Steinar Bang
@Day 9 of #almost70degreesnorth and #roadtomidnightsunmarathon #race day
Well, splendid weather and thankfully those wet and windy forecast were totally wrong. Against all running bibles, I went for small hike some seven hours before the HM start. Those views from #Kvaløya over #Tromsøya to #Tromsdalstinden brought so many memories back.
I saw no reason to head to the start area early and just took a bus that fitted. Despite the sunny weather it was not really warm. Single digits Celsius. Therefore I just took some photos of a buddy who did the marathon and returned to the warm ferry terminal, which I left less than ten minutes before the start.
There were no dedicated starting groups, which is strange for a run of this size. Also some narrow passages and influencers doing videos at the beginning were not ideal. I had a plan and ran accordingly to it. Took the climb over the bridge easy and ran just around 5:50 pace on the mainland. Things continued to go well also after crossing the bridge a second time. But near the southern tip of Tromsøya I started feeling losing energy. In addition I totally misjudged where the turning point is and for one kilometre my pace plummeted to well over 6:00. The PB I hoped for was in real danger. Thankfully I was able to join a well paced grupetto which carried me towards the turning point that allowed me to recover. When we paced the southern tip a second time I was quite sure to reach a new PB with 3 kilometres to go. Against my nature I created a new goal, which was to finish below 2'05 (old PB was 2'06'16), so I needed to accelerate a bit more. In the process I also passed some runners which had been ahead me all the time. The flame rouge came and I knew I had to battle for that 2'05. I felt there was something going on behind me, but didn't realise that I was sprinting against the fastest female of the marathon. I ended up in goal one second ahead of her - sorry if you are reading this. I had no idea what was going on. So that new PB is below 2'05 now.
Sadly food and drinks in goal were minimal, and I think it's mean you have to pay extra for more food and drinks there, considering the high registration fee.
Despite the PB I never got the runners high and I was freezing like hell. So I just collected my clothes and returned to the hotel asap.
Of course the #msm takes places in a great environment and offers wonderful views, but the race itself was quite average. Rather little value for money and several organisation blunders. So I wouldn't fly there to take part - only if I was in town anyway. I also heard that there are much better organised events in other Norwegian cities.
Well, splendid weather and thankfully those wet and windy forecast were totally wrong. Against all running bibles, I went for small hike some seven hours before the HM start. Those views from #Kvaløya over #Tromsøya to #Tromsdalstinden brought so many memories back.
I saw no reason to head to the start area early and just took a bus that fitted. Despite the sunny weather it was not really warm. Single digits Celsius. Therefore I just took some photos of a buddy who did the marathon and returned to the warm ferry terminal, which I left less than ten minutes before the start.
There were no dedicated starting groups, which is strange for a run of this size. Also some narrow passages and influencers doing videos at the beginning were not ideal. I had a plan and ran accordingly to it. Took the climb over the bridge easy and ran just around 5:50 pace on the mainland. Things continued to go well also after crossing the bridge a second time. But near the southern tip of Tromsøya I started feeling losing energy. In addition I totally misjudged where the turning point is and for one kilometre my pace plummeted to well over 6:00. The PB I hoped for was in real danger. Thankfully I was able to join a well paced grupetto which carried me towards the turning point that allowed me to recover. When we paced the southern tip a second time I was quite sure to reach a new PB with 3 kilometres to go. Against my nature I created a new goal, which was to finish below 2'05 (old PB was 2'06'16), so I needed to accelerate a bit more. In the process I also passed some runners which had been ahead me all the time. The flame rouge came and I knew I had to battle for that 2'05. I felt there was something going on behind me, but didn't realise that I was sprinting against the fastest female of the marathon. I ended up in goal one second ahead of her - sorry if you are reading this. I had no idea what was going on. So that new PB is below 2'05 now.
Sadly food and drinks in goal were minimal, and I think it's mean you have to pay extra for more food and drinks there, considering the high registration fee.
Despite the PB I never got the runners high and I was freezing like hell. So I just collected my clothes and returned to the hotel asap.
Of course the #msm takes places in a great environment and offers wonderful views, but the race itself was quite average. Rather little value for money and several organisation blunders. So I wouldn't fly there to take part - only if I was in town anyway. I also heard that there are much better organised events in other Norwegian cities.
grøtlaus fiskegrateng
Steinar Bang
