-460km long run
Kungsleden 2026
through the last
european wilderness
Kungsleden 2026 - Coming Back to Where It All Began
The Kungsleden, or King’s Trail, is one of the most iconic long-distance trails in Europe and the Arctic. It’s a roughly 460 kilometre wilderness route through northern Sweden, running between Hemavan and Abisko. For the outdoor sport’s filmmaker Petr Pavlicek, this trail carries special meaning: it’s where his long-distance journey began, back in September 2018, when he attempted his first thru-hike as cameraman, running with a heavy backpack, filming a friend. Unfortunatelly he injured his ankle and completed only half the distance. A bit bitter but very valuable lesson.
Since 2018, he’s established 2 new long distance trails. The wildest 620 km long trail across the Czech Republic called Zapomenutá Stezka and the most difficult 3000 km long wilderness trail across Norway called Norge På Langs Trail, becoming historically the first person who crossed Norway purely through the wild nature. Now, in late August 2026, he’s returning to Kungsleden. It will be the shortest and technically easiest of these trails, but it is definitely not gonna be easy! This time he is chasing speed rather than distance, while recovering from a fresh knee injury from a similar project in Slovakia in late June 2026. The original goal, before the injury, was to complete Kungsleden in under 7 days. Now, the aim is simple. To finish! He will have 9 days to do so…
cca 460 km
Distance
cca +30000m
Vertical gain
max 9
Days on the road
30 min
Planned movie
Related articles and daily updates from the run
Kungsleden – Day 0
Once we start driving towards Hemavan in a few days, this is where the first blog post dedicated to the Kungsleden 2026 project will appear. Follow along as the story unfolds, from the road trip north to our very first steps on the legendary trail itself. Stay tuned.
Kungsleden run 2026 – Daily statistics
Follow the Kungsleden 2026 run in numbers, day by day. Click here for daily statistics — distances, elevation gain, and locations from every stage. You’ll also find a route overview, interactive maps, and everything you need to track our journey from Hemavan to Abisko.
My Kungsleden story
In 2018, a broken ankle stopped me at the halfway mark. First thru-hiking lesson learned. In 2026, I’m returning to where it all began. Here’s the story behind the Kungsleden project — what happened in between, what my goals are, and why I have only 9 days to finish it.
-PHOTO GALLERY-
A few pictures from the run along Kungsleden in 2018 which was Petr did not finish due to an injured ankle.
- GOALS -
There are a few goals of this adventure project:
- Testing own running limits on this technically easier (compared to my other projects) but still long and demanding Arctic trail
- Finishing the almost forgotten Kungsleden documentary which started in September 2018 – closing the circle
- Training “team cooperation” regarding support and media production for upcoming projects together with Stina Kajsa
- Rebuilding fitness, getting “back on track” and training for the Koruna Slovenska project, which was interrupted due to a knee injury in June 2026
- Team -
Kungsleden 2018 - teaser
A short teaser which Petr created before the Kungsleden running project in September 2018