Oslo Marathon
Oslo, Norway
- Oslo triple, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The BMW Oslo Marathon is Norway’s largest road run, with roughly 20.000 runners. Here can you find distances for everyone – everything from children run (500 m) 3K, 10K, half marathon (21K) and marathon for the very fittest. Start and finish area are at Rådhusplassen. Fantastic atmosphere in the streets … MORE
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Rolling hills with uneven surface
Expo: Centrally located across the street from the Oslo City Hall and the Nobel Peace Center. Packet pickup was seamless. Race entry included bib with timing chip and drawstring bag; … MORE
Expo: Centrally located across the street from the Oslo City Hall and the Nobel Peace Center. Packet pickup was seamless. Race entry included bib with timing chip and drawstring bag; I paid an additional 100 NOK for the race shirt as memorabilia.
Race start: held just outside the Expo; I couldn’t find the signs for bag check and had to ask one of the volunteers for directions. The bags were not held by the volunteers but instead they served as security guards to the area. In my opinion I prefer them checking in the bags instead of us organizing our own and walk in/out by ourselves for security purposes. There were only two waves for marathons (9:25am for elites and 9:30am for everyone else). Additional corrals would be helpful as it was a bit difficult to pace in the beginning of the congested race.
Weather: 20 degree Celsius with little breeze. A lot warmer than I expected in Scandinavia for the fall.
Course: A lot more challenging than expected. The course essentially repeated the half marathon course which made it a bit more predictable and lackluster. The race passed by Vigeland Park and downtown Oslo with never-ending rolling hills in 200 ft+ elevation. As a road runner, the worst part about this was running in a combination of asphalt/cobblestones/gravel which mirrors that of a trail race. I constantly found myself slowing down to keep my balance to avoid any injury. Saw someone running barefoot, kudos to him but ouch!
Aid Stations: Water/electrolyte at every station and bananas/pepsi at later stations. Red bull and coffee mixed with pepsi (weird combo) was provided at one point as well.
Crowd Support: Perhaps the best part about this race. Spectators shouted my name many times (printed on bib) with words of encouragement in Norwegian to cheer me on. Amazing people and great vibe!
Race Finish: Pretty standard with medal upon crossing the finish line as well as snacks/bottled water/bananas/bread.
Final Thoughts: My performance was disappointing due to cramps and lack of preparation for the course (combination of rolling hills and uneven running surface as described above), but the crowd support was definitely first class. This course is not PR friendly and due to the repetitiveness (running the half marathon course twice) I don’t recommend this race overall.
City loop on so-so roads
Great discount as 100halfmarathonsclub member for the registration fee. Easy registration and race packet pick up with nice expo. The different distances have seperate starts and there are corals with … MORE
Great discount as 100halfmarathonsclub member for the registration fee. Easy registration and race packet pick up with nice expo. The different distances have seperate starts and there are corals with different starting times and thats good. Most of the race is on relatively narrow streets. Little altitude changes but asphalt, broken asphalt, gravel, dirt… with the change of underground it almost felt like a trail race. Loop starts at the city hall, goes along the opera through a container harbour and the inner city. I enjoyed the scenery. Many pace makers. Great medal and drinks/ food in the end. I recommend the race