Slottsskogen Caught the Runners Off Guard

2026-07-23

Tricky courses surprised O-Ringen participants

Many expected the stage in Slottsskogen to be one of the easier ones of the week. Instead, they were met with technically demanding courses where route choices, changes of pace and precise map reading proved decisive. At the same time, the park’s central location and large crowds created an atmosphere few participants are likely to forget.

Thursday’s stage attracted 14,250 entries – the first time since 2019 that O-Ringen has surpassed 14,000 participants in a single day. For course planning coordinator Maria Höglund, the courses turned out exactly as the organisers had hoped.

“It has been tougher, both physically and technically, than many people expected. But we’ve received a great deal of positive feedback afterwards,” she says.

According to Höglund, the key was to combine challenging route choices with frequent changes of pace.

“There are plenty of route choice options, and then it’s all about managing your pace. You need to slow down as you approach the control. It’s difficult to make a really big mistake, but completing the course perfectly clean is very difficult too,” says Maria Höglund.

Swedish national team head coach Håkan Carlsson was also impressed by the stage.

“It’s fantastic publicity for orienteering to be able to run right in the middle of Gothenburg. It’s a really exciting setting, and it works very well despite the area being quite small. There are people everywhere, yet it still offers excellent orienteering,” he says.

He also admits that the courses proved more challenging than he had expected.

“I thought it would be easy. I made a three-minute mistake at one control myself,” says Håkan Carlsson, adding that the choice of a 1:5,000 map scale suited the area well.

Even at the finish arena, it was clear that runners had made their way through a vibrant urban green space. The wildlife reporting station received 59 observations during the day. Most of them were roe deer, but the list also included hares, a seal, a few wasp nests – and, of course, a Glenn.

Following the well-received stage in Slottsskogen, O-Ringen now moves west. The final two stages will take place in the terrain around Biskopsgården, where O-Ringen 2026 will reach its conclusion.