The Woods: Birthday North of the Arctic!

Since hearing about the Midnight Sun Marathon whilst walking the 702 Walk the Talk in 2000, I have always dreamed of running it one day .

Well, some dreams really do come true and this was the year :) To top it all, I was able to run it on the week-end of my birthday and share it with my folks whose trip to visit us coincided with the dates of the race.

We arrived in Norway on Friday evening and stayed in a camping ground about 20kms outside of Tromsø, not only because the rates were actually affordable, but because there was no accommodation anywhere near or in the city due to the race.

It worked out really well as we were able to get 2 small cabins, with my parents cabin being the dining cabin and ours, well ours was the nursery / play room / …

Saturday, the big day of the race, and the jitters set it. I walked around the whole day with my water bottle topped up and trying to keep as limber as possible.

The race was due to start at 8pm and as I was really not all that fit or well trained, I figured I would probably be running over 5 hours. The girls got a make-shift bed in the back of the car and were excited about the prospect of being out all night.

The drive in to Tromsø is incredibly picturesque and showed off the traditional houses of the Norwegians – all we missed were the cows grazing on the roofs.

The other thing well worth a mention is that the Midnight Sun shines in mid summer. You might think this was obvious, but looking at the way Mutherdux was dressed, you might be misled. Don’t be fooled – it is COLD!

So, we spent the afternoon in Tromsø town, soaking up the atmosphere of the crowds and energy of the adrenalin.

The only 2 orders of business for the day were registering and fuelling up the tank :)

In the evening, just after 6ish, the clouds started to get ominous and the downpour started just after 6.30. I was wondering what the h*ll I was doing here – completely mad and off my rocker, about the run 42 km in the pouring rain or just sopping wet – neither an attractive option. My mother in the back seat was trying all her skills at talking me out of it. Thank God, the rain stopped around 7.15, just as I had put packets on my head and was trying as best to waterproof myself before leaving the sanctuary of the car. In fact, I even stripped off my jacket just before the start and we had glorious weather for the whole race.

Lining up for the start:

The only hill of any significance in the entire race is the Tromsø bridge. Here is Mutherdux in view of the bridge while Dad had his camera on full zoom trying to catch the runners crossing over.

So, the runners are off and there are 5 hours to kill before the finish and no better way to see them pass than eating Pizza!

The nice thing about this course is that it does a loop at the 21km mark back through the centre of the town so the spectators get to see some action during the race. I met a South African near the back of the pack where I was cruising along, and we ran about 30kms of the race together. Fortunately, the family is really easy to spot with Colin & the 2 girls who were waiting to run with me as I came back into town for the 21km mark.

The race was phenomenal! The sun was shining the whole night, just catching the snow on the peaks – no-one could get tired running though scenery like that :)

I have to admit though, the last 10kms were a complete killer. Well, one cant be too surprised as I did less training for this race than I normally do for 21s – from 0 to 42 in 14 weeks! But, I did it, with only 1 stop to pee :)

So, this is me arriving at the finish in 4 hours 32 mins.

I am standing here, but just after this photo I was crawling ;)

Driving back home and it is 2 in the morning – and just look at this place!

Sunday, is Chillout Day!

We decide to do a lazy trip into town, suss out the church and have a coffee and generally just let the day trickle past us.

Have I mentioned that this country is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Picture postcard stuff.

We spent the afternoon playing at the campsite – not sure who is having more fun ;)

Monday we did a tour to Skjervøy in the North. The tour takes you on a coach but across land and ferry to Skjervøy, a trip of about 4 hours. We then wait in the harbour for a short while and pick up the steamer ferry that brings us back to Tromsø by sea, arriving around midnight after 4 hours at sea.

Again, the scenery was breath taking with the fjords and the glaciers.

We had a bit of a fright when we got to Skjervøy as Colin’s wallet was missing – just in time for us to not have the much anticipated supper at the docks. We searched the bus and the cold realisation that it was left on the previous bus at the change-over site about 2 hours back was unnerving. Fortunately, the bus driver was able to radio the previous bus, who verified that our wallet was there, and arrange a pick-up with the next tour who were scheduled to arrive in to port just in time to catch the ferry before it departs.

Watching the boats come in and waiting for our wallet to arrive:

Our Ferry coming in:

Girls and Mutherdux posing while Colin paces, waiting for the bus.

Oh, did I tell you it is cold in Norway at mid-summer? :)

Our lenses just were not big enough to take it all in. We shot hundreds of photos on the trip and none of them actually tell the true story…

We felt a bit nostalgic seeing this island go by – it reminisced of Table Mountain, especially with the smoke and good smells of a traditional SA braai (barbeque) going on on deck.