A look of horror comes across friends’ faces when Itell them the grand plan for my second marathon.Fired up with enthusiasm after triumphantlycollapsing over the Virgin London Marathon finishline in April, I was determined not to kick myrunning shoes off and leave them gathering dust forthe rest of eternity, so signed up for another onehappening two months later. In the Arctic.
Now, firstly, I should make it clear that I’m not a natural runner. While I feel like a gazellesprinting gracefully through the streets of London, when I catch my reflection I am hunchedlike Quasimodo, dragging my feet through puddles and panting a lot.
But what I lack in grace and ability I more than make up for in enthusiasm and nervousenergy, which is what I was hoping would pull me through as I stepped off the plane in theNorwegian city of Tromsø two weeks ago for their annual Midnight Sun Marathon.
It’s the middle of the night. The sun is shining. There are more than 4,000 runners from 56countries – 300 from the UK, but others from as far afield as New Zealand, Brazil and China –signed up for either a 10K, a half marathon, or the full 26.2 miles, and making a Lycra-cladinvasion on the city whose position 200 miles north of the Arctic circle means the sun doesn’tset for a nine-week stretch during the summer.
Most of the city is located on the island of Tromsøya, surrounded by calm waters andspectacularly rugged snow-topped mountains, which – thankfully – we’ll be avoiding by followinga route that sticks close to the water. But the scenery and terrain is already marking outTromsø as something of a sports haven, with the Polar Night Half Marathon being held inJanuary and the Sky Race Ultra Marathon in August.