Ultra Race recap - Mother North

Day to day stories from Mother North - Lillehammer, Norway 2026

2nd of August 2026 marked the start of Mother North, an 1100km, 19,000m vertical ultra race. Starting and finishing in Lillehammer, known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It promised to be an off-road adventure through breathtaking landscapes.

Being it my 8th(?) ultra race and second one this year there is some routine in getting prepared. My lifestyle does not allow me to train the needed hours year round but I managed to get some decent hours in the weeks before and felt ready. In the end, your body is strong, as long as your mind does. Over the years I accumulated all the needed gear, resulting there only was some worn parts to be bought. Do I have brake pads? Caffeine gels? New chain, tires, SPD cleats, sealant and bar tape, will my Wahoo last another round of excessive rain? Check. It's been a while since I used my Curve Big Kev gravel bike for a race, I've rebuilt the wheels to some G36 rims. I'm excited to see it packed with my favorite parts. Thanks Old Man Mountain, Apidura and Silca!

I traveled to Norway with my friend Thomas Ettema, who convinced me to sign up after already eyeballing the race for a few years. I know Bruno, the race director, after participating the inaugural Seven Serpents race in 2022. That always triggered me to participate one more of his creations. I got a last-minute canceled ticket and booked a flight. Lillehammer is chill, touristy - but in a quiet Scandinavian way. After the accreditation on Saturday we started at 9:00 am on Sunday at the olympic stadium. I didn't have much of a strategy, I divided the route in 5 days of 4000 vertical meters - distance doesn't really tell you how hard it is - so I find climbing to be the better parameter.

The start is fast, too fast, like pretty much every ultra start. I try to think about day three, that is when the real race begins. It was a fast rolling start nonetheless, smooth gravel, less elevation than mid-race and the first 100km were done before lunch. First petrol station around 80km - one I hadn't planned - stopped anyway - couldn't think of what to buy. It's Sunday I had packed two days worth of snacks and gels expecting no resupply. Had a kanelbolle, carried on. Day one is fun, everyone is chatty, excited, shares plans, no pain yet, first mechanical issues are easily solved. My bike is fine, I got stung by a bee, no excuse to stop. Remote, empty, beautiful, at 200km a tourist info centre stayed opened for longer, serving waffles and hot drinks. It's getting colder. 7 pm I pass the first cabins I pinned on my excel sheet with waypoints. We get into Grimsdalen Naturreservat the first bigger valley. There are vacation homes and cabins, they form ghost towns. Some campervans parked at extraordinary spots. It's getting cold climbing above 1000m above sea-level. Already wearing my layers I put on my down jacket for the descent to Dovre. 250km done - it's dark - find a place to sleep. I see some riders struggling to book hotels, I consider a bivy at the church, no - too creepy with all the graves, behind the bins of the supermarket? Better leave town and hope for a forest cabin. On the outskirts I see a playground which has two cabins of which one with a door - bingo. There's a rider inside who can't be there too long. I asked if I could join and got a Dutch answer, it's Thomas, of all the 140 participants we got the same taste in cabins. There's electric heating inside. Day one done, 265km.

Leaving at 5am, a rolling descent leads to Otta, I see Thomas at a 24/7 petrol station, got two massive baguettes, explaining how to make it vegetarian in my best Norwegian (my basic Swedish helps). Brush my teeth in the toilet, refill water. Most supermarkets are open from 7am to 11pm, next one in Vinstra, before we climb back up. The road heads west, towards Mjølkevegen, head winds and no trees, beautiful views, lakes, snowy tops. A famous cycling route. I see the media team, they ask some questions from the car I can't remember the answers to. There's a lot of bikepackers heading the other direction, easy. Then I see a familiar face, my friends Sjoerd and Bjorn on their holiday! Sjoerd, initially planning to race, already told me there was a slight chance of meeting. It cheers me up, a smile to carry on. Next restaurant, lunch time. I have rømmegrøt and join Thomas, Gijs and an Italian riders' table, I keep bumping into the same people. There's confusion about who ordered what, brains get fuzzy. I see other bikepackers walking in, one of them a Dutch bikepacker, not in the race. (Bizarely I will interview him a week after the race for the bike mechanic position I'm leaving. The universe, the universe..) Upwards we go, there's chance of seeing reindeer, no luck this time. Descending, north, out of the wind, my face is swollen from the bee sting. I meet Gijs just before Lom and decide to share a cabin on the campsite. Pizza's in the shared kitchen oven, life's good. Day two done, 508km

Next morning - leave the valley, climbing up slowly towards the highest point of the route 1411m. Sognefjellet, lakes, waterfalls, a plateau that drags some tourists, coffee at the top. The scenery changes, rougher, steeper, glaciers and wide views. A plateau that isn't flat. Descent to Øvre Årdal, riders look cooked at the restaurant, I visit two supermarkets before what's probably the steepest (rideable) climb of the race. Hairpins, riders walking - different gear ratio, stretch the legs - I keep spinning. The weather changes from 20C to rain and 5C riding on a ridge. Ghost towns, a few lights burning, more rain, a refuge. Hot food and a bed, riders trickling in, some are leaving, conquer the rain. My eyes feel heavy, calling Nina, sharing the hard conditions but the beauty stays with me, so rewarding. A Norwegian guy struggling with Shermers' Neck shares his innovative ways to keep his chin up, literally. I don't really have an excuse, have I. Sharing a bunkbed room with Thomas. All showered and fed I feel ready for the home stretch, probably three days left - two if lucky. Day three, 652km done.

It is still raining on day four, I had a hard time leaving but from experience I know that from day four on; I will find routine, saddle sores fade, hours ticking by. We will see fjords today! Descending in the rain I start shivering, truck stop, get in the toilet, hands in the dryer, put on a down jacket, I feel stupid for not changing to more layers earlier. Borgund stavkyrkje, the famous Stave Church and the third Checkpoint now. I am there alone, before any tourist trip has arrived. Out on the Vindhellavegen towards Lærdalsøyri a town surrounded by fjords - threatened to flood due to climate change. Breakfast at the supermarket, toilet at the petrol station. The profile shows a massive peak - 20km, 1300m up Aurlandsvangen. Just one stop on the climb for food, locked in, 150 minutes to the top. The descent is amazing, the fjords drag a lot of tourists, getting the road stuck with cars. Down to Flåm for a 10/10 pizza. It's still early and I am ahead of schedule. Up we go to Rallarvegen - the famous cycling route that most tourists descent on a hire bike after getting up with the train. I just ascend, walk up the steepest part, and continue to Myrdalsvingane. It is probably the most beautiful place I ever been on a bike, I cried seeing a waterfall appear, not sure from exhaustion or pure joy. We had been warned for extreme weather but the sun came through, only later to drizzle before I got to a hostel in Finse. I see packed bikes, Thomas' too, that guy again! Riders just finished their three-course-meal. Copy that. Day four done, 840km.

I wake up to shower, again, through the window I see that Thomas' bike is gone. Promised myself I'm not racing. The plan is to finish - today or tomorrow. I forgot to zip my frame bag and it filled with water - costing an additional 10 minutes before departure. Myrdalsvingane finished descending into Geilo, Ål and Gol, resupply is getting easier in these towns and I decide to skip the first options. Seeing Thomas leave the supermarket I planned before the next big climbs after Gol. I get enough for the rest of the day. We get into a mellower riding heading east. A few punchy climbs towards Fagernes. I pinned this town as an optional final sleep before the finish, it's just 5pm, 100km left, I got Pringles and Red Bull. No time for real food. Let's finish. The previous three races I finished in a similar way, 20+ hours on the final stretch. Not worth the extra stop. I know what to expect - fizzy brain, hard to define sheep from rocks, not hungry - forced eating, reading some encouraging texts, zero stops, pain fades. It's one final plateau before a climb and long descent to the finish. I take over two riders - I race them on the final climb, not sure if they joined. Soaked in sweat, riding in a puffer jacket, I descent back to Lillehammer. Bruno and Gijs rolled out bed to welcome me just after midnight. 1132km, 19,000m, 30th place, job done!

After 2 previous races really questioning ultra racing, I got my mojo back. For sure the extraordinary landscape made this race rewarding. But also being so in control and confident I got joy back in riding and pushing myself. I might have to do a few more fast rolling ultra's before stepping into some heavy mountainbiking again, although dotwatching the Mountain Races, I long back to it.

pictures by myself and:

https://www.instagram.com/justas_juozaitis/ https://www.instagram.com/gravelmerk/ https://www.instagram.com/mothernorth.cc/