your pack is lighter, and you know where the trail goes. Most people run it faster.

The perfect run, according to the two of them

We asked both. The answers look alike.

"The perfect run is deep in the forest, in woods with nobody in them and with rolling terrain. It has invisible elevation on flowing trail, viewpoints, and open forest with distinct tree trunks. It should also include a short breather and a refill at one of the lodges. Few things taste better than a bun stop in the forest," says Frida Bustad.

"The perfect run goes on unfamiliar trails, with good flow and without much focus on pace or time. Preferably in good company. It gets even better if you can stop along the way for a bun, an ice cream or a soft drink," says Johanne Killi.

Rule of thumb: Plan the stop. It isn't a break from the trip. It is half the trip.

Winter form is built now

Two sessions in 24 hours, with a night and a proper meal in between. On paper it's a weekend trip. In practice it's base training.

Winter form isn't built when the snow arrives. It's built in the weeks before, in the dark, with nothing being measured.

Swix has worked with winter athletes since 1946. What we know about keeping you dry and moving when it's cold and wet comes from the wax room and from the World Cup. It's in the running clothes you have on in the forest.

How to do it yourself

1. Pick the lodge and the date first. Beds have to be booked, and weekends fill up. The date is the only thing that makes the trip real.

2. Measure both ways. Split the distance into two sessions with a night in between, and plan them separately.

3. Build the group around pace, not level. The slowest person sets the speed. The moment it becomes a test, the whole idea is gone.

4. Pack light, but pack dry. A change of clothes, one warm layer, a headlamp. The rest can stay home.

5. Expect to miss a turn. Keep a map on your phone, and let the detour be part of the trip.

6. Build in a stop. Both of them brought it up unprompted.

7. Agree on the departure time for the run home the night before. Otherwise it slips.

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