This is a recap of the spring semester written by our mascot Hjalmar (pictured below)

Hjalmars semester recap
After a slow start to the year due to the pandemic, Norway lifted all restrictions in February and we could finally return to normal life. There was much happening in NTNUI Friidrett which is why I want to share some of my highlights.

In February we had the group general assembly which I (the most important member of the group) of course attended. We had many discussions and came up with new ideas on how to improve our Master Plan and the group itself, followed by pizza (unfortunately no bananas). At the end all the present members and I elected the new board for the following year and my very good friend Fredrik was elected as the new leader of the group (no, I did not bribe the election committee…or did I?!). Fredrik and I share many memories like running Fjellseterløpet and Trondheim half-marathon together, and I spend most of my time at his place since he makes sure I always have enough bananas.

In March I joined the rest of Friidrett and NTNUI at Gudenes natteliv. We dressed up in our best clothes aka. our Friidrett clothing and started the night at Voll for a pre-party and then we turned Samfundet green, yellow and black for the night. After having waited for two years, it was finally time for NTNUI to take over Samfundet again and party all. night. long! You want to know how my night ended…that’s a secret I’ll never tell.

A week later I was very happy to travel to Alicante in Spain with lots of others from the running group. The trip to Alicante has been a tradition in the Friidrett group for many years now, and naturally I joined the trip again this year. We had a few sunny and a few rainy days, but I made sure everyone was having a great time. Even though it was very windy, we hiked up to the Calpe cliff as we do every year and took a picture to prove it. While in Spain some people were trying to improve their running skills and joined most of the training sessions twice a day, while others preferred improving their party skills. I joined in on the best of both worlds.

Another thing that happened in March was that the group decided it was best for me to have a tracker on me. After my dad was kidnapped in the fall of 2019 all of NTNUI Friidrett mourned his disappearance, and said never again! So, to make sure this would not be my fate I am now being tracked. I agreed to this, as I don’t want anyone to worry about me and want to give people a sense of security, but now everyone knows where I spent my nights…

Fjellseterløpet finally happened again!!! The previous years the club was forced to organize a virtual run, but this year we arranged our normal race again. On April 30th at 12.00 o’clock 177 runners decided to run 8,1 km with a 420 m incline from Lerkendal all the way up to Skistua. Despite some rain and snow everyone looked like they were having fun either running or cheering. At the top we had snacks and drinks for everyone, prices for the fastest runners and buses to drive everyone back down again. Running up is more than enough!

One of my big highlights this year was the 17th of may. The 17th of may is Norway’s national day and everyone usually dresses up in their finest clothes, may it be a bunad, a suit, a dress or NTNUI clothing and celebrates our country. We eat as much ice-cream and hot dogs as we want and show off our national colors: red, white and blue. I joined the running group for our traditional run from Gløshaugen to Korsvika, followed by a quick swim in the Fjord and the first ice-cream of the day. Then, I quickly ran home to change before joining the breakfast with all the others in the group in the park in front of Gløshaugen. We enjoyed some delicious food in the sun, played kubb and just enjoyed each other’s company. For the first time in three years we were again able to participate in the parade through the center of the city and, of course, I was in the front leading our section. After more ice-cream and hot dogs in Dødens Dal I called it a night and went home, while the others continued celebrating.

Of course this is not all that happened this semester, there were also our weekly trainings (yes, we do actually run every now and then), bouldering sessions, BBQs, some skiing, cabin trips, races and many other fun events. Through all this time I have enjoyed spending time with old friends, but also making new friends.

Before I take off for the summer and enjoy my well-deserved vacation (yes, it will involve lots of bananas) I want to thank everyone for a very fun semester!
Thanks to all the volunteers who have helped organize events this semester, who have planned our trip to Spain, who have helped promote and organize Fjellseterløpet and who have helped lead trainings!
Thanks to the board and the council who ensure the club stays running, and a big thanks to everyone who shows up to trainings and joins in on all our fun!

But most of all, the biggest thanks goes to me, myself and I for being awesome!