Polarnight Half Marathon

Having registered in the midst of summer, it felt kind of surreal to finally stand there at the starting line in Tromsø, surrounded by thousands of other runners, and ready to race those 21 kilometres next to my stunning wife. Being her third half marathon, and the first in winter conditions, Anna gradually picked up the pace as we took in the beautiful course along the waterfront with pitch torches burning every fifty or hundred meters.

Passing the airport just as an Austrian Airlines flight was about to depart for Vienna, the cosmopolitan vibe of Tromsø felt even more pronounced. With the temperature around -10 degrees, I was happy for taking things slow, yet deeply impressed by the few runners who were racing flat out in shorts and Vaporflys.

Coming back into town, there were even more lights and so many people cheering. Finishing with a chip time of 2 hours and 12 minutes, we were treated to warm drinks and a medal that definitely deserves its place in my Halmstad office.