NDRR ROUTES AND STORIES

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Laugavegurinn Ultra Marathon, Iceland. 17th July 2010

Simon Oliver attended the 13th running of this challenging ultra marathon. The race bisects an area of impressive thermal activity in Southern Iceland and ends at the troublesome volcano that caused such havoc earlier in the year.

The route is tough being 32 miles and having 6000' of assent over the course. The race is staged over a long established walking route that was developed in the 1960s. It starts at 1500' goes up to 3300' and finishes at 900' with numerous ups and downs along the way.

The weather was glorious hot sunshine with a light following wind. The volcanic scenery was spectacular with clouds of steam, roaring fumeroles, sulphurous smells and chilly rivers and snowfields to cross and experience.

The trail surface is a mixture of sand, lava, rock, snow and water. It is all well waymarked and runnable. For myself the race was fantastic, I achieved 2nd over 50 man, missing out by just 1.5 minutes on a piece of polished Icelandic glass!

My time 6.28, 76th out of 300 runners.

The Icelanders are very friendly and speak brilliant English. It's pricey over here though. Simon