John Bauer Trail Run 10 km

John Bauer Trail Run 10 km

The 10 km starts downhill: just over 500 metres on IKHP’s lit ski track, then a steep diagonal along Huskvarnaberget above the houses that loses almost 50 metres over 700 metres, partly on uneven grass. At the lift hut on Strutsabacken the course turns uphill, nearly 90 metres in a kilometre and a half through a tunnel under the lift and past IKHP-stugan, and joins Bauerleden up to the high point with a view over southern Vättern at about three kilometres.

From there it drops steeply and technically into Ulvadalen, a valley rich in plant life, about 50 metres down, and the organiser warns that grip matters in the rain. After a climb across a meadow come gravel road, pasture, IKHP’s own trails and a few hundred metres of boggy ground that soaks your shoes. Aid stations stand at about 2 and 6 km, the second on the gravel road at Hulustorp. The last kilometre climbs straight up the Strutsabacken lift slope for about 500 metres before a short descent and a flat sprint to the finish. That climb is timed on its own, and the fastest man and woman become this year’s Bergatroll.

Family waiting at IKHP-stugan see the runners start and then disappear into the valley. On Livebib they open the runner’s own link in a browser, with no account and no app, and see the position on the course line, the distance covered and a finish estimate that updates as the race goes — enough to get to Strutsabacken in time. Where the signal drops, the position is carried forward along the course and marked as estimated.