Trondheim

In recent weeks, the Nordic countries have again drifted further apart with regard to Covid. With Denmark declaring that Covid is no longer a threat to public health at large and ending basically all domestic restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, Norway is moving in the opposite direction as the number of new cases grow. Last night, I struggled to find some food without the proper app on my phone but, in the end, I was able to get some Adana kebab as take-out. The whole app thing made me think more of China than a Western democracy even as I know that a lot of countries, from South Korea to Australia, have similar contact tracing regimes in place. Still, I do not like it.

Anyhow, today was race day. The weather could not have been better. Light winds, sunshine, and maybe 7-8 degrees as hundreds of runners gathered in the main square of Trondheim. I immediately found myself right behind the 3:15 pace keeper and a guy from the Norwegian military at a pace that felt absolutely great even as I had promised myself not to go out that fast. The course took us around all parts of central Trondheim, some very beautiful, including a harbour run through the salty winds of the Atlantic before heading back inland following the Nidelva river.

Passing the half marathon marker in 1 hour and 37 minutes, I felt confident that I would not only run under 3:30 but maybe even set a new impressive PR around 3:20 or something. By now, however, I should know that marathons really only begin 30 km into the race. With the right side of my butt cramping (maybe due to the left side foot injury that I got up in the mountains earlier in the summer?) and the muscles in my legs just feeling drained, the last hour was pure misery. Seeing the minutes go by on my watch, I gave it one last push, ultimately finishing in 3 hours, 44 minutes and 39 seconds as number 169 out of 313 runners who finished the race.