I ran a half marathon under the midnight sun!

Welcome back! Today, I am very proud to share a huge accomplishment with you… I ran a half marathon last night in Iceland! Before I tell you all about the race, let’s start with another fun activity I did yesterday.

Puffin Tour

I started my day with an early-morning puffin tour. I arrived at the harbor around 8:30, energy drink in hand. The tour didn’t start until 9, but we needed time to get our fill-body jumpsuits on. I had no idea we were going to be wearing these! It was so comfortable and warm. I honestly can’t imagine how cold it would have been without it. They were bright red too which was fun 🤩 The tour was short and sweet — about 1 hour long — but I was able to see hundreds of puffins!

My first thought when I saw a puffin for the first time was, “wow, it is so tiny!!!” For some reason, I imagined them to be bigger. Maybe it’s because they look so much like penguins?! They were only the size of a tennis ball! So cute. I loved watching them fly because they have such a unique flight pattern. They are kind of clumsy when they’re taking off… you can hear their wings flapping on the water! I learned from our tour guide that puffins flap their wings faster than most other birds. They also mate for life! Overall, I thought the puffin tour was great. I’m so happy I got to see those cute little birds!

I spent the rest of the day walking around Reykjavik. It took a lot of discipline to not walk 15 miles like I did in Budapest … but I kept my race in mind and chilled out. I went to Reykjavik Roasters for a coffee and then to Mokka for some waffles. They were delicious!

From there, I mostly spent the day writing yesterday’s post, stretching, and thinking about the race. It was so difficult! I kept going … “okay, only 7 hours left… 4 hours left…” I didn’t want to take a nap because I was afraid of missing the race! 

Suzuki Midnight Sun Run

At 6:30 pm, I made my way to the Laugardalsholl Sport Centre for packet pickup. I received my bib, a drawstring bag, and my bag tag. It was still too early to start warming up, so I just sat in my car and ate bananas for a while 😂

At 8pm, I dropped off my bag and waited around inside. There were so many people in the building! I enjoyed looking around and seeing where everyone is from (they put flags on our bibs). At 8:30, the DJ started the warmup. I did a few laps and some stretches, and I was ready to go. Locked in. I was watching the 5k and 10k starts when a lady next to me said, “isn’t it so fun that they put our flags on the bibs?! I see you’re from the US too… which state?” I learned that her name is Nancy and she’s from Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). She said that she came to Iceland alone but was meeting up with her friend from Norway! He’s really into running. She has run a couple of half marathons and will be running her first full this fall — just like me! 

We lined up for the start together, and before I knew it we were running the race! We also met a guy from Connecticut while we were waiting. Nancy and I ran together for the first 5k, and then she told me to go on without her. Sadly, I never got to see her again after that. I was so happy to have a buddy at the start, though! 

The course was absolutely stunning. There were fields of purple flowers, flowing streams, and waterfalls. It really helped distract me from the fact that there was a HUGE hill right away in the course! And the hills didn’t stop either. I had to resort to my motto “I eat hills for breakfast” to get through them all 😅 at one point, I ran into the Connecticut guy again. He said, “are they trying to KILL us with these hills?!” Safe to say everyone was struggling a bit!

After a while, it started raining lightly. It honestly felt so good! I love when it’s both sunny and raining. And then we saw a rainbow!!! It was so bright that I could see every color. This is when I met Tara and Dana from Colorado. They said, “isn’t that rainbow so beautiful?!” We talked for a while after that. Tara is also going to run her first marathon in the fall! 

As the race progressed, I ended up running more chunks on my own. I took in the beautiful scenery and the spectators yelling in Icelandic. There were people standing outside their houses, and when I passed them they lifted their fists in the air. There were also several music stations. I was energized when the song “sexy and I know it” was playing!!! There were several points throughout the race where I felt like I was flying. It was a feeling like no other. 

I was really starting to feel it during the last 5k of the race, but I was determined to finish strong. What really got me through was the support from staff and spectators. Even though I don’t know any Icelandic, I could tell they were saying, “you’re almost there! Keep going!” As I approached the finish line, I pushed as hard as I could to beat the girl in front of me. I guess I really can’t help my competitiveness 🤣 I was taken back to a specific track meet in high school. I thought, “this one’s for the time I couldn’t beat that girl in the last 50 meters of my 400 race”. I had a great finish and beat the girl in front of me. I heard the announcer say “Clara Droessler from the USA!!!”. I don’t think I will ever forget that moment. 

I was drinking Gatorade and eating orange slices when the girl came over, gave me a huge high five, and said something in Icelandic. I said “great job!” to her and couldn’t help but smile. I actually don’t think I stopped smiling from the time the race started to the time the pool party was over. The entire experience was just so amazing, and I hope I never forget the way I felt in these moments. 

On my way to retrieve my bag, I was fortunate to find a family of Americans (from Chicago… Midwest represent!) They kindly took my photo in front of the sports building. Then, I made my way to the swimming pool. On the way, I met a group of Austrians who were wondering where the pool was. We made our way there together and chatted a little bit.

Before entering pools in Iceland, it’s required that everyone shower completely naked. It’s actually disrespectful to their culture to shower with a swimsuit on! So, before I entered the pool area, I showered in a room with hundreds of other nude women. I thought it would be more awkward, but it wasn’t at all! It’s just the norm here. 

When I got into the hot tub, I sat next to a guy named Peter from NYC. We talked about how incredible the race was and what our plans for Iceland were. Apparently, this was his 40th birthday present to himself! He brought a group of friends who I also met. They were all very nice. And they do photography for a living, working for major brands. So neat! We all laughed about how high our standards will be for races now, from the views to the thermal pool access. 

I made it back to the hostel and instantly went to the kitchen for a post-race meal that I had bought from Krónan: butter chicken. I was surprised to see that there were people in the kitchen, despite it being so late! Turns out, the two women I met there were from Alaska and had run the 10k. I talked to them for a while, but at that point I was really struggling to socialize. I was so exhausted! I did find out that they are traveling around Iceland for 30 days in a campervan. They also talked about living in Alaska, and how energizing the midnight sun is. They stay out super late in the summers, but the winter it’s common knowledge that people live much more slowly. They hang out less, sleep more, and essentially just hibernate when the days are dark. Oh, and their names are Ashley and Molly. They are staying in Reykjavik the whole week, so I wonder if I will see them again! 

Today, I am taking time to recover from the race… the right way 😉 stay tuned to see what I’m up to!

Clara