PB-ing in Tromso

I can’t believe it: I PB-ed! Only by 40 seconds to be fair (official time is 3:27:50), but hey I PB-ed!! And the person responsible for that is Ole, a guy who wanted to overtake me at kilometre 7 or so and it took him 20 kilometre to finish his job. Hahaha. As a result I ran a lot faster than I naturally would have run, and Ole was also good company and it gives you definitely a boost, when you make friends and have a running buddy beside you. That’s him by the way, we met again at the finish.

Other contributing factor might been the midnight sun. They say it gives you an extra energy boost. A negative contribution was the fact that Norway does not seem to allow energy gels with caffeine or other boosting additives. Arghhh! I do need my caffeine gels over the last 10 ks. And I think it did feel that I didn’t have them, but luckily because of Ole’s insane running pace I had still enough buffer for the PB. An other negative was that the course was not exactly flat. It was not crazily hilly either, but crossing this monster of a bridge twice was in itself a little challenge. Overall was the Tromso Midnight Sun Marathon a one of its kind experience. Running along the Fjords is stunning, and doing it with such a bunch of cheery people, while crossing and passing the impressive bridge, the Arctic Cathedral and the many breathtaking sceneries and having this all dipped into the warm light of the midnight sun creates an experience that you won’t forget, and makes you want to come back.