Fantoft Ultra — One loop. Every hour. Yes I can.

18:00Lap 1

Nobody starts alone

The first lap, we all go out as one group. No pace, no racing, no getting dropped — we walk and run it together and talk the whole way round.

At six in the evening at the end of October in Bergen, it is already dark. So that first lap takes us straight into the night, together. That is the whole idea: you head into the dark with a hundred other people instead of on your own.

19:00Lap 2 onwards

The only rule

6.706 km. Every hour, on the hour. Finish your lap, come back to the bell, wait for the next hour, go again. Whatever time you have left before the bell is yours — to eat, to sit down, to change your socks, to talk nonsense.

When you don’t make it back in time, or you decide you’re done, you’re out. The last one standing wins. Everyone else gets a DNF. Yes, everyone. That is genuinely how this format works, and it is half the fun of it.

—Any lap

Mostly, this is an excuse to spend a night together

Let’s be honest about what this is. It is a bell, a loop around Fantoft, something warm to drink, and a group of people finding out what they are up for. The winning is a side effect.

You do not have to be a runner. You can walk the whole lap. You can stop after one and stay for the rest of the night with a cup of something, counting the others through. Nobody will ask you why you stopped.

What we actually want is 200 people on the start line at 18:00. What happens after that is between you and the hours.

?Your call

How far will you go?

Pick something when you sign up. It is not binding — it just helps us plan, and it gives you a number to aim at.

1 lap6.7 km — I want to be on that start line.
3 laps20.1 km — nearly a half marathon, by accident.
7 laps46.9 km — past a marathon, in the dark.
∞As long as my legs hold. I’ll find out on the night.
Last one standingI’m here to win it. Everyone else can have the DNF.

00:00The maths

What each hour adds up to

One lap is 6.706 km, the official backyard distance. Times assume an 18:00 start.
Lap	Starts	Total	Which is
1	Fri 18:00	6.7 km	All of us, together, in the dark
3	Fri 20:00	20.1 km	Around half-marathon distance
5	Fri 22:00	33.5 km	Further than most people ever run
7	Sat 00:00	46.9 km	Past a marathon. Midnight.
12	Sat 05:00	80.5 km	The hard part. Nobody feels good here.
15	Sat 08:00	100.6 km	Daylight comes back
19	Sat 12:00	127.4 km	A full day since the bell
24	Sat 17:00	160.9 km	100 miles — and it gets dark again

For scale: the world record is over 100 laps. We are not going there. Probably.

1 shirtThe prize

There is exactly one prize

The last one standing gets a Fantoft Ultra shirt, printed afterwards with the number of laps it took to win it. That is the complete prize list.

No medals, no goodie bags, no finisher photos you have to buy. We are keeping this deliberately cheap so that turning up can stay free — what money there is goes on the food table, not on merchandise. Everyone who isn’t the winner gets a DNF and the story about the night it took.

6.72km, the loop

Route v1 is out

A loop starting and finishing at Fantoft: 6.72 km with about 132 m of climbing per lap, between 49 and 103 m above sea level. Run 15 laps and you have done 100 km and around 2,000 m of climbing.

First version, not run yet. This route has not been run on foot yet, so it still needs to be checked and it may still change. Try it yourself and tell us what you find.

Open the route on Strava↗ Download the GPX↓ Download the route sheet (PDF)↓

On Strava, search for “fantoft ultra v1”. The GPX works in Garmin, Coros, Suunto and most route apps.

☂Conditions

Weather forecast: it’s Bergen

Prepare for the worst. Rain, wind, wet leaves, darkness, and a temperature that feels a lot colder at 04:00 than it did at 18:00. Come dressed for the night you would least like to have.

Required

Head torch

You are running in the dark for most of this. Bring spare batteries if you have them.

Required

Rain shell

Not optional in Bergen in October. Something with a hood that you can move in.

Bring

A bag of dry clothes

Dry socks and a dry layer between laps change everything. Leave the bag at the start.

Bring

Food you actually like

At 03:00 you will not want a gel. You will want the thing you eat when you’re sad.

If we wanted to make this easy, we would have organised a 5K.
Fantoft Ultra

NOKFood & money

Free to start. The food is a shared pot.

Lap 1 costs you nothing. Turning up, running one lap in the dark with everyone else and going home again is free, and it stays free. We are not selling entries here.

If you stay into the night you will be eating and drinking from our table for hours, and that food has to come from somewhere — so the people who stay chip in for it. Roughly: nothing for the first couple of laps, a little if you are still with us after 20:00, a bit more if you are also there for breakfast. Everyone pays for their own night. It is not an entry fee, and it is nowhere near what a real ultra charges.

Exact amounts follow closer to the day, and you will be able to pay it on the night with Vipps. There is a shop a few minutes away, so if there is one specific thing you will want at 03:00, bring it or tell us about it.

FAQShort answers

Questions people keep asking

I’ve never run further than 5 km. Is this for me?

Yes, and you’re exactly who we’re trying to get on the start line. Lap 1 is 6.7 km, in a group, at conversation pace. Do that and you have taken part in an ultra.

Can I walk it?

Completely. The only thing that matters is being back before the bell. Plenty of people walk laps late in a backyard ultra anyway.

What if I only do one lap?

Then you did one lap. That is a full entry and nobody thinks less of it. Stay at the finish, get something warm, and cheer the rest through the night.

Does it cost anything?

There is no entry fee, and lap 1 is free for everyone. If you stay into the night there is a small shared contribution for the food table — a fraction of what a real ultra charges you. Exact amounts follow closer to the day.

Can I bring friends?

Please do — that’s the entire plan. There’s a question about it in the sign-up form, so just tell us who you’re bringing. Bring the ones who say they hate running too; they’re usually the ones who end up doing four laps.

What if the weather is bad?

It will be. We start anyway. That is the deal you’re signing up for, and it is a much better story afterwards.

Is this an official race?

No timing chips, no medals, no entry fee. A bell, a measured loop, and someone counting laps. In practice: a night out with a hill in it.

Friday 30 October 2026 · 18:00 · Fantoft

Can you do one more lap?

There is only one right answer, and it takes about forty seconds to give it.

Takes 2 minutes. Non-binding. You can change your number later.

Also join the Fantoft Ultra club on Strava. That’s where you can see who else is running, follow the build-up and share your laps afterwards.

See who’s running on Strava↗

Joining the club is free and works next to the sign-up form.