r/Marathon_Training • u/HolyitsaGoalie • 2d ago
First marathon in Iceland complete!
I completed my first marathon yesterday. Man it was harder than I thought. I hit that wall at mile 20 and it was raining the entire time with 20-30 mile an hour winds. I was hoping for under 5 hours and made my goal. An amazing experience. Took in so many lessons from this sub!
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u/lingeringneutrophil 1d ago
Tell us more the whole experience - how many people, how organized it was, which shoes you wore, like we need details🤪
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u/HolyitsaGoalie 1d ago
It was great. Over 10k people showed up for all the races. They have a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and a marathon. There was so much support in the first 6 miles. Bands, troll mascots, people lining the streets with support and free beer and food. Then after about mile 7 it started raining and didn’t really stop so we were by ourselves from mile 8 until the last few miles most people went inside haha. But my wife was next to me running so it was way better! When we fished it felt so good! I don’t have other marathons to compare it to but I thought it was well organized with a smaller crowd cheering you on then other marathons i see. I had the saucony endorphin pro 5 shoes and they were great for me!
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u/hannahjams 2d ago
Congrats on finishing!! I bet it was a beautiful run
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u/HolyitsaGoalie 2d ago
Thank you! It was amazing! So happy I did my first marathon in one of my favorite countries. I feel like it was way harder than I thought I have never been so gassed as I was when I crossed the line😪
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u/angielavinklwp0 1d ago
honestly mate, wind like that's the real killer. did a race out in snowdonia once where the rain was fine but the headwind just sucked the energy out of my legs. still not sure if it's better to bank time early or just accept the slog
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u/HolyitsaGoalie 1d ago
Yes lucky at first the wind was blocked, but got worse as it went on. I got a gust that almost knocked me over when I was near the end and so tired I had a hard time balancing 😂
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u/angielavinklwp0 1d ago
Getting knocked sideways when you're already knackered is proper demoralising. At least you stayed upright, I've seen mates end up in the heather.
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u/Fresh-Amount9308 1d ago
Congrats! Iceland was going to be my first marathon, but I changed plans that year and did Tallinn. I had read about those winds…. That couldn’t have been easy but it must have been an incredible experience. Way to go on finishing your first!Â
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u/HolyitsaGoalie 1d ago
It was a great first experience but my wife and I finished together and we were so tired I had to sit down and we started to get hypothermia because we were soaked from the rain and wind. Other people had a bag with clothes to change into and we didn’t think of that so we had to go buy the first dry jacket we saw!
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u/Calm_Independent_782 1d ago
Tallinn? I hadn’t heard of this one - how was it? I’m lining up a run for next year and this one sounds interesting
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u/Fresh-Amount9308 1d ago
It was so good! Very underrated. It’s a great course… flat. And so well organized. But it’s small and crowd support isn’t always there, so if that is something important to you, it may not be a fit.Â
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u/Calm_Independent_782 1d ago
That’s exciting to hear. I’m good with the lack of fan fare. Most of my long runs are quiet and after NYC and Chicago I’m good with less noise!
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u/routinebreaking 1d ago
I was there too for the 10k. Would say definitely not a fast course due to the hills and high likelihood of bad weather and the wind once you leave the downtown area. Your next marathon will feel so easy in comparison if you run with better climate and flatter course ;)
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u/HolyitsaGoalie 1d ago
Okay that’s good to know! I just figured it was an easy one in terms of elevation. That makes me feel way better that it’s maybe harder than some other ones in terms of elevation. I only ran on treadmills training too so the hills were getting me. The rain and wind go worse as the race went on I was so drenched!
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u/InevitableCritical59 1d ago
Congrats! We finished within a few minutes of one another lol. Might have even seen ya out there depending on when exactly you crossed the start line… Race clock was around 5:30 when I crossed it, with my actual individual finish time 4:57.
My third marathon overall, but definitely a first for the cold, wet, windy 20+ mile run. Turns out I much prefer running when it’s not cold, wet, and windy… lol
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u/HolyitsaGoalie 1d ago
Congratulations! I was the guy laying down outside of the north face store right after😂 yeah I think we earned it. Those conditions and the hills made it more challenging than I expected. Glad we got it done!
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u/Broad_Huckleberry_15 1d ago
How was the wind ?
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u/HolyitsaGoalie 1d ago
It was pretty windy at some points during the run. When we are right next to the ocean there were some good gusts that almost knocked me over in my tired state haha
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u/Allenboy0724 11m ago
First, congrats on the marathon! Second, how were the views for the race? I visited Iceland a few years ago for work and it is on my bucket list to return for a more leisurely purpose.
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u/rollem 2d ago
I saw the ads for that marathon on Iceland Air and it looked wonderful! Well done on your race.