Anne Edelved is one of the Strength Test’s foreign participants. The 55-year-old comes from Denmark, and lives in Holbæk on Zealand.

– I have always played sports, she says.

– Handball has been my favorite. There I played at the top level until I was 47 years old.

The Robinson Expedition

When Anne put the handball shoes on the shelf, a void appeared in her life. The active Dane wanted to try something new.

She herself had been following the reality show The Robinson Expedition for a long time. The concept is that a group of people will live on a deserted island with minimal equipment and food. They are divided into two teams, and fight against each other in various competitions.

– I have always loved competition, and I would like to try being a good person without access to food , says Anne, and continues:

– I came along, and it was a wild experience and challenge.

Anne had a total of 31 days on the island, and eventually finished in ninth place, out of a total of 27 participants. The challenges were in a row in those weeks.

– You get little to eat, sleep in the sand and are with people who are selfish and cannot be trusted. But the most important thing on the trip was that I was myself the whole way.

New challenges

Anne’s everyday life is also very active. The 55-year-old does yoga, pilates and swims in the sea all year round. In addition, she has always cycled to work, and in 2020 she signed up for Team Rynkeby Holbæk.

– They cycle to support children affected by cancer, she says, and adds:

– You buy a package of bike and clothes, and after many training rides you cycle to Paris in seven days. It is approx. 1450 km.

The corona pandemic put an end to the Paris trip that year, and the cycling team instead chose to cycle around Denmark at the same time. The following year, they luckily got to experience the trip to France.

But that is not the only long trip the fit Dane has experienced on two wheels.

– The longest I have cycled in a row is from Aarhus to Copenhagen. It is 370 km, and here I cycled together with Niels Erik Petersen.

It was also he who gave her the challenge to try Trondheim-Oslo in Styrkeprøven .

– So I am registered with five strong men, and I am looking forward to coming up and testing my strength in the beautiful country of Norway. I believe that the longer I am active, the better I feel. I love cycling and feeling the wind, the sun and the joy in my body, as well as beautiful nature.