Training that leads somewhere

You have seen how Elfs­borgs­marschen works as a com­plete train­ing week­end. It is about low-inten­si­ty endurance that builds fit­ness and men­tal strength, regard­less of whether your form of train­ing is ruck­ing, pow­er walk­ing, hik­ing, or long walks.

But don’t just see this as a work­out. See it as the result of your train­ing – and the moti­va­tion for the next phase.

For those who train to become stronger: Training with a specific goal

Every seri­ous train­ing plan needs goals. Oth­er­wise, train­ing becomes just rou­tines that lead nowhere. Elfs­borgs­marschen gives you a spe­cif­ic goal: to be able to walk 20 or 40 kilo­me­ters two days in a row.

This requires the right kind of endurance. Not explo­sive­ness or max­i­mum strength, but slow, steady fit­ness over many hours. It is this type of phys­i­cal capac­i­ty that builds the foun­da­tion on which every­thing else rests.

For those who engage in ruck­ing, the two-day for­mat is per­fect. Day one tests whether your pack­ing and pace are work­ing. Day two shows whether your recov­ery is good enough. After the march, you will know exact­ly what your body can han­dle – not the­o­ret­i­cal­ly, but in practice.

For those who pow­er walk or train with long walks, Elfs­borgs­marschen pro­vides the vari­ety your train­ing needs. Instead of yet anoth­er lap on the same trail, you get new routes, new chal­lenges, and new envi­ron­ments. Train­ing becomes more fun. Moti­va­tion is strengthened.

Build the basic fitness that everything else requires

No mat­ter what sport you do, your body needs basic endurance. Elfs­borgs­marschen builds pre­cise­ly that abil­i­ty – to keep mov­ing hour after hour at a steady pace. That’s what then allows you to train hard­er in your main sport, recov­er faster, and per­form longer.

Two days give your body a sol­id dose of low-inten­si­ty train­ing. It strength­ens your heart, builds mus­cle endurance, and improves your body’s abil­i­ty to use fat as ener­gy. It’s train­ing that gives long-term results, not just short-term performance.

For those who love hiking: The perfect dress rehearsal

For those plan­ning longer hikes – Kungsle­den, Bohusle­den, or any oth­er mul­ti-day trail – the Elfs­borgs­marschen is the ulti­mate dress rehearsal. This is where you find out if your boots real­ly work for 80 kilo­me­ters, not just eight. This is where you learn how your body reacts to car­ry­ing a pack for two days in a row.

Dis­cov­er­ing blis­ters or a poor­ly adjust­ed back­pack in the forests of Gothen­burg, with manned check­points and med­ical sup­port near­by, is a valu­able les­son. Dis­cov­er­ing this on day three in the moun­tains is a cri­sis. Use Elfs­borgs­marschen to stress test your­self and your equip­ment under con­trolled conditions.

After the march, you will know what pace you can main­tain for sev­er­al days in a row. You will know how much water you need. You will know what was unnec­es­sary weight in your back­pack. That knowl­edge is invalu­able when you set out on your own.

For scouts and hiking groups: A real challenge

For scouts and out­door enthu­si­asts, this is more than just exercise—it’s an appli­ca­tion of the skills you already prac­tice. Nav­i­gat­ing, man­ag­ing your ener­gy, and sup­port­ing your com­rades over long dis­tances are at the core of your activ­i­ties. Elfs­borgs­marschen pack­ages this into a two-day for­mat that chal­lenges both indi­vid­u­als and patrols.

Scout patrols walk­ing togeth­er get the oppor­tu­ni­ty to test their coop­er­a­tion under real stress. When some­one starts strug­gling at kilo­me­ter 30, how do you solve it? When you start day two and every­one is tired, how do you keep the group togeth­er? These are lessons that strength­en the patrol long after the march is over.

And yes, your dog is wel­come on all trails. Turn your reg­u­lar long walks into a goal you train for together.

Training that gives results you can see and feel

After Elfs­borgs­marschen, you will feel the dif­fer­ence. Fit­ness is not built overnight – it is built by actu­al­ly using your body over long peri­ods. Two days of 20 or 40 kilo­me­ters give your body the stim­u­lus it needs to become stronger.

But above all, you know what you can do. Not what you think you can do. Not what your train­ing app says you should be able to do. You actu­al­ly know, because you did it.

That knowl­edge gives you con­fi­dence. The next time train­ing feels tough, you can remind your­self: if I did Elfs­borgs­marschen, I can do this too. That’s moti­va­tion that lasts long after the medal has been won.

Invest in your long-term health

Whether you choose 10 km of scenic trails or 40 km through Gothen­burg, this is your week­end. It’s train­ing that gives mea­sur­able results, nature expe­ri­ences that give you ener­gy, and a com­mu­ni­ty that wel­comes everyone.

Stop tread­ing the same old path. Set a goal that takes you fur­ther – both phys­i­cal­ly and mentally.

Reg­is­tra­tion opens soon. The march takes place on the sec­ond week­end of June 2026. Places are limited.

Sign up for Elfs­borgs­marschen – your train­ing has nev­er felt more meaningful.