The (success) story of SOLA
Why is SOLA actually called “SOLA”?
In Swedish, ‘Sola’ means to sunbathe. SOLA took place originally in Sweden, between the towns of Gothenburg and Karlstad. The run covered 252.7 km and was divided into 25 stages, 10 of which had to be run by women. The event was named SOLA because ‘sola i Karlstad’ is a well-known saying – not only in Sweden but also in Norway and Denmark. It was allegedly inspired by Eva Lisa Holtz and her sunny nature. She was a famous Karlstad waitress in the early 19th century, and all men would fall for her. Everybody wanted to see beautiful Eva.
From Sweden via Zurich and Winterthur to Basel
In 1972, a team of the Academic Sports Association Zurich (ASVZ) participated at SOLA in Sweden. A year later, the ASVZ organised the first SOLA relay race in Zurich. Today, the Zurich SOLA ranges amongst the top Swiss runs with 1.000 teams and 14.000 participants attending. In 2016 the first SOLA run was organised in Winterthur (“Winti-SOLA”). Finally, in 2018, the first SOLA in Northwestern Switzerland took place: the SOLA Basel. The SOLA Basel has a total length of 80 kilometers and is divided into 10 stages.
The run that connects
The SOLA Basel, “the run that connects”, connects city and country, fast and leisurely, old and young, men and women. For children, families, school classes as well as junior sections, the Mini SOLA was also created, where teams share sections between 150 and 830 meters.