Machine-translated from Faroese and not yet reviewed. Read the original.
So the 27th Flag Day Run is behind us, and in its wake, now four days later, I will state that the Flag Day Run remains, as ever, the flagship of Faroese running. After 2–3 years of rather weaker and declining participation, the number of participants could now be seen to have grown again, with close to 400 children, adults and fun runners having signed up.
The newly elected board of Bragdið had also made more of it than in previous years, with prizes, massage and a brand-new results service, which I will come back to. It was nice to hear Niels Jákup Jakobsen, who was one of the founders of the Flag Day Run, say a few words and start the race. His words are expected to be posted on the site in the next few days.
Winning the Flag Day Run is one of the most prestigious wins for Faroese long-distance runners, and again this year several runners were able to show good form. In the women’s race Rebekka Fuglø was the favourite, but the door was still ajar for the others. But when the starting gun banged, Rebekka banged the door shut. She was in top form on the day. Rebekka Fuglø also won the Flag Day Run in 2011 and 2012, but this time she ran almost two minutes faster, crossing the line in 27:01 min. The seasoned Rigmor N. Arge also ran exceptionally well, working her way up to 2nd place towards the end with the excellent time of 27:52 min. Rigmor passed young Katarina Høj some 200 metres from the finish. The Bragdið girl, just 14 years old, had nothing left by then, but she should be both happy and proud of her third place and her time of 28:00, which in several Flag Day Runs has been enough to win gold. Durutua R. á Lofti was considered by many to have a chance in the battle at the front, but on this day she didn’t have the legs, and finished in fourth place, just under a minute behind Katarina.
Rebekka Fuglø crosses the line in style. This was the young Treysti woman’s third Flag Day win in a row.
In the men’s race Marnar Djurhuus was the big favourite, and if anyone else was going to win, well, some mishap would have to happen. But the battle for the next places looked interesting. The Hansen brothers, together with Sam Vang and Hallur Holm, were expected to contest places 2–5. But Regin Thomsen, Borgar Biskopstø and Niels Poulsen could also be expected to join in this battle. Marnar was quick off the mark. So quick that by the time they reached Skansin, there wasn’t even a glimpse of his heels. He had a good chance of going after Bogi Lenvig’s record, which is 22:30. Both the weather and, not least, his strong training form pointed to a new record.
Behind him came the others – some eight men together all the way up to three km. Then they began to drop off. First Teitur Bjarnastein, then Regin Thomsen, then Niels Poulsen and finally Borgar Biskopstø. The battle to “win if Marnar weren’t there” had barely begun when Sam Vang shoots ahead. Very strongly, because although Eirikur, Andrias and Hallur try to stay with him, it’s no use. Sam was gone. In the battle for third place Eirikur finds the climb up to Tórgarður heavy going and begins to lose ground. Andrias raises the tempo even further, breaks away from Hallur by the ferry terminal, and finishes 3rd in 24:05 min.
Halfway round, far behind Marnar, they battle for 2nd place. From left: Eirikur, Sam, Borgar, Hallur and Andrias. Right behind Andrias is Niels Poulsen in red shoes.
Marnar’s course record didn’t quite go to plan. The clock showed 22:34 min – so he was only 4 seconds off equalling it! Perhaps the very fast pace over the first two kilometres was too much? In any case, the pace didn’t look as fast over the second half. Nor did the gap back to silver medallist Sam Vang, 23:46, seem to grow much over the second half. But surely Marnar will be back, full of enthusiasm, to go for the record again next year?
From the very first step Marnar Djurhuus took the lead
Hallur finished fourth in 24:15, and at the same time became the winner among the veterans. In sixth place overall, Borgar Biskopstø came in pressing hard to take a secure 2nd place among the veterans. His time was 24:40 min. An old familiar face had sneaked into third place. “Sneaked” is perhaps an overstatement, because Cecil Weihe stepped back onto the running stage with a great fanfare. A secure third place and 9th overall in 25:46 min. Something good may well be expected from him.
Among the super veterans, nobody can touch Jens R. Weihe. Although the age limit for super veterans is 55, 65-year-old Jens runs well clear of everyone. And of almost all the younger runners too. Overall Jens finished 28th of all the runners, with the excellent time of 27:12 min. Second place, with 30:46, was a secure and well-deserved 2nd place for Jóannes Ortind. He was a good minute ahead of Kristin Rasmussen, who finished 3rd in 32:00 min.
The best super veterans. From left: Jóannes Ortind, Jens R. Weihe and Kristin Rasmussen
Ann Thomsen, one of the main organisers of the race, made short work of the women’s veterans. She was a full three minutes ahead, finishing 5th overall in 30:29 min. Kristina Samuelsen was a secure silver medallist with 33:28, while Margreta Knudsen won bronze with 34:18 min. As with the men, a female super veteran had sneaked quite a long way up the list in the open category. Louisa Svensson, who won the women’s veterans with 34:40 min, finished as high up as 23rd in the open category! Good old Jóngerð Høgnesen finished in second place with 36:15 min and Marna Reyná was 3rd with 37:45 min.
The best women veterans. From left: Kristina Samuelsen, Ann Thomsen and Margreta Knudsen.
All the winners received gift vouchers from Sportmaster in SMS. There were valuable prizes for the children too. And a lot was at stake when they set off down Áarvegur, because they all knew that the fastest boy and the fastest girl would get a smartphone from Føroya Tele. Beforehand, several people suspected it would be hard for the Tórshavn girls to take anything from the yellow ones, and so it proved. The Treysti girls finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Maria Biskopstø won the phone, Oddvør Josephsen was 2nd, and right on her heels came the enthusiastic Rutt Gregersen, who keeps on improving.
From left: Oddvør Josephsen, Maria Biskopstø and Rutt Gregersen. They made it a Treysti one-two-three.
In the boys’ race it turned into a dramatic duel between Dánjal Dahl Ljósheim from Hvirlan and Pauli Høj from Bragdið. They came up towards the finish fairly level, but Dánjal turned out to have more left at the end, and finished a few metres and two seconds ahead of Pauli, who nevertheless also got a bag from Føroya Tele. What was in it I don’t know. Gilli Róason, who came third across the line, also got a Føroya Tele bag.
Pauli Høj is still in front here, but a moment later Dánjal Dahl Ljósheim sprints past him and wins the smartphone.
There was a real party atmosphere at the event. The weather was some of the very best Flag Day weather I can remember (though I’m still fairly young, so that doesn’t say much). You could feel the mildness in the air, and the flags on Áarvegur hung straight down. A big crowd of spectators stood on Vaglið and down along Havnargøta, where you get a better view of the race. This year a fun run was also part of the Flag Day Run, which meant there was almost always someone crossing the finish line.
Last year Bragdið bought equipment for chip timing. The system was tested a few times last year. This year Jan Egholm and Niels Hansson from Bragdið put new software into use, intended for the Flag Day Run. And this is nothing less than a breakthrough for running here at home. There were a few teething problems, which I won’t go into here. But otherwise it’s great fun that someone sends a text message down to Vaglið telling you your own time, which is online almost straight after the race has finished. It’s also very handy that you can choose the overall list, just men/women or just your own age group. You can also print out a certificate from the system, and you can watch a video clip where you see yourself – or anyone else – crossing the finish line. These and other features will make it even more fun to be a runner, and not least an organiser, in the future.
A really enjoyable day and a really good race. The Flag Day Run truly is the flagship. On Saturday the Faroese Half Marathon Championships take place in Klaksvík. They have shown before how well they can organise. Yes, these days it is a real pleasure to be a runner in the Faroe Islands.
The best women in 2013. From left: Rigmor N. Arge, Rebekka Fuglø and Katarina Høj.
Marnar Djurhuus…. next year the record will come!
All photos kindly borrowed from Hvirlan.
