The post Emelie Forsberg Pre-2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Interview appeared first on iRunFar.
Coming back to race the event for the first time since winning it in 2015, Emelie Forsberg (Sweden) lines up for the 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon hoping to start a multi-year return to racing. In the following interview, Emelie talks about how her life has changed in the past 11 years, why she’s returning to Transvulcania, her future running goals, and some of her immediate hopes for the race.
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Emelie Forsberg Pre-Transvulcania Ultramarathon Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Emelie Forsberg. It’s a couple days before the 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Here we find ourselves in La Palma again, Emelie. How are you?
Emelie Forsberg: Yeah, I’m good. I’m really happy to be here. I feel so excited and calm and peaceful, and it will be just so nice to explore this race again.
iRunFar: There’s so much to talk with you about. It’s been a long time since we’ve been on camera together, but I want to start with La Palma and this race. People have called you the queen of this island and of this race for years. You have a long history with Transvulcania. Do you want to talk about that for just a minute?
Forsberg: Yeah. I came here 2013 and mainly because Anna Frost, she spoke so warmly about the race and the island and the people, and then I got to experience it myself. That year with Núria Picas, we had a real nice run and battle in the end together. And then I came back in 2014, but I actually cut my hand, you see the scar here.
iRunFar: You still have your Transvulcania scar.
Forsberg: So I started the race, but the muscle just fell out, and I was bleeding, and I really started to faint. So they drove me to the … Yeah, I needed to get stitches and everything.
iRunFar: It was the high drama of 2015, if I remember.
Forsberg: Yeah. So then I came back 2016, had another good race. And since then, I haven’t been back.
iRunFar: And here we are in 2026. So, nine years later, is that right? Or 10?
Forsberg: No, it was 2015 when I came back. Sorry. So it’s 11 years later.
iRunFar: 11 years later.
Forsberg: Yeah.
iRunFar: It’s been a long time, but do you feel a familiarity in getting here and seeing, well, it’s really interesting geography with the volcanoes and the contrast of green vegetation and black rock.
Forsberg: Yeah. Or just the weather, how it’s changing. It’s really nice. And I haven’t been here since the volcano. So I think it will be a different terrain to explore, but then also I’m sure I will recognize things and it will be fun to see. Just like, “Ah, I remember this or this.” And driving here from the airport, I was like, “Oh, there is a beach.” And I didn’t know I remember that, but it’s familiar.
iRunFar: Yeah. A lot of things have changed for you since you were here 11 years ago. It’s not like in 2016 you were a one-dimensional human that was just a racer and just a runner, but your public personality then was very racing-focused, and your public personality now is very diverse. You’re a farmer, you’re a skier, you’re a mother, you’re a wife, you’re a runner. Just talk a little bit about positioning, coming back to this race as such a different person.
Forsberg: As you said, I think all of us evolve in 10 years. And as a racer, as a person, I just think as everyone, we just get more, I don’t know how to explain, but everyone evolves differently. I just feel so grateful for everything. I mean, just to be standing here again, it’s a big thing that I don’t take for granted or that I can actually tell my sponsor that I want to give myself three more years and they are like, “Yes, you should.” To have that support.
And with Kilian [Jornet] too, he’s super excited for me to go back to do a bit more racing this year. And I mean, I still care about it. I think it’s super interesting to improve, and I love training, and I think both me and Kilian now do it a bit more systematic because we had so much time before. We spent so much time in the mountains doing different things and many long days, and now we don’t have too many of those days, but we still include them. And I find that’s also a new thing for me to be a bit more structured, and I know I need to do this and this and this, and then I see improvement there also. So I still feel like I’m evolving a lot as an athlete. I don’t remember the question.
iRunFar: Just where Transvulcania sits for you coming back as just an evolved person?
Forsberg: Yeah. So that’s why I was like, “Okay, so this year I just want to do races that I really like and have a good feeling with and try to come back to see how I can do them now.” So I was planning my summer, just the races that I’m really excited for. So Transvulcania was number one, and I was writing Frosty [Anna Frost] that she should come. And so I planned it already in the autumn, and then I had some setbacks during the winter, a big injury. I couldn’t run for a few months. But no, I’m super happy to be here.
iRunFar: You’re a mom of three now, and your youngest is around a year old?
Forsberg: Yeah.
iRunFar: So you’ve had a year or so to sort of cope with life with three children and cope with getting the body back towards fitness again. You said you had a foot setback as part of that journey?
Forsberg: Yeah, I think the family constellation is wonderful. Our girls, they love our little Lou, she’s the most loved little one. They really take care of her and play with her and it’s really nice to see. And I think that I came back, my lowest level is still pretty, I mean, high. You’re still an athlete. So even though I didn’t train too much during pregnancy, I still kept my fitness okay. So I could do a race in November feeling okay, and I was like, “Transvulcania will be great.” If I just keep these kilometers going. But then I tore all the ligaments in the foot and had many months with struggles.
iRunFar: So now you’re sort of restarting the run training recently, a month of running, yeah?
Forsberg: Yeah, exactly. I had four weeks of good running. Until then, it was 10 kilometers, 20, and then I got pain.
iRunFar: The world of trail running has obviously changed a lot in this time, where you’ve been maybe focusing more on the home, more on becoming a mother. And just the scene, the scene is wild now, isn’t it? But you’re a fan, you’re a very avid fan, and so you’ve been a part of it and watching it progress. Yeah, what are your thoughts on it? Because a race like Transvulcania evolves, it changes, but it also has its own personality, and you’ve come because it’s different from all the rest.
Forsberg: Yeah. I mean, as you said, it’s still the same race as it was many years ago, and it has been part of some series, but I don’t know if it’s standing alone now as their own race.
iRunFar: It’s a standalone, yeah.
Forsberg: Which is, in a way, really cool. I mean, I love the series, and it has really been pushing the sport in a certain direction. It’s really cool to see, for example, what Golden Trails have been able to do for the short distance. But yeah, just seeing many more at the high level that are pushing the sport, pushing each other, and also demands for the women rights and everything, it’s really cool to see what it has become, and being a part of it, and see where it will continue to evolve towards.
iRunFar: You mentioned a minute ago that you’re thinking about three years of competitive running. And so is this supposed to be at the front end of that, you’re thinking?
Forsberg: Yeah, this is really the start.
iRunFar: This is the start. Today is the start.
Forsberg: Yeah.
iRunFar: What have you got on your mind? When you really get at the calendar and look, what are you dreaming of?
Forsberg: It’s also fascinating because we see older women, older, but you know, they are doing super well. So I just wanted also to give myself three more years and see how I can improve. But yeah, my dream is to come back to a bit of 70- and 80-kilometer races because I really loved them before, keep on doing some marathons, and maybe try another 100 miler again. And Hardrock 100, it’s a dream for sure. And then maybe another, I haven’t really thought about it, but I know Hardrock is … I already actually have entry to a qualifier just because I wanted to have the …
iRunFar: I love that.
Forsberg: For trying to get into the lottery of Hardrock.
iRunFar: So last question for you. You’re coming to this race with, I guess, unideal training. You’re healthy, your foot is back together again, but a short training bout. What does your best day look like for you on Saturday?
Forsberg: Truly, when I say if I reach the finish line, I will be happy. But of course, the faster I do it, the happier I will be. So I really don’t know. I would say if I do under nine hours, I would be happy. But, I hope.
iRunFar: I love it. Under nine hours, or bust.
Forsberg: Yeah.
iRunFar: Emelie Forsberg, you have always been a breath of fresh air, and this is the same. So best of luck to you on Saturday.
Forsberg: Thank you. Really nice to see you here.
iRunFar: Likewise.
Emelie Forsberg Pre-2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Interview by Meghan Hicks.
