There are several obvious reasons for foreign marathon runners to pick Reykjavik, not least the fact that the running conditions are usually extremely comfortable – the route is smoothly paved, while the weather tends to be breezy and in the mid-teens centigrade.
The atmosphere surrounding a race is also a hugely important factor for most runners, and the atmosphere at the Reykjavík race is electric. While the Icelanders would enthusiastically support the race anyway, it is actually planned to coincide with ‘Culture Night’ (Menningarnótt), a national event that brings up to a third of the entire population of Iceland onto the streets of the capital.
Another obvious reason to run is the city itself: the Viking name, Reykjavík, may literally translate as ‘smoky bay’, but the name in fact refers to the steam rising from Iceland’s many geothermal springs. Reykjavík has some of the cleanest air of any city. Situated on a peninsula, water features heavily in the self-proclaimed ‘Party Capital of the North’, with the old town even nestled around a large pond called Tjörnin. Reykjavík has the very unusual feel of a modern international city trying to fit into a nineteenth-century fishing village. The downtown area of Reykjavik is known for its vibrant atmosphere, with a mix of modern and historic buildings, shops, restaurants, and cultural attractions. The city’s compact size makes it easy to explore on foot, Reykjavik offers a unique blend of Icelandic charm and cosmopolitan energy.
The race offers an atmosphere which is both relaxed and welcoming. Around 1,500 runners participate in the marathon and 3,000 in the half marathon, making both races less crowded than is generally the case in larger events. Since the Reykjavik Marathon also includes 10K and a Fun run (3K), it’s also a family event and fits all age groups and levels.
Although only around 220,000 people live in the larger Reykjavik area, large crowds gather in the streets to support and motivate the runners. However, parts of the course pass through uninhabited areas where there are few spectators, giving the runners a chance to enjoy Iceland’s natural environment and the spectacular scenery. The marathon passes through downtown Reykjavik, a residential area, landmarks, rivers, and along the coastline offering stunning views of the surrounding ocean and mountains. It’s a fantastic way to explore the city, get a taste of Iceland’s unique landscapes, and immerse yourself in the local running culture.
The course is measured by certified AIMS measurer and accredited by the Icelandic Athletic Federation.
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Excellent destination race!
Overall an excellent race and an incredible destination. Well organized, great on-course support and great spectator support. Mostly flat course and a nice tour of the city. MORE
Overall an excellent race and an incredible destination. Well organized, great on-course support and great spectator support. Mostly flat course and a nice tour of the city.
Must See!
Beautiful race along the water, followed by the Icelandic Culture Night. Basically the entire country comes out to party. There are distances from 3k up so the whole family can … MORE
Beautiful race along the water, followed by the Icelandic Culture Night. Basically the entire country comes out to party. There are distances from 3k up so the whole family can participate. Stay longer and get out of the city and do a bus tour to see the geysirs, waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, and hot rivers and springs. Also fuel up with fresh lobster, whale, puffin, lamb, and horse. Amazing country with great people.
COOL Summer Marathon option
Aid every 4k. Friendly race staff. Relatively Flat course with a slight hill around 15k-mark Friendly locals. And usually occurs during their "culture night" celebration. Think 4th of July for … MORE
Aid every 4k. Friendly race staff.
Relatively Flat course with a slight hill around 15k-mark
Friendly locals.
And usually occurs during their “culture night” celebration. Think 4th of July for us Yankees, the Icelanders celebrate their nation and cultural heritage on that night . The day’s festivities begin with the running events and end with fireworks around midnight.
Reykjavik - Great Race and Great Trip
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 … MORE
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!
Flat and fast with ocean views
It's in Iceland so it's a relatively cheap and easy flight for most North Americans and Europeans, but ridiculously expensive to spend time in the vicinity. I honestly don't know … MORE
It’s in Iceland so it’s a relatively cheap and easy flight for most North Americans and Europeans, but ridiculously expensive to spend time in the vicinity. I honestly don’t know why Iceland has anything smaller than the equivalent of a $5 bill in their currency. Ok but the race is flat until about 15km and then only one slow, mild up hill which you then come back down. I saw a multiple limb amputee making good time on a skateboard up that hill and promised myself never to complain about hills ever again. Weather was perfect for my run. Iceland never gets hot, so it’s great for running. Lots of music along the route and my fav was definitely the Icelandic folk music group. Not your average race grooves!
Something to note for North Americans: they sort the results on gun time. You’ll be given your chip time, but you’re on your own to re-sort the results based on chip time assuming you didn’t elbow your way to the start line, which you probably didn’t with 4000 runners. Oh and they screwed up the distance this year and accidentally made the course too short. Bummer.
Lovely race, but cheap medal!
I have run Reykjavik half marathon 3 times and I really do like the race and the city. The course is beautiful and except of a few hills it´s a … MORE
I have run Reykjavik half marathon 3 times and I really do like the race and the city. The course is beautiful and except of a few hills it´s a quite flat and fast course. All runners get a T-Shirt and a medal. To be honest it´s definitely not one of my favorite medals, but the race itself is one my favorite ones – everything is easy going and fun!
A fabulous destination race
I ran this race purely for fun and loved every single second. We were blessed with perfect weather...bright sunshine, blue skies yet a little cold. The 10k route is nearly … MORE
I ran this race purely for fun and loved every single second. We were blessed with perfect weather…bright sunshine, blue skies yet a little cold. The 10k route is nearly entirely flat, it goes through residential neighborhoods then along the waterfront. The crowd support is second to none throughout. It was crowded, so if you’re after a PR, make sure you go to the front. I had to walk a few times at the start and wasn’t able to run freely until M3. But the atmosphere was wonderful, the volunteers at check in were friendly and spoke good English and we loved it. We were able to register my family on the race morning and despite what the website said, my under twelve YO was able to register in person. The t shirt was decent, the medal was simple but nice. We really really loved this race, my entire family loved it. Can’t quite stop raving, sorry!
Amazing - just like the country!
LOVED this race! It's on the smaller side, and spectator support is fairly thin the second half of the race, so the latter miles can be a bit lonely. But … MORE
LOVED this race! It’s on the smaller side, and spectator support is fairly thin the second half of the race, so the latter miles can be a bit lonely. But weather was perfect, scenery was unbeatable, and it capped off a perfect vacation in an absolutely incredible country!
Race was well-organized. Easy expo. Would have liked more water stations, but I carried my own and was fine. Best part is that Culture Night is later that day, so you can go drink plenty of beer afterwards and enjoy the festivities without any guilt (you just burned all those calories, after all…)
Awesome
This race was totally awesome. It is during the Iceland Cultural Celebration so there are many activities like free museum entries and hot spring visits. The race course is not … MORE
This race was totally awesome. It is during the Iceland Cultural Celebration so there are many activities like free museum entries and hot spring visits. The race course is not difficult and is well marked. Iceland is very pretty and the weather was perfect.
Make a vacation of it. If you fly Icelandic Air you may go to Reyjavik for a week long layover on your way to somewhere else. It was our layover to Stavanger, Norway, where we did another race the following weekend.
I love Reykjavik!
The Reykjavik Half Marathon is a very nice race with a super atmosphere. The marathon takes place on the same day as the biggest cultural festival Menninganott and the vibes … MORE
The Reykjavik Half Marathon is a very nice race with a super atmosphere. The marathon takes place on the same day as the biggest cultural festival Menninganott and the vibes in the city are gorgeous! Live music everywhere. The course is flat and beautiful. This time the weather could not have been better. The medal could be nicer…
Marathon followed by an all city party!
The course was a very scenic combination of downtown Reykjavik, residential neighbourhoods, city parks, rivers and the seaside. While light on fan support, the running trails portions along the seaside … MORE
The course was a very scenic combination of downtown Reykjavik, residential neighbourhoods, city parks, rivers and the seaside. While light on fan support, the running trails portions along the seaside and the country’s most popular salmon river provided spectacular views of the ocean, mountains and a few glaciers. The start / finish in downtown Reykjavik had a lot of fan support and was conveniently just a block or two away from the majority of the hotels. Beautiful course, people and country!
A bonus is the race being held in conjunction with Culture Night, an event that takes place all across central Reykjavik, with celebrations in the streets and squares, in museums, businesses and residential gardens! Reykjavik Culture Night marks the start of the city’s cultural year, when museums and theatres and other cultural institutions launch their annual programs of events. The main objective of Reykjavik Culture Night is to deliver a diverse and rich offering of cultural events from 1-11pm, ending with a magnificent firework show by the harbour. All events are free of charge for everyone to enjoy.
Before and after race day I enjoyed exploring Iceland’s natural wonders (including a post-race soak in the Blue Lagoon) with a great group of people that had booked with Marathon Tours.
Flat course, beautiful scenery
I would highly recommend this race to anyone trying to PR -- it's almost entirely flat, with the exception of a few small hills, and not too many turns on … MORE
I would highly recommend this race to anyone trying to PR — it’s almost entirely flat, with the exception of a few small hills, and not too many turns on the course. The weather was gorgeous (about 60-65 degrees, sunny) and the scenery is quite lovely, with a run through the city and along the bay. My only real critique is that the aid stations were too far apart and there weren’t enough portalets — I lost my PR time waiting in line 10+ minutes to use one.
Summer marathon in northernmost capital.
18 ° C this will be the temperature of the Nordic Reykjavik Marathon 2016 "A beautiful day" as announced by U2 Group at the beginning of the marathon. A warm … MORE
18 ° C this will be the temperature of the Nordic Reykjavik Marathon 2016 “A beautiful day” as announced by U2 Group at the beginning of the marathon. A warm atmosphere throughout the course that winds through the streets and parks of the capital of Iceland. The last kilometers of the waterfront allowed us to discover a beautiful natural panorama (wild beach, sea and snowy volcano on the horizon). Despite the fatigue, the return to the city operates on a flat course with focus to the iconic Church, and the issue will occur to me after 4 hours and 13 minutes of a marathon very well organized and very pleasant to run.
Beautiful, scenic fast course
i love this event. This was the 6th time running the half marathon. The course starts in the city center, near the duck pond. The 1st 3 miles you will … MORE
i love this event. This was the 6th time running the half marathon. The course starts in the city center, near the duck pond. The 1st 3 miles you will experience the locals as they cheer you on with their support. Adults and young children bang together pots and spoons, play guitar and drums and trumpet . As you leave this area you turn along the coast with amazing scenes of Mt Esja. A quick run through the local dock yards and you come back on to main roads. Soon you will pass the Harpa, Hofdi House, and more along the coast. 3 more miles out and you turn around and head back into town and the finish. This afternoon and tonight you can experience Culture Night. Finally as darkness falls at 11:00pm, grab a good viewing spot for the fireworks. Iceland is closer than you think. Put this race on your list as your next summer race! You won’t regret it. Ideal temps (45-55F) with the cleanest air in the world.
Perfect tour through Reykjavik!
The expo is fantastic and offers all a runner need! The race next day is the start into a wonderful day as marathon day in Reykjavik is also Menningarnott - … MORE
The expo is fantastic and offers all a runner need! The race next day is the start into a wonderful day as marathon day in Reykjavik is also Menningarnott – the bigget culture festival of Iceland with live music everywhere. The race is completely flat and offers beautiful views of the cozy Icelandic capital.
Iceland during the best time of year
I completed this race in 2011. The race started in downtown Rejkavik. The most difficult part of this race was that it was in kilometers which I am not used … MORE
I completed this race in 2011.
The race started in downtown Rejkavik. The most difficult part of this race was that it was in kilometers which I am not used to (coming from the United States). However, this ended up being a benefit as I was unaware of how far I’d gone.
It’s during the perfect time of year to visit in August. The sun is out for the majority of the day and the weather is perfect.
Overall, it was a fun race. It was relatively flat. It was also a great way to see the sights of Reyjkavic. There were plenty of people out during the race cheering on the runners. I highly recommend it.