Elfsborgsmarschen
13–14 june

Three distances – six different experiences

Elfs­borgs­marschen offers two dif­fer­ent expe­ri­ences of Gothen­burg and its sur­round­ings. Choose between scenic trails in hilly ter­rain or urban sight­see­ing along the city streets.

Each day of the march offers three routes: 40 km, 20 km, and 10 km. Since the routes dif­fer between Sat­ur­day and Sun­day, you can walk the same dis­tance on both days and still expe­ri­ence com­plete­ly dif­fer­ent envi­ron­ments and challenges.

40 km – Gothenburg’s urban challenge

The clas­sic Elfs­borgs­marschen route takes you on a sight­see­ing tour through the streets of Gothen­burg, most­ly on asphalt. There are two manned check­points at approx­i­mate­ly 15 and 30 kilo­me­ters where you can take a break, check in, and refu­el with flu­ids, juice, tea, cof­fee, and sim­ple snacks such as bananas, choco­late wafers, and pick­led cucum­bers. The 30-kilo­me­ter check­point also has portable toi­lets and med­ical per­son­nel to address tired and sore feet. If you need to abort the march, trans­porta­tion back to Par­tille Hemvärns­gård is available.

The march is planned accord­ing to mil­i­tary march­ing pace: three 5‑kilometer seg­ments at 50 min­utes each, with a 10-minute break between each seg­ment and a one-hour rest after 15 kilo­me­ters. The total time is 10 hours. How­ev­er, the pace is not a require­ment; you can walk at your own pace.

20 km – Scenic hike

The 20-kilo­me­ter route takes you on a hike along trails and small roads among mead­ows, lakes, and forests. Although the dis­tance is short­er, it can feel just as demand­ing as 40 km because the ter­rain is hilly. At the unmanned check­point, you check your­self in and refill with flu­ids, juice, tea, cof­fee, and snacks such as bananas, choco­late wafers, and pick­led cucumbers.

10km – For recreational exercisers

The 10-kilo­me­ter route also runs along scenic trails and small roads among mead­ows, lakes, and forests. It is intend­ed for those who want to chal­lenge them­selves with­out going quite as far or as demand­ing as the oth­er routes. There are no check­points along the way, so bring every­thing you need with you.

Dogs are welcome

All four-legged friends are wel­come to join the march, regard­less of which route you choose.

Finish at the Partille Home Guard Lodge

All three routes end at Par­tille Home Guard Lodge, where toi­lets, show­ers, overnight accom­mo­da­tion, and park­ing are avail­able. Break­fast and din­ner are includ­ed in your reg­is­tra­tion fee. After the march, cold drinks, includ­ing beer, cof­fee, and tea will be avail­able for pur­chase. On Sun­day, there will be an awards cer­e­mo­ny where par­tic­i­pants who have com­plet­ed both days will receive the Elfs­borg March medal—in bronze, sil­ver, or gold, depend­ing on how many times you have par­tic­i­pat­ed in the past.

Practice for the 4Days Marches of Nijmegen

The Elfs­borg March is the per­fect prepa­ra­tion for the world’s largest march­ing event – the 4Days March­es in the Nether­lands with over 45,000 par­tic­i­pants. Walk the Elfs­borgs­marschen to test your abil­i­ty and see if you are ready for the inter­na­tion­al chal­lenge in Nijmegen.

Discover the joy of marching

March­ing is a sport with mil­i­tary ori­gins that has now become a pop­u­lar activ­i­ty for hun­dreds of thou­sands of peo­ple. Whether you enjoy long-dis­tance hik­ing, pow­er walk­ing, ruck­ing, or reg­u­lar long walks, Elfs­borgs­marchen offers the per­fect com­bi­na­tion of phys­i­cal chal­lenge, nature expe­ri­ences, and social interaction.

What is marching?

March­ing involves walk­ing longer dis­tances – usu­al­ly 10 to 50 kilo­me­ters – at a steady pace of about 5 kilo­me­ters per hour. It is low-inten­si­ty train­ing that keeps you at a work­ing heart rate for a long time, build­ing endurance and fit­ness with­out the high impact of running.

March­ing is close­ly relat­ed to sev­er­al activ­i­ties: long-dis­tance hik­ing in hilly ter­rain, pow­er walk­ing at a faster pace, and ruck­ing, where you car­ry a weight­ed back­pack. At Elfs­borgs­marschen, we wel­come all these ways of moving.

Perfect preparation for the Nijmegen March

Do you dream of walk­ing the Nijmegen March – the world’s largest march­ing event with over 45,000 par­tic­i­pants in the Nether­lands? Elfs­borgs­marchen is the ide­al prepa­ra­tion. By walk­ing two days of 40 km each, you get a real­is­tic pic­ture of what four days in Nijmegen requires.

The Nijmegen March takes place over four con­sec­u­tive days with dis­tances of 30, 40, or 50 kilo­me­ters per day. At Elfs­borgs­marchen, you can test your equip­ment, find the right pace, and learn how your body reacts to mul­ti-day marches.

More marching events in Sweden

If you’ve got­ten a taste for it and want to try more march­ing events, there are plen­ty of oppor­tu­ni­ties around the country.

In the Stock­holm area, there are 4Dagars Stock­holm, Bärsärk­agån­gen, Snösvä­gen, Vårskru­den, Nattsärken, Cen­tum, Cen­tum Decem, and Höst­särken. In the Gothen­burg area, there is Elfs­borgs­marschen and Göte­borgs­marschen. And around Swe­den, the Swedish Ath­let­ics Fed­er­a­tion’s mem­ber asso­ci­a­tions orga­nize Sverigevandringen.

For anyone who wants to challenge themselves

Elfs­borgs­marschen is suit­able for ath­letes who want to test their endurance, exer­cis­ers look­ing for vari­ety, out­door enthu­si­asts and scouts who love nature expe­ri­ences, as well as per­son­nel in the Armed Forces, the Home Guard, and vol­un­teer orga­ni­za­tions who want to earn their sol­dier’s badge.

You don’t need any pri­or knowl­edge or expen­sive equipment—just good shoes and the will to chal­lenge your­self. You choose the pace, dis­tance, and whether you walk alone, with a dog, or in a group. March­ing builds both phys­i­cal endurance and men­tal dis­ci­pline. Elfs­borgs­marchen builds bridges between the mil­i­tary and soci­ety by bring­ing togeth­er mil­i­tary and civil­ian par­tic­i­pants in a shared challenge.

Take the plunge and dis­cov­er why march­ing has become a pop­u­lar sport. Elfs­borgs­marchen awaits you.