The most sparsely populated country in Europe
somehow avoided going past the “ Penis Museum ” which we ( actually my wife ) spotted shortly after arriving in the city . Unfortunately , our brief stay and packed itinerary meant we were not able to visit this well-endowed institution , and I also didn ’ t really want to waste valuable holiday time looking at politicians … ( For the record , the Icelandic Phallological Museum houses over 300 penises from more than 100 species of mammal .)
At several points , there are long stretches along the coastline , which is very pleasant . All the beaches have black volcanic sand , but we also trotted past their premier “ white sand ” beach . ( Disclaimer : The white sand is imported ). I didn ’ t see anyone swimming , though . The last third of the race goes into the countryside before heading back into the city along the coastline . Another interesting factoid is that Iceland was one of the major filming locations for Game of Thrones , with most of the scenes from “ beyond the wall ” shot in Iceland – and in the last 10km of the marathon , I passed plenty of ‘ white walkers ,’ those fatigued runners who ’ d definitely hit ( and passed well beyond ) the wall ! runners . ( One person missing from the marathon line-up this year was the country ’ s president . He usually runs the marathon , but since getting elected to power , he has apparently been a little busier , and thus only had time to train for the half marathon .)
Iceland also has some great trail runs . The most famous of these – and one for the bucket list – is the 55km Laugavegur Trail Ultra . The Laugavegur is the most popular trail in Iceland and gets so much traffic that it shares a name with the main shopping street in Reykjavik !
Beer Matters & Clattering Pans
We were fortunate to score free accommodation in the city centre , just a few hundred metres from the start , thanks to a former boss who now lives in Iceland . The free accommodation meant that I was able to justify the odd beer , although at R150 a pint , my major concern pre-race was dehydration . After all , you get very thirsty running a marathon ! I shouldn ’ t really complain , though , because the marathon has been going since 1984 , and beer ( but not wine or spirits ) was illegal in Iceland until 1989 . As a person who is naturally full of empathy , I really feel for the poor finishers in those early years who had to find another means to quench their post-marathon thirst .
Back to 2017 , and the start was at a leisurely 8:40am on a Saturday morning . They use self-seeding batches , which worked pretty well , and even with both the full and half runners starting together , there was no major congestion after the gun fired . There was also no need to dodge around portly runners , because with the price of food in Iceland , “ obesity is not as prevalent in other developed countries ,” according to Wikipedia . We were lucky with the weather – Odin ( Chief god in Norse mythology ) blessed us with perfect summer conditions . There was very little wind , and the temperature peaked at 14 ° C – hot for Iceland , but well below the all-time record high of 26 ° C .
The route was scenic and very flat , with the highest point only 35m above sea level . The first part of the race is run through the city and the streets are lined with locals who show their support by clattering kitchen implements together . Interestingly , this is the same method people used to protest in the streets after a few silly bankers bankrupted the whole country in 2008 , banging kitchen implements together , but Iceland is actually at present the most peaceful country in the world , in spite of the population ’ s Viking origins .
So Much to See !
Water tables were placed every 4km and offered Powerade ( blue flavour only ) as well as bananas in the second half . Although we ran past most of the major museums in the city , we
They had a decent selection of post-race snacks , which included pastries , pretzels and chocolates . If you ’ re hungry and have big enough pockets , you can pretty much pay for your trip with bite-size Snickers bars after the race ! ( Have I mentioned how expensive the food in Iceland is ?)
Time to Play Tourist
Iceland has some fantastic geothermal pools , and your race pack includes entry into any of the public baths in the city . As one-time visitors , we decided to book an afternoon tour to the most famous of the geothermal pools , The Blue Lagoon , which is about an hour from Reykjavik . The Blue Lagoon gets its colour from the way silica in the water refracts sunlight , and provides a great way to soak tired marathon legs ( while drinking some really expensive beer ).
Marathon entrants also get a discount on all tours offered by Reykjavik Excursions , and we did the highly recommended Golden Circle Tour the following day . This includes visits to the exploding geyser at Geysir , the impressive Gulfoss Falls , and Þingvellir National Park , where you can stand between the European and American tectonic plates . Our tour guide mentioned that international flights from Iceland were something of an ordeal in the 80s . Apparently , the duty-free section of the airport was the only place you could drink beer in Iceland , and this meant that no one was ever late for check-in … but they were all usually ‘ well on their way ’ before the flight took off !
The marathon is timed to coincide with Culture Night , where over one third of the total Icelandic population hit the streets for a party . All the national museums offer free access and there are various music concerts around the city . We were fortunate enough to have a bird ’ s eye view of the heavy metal concert from our flat , but this did mean that trying get an early night was not an option . Culture Night is officially terminated by a fireworks display just before midnight , which was spectacular .
Reykjavik Marathon is definitely an excellent option as a unique destination marathon . If offers the benefits and organisation of a big city marathon , whilst keeping the charm and distinctiveness of an out-of-town marathon . Maybe one day I ’ ll make it back there to run the Laugavegur Trail …
Resting tired legs in the Blue Lagoon
Spectacular fireworks to end Culture Night
About the Author
The Running Mann has run over 240 marathons and ultras , and his current mission is to run every marathon in South Africa . He recently fulfilled a lifetime goal of securing a shoe sponsorship from The Sweatshop Broadacres and Asics South Africa ( and a running kit sponsorship from Runderwear ), thus allowing him to run more races and share their stories . You can follow his adventures on Twitter , Facebook or Instagram , and on his popular blog .
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