Midnight Sun Marathon 2019!
Like previous years, several runners from our group went to Tromsø for the Midnight Sun Marathon, which was held on June 22th. This happens largely because of Svenn-Helge, and he’s commitment to the event and providing accommodation for the members! A special thanks to him! In addition to Svenn-Helge, Magnus and Oscar from the group also come from Tromsø. In total we were 12 people participating in the race, running distances from 10km to the marathon. We have made a great contribution to spreading the club colours in the streets of Tromsø!
Pre-race
In the days and time before the race we relaxed and did some sightseeing in Tromsø.
On Friday we joined the official opening of MSM with the official Marathon Flame from Athens. The Midnight Sun Marathon was held for the 30th time. You could really tell how big the event is, with around 70 nations represented in the race! Later that evening we gathered for dinner with lots of pasta, and some of our professionals filled their cups with beetroot juice.
Race-day
The race started late in the evening, which makes sense for the Midnight Sun Marathon. The marathon started at 20:30 and the half marathon 22:30. The great thing with the late start was that we could have a long night sleep and didn’t have to get up early. But the day went by with relaxing and preparing for the race. The start of the 10km was at 19:00 where Oscar and Svenn-Helge participated. Many fast runners ran the 10km, where Oscar made a good pb! For the marathon, Malte and Fabia was running the distance for the first time while Magnus wanted to copy the great run from Paris this year with another time below 2:30. Unfortunately, his collection of 4th places got increased by one. With a time of 2:29.42 he was 36 seconds behind the podium. For the half marathon the group was represented by Erlend, Marte, Anja, June, Clara and Daniel.
The half marathon – words by Erlend Hansen
In advance for my start, I watched the 10km which started at 1900. There I was cheering for Oscar and Svenn-Helge.
Before the race I was really curious about the weather and checked the forecast regularly the days before. As a friend told me the course in Tromsø is really exposed to windy conditions which would give me troubles with achieving my time goal. Luckily there was little wind and good temperatures around 8 degrees. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the midnight sun but got soaked by the rain instead. But that was not a big problem for a guy used to the conditions in Trondheim.
But enough about the weather! I need to focus on what I can control. And the race between me and the clock. Because, yeah, it is nice to visit Tromsø and watch the beautiful mountains surrounding the city. But first of all I went there to aim for sub 1.15 at the half marathon (to be honest). As the race approached, I started to do some warm-up. There was a lot of people, but I easily managed to do some running and throw of my clothes 5 min before the start. When I was waiting for the start, I asked a guy I knew from Trondheim about his time goal, which also was below 1.15. Perfect! Now I have a pacer.
I went out from the start and followed him for 3km before I let go of him because this was going way to fast! Now I had to run by myself and control the pace at around 3:30 min/km. After 10km a group of around 6 people overtook me and we ran together rest of the race. As I struggled at the end with the keeping the pace, I kept thinking about Magnus running at the same pace – but for twice as long! That helped me from feeling sorry for myself and letting negative thoughts take over. I clocked in at 1.14:41. Satisfied, but exhausted, with a stomach that was not ready to celebrate with a beer on the town…
Post-race
The day after the race, we went on a car trip for some sightseeing outside Tromsø. With tired legs, we hiked on a mountain on Sommarøy in beautiful surroundings! After the hike we went to a cabin at Malangen where we ate some barbeque before taking sauna and a swim in the fjord. Perfect day for recovering after the race! It was nice to do something else in Tromsø besides the running. I want to make a special thanks to Svenn-Helges mom for organizing this weekend and taking us to the cabin!
Results
| Place (age class) | Name | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. (3) | Magnus Warvik | Marathon | 02:29.42 |
| 101. (45.) | Malte Brunner | Marathon | 03:26.02 |
| 235. (17.) | Fabia Maria Stich | Marathon | 03:45.44 |
| 9. (5.) | Erlend Hansen | Half-Marathon | 01:14.41 |
| 72. (4.) | June Kieu-Van Thi Bui | Half-Marathon | 01:30.46 |
| 105. (39.) | Daniel Pace | Half-Marathon | 01:34.02 |
| 377. (52.) | Clara Bon | Half-Marathon | 01:51.08 |
| 398. (55.) | Marte Wilson | Half-Marathon | 01:52.19 |
| 760. (132.) | Anja Troxler | Half-Marathon | 02:07.54 |
| 18. (13.) | Oscar Ovanger | 10 km | 34.49 |
| 1221. (240.) | Svenn-Helge Vatne | 10 km | 01:03.18 |