The Midnight Sun Marathon is an arctic adventure for runners. In the summer, Tromsø has the midnight sun, with long bright days and nights where the sun never sets. These street races are characterized by strong contrasts and intense experiences. Five different distances are offered under MSM. The race was …
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The Midnight Sun Marathon is an arctic adventure for runners. In the summer, Tromsø has the midnight sun, with long bright days and nights where the sun never sets. These street races are characterized by strong contrasts and intense experiences.
Five different distances are offered under MSM. The race was a great success with 7,000 runners from 88 nations taking part and creating an adventurous running party in Tromsø.
The race is a public festival that not only gathers participants and officials, but the whole town cheers the runners on at the finish line. Many of the participants return year after year to experience the intimate atmosphere surrounding the event.
The Marathon starts and finishes in the city centre. After 2K you’ll be crossing The Bridge of Tromsø. The bridge rises from 6 up to 43 meters over sea level and brings runners to Tromsdalen where the sight of the Arctic Cathedral with the mountains behind is a great view. After running about 20K the runners recross the bridge, and return through the city centre. The second half of the course is mainly flat and quite easy to run. The course has been measured and controlled by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS). Max time limit for marathon is 5 hrs. 30 min.
The Mizuno Half-Marathon course is relatively flat and follows the same route as the last 21 kilometers of the marathon course. The course is controlled by AIMS. Max time limit for the half marathon is 3 hrs. 30 min.
Among the participants of the Mila 10 km Race, you will find some of the fastest runners and those who are competing only with themselves. The course goes from The City Centre around the southern tip of the island and returns back to the City Centre and finish line on the Mainstreet Storgata. The course is controlled by AIMS.
The Mini-Marathon of 4.2 km is a fun run for all ages.
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Rainbow across the fjords on midnight
Seriously, I saw a double rainbow spanning from one snowy mountain to another across the fjords. I doubt there can even be races with more beautiful scenery. I mean I … MORE
Seriously, I saw a double rainbow spanning from one snowy mountain to another across the fjords. I doubt there can even be races with more beautiful scenery. I mean I love California’s rough coast and I did Big Sur which is advertised as one of the most beautiful marathons out there and the ads don’t lie at all, but still it’s no match for this one.
The course is also pretty much flat except for the rather gentle uphill and downhill when crossing the bridge(it might look high from distance but it’s barely noticeable when you run it), and there’s zero chance of hot weather spoiling your performance, so I guess this might be a good race for PR, although I did not even try to as I ran it 2 weeks after setting one, just to absorb the beauty.
Downside is that travelling to Norway is pretty expensive overall, they don’t even have such thing as cheap food, there’s expensive food and michelin-star level restaurants to choose from. Race entry fee may be not that high as some major marathons but it doesn’t even include a t-shirt. But if you can afford it, it is worth every penny. I had one short vacation at a price of two and no regrets. Also, Tromsø being a small town, influx of marathoners means every place serving pasta is going to be full!