On Saturday, Sweden’s first – and the Nordic region’s largest – running competition celebrates 40 years.
The Tjejmile was organized for the first time in 1984.
There are a handful of runners who have been there all year.
One of them is called Lena Engelmark, 72 years old from Västerås.
– Running means everything to me. I can’t be without it, she says.
I meet Lena Engelmark and her daughter Anna in the Björnön nature reserve outside Västerås.
They often come here and train together, and have coffee afterwards. The socializing around running is just as important as the training.
– It will be an opportunity to meet. Run together and then talk about everything possible. Those are great moments, says Lena.
She herself has run and trained a lot all her life.
The daughter replaced the friends
From 1984 onwards, it was a large group of friends who packed themselves into cars and went to Stockholm and ran the Tjejmile every year. But the group of friends thinned out, year after year, and in the end only Lena remained. It was 1998 and then she persuaded her daughter to join.
– She signed me up and encouraged me and said that it will go great. I was 27 years old and completely untrained, Anna remembers and laughs
– I managed to run 600 meters and was dying. It was in March. But then I managed to run the Tjejmile in August and after that I haven’t stopped running, you could say.
Exercising every day
The training has become a valve for 72-year-old Lena Engelmark, who cares for a seriously ill partner at home. The daily runs have been her breathing hole over the years.
– It has not mattered where I have been or what time it is. It’s often dark outside, but train – I will!
And she exercises every day. She has over 2,000 days in a row of training, a so-called Runstreak. As of Tuesday, August 27, she was up for 2,068 days without interruption. And she will continue running training even after the 40th finish in the Tjejmile on August 31.
– I think you could say that I’m a bit stubborn, she smiles.
– I thought a while ago that Tjejmil number 40 would be my last, but as it feels now, I will register for next year already this Saturday
Watch Tjejmile on Saturday at 12.30 on TV4 Play and TV4