How to choose your start group

In Midnattsloppet there are different start groups based on the expected time in which the participant will finish the race. You can choose which group to register to. However, the closer your choice of group is to the actual time in which you will finish the race, the better the running experience will be for all participants. 

Our start groups

It´s important that you are realistic when choosing your start group based on your predicted finishing time. The aim is that runners in a start group are running the race in a pace as close to each other as possible. This will make the flow of the race, and the running experience, better for all participants. 

If your expected finishing time, for exapmple, in  the 10k  race is 53 minutes, you should choose starting group 3. 

Below are the start groups and expected finishing times listed. 

  • 1A. Men – 35.59 min, Women – 39.59 min (seeding required)
  • 1B. 36.00 – 39.59 min (seeding required)
  • 1C. 40.00 – 44.59 min (seeding required)
  • 2.  45.00 – 49.59 min
  • 3.  50.00 – 54.59 min
  • 4.  55.00 – 59.59 min
  • 5.  60.00 – 64.59 min
  • 6.  65.00 – 69.59 min
  • 7.  70.00 – 85.00 min

The 5K start group will start approx. 10 minutes after the last start of the 10K race.

The different Midnattsloppet races have varied numbers of start groups in each category.  Availability may be limited based on the number of participants already registered to a certain start group. The available start groups in a specific race will be visible during the sign up.

Seeding

To sign up to one of our fastest starting groups, i.e. 1A, 1B or 1C, you need to present a previous result qualifying you for participation in these groups. 

The rules for seeding in Midnattsloppet:

  • The result has to be from a competition with official time keeping. You need to send a link to your result while signing up for the race.
  • We do not seed participants based on results from other sports besides running, e.g. cycling or skiing.
  • The result can´t be older than from 2015
  • If you have a previous result from one of the Midnattsloppet races, giving you access to a seeding group, you can choose that start group while signing up, without the need to send a seeding link.

Start group 1A (Elite)

To participate in our start group for elite runners, there is a result requirement from a previous 10K race.  For men the requirement is a result under 36 minutes, and for women a result under 40 minutes.

If you have a result qualifying you for participation in start group 1A, you can send an e-mail to info@midnattsloppet.com with an attached link to the result.

Runners in start group 1A may run in their own club gear and are not required to wear the Midnattsloppet race t-shirt during the race. The race shirt will anyway also be included in your start package.