The result generator Neptron confirms: yes, TCS Lidingöloppet's new record holder Fredrik Tedborn is indeed 55 years old and has – with a full minute to spare – finished TCS Lidingöloppet 30 in under two hours (1:59:00). And no, you can't freeze time, then their service wouldn't exist.
But there are still signs of time distortion when one studies Fredrik in TCS Lidingöloppet's results archive. The world seems to have aged while he has maintained his physical abilities, for decades. He actually ran this well both at age 45 and at 22 - how did he do it? In an interview, he describes how he has learnt to stop the time, in his own way:
This year, you completed TCS Lidingöloppet in the same elite field and at the same speed as you did 33 years ago - what is your secret?
– It is probably my passion for running. I know from my elite career in cross-country skiing in the late 80s that I have a good oxygen uptake capacity. From that time on, I've never really stopped exercising. In recent years, I have increased the intensity and started to train more goal-oriented. For this to be possible, you have to find a lot of joy in running. If you, like me, feel good about training intensively, continuously, and in large quantities, and if running gives you feelings of happiness that you don't want to live without, than it becomes easier to get over your own thresholds.
Many experience that aging puts a natural stop to all running ambitions, how has this affected you?
– Through my long experience as a runner, I have gotten well-acquainted with my body's abilities. This means that I now know my physical conditions and limitations, and that I can adapt the training so that the body develops and does not get injured in the process. The body is fantastically elastic and adaptable throughout life if you only have patience and invest in the long term. Many make the mistake of training too intensely before a race, and get injured as a result. You can't train running as a campaign, it's too vulnerable.
Do you always feel joy before running - during all days of the year?
– Yes, although I also have times when it is more difficult to find the motivation. The autumn darkness for example makes it less enjoyable to get out and run. However, I usually overcome this obstacle when I remember the mental peace I feel afterwards.
Do you share many resemblances with 22-year-old Fredrik, who toed TCS Lidingöloppet's starting line for the first time?
– Yes, now, just like beck then, I find it so extremely enjoyable to wear a number bib and take part in races. The difference from that time is that I today run TCS Lidingöloppet in a better starting group, and that I now know my own abilities and the difficult TCS Lidingöloppet course better!
All in all, Fredrik's new record seems to be an example of a running paradox: Although time passes by more quickly when you're having fun, sustained running joy seems to be able to make the body's own clock go slower. TCS Lidingöloppet therefore offer our warmest and most heartfelt congratulations to Fredrik for his ground-breaking record, and wishes him great luck in future challenges, far, far into the future!
| Advice from Fredrik: How to prepare for TCS Lidingöloppet - and have the most fun along the way! |
| 1. Practice running fast when you are already tired and try to get used to that feeling (this makes it easier to run through the exhaustion you feel at about 15km). |
| 2. Practice running downhill. TCS Lidingöloppet is more fun if you can be relaxed running downhills. If, on the other hand, you are not strong enough, you will have to run slowly during the second half of the race. Fredrik himself practices downhill running in a skiing slope. |
| 3. Learn to enjoy getting really tired! There is a certain magic in winning the physical-mental battle against yourself! |
All records in TCS Lidingöloppet, 1965-2021 >
All resultats in TCS Lidingöloppet 2022 >
