Bob LeRette's Staging Area

I really enjoyed the Reykjavik Marathon 2019. Surrounded by days of rain, the weather on the marathon morning could not have been nicer. It was 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit from beginning to end. The first half was flat and scenic as advertised on the website. We ran right along the waterfront past the Harpa Music Hall and the Sun Voyager. However, they never mentioned that the second half was very hilly. The second half was mainly on bike paths through parks and along neighborhoods. I never would have seen these parts of the city without the race. The metal and t-shirt were pretty basic but I achieved a PR and left very happy.

The race is the morning of Reykjavík Culture Night which takes place all across Reykjavík with celebrations in city streets and squares, in museums and businesses. Many roads are closed and stages are set up on the main drag for free concerts. Fireworks over the harbor cap the festivities. I’m not sure if it’s so much a “culture” day as it is maybe their version of “The Purge.” I could hear drunk revelers from my hotel at 3AM. The next morning the streets were littered with trash but street cleaners were already working first thing in the morning. With all that said, it was a blast.

We did the Golden Circle Tour the next day that includes waterfalls, a geyser, an Icelandic Horse Farm and a visit to the Secret Lagoon, a thermal spa. The Secret Lagoon is not much of a secret, there were a couple hundred people there but it might be better than bathing with thousands at the Blue Lagoon. The water is maybe 100 degrees Fahrenheit; a little less than my hot tub at home.

Recommendations: 4 days is adequate to do it all unless you want to go hiking or camping too. Stay at the Radisson Blue 1919; it was 3-minute walk to the starting line and I was able to use my own bathroom and bypass the portable toilets completely. The hotel is a small boutique hotel in the middle of everything. It was a great location and we walked everywhere. The rooms are small by US standards. They are building a new Marriott a few blocks away that should be a great location too. They do not tip in Iceland, it’s all built into the price you pay for dinner. There isn’t a line for tipping on any credit card slips so if you must offer more you need to give cash. Servers do not expect it. My last tip …. Do not try the smoked puffin!

No expo beforehand but it was an easy no-frills way to pick up your bib and shirt at Millennium’s store quickly.

I think Millennium Running tried their best to put on a good experience for the runners. There was a Marathon, a Half Marathon, a Relay Marathon and a 5K all on the same day. The sponsor tent area was good and Veteran’s Park made a good athletes village. But there were only 584 runners in the marathon, with maybe a matching amount of half marathoners. When the half peeled off you could really feel the difference. I wasn’t a fan of the relay going on at the same time. It was discouraging to see the fresher runners on the same course – it was the first race I’ve seen that with that format.

The first half was pretty brutal – really hilly and mainly uphill. The 2nd half wasn’t as bad but the Goffstown Trail was a gradual uphill for 2 miles before looping around the women’s prison and coming back. The hills and trail had you pretty beat up by then but looking into the yard at the women’s prison you realize it could be worse. It was a lot of runners to put on a fairly narrow stone-dust trail be careful of the roots and rocks. I saw a couple face plants. Besides for that loop, you actually had to pass the finish line on Elm Street and run a loop across Bridge Street (2 miles) before coming back to the finish. So discouraging to see the finish and then find out you had 2 more miles to go.

Water stops were good – Powerade at every station with Gu’s at two of them. Volunteers were very nice. More spectators along the course than I would have thought. Overall, I hated the course and other runners I talked with on the road were not fans either. Shirt was very nice! Parking was plentiful and close to the starting line.

This could be a nice race if a friendlier course can be mapped out. To be clear, I thought the course was terrible but everything else about it was good.

A couple days in a van with sleep deprivation and six sweaty partners – what could be better. The website has all the details so I won’t bother digging into that except to say the race is well managed – medals were awesome but the kale salad at the end was not what the body was craving.

This is all really about how well you like the people you are sharing the van with. You have to enjoy the conversation, music and disorganization that comes with sharing a small space for 200 miles and 30 hours straight. You really don’t need to get along with the other van on your team – you only see them a couple times. We rolled out the sleeping bags for a couple hours twice but it was loud with other vans rolling in. I got very little sleep, maybe two hours in 30 hours.

The runs during the night were fun and the team spirit on our team was terrific. As expected, the last leg for each runner was tough but made you feel a sense of accomplishment.

I enjoyed the race very much but it was entirely because I had an awesome group of runners in my van.