Hometown innovation: Polestar and Göteborgsvarvet

Göteborgsvarvet is the world’s largest half-marathon. Held in Gothenburg since 1980, the event attracts over 60,000 participants. It’s also one of the world’s most sustainable races, certified according to the ISO-20121 international standard.

Suldan Hassan running in front of a Polestar 2 on a forest road.

Unfortunately, the race in its usual form was cancelled this year due to recent global events. However, the race organisers thought outside the box and settled on an innovative digital approach, allowing for contestants to complete the race wherever they like, posting their results via Strava. The digital approach resonated with us and given that it’s a hometown event with serious sustainability credentials, we decided to become an official partner and help make it happen.

Swedish-Somali distance runner Suldan Hassan ran his race at our very own proving ground in Hällered. Due to the unique set of circumstances faced, it demanded equally unique pace cars, which led to Hassan being accompanied by both the Polestar 1 and the Polestar 2. Hassan's virtual run was awarded first-place finisher with an impressive time of 1:12:02 for the 21.5 km (13.3 miles) run.

Göteborgsvarvet is a sustainable, hometown event which isn’t afraid to innovate and digitise when required. As such, it's a natural and perfect fit for Polestar.

01/03

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