Tjejmilen - A Running Festival and a Girls’ Weekend

Tjejmilen is a women’s running event that takes place between Djurgården and central Stockholm. The race has been going for more than 40 years, and I think this was probably my ninth time running it. But I have to admit that this year, I was probably more out of shape than ever. Unfortunately.

Despite that, I managed to complete the race. It was really tough in the beginning. But the weather was absolutely beautiful, which always makes things feel a little easier. Although, when the sun is blazing down, it can also feel like your head is overheated. The further I got into the race, the tougher it became. My legs felt heavier and heavier. But somehow, I managed to tick off kilometre after kilometre, and before I knew it, I was crossing the finish line!

And after all that hard work, there is such an amazing feeling when you cross that finish line. Once again, I have proven to myself that I can do it. That I can keep going and make it through ten kilometres, even when it is tough.

We are four friend that do this together, and it is not just a running event for us. It is also a girls’ weekend. Every year we say, “This is the last time,” but once we have completed the race, we start thinking about whether we should do it for “just one more year”. “Just one more time.”

Our tradition is that I travel into Stockholm the evening before, since I have the furthest to travel. The following day I meet up the rest of the group. We usually head straight to the Tjejmilen Expo to pick up our race numbers, to get that out of the way. After being held at Gärdet for several years, the expo has now moved to Kungsträdgården. It is a bit like a mini trade fair, with exhibitors and pop-up shops. This year, both skier Charlotte Kalla and dancer Tobias Karlsson were there talking to participants. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to stop by their booths.

After a hearty breakfast on race day, we start getting ready. We get changed and check when and how we are going to get out to Gärdet, where the race starts. On the way to the metro, we meet other people who are just as excited as we are. Then you simply follow the stream of runners all heading in the same direction.

We find our “meeting point”, which we agree on beforehand as the place where we will meet up once the race is over. A place to celebrate the fact that we did it!

While waiting for the start, we walk around among the exhibitors, who have now moved out to Gärdet. Since there are so many participants — around 20,000 people every year — there are different starting groups. There are 12 starting groups in 2026. As our start time approaches, we make our way to the starting area and enter the corral for our own starting group.

There is music, a warm-up and lots of cheering. Everyone is incredibly excited and ready to go. A speaker starts talking and getting everyone pumped up, telling us that the start is just around the corner. And then the race begins — and everyone takes off.

Since part of the race takes place on Djurgården, you run through beautiful, lush green surroundings. Along the route there are musicians, water stations and plenty of other things to support and encourage the runners. When we reach the more central parts of Stockholm, we are greeted by spectators cheering us on. You really don’t feel alone, and everything around you creates such a positive energy.

I also have my own running playlist, which I have put together based on different running paces to match my running style. Sometimes it is more of a relaxed groove, like “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, and sometimes it is more of an all-out sprint, like “Faster Harder Scooter” by Scooter.

When the finish line starts getting closer, you are greeted by signs telling you: “Only 750 metres to go”, “250 metres to go”, “75 metres to go”... Never have so few metres felt so long!

After the race, we are all pretty exhausted, both physically and mentally, so we usually have what we call an “after run”. During our after run, we talk about the race and everything else, have some snacks and crisps, before it is time for dinner. We often choose a restaurant close to the hotel, since none of us really feels like walking much more that day… #haha.

A lot of people say they are quite impressed that we keep doing this year after year, and I would definitely recommend everyone to join in. There isn’t that much pressure or focus on extreme competition — everyone is welcome (women only, of course!). And you can choose whether you want to run with or without official timing.

It is simply all about having fun!

We haven’t decided yet, but it would definitely be fun to do it again next year. That would make it my tenth time…

“Just one more time.”