TIPS AND TRAINING

Tips for training.

The Arctic Circle March, ACM, is 140 km, divided into four stages. Each stage is between 30 and 40 km long.

 It should be said at once: You can´t fullfill The ACM untrained!

 

How should I prepare for such a long and demanding march?

Before you get tips on training before the march we are going to kill some common myths.

Myth 1: I train a lot already. Every Sunday we go out - my partner and I - with the dog and are out for just over an hour, sometimes even two.
Myth 2: I am a hunter and during the long autumn hunting season I go sometimes several miles in a day.
Myth 3: I do not need to prepare specifically for the march. I am fit.

The fact is that the few who have left The ACM over the years are precisely those who believed in any of these myths.

 

Good shoes is an advantage!

One advantage of walking (going) is that you do not need any special equipments. Appropriate clothing and good footwear is what is needed. And proper training!
 

Training.

Before The ACM you should have about 400 km of training some months before the march. Training sessions should be at least 20 km each time. You should have about 20 training sessions behind you before you start The ACM.
A good tip is that about a month before the march You should spend a weekend (or two days in a row) to go 2 x 40 km. If you implemented such a training session - and done it - you're sure to meet the 140 km long march. Then you also have a receipt that you have the right kind of shoes.

 

Take care of your feet.

There are many ways of using special-tape as a precaution. The experience of many accomplished walkers are many and useful.
 

Nurse Katarina Savilahti is one of the march-care managers. She says:
- Taping proactively can be done easily with the help of Elastoplast (8 cm wide) that can be purchased at pharmacies.
- The important thing is to always check your feet, and immediate action if you get a sense of abraded.

 

Fluid and salt.

Fluid deficiency and salt deficiency makes you feel weak. It is therefore important to drink at regular intervals (every ten minutes), especially if it is hot. Take a half-liter soda bottle and fill it with Polcirkeldryck at each break point (which is 5-7 kilometers apart on on The ACM). Eat a sandwich, preferably with salt, at the break points. Salt binds the liquid. It is important that the salt and sugar balance is maintained for the cells to function as they should.
Your can put your backpack or fluid in any of the follower-cars. The experienced cruise participant wears only a water bottle and ev. rainwear or umbrella. If you need to change socks or shoes just stop your follower-car, who patrols all the time along the march route.
Polcirkeldrycken is a perfect drink containing salt and sugar in scientifically calculated proportions.