Don’t stop with just one Loppet — try all four!
The Loppet Signature Challenge dares participants to experience all four of Loppet’s signature events throughout the year. Begin with the City of Lakes Loppet in the winter (your choice of classic ski, skate ski or fat bike marathon), race the Sitka Salmon Shares CityTrail Loppet in the spring, the Tri-Loppet or Du-Loppet in the summer, and run the Surly Brewing Co. Trail Loppet in the fall.
Note for 2021: We are currently seeking a sponsor for the series and are not sure if we will conduct the series scoring in 2021. However, we are still offering a registration package, as usual, for the four events if you register for the series before Feb 6 (Feb 5, 11:59pm).
Information about the series remain below for your information. If we move ahead with scoring, you don’t need to do anything except participate in the events. We include everyone.
Congratulations to our 2020 champions and winners of a stay at Bearskin Lodge on the Gunflint Trail! Note: An individual can only win the Bearskin Lodge stay once every four years.
- Men’s Overall Champion: Brian Gregg
- Bearskin Lodge stay goes to Men’s 2nd Place Overall, Andrew Tilman.
- Women’s Overall Champion (and Bearskin Lodge winner): Caitlin Gregg
- Random Bearskin Lodge Draw Winner: Patrick Horst
Check out 2020 highlights!
- View Final Standings
- A quick video to remind you about some of the fun we had this past year despite the challenges of 2020: 2020 Challenge Video
- A special shout out to this list of intrepid Loppet adventurers that did 3 or 4 of the Loppet signature events: Roster of Top Loppet Adventurers
How it Works
Complete Three of Four Events
Racers earn Hoigaard’s Challenge Points at the Hoigaard’s Challenge Events throughout the year. Those events include:
- The Loppet Festival’s Skate Ski Loppet OR Classic Ski Loppet OR Fat Tire Loppet
- The Sitka Salmon Shares CityTrail 10 Mile
- The Individual Du-Loppet OR Individual Tri-Loppet
- The Surly Brewing Co. Trail Loppet Half Marathon
A racer’s top three Hoigaard’s Challenge event finishes count toward their point totals; a racer may therefore skip one of the four events without penalty or do all four events and have their poorest finish dropped.
Compete for Overall and Age Group Awards
Racers compete for prestige in two ways:
- Overall Awards go to the top three females and top three males among all finishers.
- Age Category Awards go to the top three females and top three males within each ten-year age category (e.g. females 19 and under, 20-29, 30-39… 80+).
Age Category is based on racer age on December 31 of the race year. Male and Female constitute the Loppet Foundation’s two Race Categories; a racer may place themselves into the Race Category of their choice.
Hoigaard’s Challenge Points : Overview
Racers receive Hoigaard’s Challenge Points based on their results in Hoigaard’s Challenge events. The individuals that rack up the most points over the course of the season will come out on top.
Points are primarily a function of how far behind the winner an athlete finishes a race; a racer who takes twice as long to complete a race as the winner will receive half as many “Base Points.”
But it also matters who earns a place in the top three overall and within their age group. Those who earn their way onto the podium will earn Podium Bonus Points. This means that a photo-finish after a 2 hour race has a real impact on the scoreline.
Hoigaard’s Challenge Points : Details
Hoigaard’s Challenge Points are calculated as follows:
- Base Points + Overall Podium Bonus Points = Overall Points
- Base Points + Age Group Podium Bonus Points = Age Group Points
Base Points are a function of a racers finish time as follows:
- Base Points = (Race Category Winner’s Finish Time) / (Individual’s Finish Time) x 1000.
Overall Podium Bonus Points go to the top three finishers within each race category, 100 to the winner, 50 to the runner up, and 20 to the third place finisher.
Age Group Podium Bonus points go to the top three finishers within each race category, 100 to the first place within the age group, 50 to second, and 20 to third.
Awards Party
Due to COVID-19 concerns, the Hoigaard’s Challenge Awards Party will not take place in 2020. We are working on alternative methods to recognize participants and winners this year. Stay tuned!
Prizes
Coming soon for 2020! If you have questions about the 2019 competition or prizes, please email registration@loppet.org. 2019 standings are listed below.
Register
Every competitor who races in any Hoigaard’s Challenge event earns Hoigaard’s Challenge Points and we’ll tally their points throughout the year.
An individual may register for each event individually or, in anticipation of the season, for the full series at once.
Full series Hoigaard’s Challenge registration is available through January 31, 2020 only. After January 31, participants must register for events separately, depending upon availability.
Registration Closed
Registration and transaction fees are non-refundable, including in the event of delay, rescheduling, or cancellation of an event or program. An event or program registration is not transferable to another person or another event for any reason, including injury. Participating under another person's name will result in disqualification.