Registration to Close 11:59pm, Wednesday, December 27

Hayward, Wisconsin (December 26, 2017) — The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation announced today that registration for the 44th Slumberland American Birkebeiner, the “Birkie,” North America’s largest cross-country ski race, will close at 11:59pm, Wednesday, December 27, 2017 as the race will have reached capacity.

The American Birkebeiner (55K classic/50K skate) race is scheduled for Saturday, February 24, 2018; the Kortelopet (29K), North America’s second largest ski race, and Prince Haakon (15K), are slated for Friday, February 23, 2018. While both Kortelopet and Prince Haakon race registration will remain open, the races are quickly nearing capacity with fewer than 100 remaining spots available in the Kortelopet and fewer than 200 in the Prince Haakon. Further race registration closure announcements will be made as capacity is reached.

An estimated 13,500 skiers will participate in American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation races in February 2018. An international event, the most recent Slumberland American Birkebeiner ski race drew participants from 48 states and 23 countries to northwestern Wisconsin.

New in 2018

Friday, February 23, 2018
Both the Kortelopet and Prince Haakon races will finish in downtown Hayward with the 29K Kortelopet starting at the Highway OO Trailhead and the 15K Prince Haakon starting near Mosquito Brook.

Saturday, February 24, 2018
The 44th Annual Slumberland American Birkebeiner skiers will line-up for the first-time on the starting line at the American Birkebeiner Trailhead near Cable, Wisconsin. Skiers will traverse the legendary Birkie Trail as they make their way toward the finish line on Hayward’s snow-covered Main Street.

The American Birkebeiner is rooted in Norwegian history when two Birkebeiner warriors, so-called by the birch bark leggings they wore, skied two-year-old Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne, to safety on a long and perilous journey through the treacherous mountains and forests of Norway. Their determination is commemorated each year at the American Birkebeiner Ski Marathon as skiers recreate the courageous 55-kilometer journey.

Slumberland Furniture is the title sponsor of the 44th American Birkebeiner ski race.

Posted December 26, 2017 at 4:40 pm